There’s a place in the Philippines called HUNDRED ISLANDS! And guess what, there’s a hundred islands there for you to explore!!!
The Hundred Islands National Park: Experience Natural Beauty and Adventure
If you’re looking for a place to spend your vacation time at and you love nature and the outdoors, head to Alaminos City, Pangasinan to make some memories that will last you a lifetime! Whether you are with friends, with your spouse, or traveling with children, you will find that there is something for everyone to enjoy at The Hundred Islands National Park.
From our house in Quezon City, Manila, it was a 6-8 hour drive to the Welcome Center. I can’t say for sure how long it was because we left in the middle of the night and I slept through most of the drive there. When we arrived, it was still early in the morning but already sunny and warm – perfect weather for the activities we had planned!
Once you arrive at the Welcome Center, the first thing you need to do is go inside and rent a boat. You get to rent the boat for an entire day of island hopping, and experienced tour guides will take you to whichever islands you would like to see! Day rental rates are:
- Small boat(Good for 1-5 people): 800php
- Medium boat(Good for 6-10 people): 1000php
- Large boat(Good for 11-15 people): 1100php
Before you leave, I would also highly recommend renting some snorkels, too. We rented a few pairs to share with our group and it was definitely worth it for the spectacular underwater views we were able to enjoy throughout the day.
There are three particularly popular islands for those visiting, each with their own unique appeal: Children’s Island, Quezon Island, and Governor’s Island.
We never made it to Quezon Island ourselves as we instead chose to stop at various other islands, but it is popular due to being the most developed island here. It has activities for the family to enjoy such as ziplining, rock climbing and more!
Here are my fiancé and I enjoying the view from the peak of Governor’s Island, our first stop of the day. This island has the highest peak of all the islands in the Hundred Islands National Park, and the beautiful view is well worth the tiring hike it takes to get to the top.
Pictured right above is Children’s Island – popular for families due to the shallow calm waters to swim in, picnic tables to enjoy your lunch at and when we were there, there were even a few friendly cats to pet! We stopped at Children’s Island to enjoy the packed lunch we had brought, and then went in for a swim. The water was wonderfully warmed by the sun. We brought out the snorkels that we had rented and were delighted to be able to watch fish swimming around right in front of us! We enjoyed the waters here for a while before continuing our island hopping.
Another island that I would definitely recommend requesting from your tour guides to pass by is Bat Island. Aptly named, as we floated by on our boat, we were amazed to see thousands of bats hanging from the trees on this island. The trees were literally filled with the creatures, it was an amazing – and noisy! – thing to see.
We stopped at so many different islands that I can’t remember the names of all of them. There are over a hundred of them, after all! Every one as beautiful and unique as the last.
We had an amazing day filled with swimming, snorkeling, hiking, cave exploring and many other fun things! When we left the beautiful Hundred Islands National Park, we were so tired and sunburnt but glowing with happiness from our perfect day spent outdoors enjoying nature. It was the perfect getaway from the busy city of Manila, and I know that I, for one, am definitely looking forward to returning there one day!
Alaminos City Tourism
Tel: Alaminos City 24/7 Tourism Information Center (075) 656-1568 | Hundred Islands National Park (075) 551-2505
Email: invest_alaminos@yahoo.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alaminos-City-Tourism/463139600450960
