CRYSTAL BEACH RESORT + CAPONES ISLAND & ANAWANGIN COVE | ZAMBALES
Instagram worthy - that is Crystal Beach Resort. If you're into capturing great picture spots to post in your gram and just 3-4 hours away from Manila, this beach resort is definitely a good option. It is known for its shore lined with pine trees, a wooden tunnel from the entrance that leads you to the beach and different tiki huts at the beach front. This beach resort has different nice accommodation and outdoor activities like camping, surfing, beach volleyball, and they also have massage area too. The beach has also it's own restaurant that opens at 7am until 9pm. If you happened to avail one of their room accommodations, it also comes with a free breakfast buffet. Although its sand is not as white as you thought from those different images online, it's still very beautiful for me for its grayish color and didn't disappoint me for its uniqueness.
DAY 1
Crystal Beach Resort is located in San Narciso, Zambales. It's just 1 town away from San Antonio, Zambales where Capones Island, Nagsasa and Anawangin cove are located. Going there, we took the first trip at Victory Liner, Cubao at 5am and arrived at the beach at around 9:30am. We chose to go here for weekdays because I don't want too much crowd if I'm going to place where I just want to relax and have fun. If you're like me, I definitely do not suggest to go here during weekends because expect a large number of tourists. We stayed at the resort 3 days and 2 nights. So what did we do during our first day?
House of Isiah - Day 1 room accommodation (Php 2,500) per night
Surf Shack 1 - Day 2-3 jungle-type room accommodation (Php 2,500) per night
They have a wide range of rooms available, from fan room to air conditioned. Rate ranges from 1,700 php to 11,250. It depends on the number of pax and all room accommodations are inclusive of breakfast. We happened to avail 2 types of room for 2 persons because the first one that we stayed is already booked for another tourist the next day, so we decided to avail another one for our 2nd day. A little bit hassle for us but we liked it afterwards as we had 2 different experience about our room accommodation and surf shack was very unique as this is a jungle-type room inside a place covered by pine trees. By the way, we were asked for 1,000 pesos security deposit upon check in but given back upon check out also, that is if you don't break any of their room properties.
After we settled our payment and everything, we decided to have our lunch first at their restaurant since the standard check in is at 2pm. Their food is a little bit pricey but the portion of the food, the taste, cleanliness and ambiance of the restaurant is reasonable for its price and the service is good also, the servers are attentive and kind. Thumbs up for that! We ordered sisig, salisbury steak and fries on the side. Service water is also provided. After lunch, we just put down our things, get dressed and start to go around and chill at the beach front.
DAY 2 (ISLAND HOPPING - CAPONES ISLAND & ANAWANGIN COVE)
We decided to go for an island hopping on our Day 2. You can inquire island hopping packages at the reception area of Crystal Beach Resort. We took the Capones Island and Anawangin Cove package. Its price includes the boat ride, tour guide, tricycle transfer from Crystal Beach to Pundaquit (starting off of the boat ride) and vice versa. I've been to Capones Island and Anawangin Cove last year and I must say it's still beautiful, very calm and peaceful.
We're lucky because during the time we went there, there's no too much tourists and it is low tide. We got to experience to climb the hill at the southern part of the cove also which I didn't experience during my first visit at Anawangin Cove.
We finished Island hopping tour around 12 noon and went back to the resort to have lunch and chase the stunning sunset by the beach. At night, you can eat and drink at the beach. The nice thing that I also like in this resort is they provide a bonfire for all the guests, small tables and banig to relax where you can sit eat and drink with matching background music and sometimes live band depends maybe on the day or when you go here for weekends. I forgot to take photos of that place, sorry for that hehe. I really enjoyed that night where we just relaxed, laid down at the banig, looked at the stars up above, and had good conversation with my boyfriend. It felt so perfect and romantic.
DAY 3
After we had our breakfast, we just went around the beach and took some photos.
HOW TO GET THERE
- Go to any Victory Liner bus station (Cubao, Sampaloc, Pasay, Caloocan)
- Take a bus bound to Iba, Zambales and tell the conductor to drop you off at San Narciso. Landmark is San Sebastian Catholic Church. (3-4 hours travel time)
- From there, ride a tricycle going to Crystal Beach Resort. (5-10 minutes travel time)
TOTAL EXPENSES
Php 610.00/each - RT Bus fare Php 30.00/each - RT Tricycle ride Php 5,000 - 3 days, 2 nights accommodation Php 600.00 - Food (lunch, merienda, dinner for 3d 2n) Php 2, 770.00 (Island Hopping tour All-in expenses)
I highly recommend Crystal Beach Resort in San Narciso, Zambales for those who are looking for “budget travel” just few hours away from Manila. The resort is beautiful, the restrooms are clean, there’s a free WiFi near the reception and inside Domingo's restaurant, there are many activities to have fun while under the sun, pets are allowed, there's a wide range of accommodation, and of course instagram-worthy spots around the beach. At night as I've said earlier, they provide you a place where you can just relax, lay down and have good conversations while watching the stars up above. Overall, I like our whole stay at the resort, and you will never get bored, I swear!
Happy travels!
xo, esca ♡