Patar Beach - Bolinao, Pangasinan

I love going to the beach, not the pool, not the lake, not even the river but the beach. It’s that sand on my feet and that gentle wind of sea breeze, oh and the seawater that lingers on my skin. Ahh… Pure bliss. And as if I’m going to decline his offer, a friend asked me to this trip with some travel blogger friends at Patar Beach in Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Me and my buddy decided to leave earlier than the group. We felt that an overnight trip would be such a disgrace to this paradise that we’ve yet to discover. 

We went to Victory Liner Bus station at Cubao around midnight and was told that the aircon bus bound to Bolinao just left and the only option we had was to take the non-aircon bus. It was fine because there were like 10 warm bodies inside it and we practically owned the bus. The fare was about 350 pesos each but because I have a student ID I should’ve paid around 280 pesos. But then, our very cold-hearted conductor refused my claim for discount for he said that I should’ve given it to him earlier when we were asked on our endpoint. I don’t wanna cause trouble anymore so I just snoozed my annoyance.

>>> Check here for discounted hotels and resorts in Bolinao <<<

We reached the town of Bolinao at around seven in the morning and immediately went to the nearest eatery where we had a decent breakfast. We then headed to the public market and bought some stuff that we’d surely be needing on this very distant part of Bolinao. 

5 pesos each for this super fresh sea urchins

Looking for a tricycle in the market area to bring us to Patar Beach was easy. We tried to haggle and agreed on 150 pesos for the trip. The ride going to Patar is not that easy. The almost one hour ride (blame it to the road constructions) made our bodies more sluggish. The tricycle dropped us at the White Beach area and decided to give him 200 pesos instead of the negotiated price (the standard rates during lean season).

This will be my first ever beach encounter in the province of Pangasinan and the weather is totally cooperating. And Patar White Beach is indeed a happy beach. And I haven’t even tried the waters yet. 

The clear blue skies and the crystal clear waters were just wonderful. The riffs and rock formations on the far end also looked promising. I was starting to like the vibe of this beach.

With no prior booked accommodation, we scouted the whole stretch of White Beach to check a place where we can stay for the night. The middle part of the beach was way too crowded with daytrippers. The cottages for rent also blocked the nice view of the beach. And with that, I decided to look for a secluded place for us.

Moving away from the crowd, I found this remote resort that seemed to be deserted. I have to ask someone if this place is actually open for renting out. Ate Rose, the caretaker, informed us that the place is a resort and they’re open to accept us for 3,500 pesos per night. I later on learned that it's the Nature's Camp White Beach Resort.

The resort can hold up to 30 persons (excluding tent accommodation). The huge native hut has one bedroom, its own toilet and bathroom and is enclosed with wide balcony that can be used as sleeping area. An electric fan is provided and a cooking station is available right outside it. Everything's just basic. Don't expect resort-quality stuff here.

The best thing about the resort is the unobstructed view of the sea. A smaller hut was also included in the package. It’s sitting closer to the beach and is the perfect place to chill or sunset watching. With all this, I tried to negotiate with Ate Rose, telling her that we’re only six in the group and if she could provide us with better rates we’d be happy to accept it. We got the whole place for a discounted price and I couldn’t be much happier.

It was a fine day at the beach. The rest of the group will arrive the next day and we have nothing to do but chill. Mealtimes were spent on a nearby eatery that serves all-day silog meals (starting from 50 pesos). Beer and snacks are easy to spot on some stores.

A local delicacy of sticky rice

At around two in the afternoon I’m already boozed up. Thanks to seven hours of non-stop, non-aircon bus ride and another butt-numbing tricycle ride just to get to this beach. Or maybe I just had too much booze. Or no. I don’t know. All I know is that I just woke up from a long effortless sleep and before I could ask my buddy on our whereabouts and what we’re doing there I saw the sun setting from my end.

Speechless. I couldn’t say a word or I dunno how to express my wonder at that perfect moment. And then I realized that I’ve got to finish what I started, the booze.

Asan tayo?

The next day was the big day. We waited for our friends to arrive (in three batches – they’re 4) in the resort. Communication was really challenging in our area for cellphone signals were intermittent so we just waited for whoever arrives first for the last one to arrive may be eliminated, well, not.

The first team to arrive was Julius + Darwin. With fresh produce in tow, we quickly started to slaughter our lunch for the day. Fresh fish, squids (bought from a peddler around the beach) and pork were laid to the grilling station while I was busy chopping off some green mangoes, tomatoes and onions for the salsa.

My perfect salsa mix!

After working it out on the outdoor kitchen, we feasted inside the small hut and enjoyed the view from there. The last team (Kirk + Marx) arrived and we were off for a great escapade sans the bugging from the outside world.

We spent an entire day on this shed with everything we need; food, booze, beach, gorgeous sunset and the perfect company of great friends whom I share the same passion and love affair with traveling and people and culture and long bus rides and being stranded and… Ok, I’m being overly dramatic here.

We lounged mostly on this hut

We snorkeled forever, we laid out our bodies on the bare sand, we stargazed while swimming, we boozed up until we almost caught a glimpse of the early sun, and we totally had fun like kids not thinking about tomorrow.

We could’ve rented a boat and do some island hopping but we didn’t. We were offered by a tricycle driver to do some tours to this certain waterfalls and stuff but we declined. We just stayed there and relished the sun, sea and sand.

We bid our goodbyes to Ate Rose with a promise of revisiting her place again. Before heading back, we asked our tricycle driver to drop us by at the Bolinao Lighthouse. The view there is nice but the lighthouse is, yes, still a lighthouse. Manila-bound buses are easy to spot on the town and the aircon bus fare is around 450-460 pesos (367 pesos for students – yey!).

Bolinao lighthouse is just a few hundred meters away from the beach!

I love the Patar Beach vibe; the beach, its seclusion and the calmness of the place. I totally forgot about my camera and just did what I was wishing for the longest time now - an uninterrupted relaxation mode. I could imagine myself lounging somewhere here for days (I don’t freak out when cellphone signals and internet connections die on me). Bring me to Patar Beach, now, please! 

Nature's Camp White Beach Resort
Ate Rose
Contact Number: (+63) 928.281.5199