100 ISLANDS

Alaminos

In Texas we measure distances in six-packs.  For example, it takes 2 six packs to drive between Houston and Dallas.  However, in Pangisinan, they measure their distances in funerals.  It was a 6 funeral drive from Mansiloc to Alaminos.  

If you take the Victory Liner, the bus will drop you off at the terminal in Alaminos.  From there, you will have to take a P50 trike ride for approximately 3 miles north to the 100 Islands boat docks.  If you're planning on spending the night, tell your trike driver to drop you off at the park or that you are going to camp out on the islands  If he takes you to a hotel, he will ask the hotel for a finder's fee which you'll end up paying for.   If you're driving, the turn off to 100 Islands is well signed. Just go to the end of the road.

There are about a half-dozen hotels within a short walking distance of the park.  In my opinion, the best one is right across the street from the park and is called Pension Milagro.  For less than P800, you get a nice room with air conditioning and hot water.  In front of the park, there is a dirt road that leads down to some more hotels.  The most expensive hotel (P1500) is at the end of this road, but it is nothing special. There's even some "motel" type properties along this road.   We were there about a week before Christmas and there was hardly a soul in any of the hotels, which made it easy to bargain for room prices. About halfway down this road, on the water side, is a fantastic seafood restaurant built on a pier.  The food was great and very inexpensive.

 You can catch a banka to the islands at the park or most any of the small docks in the area.  I put Mavel in bargaining mode to get the best price for an island tour from a few banka owners.  The price was P700, take it or leave it.  If you plan on disembarking on any of the islands, you will have to pay users fee at the park.  Since the bankas at the park charge the same as everyone else, you might as well get your boat ride there.  Before getting in line for the boat ride, we stopped at the shops that line the park so Mavel could look for souvenirs and I could get a few cold San Miguels.  Here we met a Canadian couple that also wanted to go out to the islands, so we shared a banka and took the tour for half price.

Governor's and Quezon Islands have beaches, camping and cooking facilities in case you want to do an overnighter.