SUBIC BAY & ZAMBALES 

Mavel and I first traveled to the Subic Bay area in July 2001 and then again in January 2002.  The Olongapo, Subic, Barrio Barretto area is far too big for me to go into great detail, so instead, I will concentrate on Baloy Beach and Iba.  For more information, try the Mangos website.  It is probably the most comprehensive website for the Subic area.  

Olongapo City, Barrio Barretto & Subic, Zambales  

Olongapo, Barrio Baretto and Subic City are situated at the southern entry point of the Province of Zambales and the northwestern interior of Subic Bay. Olongapo City is Zambales' largest metro- politan area with a population close to half a million and is approximately 127 kilometers northwest of Manila. 

The area is characterized by rugged and mountainous terrain with the Zambales mountains on its three sides, and Subic Bay at its base.  Most tourists are attracted to the Barrio Barretto district, a few kilometers north of the Olongapo city center, where there are numerous hotels, clubs and restaurants ... a legacy of the American military presence. 

Even though Mavel and I have been to most large tourist areas in the Philippines, I think we enjoyed this area the most (actually Mavel likes Panglao Island better).  Some of you that have been to the Subic Bay area may think I am crazy and I will agree that Baloy Beach isn't near as pretty as Borocay and Olongapo is a bit of a mess.  But there's a lot more to do here than the usual waterfall visit, cave explore and reef dive.  Olongapo is a large enough city that it provides all the amenities that are hard to obtain in a small tourist area.  Subic Bay and Zambales is one of the few places in the Philippines where I feel comfortable driving.  There is hardly any traffic on the highways from Bataan all the way up to 100 Islands which makes it much more enjoyable to explore all the out of the way places.  In particular, I like the large population of expats that speak the same language as I do.

Barrio Barretto vs. Baloy Beach 

There are many nice hotels in both areas.  For easy access, Barrio Barretto is much more convenient because the jeepneys to Subic City and Olongapo run right in front of  your hotel.  Also, the best restaurants and beach bars are within easy walking distance.  It is really nice to sit on the beach in front of Mango's or Midnight Rambler's and have a few (or more) San Miguel's.  On the other hand, I would not swim at this beach.  There is more than one open sewage ditch leading from Barrio Barretto straight out onto the beach.  The odds are very high that you might end up swimming with a big brown floater. 

Baloy beach is about a mile long and is accessed by a new paved road that goes almost to the end of the beach.  Along this road there are there are more than a dozen hotels and cottages along both sides of this road that range from very expensive to dirt cheap.  The beach is relatively clean without any sewage ditches or little brown boats.