Island Hopping at 100 Islands

When it comes to travels and getaways, I'm the type who doesn't need convincing. If someone invites me, my immediate reply would be "when"?  But this 100islands trip was just a spur-of-the-moment yayaan when I and Zeth saw this cheap voucher at Metrodeal and we never took it seriously. If it wasn't for Jerome's constant reminder (to the point of nagging), we wouldn't have paid that voucher and we wouldn’t have seen and experienced the breathtaking beauty of 100 islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan.

100islands (123 islets to be exact) is wonderfully situated in Alaminos, Pangasinan. We took the route via Cubao, Quezon City to Alaminos which took us  an estimated 4hours of travel. Normally, it would be around 5-6hours but since we took the 11pm bus trip, there was less traffic which saved us a lot of time. Victory Liner fare cost is Php393. We arrived around 3am in the morning when most of the city' still asleep. Upon hopping down the bus, local tricycle drivers would immediately flock around passengers offering their services of driving you to your destination. If you're on a tight budget don’t immediately say yes to the first driver who will offer you his service. Step out of the crowd, breathe in and out and prepare those haggling skills. When we asked a local, we were told that normal fare would be Php50 going to Lucap Wharf. Lucap Wharf is where the leg of the island hopping starts. On our end we paid Php80 out of gratitude since the driver was kind enough to bring us to the Tourist Welcome Center when our point of destination was still closed.

The Tourist Welcome Center is where you can find ATM, souvenir shops, cheap food stores and a plethora of information about activities that you can do while  you're at 100 islands. The people there were simply accommodating that it made me think this is going to be a great trip. Just outside, you can see the magnificent lighthouse of Alaminos and to make it more captivating, add the stunning sunrise as the backdrop.

To make the most of the moment, we took a lot of shots along with professional photographers. After that we had macaroni soup bought from one of the cheap food stores to warm our tummies and headed back to Maxine by the Sea restaurant where we had a delicious breakfast and where we met our point of contact for the island hopping. What I loved about the voucher we bought online was  there were no hidden charges and the travel agency that organized the trip gave us the best of what we can get from the Php1450 that we paid. Since only 3 islands are included, we paid additional Php400 so that we can tour other islands other than the three main islands (Governor's, Quezon, Children's).  I and Zeth also paid additional Php150/pax for snorkeling gear and life vest.  

Our first stop was Governor's island. Since I have seen a fair share of beautiful beaches, I was not that awestricken when I saw the island from our boat. But after a plight of stone steps, breaking a bucket-full of sweat  and seeing a lot of vegetations and wild trees, the view from the top simply caught my breath away. You just have to be there to see how beautiful it is.  And at the back of the island, the sparkling blue water, white sand and a cave nearby are just too much to take for they were a beauty to behold.

simply breathtaking

The rest of the islands hold their own magnificence, each of them waiting to be seen and explored. We had lunch at Quezon island, snorkeled,swam, camwhored at Children's, Marcos, Romulo, etc. 

of rocks and caves

Most of the islands had beautiful rock formations created by the hands of nature. Many of them have mini caves where you can see random bats flying to and fro.

marine life

Snorkeling is one of the fun activities that you can do while doing island hopping in this part of the Philippines. Personally, the underwater life of Hundred Islands' not that rich. You can see that in some parts of the islands, the corals are dead but glad to know that I was still able to see random schools of colorful fish and giant clams. 

island fun

There are a lot of fun activities that one can do while staying at Hundred Islands. Island hopping is of course the most famous, followed by snorkeling, kayaking, parasailing and many more. However, fishing of any form is not allowed to help preserve and restore this wonderful creation of nature.  

foods

What to expect when going to islands and beaches? Of course, seafood! On our first day, we ate breakfast at Maxine by the sea after having a warm soup from one of the cheap foodstores nearby.We also had lunch on the same restaurant on our 2nd and last day. I always prefer to spend less while traveling but it's no crime to give yourself a treat once in a while. If you're up for some delicious calamares, try eating here. The crab dish was a treat by the only thorn among the roses.

Pieces and details

Accommodation was part of the voucher we bought online. We stayed at Vistas delas Islas, one of the best in town. Roomrates start at Php1000 and up. Pool is free to use which opens at 6am to 10pm. Our stay at the hotel was so far so good. 

Fun while camwhoring:

This Island Hopping at100islands was one of my best trips so far. I wish to go back to Pangasinan but  by that time, I guess it would be Bolinao. I heard that there are beautiful caves and tourist spots there just waiting to be unraveled and experienced.