Our Potipot Island Experience

Last July 16-17, HB and my two younger girls tagged along with me in our company's "team-building" trip to Potipot Island.

The trip took us roughly 5 hours from Quezon City. The NLEX and SCTEX roads were a breeze. We took our lunch inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone where we also bought some supplies. From Olongapo, we traversed through the towns of Castillejos, San Marcelino, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan, Iba, and Masinloc before finally reaching the town of Candelaria. (whew!)  Though the drive was easy and relaxed, our girls exclaimed "are we there yet?" several times throughout the trip. :)

Since we knew that there were no resorts on Potipot Island, our group booked at Dawal Resort to spend the night. (More on our horrific experience in Dawal Resort at a later post.) Early the next day, we took a 5-minute boat ride from the coast of Uacon to the island to spend the day.

Potipot Island, as viewed from Uacon, Candelaria in Zambales

Located about a kilometer from the shore of Uacon in Candelaria, Zambales, Potipot Island is slowly gaining popularity, most especially through blogs.  Its main appeal is its pristine white sand as there are plentiful corals swept in by the tides of the Luzon Sea. I noted in the other blogs that the waters in the island are quite calm during the summer months. While it wasn't really rough during our trip on that sunny July weekend, the habagat tides from the west brought in stronger than usual currents. 

Potipot Island up close 

Upon docking on the island, we were asked to pay the entrance fee of Php 100 for adults and Php 50 for kids. (Campers who wish to stay overnight are charged a higher fee of Php 200.) Makeshift picnic tables are available on onne side of the island.

"camp grounds" 

tree house on the island

We quickly put down our belongings and set off on exploring the small island.

enticing sand and sea

my tag-along companions

be careful with the rocks, princess Fiona :)

excellent candid shot of Zoe :)

is Superman out there? :D

There wasn't really anything much we did after we circled the island on foot. We simply ate, swam, ate more and swam more. But more importantly, our Potipot Island experience provided a good break from the monotony of work as we all just soaked in the sun, sea and sand.

Now that we've "conquered" Potipot Island, we can tick this off our list and set off to plan the next island exploration trip! ;) Suggestions, anyone?