Unplanned Subic Trip

My travel buddies just want a vacation from organizing a vacation... including myself. During this year's Independence Day of the Philippines, we finally decided that we're spending our time together at Subic Bay in the province of Zambales, Luzon. Three days before the "planned" day of travel, we haven't booked any hotel until the last minute. Since the holiday falls on a Friday, we should expect fully-booked accommodations across the board. Thankfully, Subic International Hotel has some rooms to squeeze us in.

Subic Bay (officially known today as Subic Bay Freeport Zone) used to be the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay as early as 1900 after the Treaty of Paris was signed that ended the Spanish-American War. The presence of the U.S. Navy in the base continued even after granting independence of the Philippines from the United States in 1946. This base has facilitated numerous periods of war especially during World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. It is said to be the largest U.S. naval base in Asia until the Philippine Senate rejected the ratification of the treaty and lead to the expiration of the Military Bases Agreement of 1947.

From Manila, you can reach Subic via North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). Travel time is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. And so, with whatever we got from our closets, we drove in a car and left Manila at 6 am to anticipate the heavy traffic ahead of us. Once in the freeport zone, traffic discipline is very much observed unlike in Manila where you have to be a professional defensive driver to survive major thoroughfare. If you live in Manila, you can only wish that we have this kind of discipline being implemented and observed by the every citizen. I guess it has something to do with the inheritance of the naval disciplines left by the Americans.

Since this is unplanned, I'll try my best to recount what we did in Subic. To be honest, we couldn't agree what to prioritize in this trip. Regardless, we enjoyed the company of friends and spontaneous activities we did in Subic.

After checking in at our hotel, we went to visit the Subic Bay Yacht Club (SBYC) to enjoy the water sports activities. Aside from being a berthing marina for yachts and boats, they have Speedboats, Jetboats, Pontoon Boats and Platus for rent for water sports enthusiasts; Kayaks are also available. They also offer lessons and courses on how to sail a boat. for a Platu sailing boat lesson, that's P1,000/3 hours for a person but the boat can accommodate up to 4 people at P2,400/3 hours; you may avail their sailing lesson program. There have a multi-level swimming pool and hoop some basketball while you're in the pool or spend some time in the sauna and use the jacuzzis if you want to relax and enjoy your stay at the yacht club. If you have hydrophobia or simply not in the mood for water, you can still enjoy other facilities and play beach volleyball, basketball, tennis, bowling & billards or work out in their fitness center and have a spa treatment. Relish meals at their restaurants that offer buffets to delight your appetite while you enjoy the view of the bay.

Just right outside the yacht club, there's the Subic Le'Mans Go Kart racing track for a thrill seeking ride. Rates are P300-600 for 10 laps depending on the go kart units.

Camayan Beach Resort and Ocean Adventure are two adjacent places where you can enjoy the beach, marine animals like dolphins and sea lions and other water sport activities like snorkeling, playing beach volleyball, frisbees, kayaking in the mangroves, ship wreck diving and even biking through the nearby forest.

If you can't get away from the urban life of Manila, there's always the restaurants and nightlife bars prominently along Waterfront Road where you can enjoy great food and drinks along the beach. Xtremely Xpresso Cafe seems to be our all-time favorite place to eat PIZZA!!! "Big Ben" is our recommended pizza and make sure you order it extremely big!!! You can also try their humongous burger, pasta, soup and other wide variety of Italian dishes. Oh, don't forget their gelato! The Korean food franchise BBQ Chicken seems to be aother promising fastfood place. Surprisingly, they serve Filipino buffet meals for lunch! (but maybe only for Subic)

If you think we had enough of Subic, they have a lot more to offer. More adventurous outdoor activities await at the Extreme Adventure and Tree Top Adventure near the vicinity of Jungle Environment Survival (JEST) Camp at the Upper Mau, Cubi Point as they offer military-like training and adventure in the forests of Subic. Enjoy riding the zipline, trekking the forest, rappelling down a 60-ft. tree and even learn how to survive in the jungle using the forest resources adopted from the indigenous skills of the Aeta people. We ended our weekend shopping around discount retail stores of signature apparels and of course buying "PX" goods from former duty-free establishments like the Royal Subic Mall.

There's just too many other things you can do in Subic - shopping, playing golf, camping, visiting the safari & equestrian center and numerous dive sites and beaches in and around Subic. I guarantee you would want to go back for more.

Quick travel tip:
I only have one this time. Most of what you will need for this trip is available in Subic but it's best to bring a private vehicle while you tour around the freeport zone unless you want to bid and win an auctioned vehicle.