Laiya Seaside, positioned in Laiya-Aplaya in San Juan, Batangas, is among the hottest seashores inside driving distance of Manila. The entire stretch here’s a favourite weekend vacation spot for households. You may get pleasure from water-based actions right here like banana boats, kayaking, and island-hopping, or simply relax by the seashore at one of many many resorts.
Since we’ve traveled to Laiya a number of instances earlier than, final Might 2022 we determined to take our bicycles and spend a day simply biking to expertise a special aspect of the world.
Our important aim was to bike to Malabrigo Lighthouse in Lobo, Batangas by traversing the coastal highway from San Juan. When you’ve got extra time to spare, it’s attainable to do an extended loop and emerge all the way in which in Batangas Metropolis and circle again to Laiya once more via the principle freeway. However for this journey, since we had been staying in a single day in a seashore resort in Laiya, we determined to simply bike to the lighthouse and take the identical route going again for a chill and scenic trip.
I’m sharing our bike journey as a reference for many who desire a semi-chill bike-cation or are in search of one thing new to do the following time they journey to Laiya. This coastal highway continues to be comparatively new, with some areas nonetheless underneath building and never a whole lot of automobiles move right here, making it an awesome route for bikers.
Laiya is positioned in San Juan on the easternmost a part of Batangas province south of Metro Manila. North of San Juan is the neighboring city of Candelaria, with Malaking Ilog River defining its geographical boundary. Tayabas Bay lies east of Laiya. The hills on the japanese portion which used to separate San Juan from the cities of Lobo and Rosario in Batangas, is the route the place we biked.
By non-public transportation
Through SLEX
- From Manila, take South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) onwards to South Toll Highway 3, to Star Toll, and exit at Ibaan/San Jose.
- Proceed to Rosario and proceed alongside Rosario-San Juan-Candelaria Highway till you attain San Juan.
- Upon reaching the San Juan Municipal Constructing, flip proper to San Juan-Laiya Highway which is able to take you to Laiya.
- The highway is totally paved now.
NOTE: As an alternate route, you can even move the Manila East Highway route via Pagsanjan and San Pablo attending to Laiya simply to keep away from tolls.
By public transportation
Through San Juan
- The quickest approach to Laiya is by way of San Juan. Trip an ALPS Bus from both from both EDSA Nepa Q-Mart, Araneta Heart Cubao, or Alabang Grand Terminal to San Juan, Batangas.
- The drop off on the Bus Station in San Juan with a journey time of 3-4 Hours.
- In San Juan, proper in entrance of the Municipal Corridor, board a Laiya- or Hugom-bound jeepney. Take word that the final departing jeepney to Laiya leaves at 5:00 PM. Journey time to seashore resorts is one other 45 minutes.
- You can even constitution a tricycle from the terminal to seashore resorts, however count on the charges to be dearer.
Through Lipa
- From Pasay Buendia, EDSA Kamuning, or Araneta Heart Cubao, take Ceres Excursions, DLTB, JAM, Batangas Star Categorical, RRCG, and many others to Lipa Metropolis, Batangas. Journey Time is about two hours and the fare ranges from ₱135 to ₱150.
- From Lipa bus terminal, take a jeepney or van to San Juan, Batangas. The van is quicker however will price you a lot increased.
- From San Juan, take a jeepney or tricycle to Laiya.
- Benefit from the seashore
- Go banana boating
- Strive kayaking
- Go on boating excursions
- Get a therapeutic massage
- Go on a Batangas meals journey
- Go to Laiya Journey Park
- Hike up Mt. Daguldol
After having breakfast on the resort, we took off at round 9:00 am. The trip began instantly with a brief however steep uphill directly going to La Luz Seaside Resort and Palm Seaside Resort.
The primary 10 km of the bike route was very well-paved, with numerous scenic spots with coastal views. Whereas there have been a couple of uphills, basically the ascent wasn’t too steep and the terrain was rolling, so there was numerous time for restoration.
We handed a whole lot of smaller seashore resorts and a few communities by the roadside. However basically, there weren’t a whole lot of homes but. The route was very quiet and scenic.
After the primary 10km, the highway began to get a bit extra attention-grabbing. Pavement gave approach to tough patches and gravel. I beforehand modified my bikes to thinner tires so my bike would lighter on pavement, however this made the terrain really feel much more rougher than it will have with my thicker MTB tires.
We couldn’t assist however cease to take a whole lot of images alongside the route. It was nice to see a special aspect of Batangas.
We handed a whole lot of quiet beachfront spots from Laiya to Malabrigo excellent for automobile tenting, motocamping, or bikepacking in the event you just like the “finish of the highway” really feel.
For probably the most half, the climate was very sunny throughout our trip, however whereas passing one mountainous space, it all of a sudden rained very onerous, so we needed to cease to take shelter. The rain didn’t final too lengthy and the solar got here out once more although.
We handed a seashore space in Lobo with numerous pebbles and one other one with a small rock formations. There are locations close by the place bikers, hikers and riders can keep in a single day in case you need to keep longer in a quieter space in comparison with Laiya.
By the point we reached the lighthouse, it was already 12:00 nn (the worst time to be biking).
The ultimate stretch to the lighthouse, which has been paved already, was a really steep and painful uphill ascent by bike. After passing the highway carved into the mountains, we had been lastly rewarded with the view of the long-lasting lighthouse.
In keeping with the historic marker on the location, Malabrigo Lighthouse is a serious lighthouse within the Philippines which has been round for over a century. Also called the Faro de Punta de Malabrigo, the lighthouse was initially designed by Guillermo Brockman as a cylindrical brick tower with a metallic staircase, adjoining pavilion and machine room in 1891. It was constructed by the Chinese language contractor Jose Garcia in 1896.
The excellent piece of structure from the Spanish Colonial Interval has served as a beacon to sea vessels on the Verde Island Passage and stays well-preserved to this present day. The main lighthouse was declared a Nationwide Historic Landmark on November 27, 2006.
It could have been nice to have a snack or espresso right here, however there’s at the moment no place to eat but within the space. In keeping with the workers on obligation, they finally hope to place a restaurant and memento store there for guests, however plans are nonetheless within the pipeline, as they there’s no lavatory but or electrical energy right here.
She shared a little bit of historical past and trivia of the place and talked about that many of the groundskeepers come from Lobo, as a result of the highway stepping into from San Juan may be very new and it used to require a ship simply to to get to the world.
The structure of the lighthouse is gorgeous. Guests can stroll round the principle construction, however guests are now not permitted to go up the lighthouse itself as a result of the metallic staircase is fragile.
We rested in a grassy tree-covered space right here for about half-hour earlier than backtracking the identical means route we got here apart from a couple of detours when the roads forked.
On the way in which again, we handed a brand new bridge that gives a wonderful view of the mountains. It’s a reasonably steep descent with numerous gravel, so I ended up simply strolling my bike down the hill to be secure, because the thinner tires don’t have a lot traction.
The trip again was principally satisfying apart from the warmth whereas biking from 1 to 3pm, and we didn’t move anywhere the place we might get an excellent chew to eat for lunch, so simply made do with softdrinks and snacks from a sari-sari retailer. We obtained again to our resort previous 3:00 pm for merienda and earlier than the rain began pouring once more.
It was nice to have a snug room and bathe to get again to, and be capable to meet up with buddies who drove from Manila that very same night time over dinner.
In keeping with my Strava stats, our trip was about 43.43 km forwards and backwards from Laiya with a 788 meter elevation acquire, with about 4 hours and 29 minutes of transferring time.
The overall trip time was nearer to six hours, as a result of we needed to cease when it rained mid-ride, we took a whole lot of images alongside the way in which, and relaxation stops.
In the event you plan to do that, I like to recommend you begin biking at round 6:00 am or 7:00 am to get to the lighthouse at round 9:00 am and again at your resort by lunchtime, so you possibly can keep away from the noontime warmth.
This bike journey coincided with our twelfth marriage ceremony anniversary. Since we weren’t capable of have a good time the previous 2 years (together with the tenth) due to lockdowns, the seashore resort we picked was a little bit of a splurge.
Our cozy base in Laiya was Sabangan Seaside Resort, which affords beautiful trendy beachfront villas with a local really feel. This is among the extra established resorts within the Laiya space and it’s excellent for households who desire a little bit of privateness. It’s pet-friendly too.
The 6,000 sq. meter resort affords company a sanctuary enveloped in nature and wealthy within the comforts of dwelling. The stays right here include full-board buffet breakfast, merienda and dinner, so that you don’t want to consider what to eat throughout your journey.
There are a whole lot of different choices to select from in Laiya relying in your finances. Different well-liked locations to remain right here embrace Palm Seaside Resort, La Luz Seaside Resort, and Acuactico Seaside Resort. For these on a finances, Seaside Home Laiya affords cozy rooms.
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