Cabangan, Zambales: Hidden Beach Gem for a Relaxing Getaway
We often hear of Anawangin and Talisayen Coves, or Crystal Beach, Liwliwa and Pundaquit as recommendations for beautiful beaches just three or so hours away from Manila. These are found in various towns of Zambales, namely, San Antonio, San Narciso and San Felipe. But have you heard of the less crowded beach of Cabangan, Zambales? The laid-back town just a few minutes farther up north of San Felipe.
According to a local of Cabangan (pronounced as ka-bang-GAN) it is rare for travelers to reach their town since most of them stay in more popular beaches and resorts of the province. People who discover Cabangan, Zambales are usually the ones looking for a place to get away from the crowd.
True enough, we found there were only a few groups booked in the hotel that weekend. It almost felt like we had the beach all to ourselves.
Cabangan’s beach has slightly strong waves, when you look at it, you’d think it’s good for surfing, but there were no surfers the entire time we were there. Later during our stay we found out from another local that the waves are not for the uninitiated surfer. The waters of Cabangan beach can be way too deep.
The sand is soft and loose although it is not fine white or cream as we’d usually expect, but gray. There are no sharp rocks and that made walking barefoot more enjoyable.
For 2 days we had the big, wide stretch of the beach and its shoreline, all to ourselves.
How to get to Cabangan, Zambales
By bus
- Take the Victory Liner Bus bound to Iba and Sta. Cruz. There are terminals in Caloocan, Cubao, Pasay and Sampaloc. A one-way bus fare is around Php400 and travel time may take five to six hours.
- Alight at Cabangan Municipal Office then ride a tricycle going to your booked accommodation.
By private car
An easier more convenient route is to drive. From Manila, take the North Luzon Express Way, then connect to Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway going to Subic. Take the Olongapo-Bugallon Highway until you reach Cabangan. Travel time can be significantly shorter but will depend on the traffic situation and the frequency of your stopovers.
Sample weekend itinerary
Note that we followed this itinerary simply based on our needs at the time. You may modify and use this as guide if you want. If you are staying for more than 2 days (recommended!), I’ve listed down a few other sites/activities that you can do in Cabangan and its nearby towns.
Saturday
- Early morning meet-up in Quezon city
- Stopover in Subic for breakfast
- Quick grocery at Puregold Duty Free for our food, snacks, and drinks. (You can do this at Cabangan Public Market but we decided to buy in case the public market in Cabangan is closed.)
- Early morning check-in (we asked the hotel staff if we can leave our stuff at the lobby while we took a stroll by the beach since we arrived earlier than the check-in time).
- Swim and have picnic lunch by the beach
- Stroll by the nearby river (fishing and kayaking are allowed)
- Buy souvenirs at the public market
- Swim some more and had boodle fight style dinner prepared by the hotel staff ❤️
Sunday
- Breakfast c/o hotel
- Free time to swim
- We explored the area and visited the other resorts. I’ll list them here as well.
- Prep to leave and had early lunch
- On the way home, we dropped by the Crystal Beach. This was our first choice for accommodation but they were always fully booked so we decided to just drop by and check out the resort.
- Dinner at Aling Lucing’s for the infamous Kapampangan sisig
Activities and other sites you can visit
If you are staying longer and are more on the adventurous side I recommend the following activities.
- Trekking to Agbobotilya
- Go see Maligha and Nilumabangan rivers
- Trek Mount Mariglem
Farther away sights to see:
- Botolan Wildlife Farm
- Visit Ina Poon Bato
- St. Augustine Cathedral in Iba
Where we stayed
We found this Santorini inspired place in Agoda called Club Monet Beach Resort. Their couple room starts at Php2500/night with free breakfast. The rooms are reasonably sized. It has its own comfort room, air-conditioning, and some rooms have the mosquito net on the bed, while other rooms have a big-size mirror or television.
They have a shared kitchen that they allow their guests to use. You can use all their available cooking and dining utensils but they charge Php500 for the use of LPG.
If you don’t wish to cook, you can ask the staff to do it for you. They even offer boodle fight style dining plus bonfire by the beach setup.
The cottages and deck chairs by the beach are all free to use.
Other tips
- Bring enough cash because the ATMs are quite far.
- As much as possible prepare everything you need ahead of time. There are small stores near the resort, but items are very limited.
- Ask the hotel staff first if you ever plan to surf.
- Note that some roads are still not paved. It is most likely you will go through rough roads so be prepared if you are driving and plan ahead if you are using public transportation.
- I suggest arranging your public transportation service with your hotel or hail a tricycle at the town center and then ask for your tricycle driver’s mobile number so you can contact them later if you need transportation.
Souvenirs: What to get and where to buy them
There are not a lot of options unfortunately. The most common souvenir is a beach shirt, some keychains, and magnets. What you can take home instead are local delicacies like sugar cane balls (we call them ‘panutsa’), rice cakes (varieties of ‘suman, caskaron, or patupat’), and dried anchovies.
Do try their mangoes when you visit! The province is known for their sweet mangoes they even have a whole festival dedicated for it.
All these you can get at Cabangan Public Market.
Is it safe in Cabangan?
It is very safe in this small community. Criminal rates are low to non-existent just be careful when going out at night and always have transportation secured. Also be careful of stray dogs, and other farm animals, don’t get too close because they can get pretty territorial.
