Laiya, Batangas, Philippines
Article by Miles
When it comes to finding your perfect paradise in the sun most people in the UK think of probably Spain, Thailand, and the Caribbean – in reverse order of exclusivity. However, there is another alternative which is very easy to get to but many people often don’t even give it a second thought. The place is the Philippines, a place that I (Miles) often go to because I have family there.
Beatrice & Miles
Having just returned from the Philippines I thought I would do a little write up on a beautiful place by the sea called Laiya. There will be some of you who will find themselves travelling to the Philippines capital, Manila, on business. The good thing about Laiya is that it is only three hours south of Manila by car. You can also hire a private helicopter to get to the place.
Banka - fishing boat
My family and I stayed at a place called Laiya Coco Grove – http://www.laiyacocogrove.com/. The resort itself was very quiet, clean, and has a really nice views of the bay. The unique selling point of this resort is the tree house rooms. All of these come with air con and a fan, so you won’t fry in the hot weather.
Banka from under the water
There are many things to do at the resort. You can hire a banka [local boat] to go snorkelling or fishing. There are also some interesting walks around the area. My passion is fishing so I hired a kayak in an attempt to catch Dorado. Having tied down my fishing rod, fishing tackle box and water bag I rowed out for about just over a mile. Despite my efforts I finally gave up after five hours. The only thing I did catch was sun burn – unfortunately the large waves breaking over the bows washed off my suntan lotion.
View from our room
Another plus about going on holiday in the Philippines is that the people are very hospitable and speak English. One evening we went for a walk along the beach to see what the other resorts looked like. When we arrived at Laiya White Cove Beach Resort – http://www.laiyawhitecove.com/ we were welcomed by a group of about twelve people who called us over to have a drink with them. Three hours later and feeling a little worse for wear they all walked us back to our resort.
Beatrice & tree house
Miles, Beatrice, Faith