Talicud Island. Click here or the photo to view more photos
While a lot of sun worshipers who head to Davao would think of neighboring Samal Island, most people haven’t seen the virginal beauty of Talicud Island—a pearl and emerald floating on Davao Gulf. Virginal in the sense that despite its powdery-white sand beaches that stretched for miles and being so close to Mindanao’s urban hub, it is almost relatively untouched by the capitalist party and pa-sosyal business resorts.
Laiya Beach at Sunset
It was a much unexpected outing. Our boss from Los Angeles came into town and of course, would like to get a taste of the Philippine sun and sand. After browsing and inquiring several beach resorts near Manila, we finally decided to head for Laiya, the last beach frontier in Batangas. I read and heard rave reviews about this new fun place under the sun, and I was simply curious about it. In fact, I haven’t been here! ‘Twas my opportunity to conquer this Batangueño treasure, even if it hurts my budget for July.
Laiya is located some 20 kilometers away from the heritage town proper of San Juan de Bolbok in southeastern Batangas, bordering already the province of Quezon in the east. It was an outdoor campers’ secret. Its relative isolation and inaccessibility has preserved many of its laidback assets. It was only recently when the government has constructed good roads from the town proper that made this several kilometer long cream-white sand beach more accessible to tourists.
