Anilao Getaway

Anilao is dubbed as the divers' haven because it is where the best dive spots can be found.  I am not a diver though I am dreaming to experience how to dive to see what lies below the ocean….but it remains only in my dream because I cannot afford it.  I have a cheaper option though - snorkeling! 

Since I've had experienced snorkeling in Coron, it becomes one of my favorite water activities since then.  I bought a cheap snorkeling gear and I always brought it with me whenever I go to the beach.  Anyway, it was my birthday and wanted to celebrate it at the beach so I, together with my sister in law, Ate Rose, my two nieces, Lani and Jeng, my granddaughter, Ayah and Lani's niece, Mimi went to Anilao.  We had no advanced booking with any of the resorts.  What we wanted was to see the place first before deciding to check in.  I've read about one resort, Vista Aplaya and based on the pictures on the blog I've read, it looked inviting.  We arrived in Anilao before lunch and we were asking for direction along the way on how to get to Vista Aplaya.  We found it at last.  It has a small sign on the side of the road that if you are not paying attention, you'll miss it.  The road access going to the resort was quite a challenge.  You have to navigate a very very steep, nearly perpendicular, very narrow and winding road to the resort.   I don't know what will happen if there's another vehicle going up.  It's going to be a hell of a challenge  to give way either both ways.  Anyway, we were able to check in right away when we arrived.

The resort is small yet the view is nice. It has a small infinity pool.. Before checking in, we confirmed from the staff that there's no corkage fee for the food that we brought in. I've chosen this resort because they don't charge corkage fee according to articles written by bloggers who stayed in this resort before. When we checked out, I was disappointed though because we were charged additional P700 for corkage fee because according to the staff, the management had already changed the policy. It was really disappointing because we had chosen this resort solely for the reason that they don't charge corkage fee which we made sure from the staff before checking in. They could have told us right away so that we could have looked for another place to stay. Anyway, the room is small for the 6 of us (5 adults and 1 baby). The pool is small but good enough to dip. It was on a weekday so only few guests were there so we had the pool by ourselves.


The beach in front of the resort is not suitable for swimming because there are plenty of corals. I cannot recommend it for snorkeling either because there's nothing interesting to see.  Anilao, I realized is solely for divers only and not for snorkelers like me because all interesting things can be found few meters below the sea. I realized too that Anilao is quite an expensive place and for a non-diver like me, spending your hard earned money in this very expensive place is,sorry to say this, not all worth it.