LAIYA sa Batangas. Pls. suggest a place!

[nostalgia]

maganda sa Laiya. maganda yung beach malinis although malalim sya. pero maganda dito, very relaxing.

[badsekktor]

kaya ba ng car lang yng unpaved road going there like honda city?

kaya naman bro! ingat lang sa middle part saka sa dulo. as in super rough road na.

i suggest that you try to call the resort first and pa-reserve kayo. Nung pumunta kami holy week 10 pm na kami dumating, grabe parang amazing race yun mga sasakyan! sarap talaga ng pajero! kawawa yun mga naka kotse saka auv na kasabay namin, unahan talaga ang labanan sa mga resorts tapos pabalik-balik pa. yun mga cottage na nag-ooffer wag nyo patulan, sobrang mahal ang singil nila, almost same rate lang ng mga resorts tapos mukhang bahay ng kalapati ang accomodation, wala pa amenities.

The fastest route to laiya is thru sariaya, quezon. medyo traffic kasi kapag dun ka dumaan sa may batangas expressway.

after ng san pablo city, sariaya, quezon na. ask nyo yun daan na bypass papunta ng san juan batangas. or just ask around for directions pagdating ng sariaya.

[freeloader]

Went there last Thursday and good news yung couple of kilometers na rough road eh sinesemento na

[Zeus]

Went there last Thursday and good news yung couple of kilometers na rough road eh sinesemento na

wow! last year pumunta kami sa Blue Corals di pa sementado e.

Strict ba La Luz and Balai sa mga beverages na dala mo lang? sa Blue Corals kasi di naman check bag namin e. Ilang kilometers pa ang La luz from Blue Corals?

[OTEP]

Just got back from Laiya. Taramindu Beach Garden Inn is also a good place.

http://taramindubeachgardeninn.com/

The place is owned by an ophthalmologist.

If you have a 4x4 you can ask the local guides to take you trailing. The trails are easy enough. I'll post some of our pics.

[mark_t]

Bring your own trash bag and bring back your trash when you leave.



Laiya is about 140+km from Manila. It is located on the southeastern tip of
the province of Batangas. It is known for its white beaches, good snorkeling
and fishing.

How to go there

There are two routes to choose from when going to Laiya. One is via Lipa,
Batangas and the other is via Candelaria, Quezon. Both routes are nearly
equidistant, with the Lipa route being only about 2km shorter than the
Candelaria route.

Via Candelaria, Quezon: From Manila, take the South Luzon Tollway all the way
to the south end. At the end of the tollway, take the exit that points to
Lucena and simply drive along this national road until you reach the Sto. Tomas
junction. Sto. Tomas has two junctions, and one of which (the second) does not
have any road sign when we passed by. Anyway, on both juctions, take the road
to the left (southeastward) toward Lucena. This will take you through Alaminos
then San Pablo Laguna. At the junction just before San Pablo, just follow the
national road (veering to the right) to bypass the city proper onward to Tiaong
Quezon then to Candelaria Quezon. At Candelaria, a few meters from the church,
turn right towards San Juan, Batangas. Then, just when you are about to enter
the main town of San Juan, be on the lookout for the road on the left side that
has those signs that point to the numerous beach resorts of Laiya and Hugom.
This will be immediately before the Municipal Hall. You will be turning left,
southward. This road will now bring you through the towns of Ticalan, Abung,
Kalubcob and Bataan (all straight southward) until you reach the point where
the road turns westward. At this point, you will see a lot of beach resort
signs along the road. Each of them lead to resorts along the Laiya shoreline.

Via Lipa, Batangas: From Manila, take the South Luzon Tollway all the way to
the south end. At the end of the tollway, take the exit that points to Lucena
and drive along this national road until you reach the Calamba boundary. About
1.5km from the boundary of Calamba, turn right and take the Star Tollway
(Batangas Expressway) up to the Lipa Exit at the end of the tollway. Upon
exit, head eastward towards Lipa.

At Lipa, you are to head for the town of Padre Garcia. This may be easier said
than done however as going through Lipa to go to Padre Garcia may prove to be a
challenge. Lipa has circuitous streets, several one-way streets, and few road
signs, so follow these directions carefully when going through Lipa:

About 1.4km from the Star Tollway exit, you will see the De La Salle Lipa on
the left side of the road. Several meters from De La Salle, there will be a
junction. Head straight east towards Lipa town proper until you see a monument
on a Y junction on the right side. Follow the road as it merges with the road
on the right and immediately keep an eye for Kapitan Luz Street which is barely
a few meters from the monument and turn right at this street, then turn left at
Kalipulako then right at P. Torres. P. Torres street should lead straight out
from Lipa towards Rosario and Padre Garcia.

About 8.5km from Lipa, there will be a junction that leads to Padre Garcia.
Turn left towards Padre Garcia and about 300 meters from the junction (after
the market) turn right and head for San Juan. About 7km down the road to San
Juan, there will be a Y junction where the main road will veer to the left
while another road will appear straight ahead. Follow the road to the left
(eastward). Once in San Juan, turn right (southward) on the road immediately
after the San Juan Municipal Hall, this road would have those signs that point
to the numerous beach resorts of Laiya and Hugom. This road will now bring you
through the towns of Ticalan, Abung, Kalubcob and Bataan (all straight
southward) until you reach the point where the road turns westward. At this
point, you will see a lot of beach resort signs along the road. Each of them
lead to resorts along the Laiya costline.

Tips

The resorts offer various facilities ranging from simple beach huts to the most
complete (restaurants, first class air conditioned rooms, conference halls,
etc). Take your pick. We suggest you go resort-hopping first before you
settle down on one, as the prices for entrance fees and facility rentals vary
extensively.

The Laiya shoreline is quite long. We estimate it to be about 5km (or even
more). But what you may want to know is that the eastern half of the shoreline
has different "sand/water" characteristics from the western half. The eastern
half, the half that is roughly 2km before (and up to) Laiya town proper has
very fine sand and the shore slopes very gradually. The very gradual slope of
the shore, the fine sand and the calm water make it an ideal "swimming" area
for people who simply want to enjoy a good swim on a beach. The very fine sand
however, tends to make the water murky (very murky) especially during high
tide. The western part on the other hand (right after Laiya town and up to
Hugom) is for people who like to go snorkeling, scuba diving or fishing. It
has coral reefs and marine life that could rival what you can experience from
the shores of Anilao. For those who are interested, a fish sanctuary is
located in front of one of the resorts on the west end (La Luz beach resort).
Here, guests can go snorkling and actually see good marine life from waters
barely a meter deep and just 20 meters from shore!



_______________________________________

[bougartt]

We just came from VIRGIN Beach in Laiya batangas..
Im not an avid beach goes but decided to take the wifey and her family to a beach in laiya. Day trip only..

Water was crystal clear,sand was okay..abit rocky but soft and still comfy for beach strolls on your tsinelas..

We din't get to try the food since we brought our own. But they do have an option for day trippers that would include buffet food and bottomless iced tea package. But for cheapskates like me the good thing is that they provide you a grill to barbque your food in.(Just bring your own charcoal) Their nipa huts have power sockets to to plug in your electric stove or rice cooker if you did bring.

If you want a beach that little people go to, VIRGIN is the beach for you.

[fireblade]

Got to talk to the Dr. owner of Tiramindu and they are fully booked. She was kind enough to refer me to aquatico resort which is nearby and offer almost the same. All of Laiya is full this weekend and I was just fortunate to get a room this May3-4. Rate is 5k for the infinity room and 1k for the meals per person. Since it will be me, my wife and 2 kids below 12 total damage will be 7.5k. I will post my review by next week. Have tried La Luz and they are fairly good.

Thanks to tsikot that I found the owner of Tiramindu and got a referral.

Cheers to all!!!

[fireblade]

Special thanks to Otep for giving the contact of Taramindu, hope I got the spelling right this time

[_Qwerty_]

we have a reservation * La Luz 2nd week of June..

[badsekktor]

tiramindu ba yun or tamarindu?

[fireblade]

tiramindu ba yun or tamarindu?

Taramindu, my bad

[fireblade]

tiramindu ba yun or tamarindu?

Taramindu, my bad

[badsekktor]

salamat bro! been to coco grove pero im still looking forward to visit other resorts there. medyo malapit kasi sa manila kaya mas prefer ko yun place. saka mas malapit sa relatives ko sa san pablo city. my uncle told me na meron private resort daw dyan. small island daw, and you need to ride a boat to get there. sa dulo na daw yun. yun daw ang pinaka-ok. im not sure kung pano ka makakapunta dun since alam ko by invitation yata

[staind]

from Canyon Woods Tagaytay/Lemery, Batangas, pano papunta sa Laiya?

san maganda magdaytrip dun? will be leaving this afternoon to Canyon Woods so we can go to Laiya when we wake up tom.

if malayo masyado, Matabungkay na lang kami.

thanks!

[fireblade]

Just arrived 5 hours ago from our trip to Laiya which will be very memorable, read on....


As mentioned earlier in this thread, we were referred to Acuatico Resort by the owner of Taramindu which was fully booked May3-4. Lo and behold, we were treated to a grand vacation by no less than the gracious owners of the resort Noli and Monette (hope I got the names right!). Wait, I did not get freebies but what I am referring to is the great service/time that we experienced from the owners and staff of the resort. I have been to a couple of resorts in Laiya i.e. La Luz / Blue Corrals and I must say that this new resort is outstanding!!!! You would never imagine that a beautiful resort can be had within Laiya given what you have already seen before. They had a soft opening last week of April and will be fully operational by July 2008. Right now, they get fully booked through referrals and word of mouth.

May3- left Manila at 750am expecting 3-3.5 hours of travel to Laiya from Paranaque given the splendor of travelling along Slex nowadays. I texted Monette (the owner) that we will have lunch at their resort as this was not included in the original package. Got lost somewhere as there is no clear signage only to find out, you will have to use the main entrance to parking of Blue Corrals and be prepared to find a small driveway leading to this unknown (?) resort. Went down to check in and have lunch as it was almost 1130am and we just travelled 130kms. We were greeted by a construction site at the back portion of the resort and later found out that this was actually the reception and restaurant to be finished by July 08. Ok, so what to expect from a resort that is half-baked? I was wrong as I walked down further to see a very awesome sight at Laiya. The rooms , villas, pool resto, 4 pools complete with fountain and an infinity inspired pool that made a magnificent piece of the shoreline. Visitors from all ages will have a good choice of where to wade after attacking the beach fronting the resort. Unlike neighboring resorts, the bottom of the water in the beach is very clear and not rocky at all. We were served lunch that is foreign in this part of the world. I have tried the food of La Luz and Blue Corral, but nothing compares to the hands of their chef who worked before in El Nido. In fact, some of their lunch guests are not booked with them but from neighboring resorts. Saturday afternoon was spent in the beach and in the pool(s) as we try to get a good tan. The staff made me feel like king and this is the same observation given by my wife and two kids. I felt like i had a private lifeguard and security making sure that their boss was A ok! Dinnertime and this is something I was also looking forward to see if there was consistency in the greatness of their menu. And yes, they made me and my family full for the evening despite the long walk we took before dinner along the shoreline. I had the chance to reach Taramindu and observe the evening wedding reception that was taking place. Time to go to bed and use their HDTV flat screens complete with cable. Linen, beds, comfort rooms were all clean and you can actually see the details put in the construction of their villas. Got to talk to the owner and I can see the conviction of husband and wife in making aquatico the place to be in Laiya in no time. I just found out that the owner is a Tourism graduate of UP and this made me wonder less. She has had experience of being a front office manager of Traders Hotel for close to 10 years. Resigned to pursue another line of work and now back as the GM of the resort. That night, she had a couple of consultants to observe and give inputs as to how they can improve their service before they open with a bang. By the way, there were a couple of walk-in visitors wanting to check in but the resort was full!

Sunday- woke up at 715am to have breakfast and they just continued to impress me and my family. Danggit that wasnt salty at all, tinapa, fried and plain rice, fruits, tomato and salted egg plus juice of course. Not the usual oily longganisa or tocino plus cluttered eggs I had before in another resort. The rest of the morning was again spent frolicking the beach and trying all their pools . Service staff were all over me making sure that I had ash tray if I needed one, hand over beach towels, transfer canopies where we want them to be and look after my slippery four -year old at times. Tried the kayak for a few minutes but it just wont work if you have 2 kids who do not know how to balance and cooperate. There were a couple of ogglers and visitors from the resorts inquiring for their next visit. Had late lunch while watching the fight of dela Hoya in their wide HDTV at the poolside bar and resto. Checked out after taking a quick shower and lo and behold, there were two attendants waiting outside our room to lend a hand. Call that service

Enuf as we were spoiled for two days and I do not know if they can sustain this. I hope that this kind of a team will continue to excel and prove that it can be done. I am just afraid when the time comes that they are operating at full capacity and quality service will be compromised. Given what I have seen and experienced, I dont think this will happen.

Upside- awesome place and service. Rooms with HDTV, very good AC, finely decorated rooms, comfy beds, great food, very nice pools and beach front, whole place is clean and meticulously designed,etc.....


Downside - place is pricey but worth it! For a family of 2 adults and 2 kids both below 12, I spent 5k for the room and 3k for the food that included 2 lunches and 1 dinner. Rooms are small as compared to the other resorts.

Btw, most of Laiya suffered quite a number of intermittent brown outs due perhaps to overload. I am just afraid that it might just ruin the brand new equipment that is definitely expensive.

Here are the pics and you be the judge




Oh yeah, I made a provisional booking for May24 as they are open May24 and May31. You may still catch some rooms and kill me if you didnt like their service

Watch out for this resort and do not tell me that I didnt tell you about it

Thanks to tsikot again!!!

[fireblade]

More pics...

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Last but not the least...