Subic Bay Beaches and Resorts greet Visitors and Tourist at the start of the summer vacation season.  In the Philippines most people look at Holy Week (Easter) as the kick off to the summer, School is out, the weather hot and the beaches are calling. The Subic Bay area ,which includes parts of Bataan, Olongapo city, the Subic Bay Freeport and parts of Zambales, are a prime tourist destination and one of the most popular in the Philippines. The popularity can be attributed to many factors however the variety of activities and accommodations combined with the ease to get to from Manila ( by car), Cebu (air) and nearby countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.



The City of Olongapo relaunched the Halfmoon beach. Having been closed for a number of years the beach was partially reopened two years ago. However the area opened was small, had no parking and access was along a bamboo bridge following a small stream. This year the beach is accessible from the main road with a parking lot provided,and many times for space both on the beach and in a area shaded by trees. It is now the biggest beach in the area and is easy to get to by public transportation.

Vacation goers this year will see their old standards: the Ocean Adventure and Zoobic Safari theme parks, water sports  and jungle activities supplemented by new attractions and resorts. Ocean Adventure has added new attractions to the park. The highly popular high dive show from last year is now back as a permanent portion of the park with its own stadium. They have also added an area for groups that has its own beach (http://www.subicbaybeaches.com ) area. While over in their resort Camayan Beach resort they have recently opened more rooms and expanded services offered.
One big improvement is at White Rock Resort. Always been a great place but they have been expanding, added a number of seaside rooms and other features. Last year they added a wave pool and water slide, for this year they have added another. It is a full waterpark and a beach resort together, offers a wide range of water sports and has its own bowling alley, can easily hold groups of a thousand with out crowding the resort.

The Barrio Barretto portion of Olongapo (http://www.visitsubic.com ) is expanding also, this season sees a few new small beaches and a couple of new Resorts. Subic Grand Seas is a new resort with very nice rooms , a waterfront deck, nice beach and swimming

pool. The old resort was basically torn down and the new hotel started from scratch. It is a great place to enjoy the sunset. The “old' favorites such as Arizona International hotel and resort is still going great and their Mai Tai grill very popular, enjoy a meal poolside and enjoy the views of the bay.

Recently the MICE industry, that's Meetings Incentives Conventions and Exhibitions, held MICECON2010, their annual convention at Subic Bay. When the leaders of an industry that deals with conventions hold their own convention somewhere that a sure sign that you are on the map as an destination.

All of this shows that Subic Bay is the place to head this summer. Seahorse (http://www.seahorsetours.com ) tours is ready to help you with your summer plans. We can find you the best places to stay for you or even your whole company. So if you are looking for a week end getaway or spending a week or two, Subic Bay is the place

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I would say that the lure to the SBF for tourism is its variety, both in its attractions and its facilities, and the ease to get here. I think that the Subic Bay area is the best Vacation destination in the Philippines. Of course everyone thinks that about their favorite destination, however if you question them on their views they have a very limited scope to support that. I am a firm believer that Subic Bay is the best place in Asia for wreck diving vacation. I am often challenged on that as many think Coron is the best wreck diving in the Philippines. I will concede that Coron has some nice wrecks and that the visibility at Subic Bay is not great. However divers are less impacted by weather in Subic bay than Coron having an average of 330 divable days a year compared to corons estimated 180, the wrecks at Coron are a distance apart,so a typical divers day will be get up early you transfer to a dive boat,ride for a hour and half or so to the first dive location have a dive, boat then travels for another hour or so to the second location having a box lunch en route, have the second dive then three or more hours boat ride back to starting point. The non diving travel companion has either been waiting on the boat bored or at the resort where there is little to do. Night life none, places to eat, limited. Compare that to a typical Subic Bay divers day. If the diver wants 4 wrecks in a day he arrives at the dive shop around 8am checks gear and ready to depart by 9. 15 minutes later he is in the water at his first wreck. After the dive the boat moves to the second location any where from 400 meters away to a 15 minute ride. The diver waits out his minimum surface time and makes his second dive. After the dive it just 15 minutes back to the dive center where they can meet the non diving companion for lunch. After lunch while the non-diver goes shopping the diver goes out for another couple of dives. There are over a dozen different wrecks in Subic bay many too large to see in one dive and all within 15 minutes of the dive shops. There are also a number of reefs to dive. In the evening they can choose from maybe 100 restaurants before going to a casino or listening to a band. So which of the two is a better dive vacation? You can draw a similar comparison in any number of different situations. Subic Bay has the water, the jungles, a variety of attractions including 4 theme parks, nightlife and cultural activities. There are many great locations to visit in the Philippines but many are limited in the scope of what they can provide. The Subic Bay area is not like that, there is something for everyone. If you want to go hiking in the jungle in the morning, take a seaplane ride so see where you were, add a few hours of beach time before a romantic dinner, than Subic Bay can meet your needs. Subic Bay also has versatility in where to stay. Five star service and lodging at Lighthouse Marina if that your style, still upscale you have the White Rock Beach resort at the north end of the bay with thier own private beach, pools, even a wave pool and a bowling alley. There are a number of mid price range hotels and even internationall standard beach resorts like Arizona resort and PlayaPapagayo in the budget range.. This type of variety also makes the area great for Conventions.

For those of you around the Philippines or another Asian country stop in your local book store and pick up the July-August issue of Review Asia magazine, turn to page 130 and read about a trek by author Jen Tagasa. (copy here)Our Staff here at Seahorse tours are the ones who arranged the visit to Subic Bay.  We had a few chuckles after we opened the express package containing our copies of the magazine and started to read the article. We all teased Ann who the article referred to as “female newbie tour guide”. While she is our newest employee like everyone else has been cross trained into being a tour guide also.  Ann has done a number of tours including a couple at Mount Pinatubo but it was her first on the long trail.  As was mentioned in the article, the trail we normally would have used was closed due to the typhoon that passed over the area a few days before. We had been monitoring the situation and were not sure we would be able to trek to the crater until we arrived that morning. The skyway trail which we normally use was still not available but a longer more rugged trail was open. While we do not frequently use the trail , we do use it when the guest are experience hikers and want something more challenging then the 40 minute trek. Ann volunteers to accompany the writer and photographer while Jaz knowing waited at the Spa town.

There is one little bit of confusion in the article, as the writer mentions another guide by the same name, Diaz, at the Apaliin forest trail. This second guide who mentioned the “Era of Abundance” was met the day following the Mount Pinatubo trek during a hike into the jungles around Subic Bay.  When the American base was still in Subic Bay many of the Aetas worked for the Americans. One of the most common jobs that the Aetas performed was that of forest rangers. For a people who had lived in the jungles for centuries, getting paid for looking after the jungle which was already part of their live must have looked like free money. In reality they were performing a genuine job and received a fair salary.

The Mount Pinatubo trek as the article states is an adventure that everyone should explore. When the skyway is open most people can enjoy the trek. The beginning and end of the rainy seasons are the most popular times. While the rain does make planning the treks more difficult and often have to be canceled with little notice it is much cooler than going in the summer season when the sun bears down on you. But then again there is a dip in the lake awaiting you.

We had a look yesterday at the grand opening of the Treetop adventure and some of the activities the adventure will offer. The Tree Top adventure is a ride among the trees often 100 feet above ground. Similar to a single passenger chair lift it rides you across 9 cable rides and 4 suspension bridges. It offers great views of the jungle and what is in it. The ride moves at a slow pace and is perfet for children.  If you want to get  drop on everyone then try the rappelling. The Tree drop adventure had some brave souls rappelling down a tree 60 feet to the ground. the staff there will give you the training you need to get down the way you want. i can not wait to see some of my staff try the Australian style, face down.   Seahorse is really looking forward to working with Tree Top Adventure and will be adding the Ultimate Adventure to our mini survival and gung ho programs replacing the slide for life. The Ultimate Adventure has 5 cable lines up to 450 feet long zipping you through the jungle upside down. 

if that is "too much" adventure for you then seahorse will have the tree top adventure as an alternative.

The trekking adventure is also great for those who want to keep the feet on the ground.. It is a scenic walk through  the jungle. 

We are finalizing some our new adventure programs which will be released in just a few weeks.

found an interesting article on the SCtex