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.

Seahorse Tours and Souvenirs recently release its first rating for hotels and resorts based on  our customer surveys. We asked our guest to evaluate their stay in a number of different categories and to rate the hotels class or standard. Our highest customer satisfaction was with Arizona International Hotel and Resort located in Barrio Barretto Olongapo. While only a 3 seahorse rate resort, it received two thumbs up for value and the staff rating was extremely satisified. Like anything it is impossible to please everyone there were a few negative comments.  We have highlighted some of the local resorts on a new resort page

The staff of Seahorse Tours went head to head against each other at the Le Manns Go Cart track. A  exciting race from start to finish.