Beach Destinations in Pangasinan

Exploring the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan Philippines

Alaminos City in the Pangasinan province is home to one of the Philippines‘ most beautiful destinations, the Hundred Islands National Park. Roughly five hours north of Manila, this cluster of over one hundred islands and islets is located in the Lingayen Gulf and is accessible by charter boat from the nearby wharfs in Alaminos. The Hundred Islands National Park is a popular spot to go swimming, snorkeling, and exploring the various caves and islands all around.

The Hundred Islands National Park (Pangasinan: Kapulo-puloan or Taytay-Bakes) is a national park in the Republic of the Philippines. The protected area is located in the city of Alaminos, in the province of Pangasinan in northern Philippines. The islands, totaling 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide, are scattered in Lingayen Gulf covering an area of 16.76 square kilometres (6.47 sq mi). Only three of them have been developed for tourism: Governor Island, Quezon Island, and Children's Island. The Lucap wharf in Alaminos, the entrance to the National Park, is about 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

                    

                          Tondo Beach

Tondol Beach is located at the northern tip of Anda, an island municipality that used to be accessible only by boat across the narrow Catubig Channel. In the early 1990’s a bridge across the channel was constructed to connect the island with mainland Pangasinan. After beach bumming in Patar, Bolinao, we drove to Anda, then loitered around the town proper for early dinner and to chat with the locals. The drive to Tondol Beach from town took around 30 minutes and was mostly on concreted roads until the final kilometer or so. We ended up staying at JCT Beach Resort which is closer to the eastern end of the beach.

What makes Tondol unique is its long, shallow nature. There is an island – Tanduyong – almost a kilometer away which can be reached on foot during low tide. There is a considerable amount of marine life besides the starfish and crabs on the shallow beach. Nina’s nephew observed a school of small fish swirling around him in shallow water on the way to Tanduyong Island. That same morning we were able to buy fresh fish (some of them were still alive) from Tondol’s fishermen and have them grilled for lunch by our kind and very accommodating hosts at the resort. The catch included a parrot fish that from our previous experience was not so tasty but we were pleasantly surprised that this one tasted pretty good. Nothing like fresh fish for a truly satisfying lunch.

               

                     Binmaley Beach

Binmaley is a first class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines.

Binmaley is located along the central coastland of Pangasinan facing the Lingayen Gulf, in between Lingayen and Dagupan City. On January 8–9, 1945, the amphibious forces of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur used the town's beach, designated as "yellow beach", alongside the beaches of Lingayen, Dagupan, and San Fabian, in their landing operations to liberate Luzon from Japanese occupation during World War II.