Potipot Island is a small island found in Candelaria, Zambales. It is said to be beautifully peaceful, calm and serene.
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| Potipot Island |
After a five to six hour drive from Manila, we arrived at Candelaria, Zambales. We checked in at Dawal Resort, one of the more famous resort in the area. This place would serve as the take off point to go to Potipot Island.
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| Dawal Beach Resort |
The beach itself in Candelaria is surprisingly nice enough to take a dip. In spite of the blackish-grayish color of the sand, it is smooth and fine.
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| The Beach Area at Dawal |
But from afar, the view of Potipot Island lures people into it. For Php 400, you can rent a boat to go to the Island. It only takes around five minutes to reach its shore, a fee of Php100 person will be collected upon reaching Potipot, the minimal fee will allow you to enjoy the island for the whole day. For those who plans to camp it out for a whole night, each person has to pay Php 200.
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| Small Boat for hire with a View of Potipot Island behind |
The Island is relatively small, you can leisurely walk around it in less than an hour.
Here are some of the things you can see around the island...
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| Trees surround the whole Island |
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| A Tree House at the center of the Island (Its off-limits though) |
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| An Old Fallen Tree |
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| A Field of this White Bush Plant |
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| Hermit Crabs |
The swimming or beach area has a lovely fine white sand and clear waters.
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| Potipot Beach Area |
I had a blast snorkeling around the shallow waters. There were some marine life in there.
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| Sea Grass |
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| A Fish Swimming around |
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| A Starfish |
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| A Sea Urchin with Black and White Thorns |
Be extra careful not to step into one of these like I did. Stepping on the thorns felt like my skin being split opened.
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| The Dreaded Black Sea Urchin |
When we returned from the Island, we hanged out around the Candelaria beach as the moon light up the sky.
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| A Full Moon Out |
Its hard not to compare Potipot from
Anawangin since both islands are from the same province. Each island has its pros and cons. What I liked about Potipot was you can have a choice of whether to go camping or to stay over at a resort. Moreover the place wasn't too crowded when we were here. For me as long as I can feel the smooth sand on my toes and clean pristine water on my skin. I'm happy.
