Potipot Island: The Little Secret Paradise

I want the coolest summer break!

That I had been demanding myself to have a rest after bumming on the second semester. I was waiting for an invitation and a bandwagon enticement to finally open my summer break. The Digital Signal Processing Laboratory (DSP) broke my silence of fervent anticipation. All of us decided that the perfect getaway was in a remote place called Potipot.

Potipot is drop of white sand island off the shore of Candelaria province in Zambales. Dubbed as the little secret paradise, it is surrounded by calm and crystal clear waters from its shore to the South China Sea. Within its small area, coconut trees give shade and cool the breeze.

The best thing about it is that it’s a virgin island – no hotel, no food stand, no restaurant can be seen. One can just relax in peace. The whole afternoon is the perfect time to dive, snorkel, and sunbathe as the sun sets.

Driving to Potipot

Getting there spends five hours of driving from Quezon City to a resort and five minutes of boat ride to the island, itself. Along Zambales’ coastline, we found Trinidad Bay. It was the best place to spend the night because of its clean, well-serviced, and cheap accommodation, not to mention its newly built villas.

Accommodation costs

An overnight stay in one villa costs PhP 2500 – a reasonable price to have an air-conditioned bedroom with three beds, a bathroom, a spacious receiving area, a balcony, and a big communal but elegant dining structure. In our case, we opted to rent three villas to house 22 people.

Going to the island requires a 50-peso boat ride and a 100-peso entrance fee. Personally, I don’t think a hundred pesos is reasonable enough. Last two years, I knew the entrance fee was only 20 pesos.

For the record, the experience was awesome! I got to explore a nearly untouched place and at the same time, I got know well the other members of the group. Potipot, you will be remembered.