Baler Series: The Way To The Stunning Dicasalarin Cove

(Updated March 2018) This 2014 trip is my 3rd time to Baler. You can see how I’ve grown in the photos. Ha!

 

The first time was in July 2012. It was then when I first learned to surf, and explored the rest of Aurora in just a weekend.

The 2nd time was with the Geek Squad in September 2013 which then spawned a series of trips with the most familiar faces. All of my friends also got to try riding the waves of Baler (read the blog here). I had to tour Aurora again, so everyone else can bear witness to the untouched beauty that was Aurora (blog includes Ditumabo Falls, Balete, Baler Museum, etc)

This time, we opted to skip the tour and focus on surfing, and going to Dicasalarin Cove, which we missed the last time we were there.

While bonding with the locals, we learned that the summer of 2014 was the busiest for them thus far because of the sudden influx of foreign and local tourists, thanks to KrisTV for featuring the place. I noticed that a lot of things have changed and improved in 2 years, and the locals supported this with stories of their own.

Mary and I went to Dicasalarin again in 2015 and she also loved it.

On a side note, on the way back to your resort from Dicasalarin, you may also want to drop by the Hanging Bridge.

How to get to Dicasalarin from Sabang, and other details:

We rented a motorcycle and a tricycle to take the 4 of us to the famous Dicasalarin Cove.

Only motorcycles and 4-wheel drives can go to the cove because of the steep and narrow roads. A tricycle won’t reach it. If you negotiate outside of your resorts, you can get as low as PhP 1,000 for an entire afternoon with a side-trip to a few other places if you like. If there are more in the group, it’s more ideal to hire a van at PhP 2,800.

The entrance to the cove is PhP 300, and those checked in at Costa Pacifica get a discounted rate of PhP 100 with a parking fee of PhP 50 per vehicle. This property is privately-owned and closes at 5pm. The trip from Sabang to the cove takes about 20-30 minutes.

Gate passes can be purchased from Costa Pacifica or the gate itself (the hotel won’t collect the fee).

 

There is a food stall there where you can buy drinks, order pansit and take a rest from the hike to the lighthouse. Except when we went there as everyone was busy watching the Pacquiao-Algeiri match.

The beach is calmer than Sabang, and perfect for beach-bumming. But don’t be deceived, because the water gets deep almost after waist-level. But it is probably the white-sand beach you’re craving for after mastering the waves of Sabang, and hitting hard its grayish-black sand.

 

 

An entire day of camping is also not a bad idea since they allow guests to bring their own food without a fee. The sand is cream-colored unlike Sabang.

The view both down there at the beach and right on top of the hill near the lighthouse is breathtaking – literally!

 

 

 

 

Here, I will let this video do the talking. And if you’re not convinced, you better make your way there on your next Baler visit!

Rumor has it that investors are already looking into turning the property into an adventure park with zip-line and what-nots.

Photos and videos taken from iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.