Philippines: Getting to Liwliwa Beach, Manila to San Felipe (Zambales) by bus

Date: January 2, 2023

After mostly mall-hopping in Manila, just after the New Year, we decided to take a break and head out somewhere. I had looked for beach destinations in Luzon itself and that’s when my girlfriend suggested LiwLiwa beach in Zambales province. The town/village we would need to get to was San Felipe and we would have to take a bus from a company called Victory Liner to get there.

So we took a taxi to Victory Liner’s Cubao terminal, in Quezon City.

Victory Liner Cubao terminal ticket counter — Although we did get to the terminal by 8:30am or so, unfortunately the tickets for the 9AM bus to Iba were already sold out

So we only got tickets for the 11AM bus. Tickets to San Felipe cost ₱484 (₹726/$8/€8) for one. We booked our stay at Cafe de Liwa which offers a few cottages as well. The owners recommended getting down at San Felipe Public Market. So Victory Liner buses going to Iba or Sta. Cruz are both good. See this route map (orange is Zambales line) to get a better idea.

We sat at the terminal and I used the wait time to get some work done on my laptop.

Inside Victory Liner bus Cubao Manila — We boarded our bus by 10:45 in the morning

The bus left on time and the journey would take us around 3 and 1/2 hours. Watch the video at the end of this post which features clips from our bus journey.

Philippines arena sports stadium Manila — We drove past the Philippines Arena and Sport Stadium

Philippines Arena is where a lot of major concerts now take place. Now I know why Filipino K-pop fans complain whenever events are held at Philippines Arena — it’s so far from the city!

Green fields outside Manila Philippines — As we drove along the outskirts of Manila, I got to see rice fields

2 hours into the journey, the bus passed through Olongapo City, near Subic Bay.

SM city Olongapo Downtown mall — We drove past SM City Olongapo Downtown mall

Plateau Philippines — As we got closer to our destination, I could see hills in the distance

Road sign Zambales Philippines — It was quite a nice sight

Sand river Zambales Philippines — This is the Santo Tomas River, which is strangely, mostly sand

Shortly after, we arrived at our stop.

San Felipe Public Market Zambales — San Felipe Public Market is a major landmark and therefore a main bus stop for the village

Opposite San Felipe Public Market is a tricycle taxi (trike) stand. We hired one and the driver did his best to drop us close to Cafe de Liwa. It costs ₱40 (₹60/$0.73/€0.67) per passenger for a trike ride from San Felipe Market to Liwliwa beach.

Way to Cafe Liwa Zambales — We got down here and walked down this path

Cafe de Liwa surf camp Zambales — It was a short walk before we saw a sign for Cafe de Liwa

Cafe de Liwa is a family-run operation, and the family lives inside one of the cottages. We paid up and while we waited for our cottage to get ready, we decided to have our lunch at their cafe.

Making pizza Cafe de Liwa Zambales — The restaurant’s menu isn’t big and they mostly specialize in pizzas

Cafe d Liwa pizza chicken strips — We ordered a Chorizo (pork sausage meat) pizza and chicken strips. The pizza cost ₱380 (₹570/$7/€6.4) and the strips cost ₱180 (₹270/$3.30/€3)

Cafe Liwa cottages Zambales — Our cottage was the one in the middle. The family stayed in the bigger cottage to the right.

The cottage my girlfriend booked cost us ₱5400 (₹8100/$99/€90) for three nights; no breakfast. I don’t know if these rates were higher due to the New Year period but anyway, below is what our cottage looked like.

The only downsides to these cottages are that toilets are not attached. And even though their social media photos showed their shower rooms to have water heaters, when we were there… the heater wasn’t working. So it was cold showers for me :/ The toilets were clean and modern though.

After resting a bit, we stepped out to Liwliwa beach, which was just a 2-3 minute walk to the beach.

Walkway to Liwliwa beach Zambales — After grey skies for many days, it was nice to see clear blue skies

Liwliwa beach Zambales Philippines — The beach was pretty crowded

Probably the many who came to celebrate the New Year had stayed back for a few more days.

Liwliwa beach black sand Zambales — Liwliwa beach is a black sand beach

ATV rental Liwliwa beach Zambales — Renting ATVs to ride on the sand seems to be a popular activity here

The below are some beachfront stay options/hotels right on Liwliwa beach.

Sandys beach resort Liwliwa Zambales — Sandy’s Beach Resort

Camp Rofelio Liwliwa beach Zambales — Camp Rofelio

Marianne's Blossom cafe cottages Liwliwa — Marianne’s Blossom Cafe & Cottages

Odyssea Resort Liwliwa beach Zambales — Odyssea Beach Resort

Kwentong Dagat beach resort Liwliwa — Kwentong Dagat Beach Resort — houses a vegan cafe as well

We just kept walking until the crowds were less. I also wanted to find a spot where I could fly my drone.

Liwliwa beach Zambales ATV tracks — Once we reached a spot with fewer people, I took my drone out

Mithun flying drone Liwliwa beach — My girlfriend took this photo

LiwLiwa beach blue sea aerial drone — This is the north side. We didn’t walk any further.

Drone Liwliwa beach sunset — This is the side we entered Liwliwa beach and where most of beachfront properties are

Check out the video at the end of the post to see some of the video footage from the drone.

Liwliwa beach sunset cloud Philippines — As the sun was setting, we walked back

Sunset Liwliwa beach Zambales Philippines — I’m happy my phone was able to shoot half-decent photos of the beach

Heading back Liwliwa beach Philippines — We walked back the same way we came

Liwliwa beach isn’t the best for swimming. Don’t come here expecting shallow waters and calm waves. The waters aren’t the safest for swimming and are better suited for surfing, which is what a lot of people visit Liwliwa for anyway. Plenty of businesses offer surfing lessons and according to multiple websites, the best time for surfing at Liwliwa is from July to February.

Taco Joint Mexican Liwaliwa beach Zambales — We decided to have an early dinner. Walked to Taco Joint, a Mexican eatery a short walk from Cafe de Liwa

Beef burrito cheese fries Liwliwa Philippines — We split a beef burrito ₱380 (₹570/$7/€6.4) and cheesy fries ₱180 (₹270/$3.30/€3)

But I think processed cheese was an overdose. We couldn’t finish the loaded burrito and packed the rest of it home. Oh, and if you’re wondering “aren’t those prices… a bit high?”. For a small eatery with a limited menu (of which, some items were still unavailable), yes, the prices are on the higher end. But then, so were most of the eateries in Liwliwa. As well as groceries. Everything was marked up higher because, well… you have no choice! If you don’t stock up on snacks and groceries before arriving at Liwliwa, you will have to pay more for the same once you are here.

Probably because business in beach spots like Liwliwa are seasonal and pretty sure the crowds drop off during weekdays and rainy season. So local businesses have to charge higher to make sure they have enough to sustain themselves during low season.

Fire dancer Taco Joint Liwliwa Philippines — There was a fire dancer performing

Also, remember to carry enough cash with you in hand. Most businesses are cash-only. There was no ATM at Liwliwa beach when we were there. So like with groceries, unless you have your own vehicle, you’ll have to go San Felipe town to access ATMs. Likewise with foreign exchange centers. But I will talk about that in the next post.

Until then, enjoy the video: