Ivory Beach

The Secret Haven
Calatagan, Batangas

Most of us know that there’s a popular Burot beach in the southwestern part of Batangas. But many of us don’t know that there’s actually what I call a secret beach but not hidden to the public.  This is Ivory beach.  A long stretch of off-white sand beach adjacent to Burot about 2 kilometers farther.  There are two ways to get to Ivory beach, one through Cavite and one through Tagaytay City.  In our case we drove from Ortigas Center at 3am to Tagaytay for a cup of coffee to keep us awake.  We arrived in Lian town proper at 5:40am and bought necessary things like food, water, a pan and a grill for cooking.  The fish and vegetables in Lian is very cheap except for meat products.  Don’t forget to bring your own cooler or ice bucket so you can preserve your goods.

Look for the sign board on the right to Ivory Beach, it’s not that visible.  It was already 6:30am when we arrived and upon entering the gate, the pathway is not concrete, it’s completely a rocky road stretched to about 200 meters down to the beach.  Along the way you can see the house of the owner to the far right and the house of the care taker on the side.  They will greet you upon entering and brief you about what you can do and the necessary fees.  I tell you this is a budget friendly course! The entrance to the beach is only Php100 each for a day tour or Php200 each for an overnight stay plus Php100 to pitch a tent.  They don’t have a tent set-up for you so don’t forget to bring your own tent because it’s freezing at night.

During the day you can enjoy a peaceful vacation.  Yes, it is peaceful and not crowded even on a Friday and Saturday because this is a secret beach.  In the vicinity you get a good shade from the tree, with a nice view of the beach.  They have a small grill for cooking but it’s rusted since it has been used many times by campers so we had to use ours.  They have 24-hour electricity and an extension cord right where you pitch your tent and a table provided by the care taker.  The care taker can also cook rice for you at a reasonable price for only Php50 but we gave them Php100 since they are very nice to us.  They even marinated the meat for us before we put them on the flaming grill. They have 4 Shower and 4 toilet cubicles in one row and 4 outdoor showers with 3 outdoor sinks.

It was low-tide when we arrived.  I couldn’t help it, my body was calling to indulge myself to the sea.  Great! low-tide it is.  Nonetheless I still enjoyed swimming going a little farther near the dark blue part.  This beach is awesome! it is very powdery, clean and clear!   You can see small fish swimming behind you.  Pumped boat owners offer island hopping for a reasonable price of Php600 for 2 or rent a bigger boat for Php2000 good for 15 pax not bad right? Whether you’re up for island hopping or skip that part by just sun bathing and still you get a “worth staying” vacation at a quiet beach right here.

During low-tide, you can stroll along the stretch of sand bars by the shore.  It is also a perfect time to stake your Large umbrella, lay down your towel, put on some sun block and expose yourself to the glimmering sun.  Don’t forget to put on your sunglasses, earphones and enjoy sun bathing while listening to your favorite playlist.  Just be careful not to lay your camera lenses or mobile phones directly to the sand, it is the most harmful element that can damage your devices.  You don’t want to see a lot of scratches on your screen.

When on the west coast, it is always a wait-to-see for the sun to come down to hide.  The sunset in Ivory beach is so lovely.  Observe the best part where the sun touches the sea and to complete darkness.  The stars shines brightly in the evening unlike in Manila, you can’t hardly see the stars in the evening.  I just want to share a reminder, please don’t leave your tent or valuables unattended.  There are outsiders selling souvenirs in the vicinity and might as well take precautionary measures to secure your belongings.

Another concern is that Globe Telecom coverage is not quite good in the area.  If you’re a smart user then you have a good spot anywhere here.  Also, if you need to take a bus from Taft to Calatagan Batangas, call the bus operators (Crow or Ceylerosa Bus) the first trip to Calatagan is at 4am and last trip is at 4:30pm.  From the Calatagan Bus Terminal, take a tricycle ride to Ivory beach that costs about Php100-Php150 each. Prepare for the fun and bumpy ride.  There’s not too much activities on the beach.  This is purely for those who want to relax in a quiet beach like this.  I can suggest that you can also do kite flying and bonfire.

There’s so much to take when you’re on the beach and if you’re with your special someone or maybe if you’re the type of a silent beach goer like me.  I spent just about less than Php1000 for this trip.

Please comment below if you have questions about this story and I’ll be happy to answer all your question and update the topic from time to time.

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UPDATE: Sadly the care taker don’t have contact or mobile numbers when I went there, so please send me an update if you get a hold of the caretaker’s contact number for other readers and the people who are going to visit the place in the future.  This place hasn’t been developed yet and they don’t have cottages. This is perfect for campers with their own tents. This is a Child-Friendly beach.  You can follow the commuters guide in this story or you can drive directly.  More or less the total budget each person including food, transpo, entrance and tent is Php700-800 and worth the visit.

4/27/2017
Php65 Airconditioned Bus (Tagaytay City to Lian, Batangas)
Php40 Jeepney (Lian to Calatagan Town Proper)
Php200 Tricycle [4pax] (Calatagan Public Martket to Ivory Beach)

You can contact Kuya Clarence #0977-428-2148