Alaminos Things to Do

The Philippines comprises of 7,100 islands. The 123 islands is in the Hundred Islands National Park!

My parents used to bring us here. I have been here many times. I can't even count anymore! Everytime we have a visitor abroad or a "Balikbayan" (a Filipino who migrated or a Filipino born and raised abroad but coming back to visit), we usually bring them to Alaminos, Pangasinan to see the Hundred Islands!

I was here in the 70s, 80s and 90s. It is about six hour drive from my hometown, Santiago, Ilocos Sur. We start our trip early in the morning about 4 am and pack ourselves in my dad's jeepney! We never travel light. We bring our snacks and lunches. We seldom it out. However, if our relative is a "balikbayan", he pays for everything! He even pays for the gas and pays for all our food! If we eat out, our relative still pays! It's part of our Filipino culture!

Hundred Islands is beautiful. The park where the boats dock have several stores that sells seashells and other crafts made by the local residents. (We probably export our shells now to the United States. I had seen crafts made of seashells and are made from the Philippines sold in stores in Monterey, California and most of the stores in Hawaii!).

In the old days, the shells were huge! The corals were beautiful. There colors were purple, blue, pink and white. Nowadays, you can't even see these huge shells and colorful corals anymore. In fact, they are not even being sold in the stores in the Philippines!

We rent a boat (the boat owner is also our tour guide) and roamed us around the islands. There were caves and arches of some of the corals. There were big islands and there were small islands. There are three islands that has been developed for tourism purposes and stopped on one to check it out. Some islands were just huge coral reefs! There were some people snorkelling and diving closer to the bigger islands.

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Visit the Governor's island. You tell the boatman that you want to drop by on the island. You will have a quick trek to the top of the island to witness the spectacular beauty of the surrounding islands. they ares like green mushrooms floating on a the crystal blue sea.

I know it is prohibited to build a structure to a national park but the Hundred islands has a Big Brother House built in one of its Island. It is where the participants of Pinoy Big Brother stayed in one of its episode.
You can stay here if you want with your family for P10,000 for just 1 night. It is expensive though.

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Lucap Wharf is the gateway to Hundred Islands. It is the end of the road actually.
You can see some of the islands while on the wharf. There are plenty of souvenir shops where you can buy different kinds of shell craft etc.There are also local restaurant that offers ilocano dishes for budget traveler.
The modern lighthouse with a winding staircase is a good target for photographers with the hundred islands on its background.
When I go home for a vacation I usually go to this place to just relax and feel the breeze.

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The seat of the Diocese of Alaminos founded by Agustinian Recollectos in 1800's.
It has simple facade and adorned with twin pillars. The church was original made of brick later on cemented and painted yellow. The Church underwent series of renovation and the interior is now modern with a maroon retablo adorned with gold plated linings.
The Colegeo de San Jose Alaminos (formerly St. Joseph Cathedral School) is adjacent to the church. It is where I attended my high school.

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The longganisa sausages from the Philippines are flavoured with indigenous
spices, with each region having its own specialty. Alaminos longganisa is different from all version of longganisa in the Philippines because of the stick and its garlic and slightly salty taste. It is best when slightly toasted and when dipped on a spicy condiment.It costs P60.00 per dozen. In fact Monterey have their version of Alaminos longganisa but without the stick.

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One of the famous island of Hundred Islands named after the late President Manuel Quezon. He proclaimed this group of islands to be the first National Park in the Philippines on Jan. 18, 1940.
This island is the most develop island with picnic table, bridges etc and the most crowded.
Tourist can cook and eat lunch in one of the picnic tables. I suggest to bring everything you need like enough food, water, etc. because the small store where you can buy some snacks and drinks is a bit pricey.
Aside from eating and swimming and picture taking, you can also rent kayaks for around 250 pesos and snorkeling.
Don’t forget to bring your swimming shoes because of small pointed rocks that is abundant around the island.

The fares included landings on the three developed islands, Quezon Is., Governor's Is., and Children's Is.

Overnighters have to pay twice for boat fare, a round trip to get to the islands and another round trip for the return back. Rides to other undeveloped islands may be arranged with the boatman for an additional charge.