I will share to you the time we spent at Sugar Beach in Sipalay, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Most Filipinos, if asked where they want to go to enjoy the beach, would almost always answer Boracay. Now, there's nothing wrong with that answer. Boracay Island is indeed, one of the best beaches in the Philippines but sadly, it's become really crowded and highly commercialized with stores sprouting up everywhere faster than you can say Bazinga! But I guess to each his/her own as some people would prefer the robust crowd in Boracay as it offers nightlife/parties, shopping centers, luxury and wide variety of food choices.
However, if, like me, you prefer the peace and quiet time at the beach, then there are plenty of alternatives to Boracay. Trust me, there are plenty of unexplored and somewhat untouched beaches in the Philippines. But more on that later. And this is why we (my family) decided to spend our time at Sugar Beach. Aside from being nearer from where we are currently located (Dumaguete City), it is said to be somewhat isolated.
To get there, here's what you need to know:
Sugar Beach is located in Sipalay. And Sipalay is located in the Negros Island. From Manila, you can either go to Bacolod or Dumaguete. From Bacolod or Dumaguete, one can take a bus going to Sipalay.
From Sipalay, there are two routes that you can take: by the river or the sea. As you can see, Sugar Beach is not on an island so you might ask why you should take a pumpboat going there. The surrounding terrain on the beach is currently impassable by roads as it is surrounded by mountains and the river on the side.
The longer route is through the sea which starts at Sipalay town proper. Just ask where the Tourism Office is, as it is located near the sea and where the pumpboats going to Sugar Beach are moored. The pumpboat rate is P350 going to Sugar Beach. The shorter route is by the river. To go there, ask for directions going to their newest City Hall. Do not go to the Sipalay town proper as their newest City Hall is located some kilometers away. The established road next to the City Hall (you will know it's the right road because there is a waiting shed across it) is the road going to the river where the pumpboats, that will take you to Sugar Beach, are moored. The rate is P10 per head. If you're driving a vehicle, do not worry as there are parking spaces in both locations. You can park near the Tourism Office if you're taking the sea route or you can park near the Bridge if you're taking the river route.
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| Sugar Beach, Sipalay |
We originally planned on beach camping. However, we arrived the beach at half past three and we were a little worried about finding a safe place to pitch our tent and where we can cook the food that we brought so in the end, we decided to scour the place where we could stay the night in. There are probably about 7-8 resorts in the beach if I'm not mistaken. The first resort that we went was not so accommodating as they required that we stay at least two nights. The second resort that we went to was Driftwood Village and we were smitten. It has a laid back charm to it that we were immediately drawn to. Plus, they were super nice in accommodating our requests (I should say plenty of requests nyahaha).
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| Driftwood Village, Sugar Beach, Sipalay |
We spent our time taking a swim, lazing around in the beach or else playing beach volleyball (the resort has a volleyball court and ball which you can borrow). You can also go kayaking. The kayaks are for rent though, the single kayak for P150 per hour and the double kayak for P250 per hour. You can also go snorkeling, there are equipments that you can rent from the resort if you didn't bring your snorkeling gear. I think it's P250 per hour. You can also go island hopping and rent a boat at P1500-P2000. There are islands and coves that you can visit are said to be beautiful, if you go island hopping.
Although we didn't do any of those activities, (which will cost us money, the best things in life are for free after all. Ha.) we immensely enjoyed our time there. We were there on a weekend but it seemed like we had the whole beach to ourselves. The sand, although not white as Boracay, is fine. The color is light brown and looks white if the sun is out. The beach is perfect for swimming as the seafloor is sloping ever so gently, no strong currents, no rocks. You can watch the perfect sunsets as the beach is facing the Sulu Sea (west).
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| The perfect sunset. |
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| Couldn't resist the opportunity to take silhouette shots. Heh. |
Sorry for the poor quality of the video (it was taken from my ipod.). Teehee
