Laiya beach – Batangas – The Philippines

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Laiya beach was a recommendation I got from some good friends in The Philippines.

Even if I could not find any relevant information about Laiya in the Lonely Planet, I decided to give a try (after all, there are a lot of places not mentioned in travel books).

So just after my visit of Taal Volcano in Tagaytay (link here ..), we decided to head to the South coast of Luzon in the Batangas province and look for Laiya beach. At that time, I didn’t have any expectations, I was guided more by the curiosity and also the possibility to find a relax place to stay before to travel further in the Philippines.

As usual, I was travelling with a private jeepney, I was carrying some food supply with me (just in case I could not find any food at Laiya..).

After reaching Batangas city, I made a quick stop in the city to buy additional supply (drinks, snacks ..) and then I was hitting the road again. It took me a while to find the beach but I made it and honestly speaking, it was worth the effort.

The water at Laiya was pristine and you could walk far in the sea before to get the water reaching your waist, the beach was nearly empty (it was not the peak season yet …). If you like busy and crowded place such as Boracay for instance, I believe this place is not for you, instead if you like places outside of beaten track and enjoy quiet and laid back location then I’m sure you may like it.

During my stay, I ate mainly seafood (crabs, squids). There are some fishermen around and I was able to buy fresh and tasty seafood at a very low price. I used a local barbecue to prepare them.

I spent 2 nights in Laiya and it was time for me to carry on my journey in The Philippines..

accommodation:

For the one who are interested, I stayed in this resort

Note: Below, I inserted the instructions about how to reach Laiya by road, if you see any errors in my description, feel free to let me know and will update this post. Good luck !!

How to reach Laiya beach from Manila:

- Take the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx),

- Take the exit 50 (direction of Batangas, Legaspi),

- Drive around 7 km

- Turn right towards the Star Toll Way entrance.

- Once you reach Star Tollway, you would need to drive all the way to Lipa City

- About 20km later, take the Tambo/Lipa Exit.

- Turn right and drive towards Lipa City.

It becomes a bit tricky here:

- Just before the Mcdo, you will see a Y-intersection, take the right side towards C.M. Recto Avenue.

- On C.M. Recto Ave. you will turn right at the corner of the Mercury Drug store and you will find yourself on P. Torres Street..

- Drive about 8.5 km towards Padre Garcia town.

- When you see the road sign pointing to Padre Garcia, go on the left turn.

- Once you pass the Padre Garcia Town Market, you will turn right and drive about 4.5/5 km. At this point, you are about 19km from San Juan. Keep driving.

- You are nearly at destination.

- Once you see the Batangas Racing Circuit, take left, the road will bring you directly to San Juan Town.

- You will pass the Dunkin Donut and Park n’Go store then you should reach San Juan Municipal Hall.

- Straight after San Juan Town hall, turn right. At this point, you are finally on the main road of Laiya.

- Just follow the main road. After a while, you will start seeing various beach resorts.

If you have been to Laiya, feel free to share your impressions by leaving a comment.

Ciao !