This is our third year celebrating April's birthday as a group and this time we have chosen a far off place. This year we all agreed to stay at Punta Verde Dive Resort.

Punta Verde Dive Resort is located at Lobo, Batangas. Lobo is just beside Laiya so we were expecting a really nice beach area at the resort.

Some of us had different time schedules at the time so we all decided to just meet up at SM Batangas - since we needed to buy food and other stuff. My group took the bus from Gil Puyat Station and dropped of at Batangas Grand Terminal - fair is P125.00/ea.

It was a 2-hour (or more depending on traffic) trip from Gil Puyat Station to Batangas Grand Terminal. From there, we took a jeepney that would drop us off at SM Batangas - fair is P25/ea. We were told by the locals that there weren't any buses that would exactly drop off at SM Batangas, other alternative would be the vans.

After doing groceries, we went to the terminal that would take us to Lobo. The terminal can be found at the back of the nearby church. Fair is P55.00/ea.

The trip was a good full hour. We were dropped of at Lobo Town Proper, the landmark is an intersection with a plaza and a nearby commercial building with a 7-11.

It has been a long day for us but we still have one last ride to get to Brgy. Malabrigo - the location of the resort. The resort has this shuttle service that can fill up to 12 passengers. This is separately charged for P150.00 per trip.

The 35min ride was pretty long considering that we have gone past hectares of farms and long unpaved roads. There's this very narrow way that's really close to the sea, so if you are driving here with a private car, be sure to be extra cautious.

By 2:35PM, we have successfully arrived at Punta Verde Dive Resort. YEY! It was raining when we got there but we were well taken cared of upon our arrival.

We were shown to our villa right away after we checked our names in. The villa is huge! There are two air-conditioned rooms each with one queen size bed and two pull out beds - more than enough for our group of 12.

Extra towels and blankets are given upon request. There's no phone at the room but the pool area where the servers are is easily to get to from the villa.

The place is so quiet and peaceful plus the view at the balcony is perfect to hangout at. The location of the resort is very secluded and very private - perfect escape for a long vacation.

For the meals though, staff always asks beforehand as there are no accessible wet market nearby. Meals for the whole day are to be pre-ordered early in the morning or late afternoon for the next day.

As we waited for dinner, we tried checking the coastal area. It was a long way down but it's worth it! There's not much beach at the coast but it's filled with pebbles and boulders.

There are gazebos, lodges, toilet and shower nearby too. There's also this big hangout place that has a separate small kitchen with fridge and utensils that's free to use, just ask the staff to open the electricty. It's kind of cool to stay at the lodges here, though its a long way up to the pool area where the restaurant is too. We stayed there for a bit and played sungka until it's time for dinner.

We weren't able to explore the rest of the place on our first day as we came in late but we did enjoyed the pool area for the night all for ourselves. The staff packs up early so requests such as food and beverage orders should be made on or before 9PM.

There were no curfew but we were cautioned to not swim late at night nor to go down the coast below.

Waking up at Punta Verde Dive Resort is really a sight! It showered a bit in the evening so it was a damp morning. We explored the place even more and had the sun cooperating for photo ops! Here's more photos from the resort:

The whole place is highly instagramable! We found the rocks at the shore perfect for photoshoot as well as the rock pathways that links the different lodges of the whole resort.

The restaurant was pleasantly decorated with old ship pieces, sticking with a sailor's theme. More photos from the restaurant:

There's a bunch of activities that we weren't able to do with the small time we stayed there. There's also a museum that's beside our villa.

The resort also offers Kayak rentals and snorkeling. And a guided trek to a hidden falls. You can experience these by inquiring to their site or their facebook page.

We went home the same way we got to the resort. The resort shuttle dropped us off the town proper, find our way back to the Grand Terminal and rode separate buses home.

Overall...

• The resort gave us a very memorable experience, every spot is picturesque and I would definitely go back and experience everything again - and more!
• The staff are very accomodating and friendly.
• Tap water is filtered and the resort have their own tanks for it.
• Each of the villas have its own generator, so power and electricity was never a problem.
• Rooms are air-conditioned with very nice lighting.
• The place is very peaceful, perfect for a serene getaway!
• Food choices are pre-ordered as the staff needs to go back and forth the town proper for ingredients.
• You can bring in snacks, but cooking at the resort is prohibited. You may however order meals at their restaurant. (Coffee is free!)
• There's not much bugs and mosquitos.
• Access to pool and the museum is included with the rates.
• The hard part though is the long drive from the city to the resort. Making the resort true to it's tagline - "it's worth the trip".

More Photos here:

• April's FB Album
• My Google Photos Album
• Tumblr Photos Album

QUICKLINKS

• Punta Verde Dive Resort Official Website
• Punta Verde Dive Resort Facebook Page
• Contact number: 02 8998726 | (0906)529 3614 *updated as of 03082018*
• Email Address: puntaverderesorts@gmail.com

**The photos used at this post are collectively taken with my Sony Xperia Z2 and grabbed from the friend who were with me at this trip. Applications used: Adobe Photoshop and Xperia Movie Creator.