TERNATE CAVITE | A lot of people are probably looking for a beach closer to Manila and most of them probably end up in Subic, Zambales, Bataan, Batangas or Quezon where you can really find beautiful beaches. Now I know that there is also one in Cavite that can match the beaches of other neighboring provinces . That is the Katungkulan Beach Resort .

Before we move further, I would like to make it clear that FOREIGNERS are NOT allowed on this area. This is a marine base and sometimes still being used for military exercises.

Located at the Marine Base in Ternate, Cavite, this place is probably the nicest beach resort close to Manila.

Once used exclusively as a training ground for the Marines, they now decided to open this to the public and it is now one of the most visited beach resorts.

The travel from Imus, Cavite to Ternate, Cavite only took us a maximum of 2 hours driving a private vehicle. It is very easy to get to this place.

For those are planning to commute, you can take a bus going to Ternate, Cavite and you will need to organize a jeepney transport to take you there and to pick you up from the beach.

Once you are in Naic, Cavite, you will pass Maragondon and then Ternate. They share the same road if you are planning to hike at Mt. Pico De Loro. We also used our GPS on our mobile phone as our navigator.

Entrance fee is Php 200.00 if you are planning to stay overnight. I’m sure staying for a day is even cheaper. Guests will have to register and pay first before they can enter the camp.

The drive from the gate down to the beach is approximately 5 kilometers. The view was beautiful overlooking the ocean.

We arrived at 4:00 pm and it was a hot busy Saturday.

At first, we were so worried thinking we were not going to find stores around the beach so we bought so much with us. But, they have a store! You can get water, ice and other things here until 10:00 p.m.

We were surprised with the amount of people and how many are camping for a night.

This cove gave us a panoramic view of the beach. Even with the amount of people, I still find the beach very clean.

Visitors can do different sport activities such as volleyball, jogging, soccer and many more.

We finally found a place to camp for the night. Time to set up our tents. They have common bathrooms and shower rooms for visitors and those who decide to camp.

They always have a life guard on duty to make sure every one is safe. What I like about this was they have rules they implemented inside the beach in terms of cleanliness and orderliness.

One of their rules is not allowing the the visitors to bring plastic bottles on the shore. Otherwise, violators will be fined 300.00 Pesos.

They have a huge speaker, and always reminding the visitors about safety matters and other announcements. I like that idea!

More campers are setting up their tents getting ready for the night.

They have rooms available for Php 1500.00 / night. It is advisable to phone and reserve for a room since they often run out of rooms, specially on weekends.

I still couldn’t believe that this beautiful beach is basically less than 2 hours away from where I live.

Water was clear and clean. We didn’t find any thing floating on the water such as sachets and plastic cups.

Aside from the rooms, they also have cottages for rent which cost Php 350.00. For others, specially only for day time visitors, they have tables and chairs for rent and you can put them anywhere you want.

We paid Php 400.00 for the table, chairs, and the place where we pitched our tent.

Katungkulan Beach Resort is also a pet friendly beach. But be aware that there are also local dogs playing around the shores. But I only saw them at sunset time.

So make sure to put your pets on a leash and always keep an eye on them. I am now planning to bring our 3 dogs here very soon.

Drew already started preparing our supper.

They also have a beautiful sunset!

It was a great idea that they set up lights at night. It made us feel safer specially for our belongings.

We’re very happy that we made the right choice of staying here.

When we woke up Sunday morning, more tourists arrived. This just shows how popular this place is for tourists.

The light grey sand at the beach was fine and very compact.

Katungkulan Beach is highly recommended, especially if you want to get out of the city with friends for a weekend. We felt very safe all throughout our stay with all the marines surrounding the area. All in all, including petrol, food, accommodation and entrances, It only costs us maximum of 1500 per person.

I went to Mt. Pico De Loro last April 29,2016 and I saw this sign posted at the entrance. 🙁