BEACHES AND CHURCHES: SUBIC BEACH RESORT IN MATNOG, SORSOGON

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

SUBIC BEACH RESORT IN MATNOG, SORSOGON

The pinkish beach sand of Subic Daco

I had heard about the pink sand beach of Subic Beach for quite some time already. It was only when I joined my officemates on a land trip back to Manila from Leyte that I decided we should take the opportunity to visit Subic Beach.

We left Palo at 4:30 in the morning in the hope of catching an early boat trip to Matnog. The FastCat, the fastest RORO vessel plying the Matnog–Allen route, however, only had scheduled trips at 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. bound for Matnog. We arrived in Allen at around 10:30 a.m. and proceeded to the Sta. Clara Port in Jubasan, Allen. The King Frederick RORO was already loading vehicles for the crossing to Matnog, so we immediately secured our tickets. Still, the vessel departed only shortly before noon after waiting more than an hour for the ferry to fill up with cars.

We finally arrived in Matnog at around 1:30 in the afternoon. From there, we went to the tourism office to ask how we could get to Subic Beach. Since it was already past noon, the staff advised us that a day tour would no longer be practical because all boats had to return to Matnog by 5:00 p.m. They suggested that we stay overnight instead.

We first looked for a carinderia where we could have lunch. While we were eating, Fr. Philippe, the Chancellor of Sorsogon, called and told us to proceed to the parish convento because the assistant parish priest had already managed to secure accommodations for us. After our hurried lunch, we went to meet Fr. Ed, who had just finished celebrating a funeral Mass. He informed us that he had successfully reserved the last two available rooms in one of the resorts at Subic Beach.

We later learned that, upon hearing of our arrival from Fr. Philippe, Fr. Ed had contacted the town mayor to request permission for the parish boat to bring us to Subic. The mayor initially granted permission, but when the Coast Guard was consulted, the request was denied because a private boat had capsized on the way to Subic Beach just a week earlier. Since the mayor had already given his approval, he instead graciously paid for the rental of a licensed tourist boat for our island-hopping trip.

Subic Beach is located on Calintaan Island which is just thirty minutes away from Matnog port. The island has two coves: Subic Daco and the smaller nearby cove known as Subic Liit. The sand truly has a pinkish hue, while the waters in the main cove are remarkably clear. Around Dulay’s Place, however, the shoreline is rocky and filled with corals, which perhaps explains why sharks are often seen in that part of the island.

With Fr. Ed (in yellow shirt) who arranged for our trip to the Subic Beach.

At the port, several accredited boats were lined up to ferry tourists around Subic. After registering, we were immediately ushered to our boat. Our first stop was the Juag Lagoon Marine Sanctuary, where we were able to feed enormous fish kept within a large enclosure inside the lagoon.

At the sanctuary, visitors can either ride a bamboo raft to a wooden feeding platform or swim directly with the fish. After the feeding activity, we were allowed to snorkel among large marine species such as lapu-lapu, parrotfish, longfin batfish, talakitok, bangus, and the largest fish I saw there—the napoleon wrasse locally called mameng. The sanctuary also featured lobsters, starfish, giant clams, and pineapple sea cucumbers. One interesting rule was that snorkeling was prohibited for anyone wearing sunblock, presumably to protect the marine environment. There was a separate fee of ₱200 per boat for fish feeding and another ₱200 per person for snorkeling.

While we were snorkeling, a sudden downpour caught us by surprise. Rather than spoiling the experience, it added a certain thrill and excitement to it. Only after the rain had stopped did we proceed to Subic Beach itself. There was supposed to be another stop at a cave, but the waves had already become rough by late afternoon, making the visit unsafe.

The first stop was the Juag Lagoon where big fishes are kept.

The entrance to the Juag Lagoon

We were billeted at Dulay's Place in Subic Daco, situated at the quieter end of the cove, away from the cluster of resorts near the center. With the help of the caretaker, we were able to order supper from the main cove area, which he kindly brought over to our seaside cottage.

At night, the entire cove was beautifully illuminated by solar-powered lamp posts scattered around the shoreline. Later in the evening, the owner of the resort brought us to a nearby embankment where, to our amazement, we could see small sharks swimming in the shallow waters close to the rocks.