Zambales Adventure: Anawangin Cove + Capones Island

Summer will never be over in Zambales and the picturesque islands that surrounds it. Beautiful landscapes, crystal clear sea water and serene wind that gently touches the face, everything is amazing.

In our adventure to Zambales, we availed the services of Thorita Travel and Tours. Their 2 days and 1 night Anawanagin Package only cost P1,350.00 per head for 12 persons. Since we were only 7 in the group, we were joiners (merged into other group in order to compensate the required pax). An exclusive trip is also possible, you just have to pay for the vacant slots.

The owner, Kuya Chris is very responsive and approachable, he always took time to check on us. He also informed us about the things that we have to know like how expensive the products are in Anawangin and even offer to bring us in the market place in San Antonio which we declined because we brought our own consumables already.

Day 1 (Anawangin Cove)

We departed from Quezon Avenue, our meeting place at exactly 2:00 am bound to San Antonio, Pundaquit Zambales where the boats going to the islands are. Since we arrived a little early, we stayed at 7-11 and had some coffee and snacks while waiting for the service van.

We arrived in San Antonio at 4:50 am, good thing there is another 7-11 store just before we enter the holding area for the boat ride. There we bought our drinks and some more snacks to munched on. After a couple of minutes we started to load our things in the boat with the help of the bangkeros. Exactly 6:00 am we left the shore towards Anawangin cove, it only took us 20-25 minutes to get there and lucky enough to witness the sun setting.

Once there, we were immediately guided to our designated areas and received our tents on the ratio of 2:1, do not worry if you do not know how to assemble a tent because someone will do it for you. Me and my husband brought our own because it is more spacious. Cottages are also for rent for P2,500.00 a night, but we came there to camp so we didn’t avail one.

A small bag of charcoal for grilling and a bunch of wood for bon fire were  distributed. They are not sufficient though because we still have to share it with the other group. We bought an extra pack of charcoal for P50.00 and wood for 130.00

There are sari-sari stores in the island but their products are way more pricey which is very understandable because the owners have to transport their goods from places. Souvenir shops are there as well. Some locals are  selling hammocks, popsicles and more souvenirs.

A “paluto” service exist in Anawangin. Basically, you just have to give your raw food to the staff and they will cook it for you. In our case, we requested them to fry spam, sausage and longganisa for P50.00. For rice, we paid P50.00 for the grains and P50.00 for the paluto. Blocks of ice can be availed as well for P60.00.

The comfort/bathrooms are tolerable. They are not tiled and has no faucets, you have to fill the pales provided with water then bring it back in. It is a relief though that the toilet is not clogged and there is a small light bulb for night time.

Once settled, we had our breakfast, explored the island and took our lunch. At around 4:00 pm we started our trek at the hill top which took us about 20-25 minutes. At the top we have seen yet another beautiful scenery, worth every sweat and energy.

When the sun is no longer hurting our skin, we decided to hit the beach, eat dinner, have some drinks and good laughs in front of the bon fire and finally doze off. We still have plans to take another swim before sleeping but the shore is pitch black.

Day 2 (Capones Island)

The next day at around 7:00 in the morning,  we were awaken by the the sound of the waves smashing the shore along with the chirping of the birds! A bad day seem impossible when the day say hello! in this kind of way. The absence of internet connection and communication signal was a good thing because me, my husband and our friends really maximized our time to bond and fool around each other.

After taking our breakfast, we freshened up, clean our area and fix our things. We left Anawangin at 9:40 am and arrived at Capones Island 30 minutes after. 

Capones is just a very small island but a true beauty. The scenery is already amazing from a far, more so when we were already there. The sand though not as smooth as Boracay’s, is also white. The color transition of the water is  a work of art, first layer is white, second is bluish green and the third is blue. We were very thankful to God for the perfect sunny weather from Day 1, if the lighthouse is not under renovations everything will be so superb.

At 11:30 am. we were back in San Antonio. There are only three bath rooms and since there was already a long queue some of us managed to take a bath at the nearest deep well and just changed in the comfort rooms, by that time only few people were in line. 

After being fully prepped, we left at exactly 1:00 pm. Kuya Chris, told us that he know an all you can eat buffet in Dinalupihan. There we had our late lunch at 3:00 pm. We exited North Luzon Express way at 5:00 pm and reached Quezon Avenue at 5:30 pm.

Below are some tips that might help:

1. Bring your own consumables, products in Anawangin are way more expensive.
2. If you want your food to be hot, portable stoves with butane gas are helpful or you can bring raw food and someone will cook it for you for a fee. If you do not have one, you can still grill and keep your food warm using charcoals.
3. There is no communication signal in the islands, take time to text or call your family before leaving San Antonio so that they will now that you are fine and expect not to contact you until you come back.
4. Powerbanks and chargeable speakers are cool to bring with you.
5. Action cameras are great for this kind of adventure. You will be less worried taking pictures and videos while you are in the boat or water.
6. Wear rubber slippers or trekking sandals instead of rubber shoes/sneakers during the entire trip.
7. Do not use the water in the comfort rooms of Anawangin for brushing your teeth and washing the sensitive parts of your body because the water there comes from the sea, bring along and use distilled water instead.
8. Do not leave anything on the floor/sand in Anawangin because the dogs loves to piss on them. We were victimized by them haha!
9. In Capones Island, indulge yourself for a quick swim and picture taking because time is limited there.
10. Do not sacrifice the chance to swim in Capones just because you are being lazy bathing again in the comfort rooms of San Antonio, you will still kill time waiting for others to finish bathing. Remember, you do not know when you could be in the island again so might as well seize the moment.

Request: If ever you are planning to visit Anawangin Cove or Capones Island soon, please treat them as your own home or garden. During my stay at Anawangin, I noticed that despite the environmental signages in the area, many tourists were still throwing their trashes anywhere they want to. Trash bins are all over the place but it seemed that some people just don’t care. I was so disgusted that even ladies tend to throw their rubbish to the toilet bowls or left the toilet unflushed. Please, let us be responsible and be concerned about these hidden sanctuaries that we are enjoying right now. 

I hope you had a good summer season like us! Take care 🙂