Saturday, March 01, 2008

Tambobong and Osmena beaches in Pangasinan




UPDATE Jan, 2013:


sunset at Tambobong, Pangasinan Dec, 2007

The town of Tambobong lies in the western tip of Pangasinan. A quiet and sleepy town for the most part, it has beautiful powdery white sand and very clear waters. As is expected from fishing communities, overfishing has destroyed most of the corals. One can still see a few fishes and marine life here and there. In fact one of the kids, Christian, was able to catch a "pugita" (octopus).
(photo:rough road from Dasol, convoy, more rough roads ahead)











This town, small as it is, was divided further into two towns, namely, the town of Tambobong and Osmena. There is not much trade in this town and we even found it hard to get a couple of beers, if possible, bring enough supplies to last your stay.
(photo: Ui town, stop over, horsing around)












The current kapitana, Mrs. Arroyo, was really gracious and kind. She dispatched some barangay tanods to watch over our camp and keep us from probable harm. I suspect it was also partly to keep us from getting rowdy.
(photo: Tambobong at last, beach with powdery sand, local kids during dinner)












We setup camp on the beach and one of the locals was kind enough to lend us their poso(hand pump) and toilet. The locals are very friendly and their children often come to our camp to listen to our stories and tell us stories of their own.
(photo:breakfast the next day, camp wakes up, tranquil beach shore)











We hired a boat to take us to a nearby island called "Collabra Island" or otherwise called snake island. This island supposedly has lots of snakes which mostly come out at night. We made sure to visit early in the day so we did not see a single snake on the island or around in its waters. It was a beautiful island and we ate lunch and swam in its shores. I noticed that the waters in tambobong had better visibility than in this island though.
(photo: collabra island, snake island beach)












From the shores of snake island, one can see another bigger island. It was only later that I found out this was the famous Hermana Mayor Island.
I think we'll visit her next.
(photo: tambobong town, local kids playing)












Our route to tambobong took us up Subic base, then traversing the Zambales National Road, we slowly crept up to Pangasinan. When we reached Dasol, we took a left turn towards Tambobong by way of UI town(strange name for a town)

By public: Ride a bus from Manila to Sta.Cruz. You must arrive in the morning so take the 11pm bus in any of the Victory liner stations. The Caloocan Victory liner has the best schedule. Their last bus leaves at 12midnight (Php 384.00 one way)

CLICK HERE for VictoryLinerSchedules

From Sta.Cruz, ride a jeep or minibus going to Dasol (Php 35pesos approx.)

Then from Dasol market, ride a jeep going to Tambobong (Php 30pesos approx.)
The jeeps leave when they fill up with passengers so there is no particular schedule. However, you will get more chances of riding it in the morning rather than in the afternoon. Evening departures are rare.

A two way trip for 1 person will cost approximately Php 900 pesos.














VISIT the blog of one of the locals >> TAMBOBONGBOY

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice! How do you discover places like these? Thanks for sharing them!

demeter said...

Hello Ced. Good question, thanks for asking. Its just a little bit of searching on google, google earth and some luck with my gps.

Anonymous said...

Tambobong is not a town but one of the barangays of Dasol. Previously Osmena is part of Tambobong until it was separated way back from 1960's. During my generation Tambobong is our barangay as no Osmena yet that time.

demeter said...

Thank you for that clarification. So Tambobong and Osmena are barangays of Dasol. I refer to them as towns in the english vernacular. (ie. larger than a village but smaller than a city)

Anonymous said...

That's cool you visited there! My mom is from there and we were shocked to even find search results about Tambobong!

demeter said...

Not many people know about this beautiful place. I hope a lot more backpackers discover it's beauty. They could sure use the added income that tourism can bring.

Anonymous said...

hi mang vic (boatman for anawangin) lost his mobile phone. His new number is 09297170739. thanks and please pass his new number to anyone wishing to experience the beauty of anawangin and other islands of zambales.

demeter said...

I already updated mang vic's cellno. Thank you for taking time to pass this info! More power!

Anonymous said...

Miss that place a lot. Your pictures brought back a lot of good childhood memories.

Anonymous said...

hi! we like to discover the Tambobong place.
any resorts there?

demeter said...

I recommend that you just bring tents and food but if resorts are your preference then try the MATABANG BEACH RESORT. Their rates are a bit expensive but I'm sure you can find an option to fit your budget. Call Ms. Heyse Pineda at 09194088944 or 09289377701. You can visit this site for more info

http://matabang.multiply.com/

demeter said...

Attention, to ALL VACATIONERS heading for Tambobong and Osmena this holy week. Its best to use the NLEX > SCTEX(LUISITA exit) > Camiling > Alaminos > Burgos going there because roads are better. Turn RIGHT at the FIRST PETRON station you see after entering Burgos, that will lead you to Tambobong. 70% of the roads from that point are ROUGH ROADS so please be prepared. Going there may be tough but its well worth the trip.

demeter said...

For those of you just aiming to do a bit of camping, please give this family a call. They are very accommodating . Mr. Leon Bobis 09223113564. For a small fee you can rent their shed and use the toilet and poso. Plus they can get boats and know the nice places around.

Anonymous said...

Yes,makipagkilala na lang kayo sa mga tao doon, maigi pa dahil mababait mga tao doon gaya nina Mr. Leon Bobis. Masiyadong mahal kasi sa Matabang Resort hindi worth ang price nila. Free ang beach doon, yon lang pakimkim na lang bigay nyo sa mga taong makakatulong sa inyo doon alam nyo mahirap naman pera doon. Pero di naman naniningil sila pakunsuelo na lang para sa kabaitan nila.

demeter said...

@anonymous, thank you for verifying.You obviously experienced their kindness first hand already.

UPDATE: there is a new way to reduce the roughroad drive by almost 7kilometers (thats a big thing). Please take the CONCORDIA route as it is now made passable for tricycles and cars. This shortcut is also roughroad but it will cut your travel time by almost 1hr! Just go LEFT after the Concordia Plaza ( a cemented structure with open area for games and events ). Please ask the locals when you reach that point. Roads after this rough road shortcut is almost wholly cemented na.

adventurousfeet said...

mahal yata sa matabang, may iba pa kayang resort dun? gusto ko sa tambobong!

demeter said...

hello travelbuddy. thanks for dropping by. I'm really sorry for not answering you earlier. Regarding your question on TAMBOBONG, Yes, medyo mahal nga dun. If you are not too particular and can rough it out, why not setup a tent near the beach? Go to the area near the (broken, rundown) wharf. Once there ask the nearby houses for Deo Bobis or his brother Joey Bobis and ask to use their CR and waterpump. No charge yun. You can leave them some money when you leave if you feel like it but its not necessary. Tell them you know the blogger, Francis

adventurousfeet said...

Hi demeter, it's okay. I was able to visit Tambobong Beach last year.

I was able to discover a cheaper place to stay, it's a homestay.

I miss this place, wish I could visit it again someday :)

http://adventurousfeet.blogspot.com/2010/05/pangasinan-tambobong-white-beach-in.html

demeter said...

@adventurousfeet -thanks for the link, i read your beautiful blog on tambobong. balik tayo ulit!!!

demeter said...

Hi, the contact numbers of the Bobises have changed. Please call 09075183062 and ask for Leon or Deo Bobis to coordinate your stay. These are not resorts but homestays. You can still opt to pitch your tents on the beach but please coordinate with these people first to ensure your safety. Also, some other guests might be arriving on the same day as you so if their house is already full then they can recommend the neighboring beachfront house. Relative nila yun. Mababait naman sila.

Ian | Limbonis.com said...

sharing my first time in tambobong.. this last weekend of may, it will be my third time this year

http://www.limbonis.info/2011/04/tambobong-beach-dasol-pangasinan.html


those who wants to join our trip.. please visit here

http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=566377

demeter said...

SUMMER NA ULIT!!! I can't wait to get home and visit tambobong ulit! haha

Anonymous said...

gaano po ito kalaya from manila?

demeter said...

@anonymous - its about 220kilometers from balintawak to masinloc po.

Chels said...

We went here last May 1 and 2 lang... super ganda ng place! At the first day medyo disapponted kasi hindi clear yung tubig pagdating namin ng tambobong beach ng hapon. Umulan kasi. But kinabukasan, paggising namin eh malinis na yung tubig. Sarap na ligo. Pero syempre, namasyal muna kami sa cullebra at cabacungan. Pati pa dun sa isang cave na ala naman name na binigay si manong. Basta nilakad lang namin siya from dun sa bahay na pinagstayan namin. Naligo kami sa loob ng cave din.

We stayed pala in a homestay dun. Whole house at affordable price bigay ni Ate Venus. Very accomodating pa sila kasi sila nag arrange ng boat tour namin. This is her number to those interested: 09292326947