Travel Guide 2025 to San Narciso Beach in Zambales

It is summertime in the Philippines! So you might be preparing to hit the beach soon. There are plenty of choices for a beach adventure near Metro Manila, depending on your mode for adventure.

If you're coming from Metro Manila and you want a place nearer home, the easiest choice is Batangas. If you want some entertainment, a wide array of restaurant choices, watersports activities, and powdery sand to chill, White Beach in Puerto Galera is the best option, but if you prefer a laid-back and quiet environment to get away from the hustle and bustle of a city life, beaches in Zambales are ideal choices.

Last Saturday, March 15, my two siblings and I went to a beach trip in San Narciso, Zambales. I've not been to the north since 2019. My last beach trip in the north was also in Zambales province in 2019, in Magalawa island. But my latest trip to the north was my first time to ride a bus so I was clueless with the worst possibilities.

There are plenty of beach resorts to choose from in Zambales but my search was just focused on the municipality of San Narciso because this municipality is nearer to Metro Manila. I had only two days to plan the trip and no time to check all the suggestions.

I wanted to book our one-night stay at Crystal Beach Resort but it was fully booked on the date of our travel, so I chose something closer to Crystal Beach that's not expensive so that I won't regret the stay in case of a bad experience 😄. Kakay Beach Resort in San Narciso, Zambales looks nice in photos and their room rates are not expensive so I gave it a go.

I was traveling with my two siblings and it was our first time to explore the place so it was sort of an adventure. But days before, I already searched how to commute to San Narciso and the suggestion was to go to Victory Liner bus terminal in Cubao and choose a bus bound for Iba or Sta.Cruz, Zambales, and just drop off at the San Narciso bus stop.

Day of our departure

We left Caloocan North at 6:00 in the morning and arrived at the Victory Liner bus terminal at 8:00 in the morning. There was a long queue to buy a bus ticket bound to the north. But we were confident we could secure a slot. We saw two morning trips going to Iba, Zambales so we anticipated a 12:00 noon arrival.

But when it was my turn to move to the ticket window, the cashier told me all trips going to Iba were already fully booked and the next available trip would be at 1:00 in the afternoon! OMG! I didn't anticipate this scenario 😕. I told the cashier to book us an Olongapo City trip, we would just catch a bus ride going to Iba in Olongapo. But all morning trips bound for Olongapo were also fully booked. Gosh!

Lesson learned: If you choose the Victory Liner bus in Cubao for your morning trip to Zambales, please book your ticket online ahead of time to secure a slot. Morning trips going to this province are always sold out on the day of the travel. You can book the ticket through the Victory Liner website.

We left the Victory Liner bus terminal and walked to the Genesis bus terminal (located on the other side of EDSA, just a walking distance from the Five Star bus terminal). They didn't have any trips going to Iba or Sta. Cruz but they had an Olongapo trip. No need to buy an advance ticket. We just boarded the bus right away. We left Cubao at 9:00 in the morning!

So here's a useful tip: If you plan a beach trip this summer to San Marcelino, San Antonio, San Narciso, and San Felipe Zambales.

Ride a bus bound for Iba or Sta. Cruz Zambales, they will pass along the above-mentioned municipalities.
If you choose Victory Liner, book your ticket online ahead of time through the Victory Liner website.
If you can't secure a ticket for Iba or Sta. Cruz, the best alternative is Olongapo City.
In Olongapo city, there's a Victory Liner bus terminal beside 7-11 near Chowking. They have plenty of trips going to Iba.

Here's our actual trip from Cubao, Quezon City to San Narciso Zambales on March 15, 2025:

We boarded a Genesis bus bound for Olongapo City. Transportation fee: Php287.00. The bus left at exactly 9:00 in the morning. We arrived in Olongapo City at 12:30 afternoon. We spent lunch at Chowking, fronting Victory Liner bus terminal.

After lunch, at 1:15 in the afternoon, we walked to the Victory Liner bus terminal but the one fronting Chowking is the terminal going to Metro Manila and Pampanga, the terminal for north trips is at the back, beside 7-11.

We boarded a bus going to Iba, Zambales. The transportation fee for San Narciso is Php98.00. The bus left Olongapo City at 1:30 in the afternoon. It was a smooth trip thank God! We enjoyed this little adventure, taking videos of the surroundings of Zambales municipalities.

By the time we arrived in San Narciso, it was 2:30 in the afternoon. We disembarked at San Narciso bus stop, just beside San Sebastian church. We crossed the street to Landbank where tricycles are waiting to take passengers anywhere in San Narciso municipality.

We told the tricycle driver to take us to Kakay Beach Resort. Transportation fee: Php30.00 per head. The resort is located along Barangay La Paz. We paid an environmental fee of Php30.00 each at the entrance of the barangay. After eight minutes, we arrived at Kakay Beach Resort.

Our one-night accommodation:

Kakay Beach Resort is a hotel/transient inn type of accommodation. There's a small swimming pool but we didn't try. However, I won't be recommending this place to travelers who are looking for comfort and beachfront accommodation. My sister didn't like it. 😄

I'm not certain about other rooms in this hotel but ours was very small, good that we are siblings, and medium size, or else it would be inconvenient for friends sharing a very small space.

The room is good for couples. The bed is a queen size and there is one pull-out bed. The CR bowl has no flash, you need to use a tabo. The CR has no lock. They provide only one towel even if the guests are three. But with only Php2,500 per night, you can't complain anyway. 😄

It's also not a beachfront accommodation, you have to walk for about a minute before reaching the beach area. They don't have a restaurant, you have to tell the in-charge if you want a meal. Their silog meals are quite expensive at Php150.00. But bringing food is okay. There's no corkage fee.

Crystal Beach Resort has a beachfront accommodation

If you want beachfront accommodation in San Narciso, choose Prince JB Beach Resort, Selah Kamping site, Crystal Beach Resort, and Sands and Surf Beach Resort. These are the resorts with beachfront accommodations I saw while exploring the beach area. Tipsea Beach Bar is located between Crystal Beach and Sands and Surf.

Beach experience

But I would highly recommend San Narciso Beach! It's one of the best beaches I've visited so far in Luzon next to the White Beach in Puerto Galera. I love its laid-back environment. So relaxing! It has a rural feel, quiet, chill, and breezy.

I love the wide beachfront, very ideal for team building and fun activities of big groups. It also has a very long coastline, ideal for jogging in the morning. I also love the sea water. Clean and smooth, no pebbles and algae.

Sunset viewing experience

Beaches in San Narciso offer a terrific view of sunset. The golden hour (a time before sunset) is just so stunning, with the view of the bright yellow sun spreading its magic in the environment. The wonder of amazement I felt was the same as the moment of awe I felt during my sunset viewing experience in Pattaya City, Thailand.

Beautiful sunset

We just seated along the shoreline, gazing at the magical horizon as the sun slowly fades. The sky looks so magnificent during sunset, like a painting with bright colors of tangerine, fiery red, and maroon. It was a dreamy, cool experience having to witness such a stunning natural phenomenon.

During our sunset viewing

We did not go swimming in the afternoon of March 15 because the heat of the sun was harsh until 5:00PM! The authorities of this beach area do not allow guests to go swimming after 6:00 in the evening for safety reasons. So after the sunset viewing, we went back to the hotel. We brought food for our dinner so we did not step out. We slept early. Kakay Beach Resort has a small swimming pool but during our stay, it was filled with swimmers so we did not try.

Morning Beach Walk and Swimming

We walked up early, at 5:00 in the morning of March 16 because we wanted to view the sunrise. The early morning atmosphere of this beach is so relaxing, cool, and quiet as if the world stands still.

I could feel the freshness of the environment and the essence of smoothness. The slow routine is as if time has stopped. It is indeed a perfect oasis to de-stress and to retreat temporarily from the fast life and noises in the city.

This beach has a long coastline and a very wide and spacious beachfront, so you can frolic endlessly without disturbing other guests. Morning jogs, workouts, and beach walking are common activities here. I appreciated the fact also that there are no annoying peddlers unlike in other popular beach resorts.

It was the type of morning I dreamed of - serene, calm, quiet, still, pleasant, smooth, and cool. Only the crushing of the waves create noises in the environment. Everything stood still, as if life slowed down a bit. It was so chill!

After taking our morning jog and exploring the other part of the beach area, we went swimming for more than two hours. I love the experience! It was as if I lived a care-free life, no worries, no negativity, nothing to be anxious with. Just a calmer and stress-free life.

It felt like home. The beach environment of San Narciso is similar to the seaside of Surigao del Sur where I grew up. It was like recapturing my childhood where my friends and I back in the days would spend our weekend in the beach almost whole day.

Going back to Metro Manila

We left at 11:00 in the morning. Traveling back to Metro Manila is easy, just wait for the bus near the Landbank. We boarded the bus at 11:30, the signboard is Caloocan but we decided to get off at Olongapo City to take our lunch.

We boarded a Victory Liner bus in front of Chowking in Olongapo bound for Cubao. The transportation is Php298.00 per head, which is quite expensive compared to Genesis bus. We left Olongapo at 1:30 in the afternoon and arrived in Cubao at 5:45 in the afternoon.

At 9:00 in the morning, the sun became harsher, penetrating our skin, so we went back to our hotel. After fixing ourselves, we left the place at 10:45 in the morning. I was surprised also to find out that the tricycle ride going back to the highway took only five minutes.

At 11:15, we boarded a bus back to Metro Manila. The route was Caloocan but we decided to drop by at Olongapo City to take our brunch. At 1:30PM, we left Olongapo City for Cubao, Quezon City, arriving in the city at 5:40PM.