Philippines Guide
For Travelers, Expats and Pinoys
Zamboanga Travel Guide
The Philippines is boasting with islands and cities full of nature, sights to see and special phenomena such as volcanoes, marine life, special hills or rice terraces. There is yet another city that boasts of the rich Filipino heritage, but this time it is not about special natural phenomena or volcanoes, it is about the colonial past of the Philippines. This place is called the little Spain of the Philippines and you will be part of the Zamboanga Travel Guide where we will take you on a tour around the most important parts of this place and where we also show you where to stay and to dine.
Before setting out on the places to go in our Zamboanga Travel Guide, you need to relax for a while and store your luggage safely somewhere. The hotel Lantaka is a Spanish style hotel with an ocean front view. This hotel is affordable and comfortable and you can make yourself on your way for our first stop on the Zamboanga Travel Guide tour. The most popular attraction as well as the most reminiscent Spanish attraction is the Fort Pilar. The Fort Pilar was a fort used to defend the people from invaders and outside attack. The Pettit Barracks are located right within the fort and have been captured by Americans and Japanese during the different wars and occupations in the Philippines.
Since the travel to Fort Pilar is a little tiring, let us settle to the next stop in the Zamboanga Travel Guide which will be a restaurant where you can munch your lunch. Today we opted for seafood since Zamboanga is famous for it and our favorite place to go is the Alavar Seafood Restaurant which serves Filipino seafood and will be the best place to show you how and what to eat from the local seafood cuisine in the Philippines. After your hunger and thirst have been thoroughly satisfied, we should move on with the Zamboanga Travel Guide to Abong-abong. Abong-abong is a pilgrimage site and came about by no one else than the Spaniards. This pilgrimage includes thirteen stations that you have to visit during holy week in the Philippines and one of them includes a volcano shaped like a turtle and a heart. It doesn’t only sound interesting but it looks interesting as well.
The last stop in our Zamboanga Travel Guide is a rather seasonal stop which means you have to plan your stay with the festival during the month of October. We are talking about the Regatta de Zamboanga where hundreds of colorful boats compete in a regatta during the Hermosa Festival in this city. After the day of excitement and sightseeing, you might probably slump back into the bed back in the hotel. You will be able to find many more things to do and see in little Spain of the Philippines.
Zamboanga Sightseeing Guide
This Zamboanga sightseeing guide will give you a tour of the place known as the Little Spain in the Philippines. You’ll immediately notice the heavy mix of Spanish with the vernacular the minute you talk to any of the locals. Nowhere has there been heavier Spanish influence here in the Philippines than in Zamboanga City.
Let’s begin our Zamboanga sightseeing guide with the natural attractions you’ll find here. Zamboanga has a lot of beautiful beaches that bring in local and foreign tourists. Three of the most popular beaches here are Bolong Beach, the pink sandy coral beaches Santa Cruz Island, and ever-famous La Vista del Mar. Another interesting place to see here is Pasonanca Park, which is also known as Little Baguio. Pasonanca Park is famous for camping and a cool retreat from summer due its elevation of 500 feet above sea level.
We now move on to the man-made attractions in our Zamboanga sightseeing guide. You’ll find traces of Spanish architecture all over Zamboanga City. Some of the surviving structures you’ll find would even date back to the Spanish era. For instance Fort Pilar was built in 1635 to ward off marauders. Today it stands as a shrine that marks a historical site in the Philippines.
Zamboanga’s City Hall was built in 1905. The construction was initiated by the Spanish but was taken over by the Americans when they took over. Five minutes from the city hall is the Pettit Barracks, named after James S. Pettit, a colonel in the United States Army when they captured the city.
Another reason to visit Pasonanca Park, aside from the cool soothing temperature, is its aviary. Located seven and a half kilometers from the city proper, you’ll find various local and foreign species of birds on display. It won’t be uncommon to find families spending an afternoon here.
We’ll now look into some of the delectable highlights in our Zamboanga sightseeing guide. A tour of Zamboanga won’t be complete without sampling the delicacies that make it famous. You can visit any of the alfresco and outdoor restaurants to sample the best of Zamboanga cuisine. Much of the food served are Spanish with a local twist, which is a bit unique in this part of the Philippines. Some of the must sample dishes are pochero, callos de andalucia, and arroz valenciana.
To cap off our Zamboanga sightseeing guide we have the cultural celebrations that occur year round. Zamboanga City is famous for its cultural activities that include enchanting song and dance festivals. The city streets become one of the most colorful ones in the Philippines. The most popular festival here is the Regatta de Zamboanga. It is a festival of many colorful sailboats that highlights a race across the nearby waters.
This Zamboanga sightseeing guide highlights many of the unique features of the city. It is truly one of the peculiar places in the Philippines that deserves the title of Little Spain.
Zamboanga Restaurant Guide
This Zamboanga restaurant guide will take you through three of the most popular dining establishments that primarily have seafood on the menu. And the Philippines being a collection of thousands of islands with its many coastlines is one place where you can enjoy boundless and fresh seafood any day of the year and at affordable prices too.
Alavar Seafood Restaurant
The first establishment in this Zamboanga restaurant guide for great seafood in the Philippines is Alavar Seafood Restaurant. This very popular business is located at 173 Don Alfaro St., Brgy. Tetuan. One particular item that patrons can not seem to get enough of is their curacha (local crab) with Alavar sauce. Yes, that special sauce is also sold as a separate bottled item (in addition to other Alavar pre-made products) that you take home with you.
Hai San Seafood Market and Restaurant
Situated at 60 San Jose Road, the second business in this Zamboanga restaurant guide for seafood in the Philippines is a two-in-one establishment which mainly focuses on Chinese cuisine. Going by its name – Hai San Seafood Market and Restaurant – you are given the option to buy your ingredients (fresh fish, live crustaceans in tanks, vegetables, etc.) and have them cook it as you prefer under the menu categories of “Ways of Cooking”, “Steamed”, and “Fried”. It goes to show that you can not get seafood entrées with fresher ingredients than how they do it.
Mano Mano Na Greenfield Restaurant
“Mano-mano”, when translated to English, means “to eat with ones hands” and this restaurant along Gov. Ramos Avenue is where eating without utensils is very much smiled upon. This last restaurant in our Zamboanga restaurant guide for seafood in the Philippines boasts of very affordable menu items like calamari or blue marlin that is less than 100 pesos per dish. It is a casual, hang-out place that is frequented by families and groups of friends alike that is why it is almost always packed with customers.
This Zamboanga restaurant guide for seafood in the Philippines covers three of the most popular establishments among the many seafood restaurants in the city. Breaking this Zamboanga restaurant guide down, we have Alavar Seafood first. Its well-liked curacha with Alavar sauce is arguably the most recognizable dish in the city that its sauce can even be bought separately in a bottle. Hai San, on the other hand, offers a Chinese-oriented approach to serving seafood with its method of “buy and then cook as the customer likes it”. Lastly, Mano Mano na Greenfield with its undeniable native, homey and casual atmosphere in addition to its affordable menu items is a definite must-try in the City of Zamboanga, Philippines.
Zamboanga Hotel Guidea
Staying in the Spanish town of the Philippines is not always that easy, because you need to know a little bit about the city in order to find a great hotel. There are places big and small to stay in the little Spain of the Philippines, but none that has an international recognizable brand. Let us help you find a great hotel to stay with the Zamboanga Hotel Guide.
The first place in the Zamboanga Hotel Guide is located in the heart of the city and this hotel is one of the oldest places around. The Lantaka is not the up to date facility for young people but it still has the flair from the past which makes this place ideal for elderly travelers and families. This hotel has a pool area and of course a restaurant where you can munch your breakfast before exploring the city. This hotel has a gift shop and only costs an average of $50 per night.
If you came to the Philippines for their white beaches then the Zamboanga Hotel Guide presents you the Dakak Park Beach Resort. This hotel is a beachfront establishment where you can easily go to and fro the private beach to enjoy your daily activities. The food is great and healthy and you can relax in their pools or spa. For an average of $80 per night, this beachfront beauty seems a tad too costly, but you will surely find your reasons to stay in the little Spain of the Philippines.
The Zamboanga Hotel Guide takes you now to the Garden Orchid Hotel which is one of the most popular in this city. The Garden Orchid Hotel has everything one could want in a hotel in the Philippines and we are not exaggerating. You will find a ballroom, function rooms, convention centers, laundry services, car rentals, money changer, an executive clubhouse, a gym, a sauna, a tennis court, beauty salons and barber shops, a convenience store, a souvenir shop, a travel agency, a restaurant, and a pool area. Now you know we didn’t exaggerate. The average room rate per night ranges around $60.
The last hotel on our Zamboanga Hotel Guide is the Grand Astoria Hotel. There are many other Astoria hotels scattered throughout the Philippines but this one promises very spacious rooms and they do not disappoint. The food is good, but can also be avoided yet the rooms are a great investment. The Astoria also has a fitness gym and it is in walking distance of all the major malls. The average cost for a single room is around $80.
Enjoy your Zamboanga Hotel Guide further and maybe you will find so many more places to stay in the little Spain of the Philippines.
Zamboanga Beach Guide
Zamboanga is a region in Mindanao. The main dialect spoken in Zamboanga is Chabacano. Tourists go there to do many things including a vacation in the beach.
A group of friends and a family will surely have a fun time visiting the city and the beaches in Zamboanga.
1.The Pink Beach in the Big Santa Cruz Island – This is a beach that one can find in the big Santa Cruz Island. It is very popular in Zamboanga and it is ranked as one of the best beaches to visit in the Philippines. The color of the sand is indeed very unique. The sand appears to be pink because of the effect of the red coral which gives out eons and then it gets mixed with the surf and then touches the sand. The corals are just close to the shore of the island. The pink beach is not a common thing all over the world. The pink beach is three miles in length and it actually encircles the island.
The bigger Santa Cruz Island has a huge lagoon filled with mangroves where the level of the water rise and fall along with the rise and fall of the ocean’s tide. There is a tiny village of Badjaos and that place serves as their burial area. There is so much vegetation in the inner part of the island. There are some trees with flowers as well giving sufficient shade from the hot sun. There are many crabs living in the mangroves. You can reach this island via a motorized boat or what the locals call a vinta from the city in just twenty minutes for eight hundred pesos. There are several kinds of boats so the fare depends on the kind of the boat you choose.
2. The Little Santa Cruz Island – This is close to the big one with the pink sand. It has white sand. A military base installed there. Diving and snorkeling in the beach is a famous recreation in this island. There is a good amount of marine animals under the waters and the clear waters give good visibility however it can be affected by the weather. In the big or great Santa Cruz Island there are coconut huts with roofs which are ideal for picnickers. There are enough bathrooms as well.
3. Bolong Beach – This is the beach that you can go to if you don’t want to ride a boat. It is just forty five minutes away from the city via a car or a van. Some locals just rent a jeep so a big family can all come together. The rental for a jeepney can reach up to seven hundred pesos. The whole beach is one and a half kilometers in length. There are many coconut huts in the beach which you can rent. You can even cook food like barbeque. When you go home you may stop in the Sangali town where you can buy fresh seafood.
4.Pitas Island Beach – This is in front of the Bolong beach. Some people can even swim from Bolong going to the Pitas beach. There are some fishermen living in the Pitas island. You can reach the Pitas island by riding a vinta with the motor. There are eleven islands in this area and offers good areas for swimming and snorkeling.
5. The Yellow Beach - This is a private resort however people are welcome for a very minimal payment of ten pesos for each person. It is one kilometer in length with many trees and restaurants. There are some bars where you can sing with the karaoke as well. There are small stores where you can buy several things as well.
6. La Vista del Mar Beach Resort – This has become the most popular resort for the rich urban dwellers. There are several amenities in this resort. It is the closest resort to the city. The beach of the resort may not be compared to the ones in the Santa Cruz islands but the amenities are some of the best in the resort industry. Many people who live in the city like it her because of the proximity of the place.
