|
Subic Bay Naval Base , 12km north of OLONGAPO and two hours northwest of Clark, in Zambales province, closed down when US forces left in 1992 and is slowly but surely being turned into a playground for the relatively rich, with the usual golf courses, a yacht club and five-star hotels. There are plenty of small barrios and beaches outside the base, however, where native life goes on. Barrio Barretto , north of the naval base, fronts onto Baloy beach, which is one of the best in Luzon. The barrio was another infamous R&R centre for excitable sailors (it featured briefly in the film An Officer and a Gentleman), but many of the bars have closed down. The area is popular with budget tourists and there is plenty of accommodation of varying degrees of quality and cleanliness. There are some good adventure activities at Subic. Inside the base, near the airport, you can visit the Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp (JEST; tel 047/252 4123) and take tours into the area's impressive rainforest with members of the Aeta tribe who trained US marines here for service in Vietnam. Short trips include lectures and demonstrations on basic jungle survival. Overnight trips involve finding your own potable water and setting traps for food. Bat barbecue is a speciality. For diving on wrecks (planes as well as ships) try Johan's Adventure Dive Center at Baloy beach.
Your Tip for Subic Bay
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Subic Bay - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Subic Bay - visit the main Subic Bay forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Subic Bay webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
