Travel Outside Manila: 100 Islands Pangasinan

Hundred Islands National Park, Alaminos, Pangasinan.  -   Hundred Islands National Park is a set of islands of various shapes and sizes just off the shores of Barangay Lucap, Pangasinan. It lies within the Lingayen Gulf located in the province of Pangasinan facing the South China Sea. It is now a protected area managed by the Philippine Government to conserve and promote tourism in the area.

Pangasinan is a province in western Luzon north of Manila. About 300 km from Manila, a 5-hour drive to Alaminos, Pangasinan, and another 5-minute drive will bring you to Baranggay Lucap. Here is where tourists may register and enter the park for a minimal fee of 20 Pesos for each adult. You then have an option to take a motorized boat tour around the islands for 1,400 Pesos per boat which can carry up to 5 adults.

The islands are mostly rock formations and only a few of the bigger islands are accessible to people. You'll be awed at the different shapes and rock formations of the many different islands. Each island offers several unique features, some have caves, others with small lagoons where people can enjoy and swim, the bigger islands have white sand beach where cottages where built to accommodate people, while another island (the governor's island) offers an elevated view of the hundred islands.

The islands will remind you of the chocolate hills of Bohol, only partially submerged in ocean. The hilly rock formations actually extend to the land part of Alaminos, Pangasinan. There are only a few accommodation and restaurants in the area, but have transient houses along the road. One restaurant near the Park is Maxine By The Sea, offering good food and several room accommodations.