Bagbag Beach & Little Batanes in Sual Pangasinan: 2022 Travel Guide

Bagbag Beach & Little Batanes located in Sual Pangasinan is a destination that skyrocketed to fame not more than a month ago. Although according to the locals, the destination is already famous to nearby areas and barangays. Until a vlogger published it online and went viral.

To cut the story short, “Little Batanes” became famous instantly as it resembles the most famous and beautiful island in the Philippines to which it was named after — Batanes. Given the amazing resemblance of the destination, lotsa tourists flocked to the hill of Bagbag Sual, Pangasinan to check it out.

Bagbag Beach & Little Batanes is one of those road less travelled destinations in Pangasinan. It’s definitely not as famous as Patar beach in Bolinao or Hundred Islands in Alaminos. But this year 2020, the destination surely secured its place to the list of most beautiful tourist destination in the province.

Table of Contents

What You Need To Know

During COVID-19, it is not required to secure any travel pass or medical certificate for residents in the province. However, for tourists coming from other provinces they have to secure necessary travel documents to pass through checkpoints.
Exactly November 28th, 2020, the authority made the decision to close it temporarily. This was due to tourists polluting the little hill. Leaving trashes and face masks on top. As a result, they closed the destination for rehabilitation purposes.
Nevertheless, Bagbag beach is still open for tourists who wants to enjoy a beach vacation. Unlike Patar beach and Hundred Islands, Bagbag beach is an uncrowded beach in Sual that is perfect for social distancing purposes.
NO ENTRANCE FEES. Renting cottage is also unnecessary. You can pitch your own tent or use a picnic blanket anywhere in the beach. Should you need a cottage to rent, they are everywhere too!
Overnight accommodations are available.
Please be a responsible traveler and throw your own trash to proper bins.

How To Get There

Note that there are no public transportation that will take you directly to Bagbag, Sual. Hence, the only option is to travel through private vehicle. The road to Bagbag in Sual will give you an experience of a countryside vibe. In our experience, we went early to catch the sunrise. It was very dark in the road but chilly at the same time as we crossed multiple little hills.

In addition, the road was covered with dense foliage of Sual’s pinewood forest. For a moment there, I thought I was going to Baguio City!

Insider tip: For easy navigation, make sure to download Waze app or Google Maps.

Food, Water, Accommodation, Expenses & Contact Person

Food and water is available at the beach. There are small sari-sari stores ad karenderya available. Breakfast meal is Php 80.00 which includes rice, hotdog, egg and meatloaf. Arozcaldo with egg is about Php 30.00.

There are public bathrooms available too which costs Php 20.00 – 40.00. Parking fee for motorcycle is Php 10.00, tricycle is Php 20.00, for tayas or kuliglig is Php 30.00 and for 4 wheels or cars is Php50.00.

For accommodations, cottages are available at the beach. Day tour use of cottages which includes the use of grillers costs Php 300.00 for the whole group. And for overnight use of cottage, the rent is about Php 700.00.

Moreover, transient houses with fan room, kitchen and bathroom is also available at Renaldo’s Transient House:

Php 1,000.00 for 2 people
Php 3,500.00 for 3-5 people
And Php 5,000.00 for more than 10 people
Contact Ate Melba at 09075174428. Say hi for me!

Insider tip: Alternatively, you can bring your own tent or picnic blanket to lessen the expenses. No fees will be charged if you bring your own tent.

Bagbag Beach in Sual, Pangasinan

The beach features a brownish color of sand and rocky part in some areas. Just like Boracay, the beach in Bagbag is perfect for kids to bathe because of the low tide water.

In the middle part of the beach, there is an islet that the locals like to call “one island” according to ate Melba. During low tide season, the sandbar that connects bagbag beach to the one island is visible so people can walk going there. The island is available to public visitors.

Note that the path gets really rocky when you are close to the hill of Little Batanes. If you are planning to hike Little Batanes in the future, make sure to use appropriate shoes like aqua shoes.

Trek to “Little Batanes” of Pangasinan

After weeks on the spotlight, it is quite sad to report that Little Batanes has been forced to be closed temporarily. My personal observations are one of the reasons why they closed it.

Firstly, little batanes has been polluted with so much trash and face masks everywhere by irresponsible travelers. Secondly, there is a 30 – 40 minute hike going to the hill. The trail is not really friendly and a bit dangerous. I highly suggest that the tourism department of Pangasinan could improve this trail in the future or provide a tour guide to assist the guests. And thirdly, the destination needs serious environmental assessment.

Above all my observations, I personally think that it is only necessary to close the little hill for rehabilitation and environmental assessment. Bagbag Beach & Little Batanes is perfect combination duo for travel destinations. I hope that the authorities could do something about this issue and maintain a sustainable tourism destination where nature and people could coexist at the same time.