Grande Island Resort | An Island Of Your Own

“An Island in Subic? Yes!” That was my reaction when I was given the privilege to join on a blogger’s tour on an Island at the Subic Bay area; it is called the Grande Island Resort. I was too excited that didn’t know what to bring with me, but of course swimming clothes was on top of the list. Off we go, we have to strictly meet-up at 6am so that we can reach the Ferry schedule by 9am, although there is another one schedules at 1pm, I think it is best to get there early so as to start enjoying the day.  I believe we were all excited on this new adventure and what Grande Island could offer. As we boarded the Grande Island Ferry we were allowed to go in front so we can have a glimpse of the beautiful sights, enjoy the cool wind, and be able to see where the Island was. It was a good 20 to 30 minutes of boating, it is not boring since we already saw where we are heading, as we reach the Grande Island I can’t barely contain my emotions.

 And then we finally anchored and were greeted with a glass of orange juice for refreshment. We are a group of 10, and were provided with 5 rooms, 2 persons per room, how cool is that? So we hurriedly grabbed our keys and room assignments so we could already settle with my roomie; Ria. Our room was quite big, high ceiling and could fit at least 6 persons, there were 3 Queen sized beds. At a glance, one could think that the main entrance door of the room was like, oh ok, but the back porch was amazing, there was a garden table that could sit 4 people and a view of nature, I felt relaxed. My husband and I travel together a much as we could, so that moment made me miss him and wished he was also there to see and experience the place. Every time we travel and choose a place to stay, we always check on the place if it’s going to be worth our hard earned money. Grande Island may not be the most fabulous resort I have tried and visited, but it gave me that feeling of being in the province, peaceful, surrounded by nature, not crowded and private. This is a place I could recommend for complete serenity, where you can just sit all day, open a book and not be bothered by anything at all. 

Bikes! There’s a bike station wherein you could rent one and stroll the place, too bad I don’t know how to ride a bike, and I hate it lol! I just settled on pictures though. We were served lunch, and after that was given the go signal that by 2pm we could actually go on trekking the other side of the island. To my surprise, there was a change in activity, we will first do the water activities, and I panicked because I don’t know how to swim either, although I could do some strokes and float knowing that I could step on a ground after. Oh well let’s do this, I was telling that to myself. First up, I heard them say Scuba, and I was like what? What Scuba?! And they cleared that it was the Helmet Diving Activity, the one wherein we would wear a 35kilo helmet that has oxygen in it and we will be walking underwater of about 5meters deep, I think this was also called Reef Walking. We were given instructions on how to do signals under water and then it is a go, I was hesitant, afraid and nervous, I don’t want to freak out in the middle of the activity, so I prayed and asked for strength that I could actually do it, plus the support of blogger friends telling me that I can do it. I chose to be last in our group, we were 5, and other group was doing the banana boat ride. My group were all submerged under water, and then it was my turn, one step at a time and finally reached the bottom, I was reminding myself to be calm, after a few minutes, I was already enjoying the activity, we were given bread to feed the different kinds of fish while one of the scuba diver who assisted us took our pictures, and then a video, and then walk some more, sit, jump and do some sign languages and laugh. It was my first and I will definitely do it again. 

 

 

Next was the banana boat ride, I didn’t join since I already experienced it before, but from the looks of my friends, they had fun. We were supposed to go trekking after, but some of us were too tired and dozed off, then we decided to call it a day and just relax during the rest of the afternoon.  After dinner, we head back to our rooms, but after a few minutes we were all out and gathered to have some chitchats, until we realized that it was just our group who were still up while the whole Island is so quiet and dark although there were a few mini lights I still think that they could add up some more lights in certain areas especially the roads and walkways just in case some might want to take a stroll and enjoy the sea breeze.  I was also looking for a convenience store, yes there were chips at the eatery but I was wondering if they could have a separate store where guests can buy and choose other products aside from what they are offering at the canteen, a typical sari-sari store will be a great addition I guess.

Day 2 after the buffet breakfast, we wanted to make use of our time before we leave the island by 2pm. Some went to do the trekking and I decided to join those who will do the Kayaking, the waves were quite strong and made it impossible for others to actually control the Kayak, when it was already my turn, I fell, my balance didn’t work with those waves, I had some bruises but we had a good laugh of what happened to me, at least I tried. Then we were given the chance to try the Jet Ski, and again because of the strong waves my ride was bumpy but very fun and full of adrenalin rush, I didn’t go on my own since it was my first time and was afraid to fall, I was assisted by one of the staff and because he knew I was nervous, he actually gave me the most thrilling Jet Ski ride of my life. These are just but a few of the activities you, your friends and family can do at Grande island Resort, they also have Horse Back Riding, Zip Line and a huge Swimming Pool since the beach is not yet rock proof but it was okay and was very clean. 

 If you plan to go on a weekend full of activities, not crowdy and enjoy your privacy yet in a place just near the Metro, this is the place to be. Grande Island Resort is one of the places you can check-out.