Magalawa Island Armada Resort: A Taste of the Rustic Life

There comes a time in your life when you are besieged with a lot of issues and concerns in your life that you feel you are in the brink of insanity.   So,  instead of getting a rope and putting it around my beautiful fat neck, I just hurriedly called everyone's attention and told them to pack their bags.  We are going on a trip.   A beach trip.  Everyone wanted to go to Boracay.  My daughter even suggested Amanpulo.  I looked at her and said "Sweetie, mommy is in a crunch.  And it isn't ethical to go splurging on a luxurious beach when we are flood victims.  I promise a good beach but we need to rough it up.  But we will still have fun, because we will be together. "

And boy, did I deliver.

Magalawa Island Armada Resort is a charming off-the-beaten track beach destination in Iba, Zambales.  It is a perfect getaway for those who are on budget and who does not mind roughing it up a bit.   My SUV was highly tested with the rough roads going to Oslet Fishery.    So please, have an SUV with strong previously-checked tires when you choose to go to this island.  You need to park your car with Oslet (and pray to the Almighty that your car would be safe) and pay 100 pesos per day for parking fee.  Then, a boat would take you to the Magalawa Island.   No need to pay the boatman.

I excitedly looked forward to seeing the beach.  So far, I was not disappointed.  The water is cleaner than most beaches.  The sand is fine but a bit yellowish.  Expect your feet to get wet upon embarkation so do not wear pants and shoes.  Grace Armada, the owner, welcome me with open arms and quickly showed me to my room.  The room has 1 double deck and 1 double bed, that can easily fit 6 persons.  The toilet can only fit one person.  Unfortunately, I went there when there were no electricity to the whole island.  This meant the toilet did not flush and there were no water in the bathroom as well.  So we needed to get water from outside.  That's just fine.  This is like gym, carrying weights.

You also have the option to take the kubo with fan, or the tree house (that's what I originally wanted).  And if you are really tight on budget, you can bring your own tent and camp it out anywhere in the island, or you can rent tents from Grace.   So this place caters to people with different budget constraints.

Grace encourages her visitors to take the package deals, which means that your accommodation would come with full board meals.  Do not expect gourmet meals.   Just be thankful that they serve meals, like what one would behave as guests in the provinces.   Samples of meals:  Breakfast - hotdogs, eggs, bistek fish, omelette, rice,  and  Lunch/Dinner - crabs, prawns, fish, dinuguan, fried chicken, adobo, rice and soup.  Beverage is limited to water and soda.  Taking the package deals would mean helping the fishermen and the staff in nearby area.  And this is important in managing resorts like these to ensure proper community development.

I would just like to make special mention to how I feasted on the biggest, freshest danggit of my existence.  Its one of my favorite fish and I was amazed that a danggit can be that big.  I thought they come in small packages.  The mother of Grace chose the best way to cook it: Inihaw (grilled).   Oh my goodness..... I think I went to heaven taking every bite of that danggit.  My maids and driver were so nice to me.  They intentionally left their portion of danggit (one fish for every person) and they swore they preferred the fried chicken and dinuguan.    I urged them to take their portions and not leave it for me just because I am their boss.  They smiled coyly at me and said "We live in seaside areas and our husbands are fishermen.  We are used to eating fresh fish.  It's not special to us , as they are to you."

There are still many areas for improvement in Armada Resort.  No wonder a lot of investors are dangling money in front of Grace to sell her resort.    But her beach more than compensates her lack of amenities.  Her resort faces the South China Sea , and when the waves become too strong, one can opt to stay at the other side of the resort which is usually calmer since there is another island facing it.   I also heard from frequent visitors that her corals are worth visiting.   They even sometimes set up lunch in the middle of the sea, just so you can see the corals while having your meal.   Too bad I went there during the rainy season and I was not able to experience this.

There are a lot of spaces in this island, lots of lush greeneries.  The investor in me can already count the loss in profit for letting those spaces go to waste.  But I guess that's what makes this island so charming.  It is virginal.  It looks so untouched by commercialism.   Nobody sells anything here.   The owner is the manager.  And most often than not, my days were spent talking to her or taking afternoon naps in those cute huts by the shore. When the sun is down, it was time to have dinner and then go to sleep.


I can list a lot of complaints in this island, but I choose not to.  And that's what I would suggest to any visitor who decides to visit this island.  Do not focus on what is not there (and believe me, there are lots of that around) , but open your eyes and your heart to the beauty this place has to offer you.   It's so easy to get irritated when we are not connected with our world, but then maybe , just maybe, we need that respite from the fast city life.   Our world has become so advanced that our days are filled with watching tv, surfing the net and texting our friends.  If you choose to go to this island, be prepared to leave that all behind, get your feet wet, get lulled by the sea breeze, take afternoon naps in the open air, carry water for your bath, have short conversations with the locals and sleep by 8pm.  Then maybe, this time, you would have time to bond with your loved ones, in the truest sense of the word. And more importantly, you would have given a bit of time to yourself ---- to your body, to your mind, to your soul.  Because seeing such grandeur does not merely feast our eyes, but touches our souls as well.  I'm not religious, but when I am amidst God's most beautiful creations, I cannot help but say a prayer of thanksgiving.  For one moment, my problems seemed so trivial.  How can I think of my earthly concerns when I am in the presence of such splendor.


 For bookings, you can call Grace directly at 0920 948 3303.  

3D2N (3Days2Night) Complete Package

Option 1 -Fan Kubo Accommodation

Package Fee:

Grp of 2pax = 2,800/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 2,600/pax

Grp of 5-10pax = 2,400/pax (same rate applies to grp of 11-20pax)

*No CR

Option 2 -Aircon Room Accommodation (OLD)

Package Fee:

Grp of 2 = 3,800/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 3,300/pax

Grp of 5-10pax = 3,000/pax (same rate applies to grp of 11-20pax)

* With CR

Option 3 -Aircon Room Accommodation (NEW-Sea front view)

Package Fee:

Grp of 2 = 4,000/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 3,500/pax

Grp of 5,10,15, 20 pax = 3,200/pax

*With CR

Option 4 -Fan Room w/ CR Accommodation(OLD)

Package Fee:

Grp of 2pax = 3,000/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 2,600/pax

Option 5 -Fan Room w/ CR Accommodation

Package Fee:

Grp of 10-15 = 2,800/pax

Option 6 - ATTIC Fan Room w/ CR Accommodation

Package Fee:

Grp of 8-10 = 3,000/pax

Option 7 - Tent Accommodation

Package Fee:

Grp of 2pax = 2,700/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 2,500/pax

Grp of 5-10pax = 2,300/pax (same rate applies to grp of 11-20pax)

Option 8 - NON Accommodation (Bring your own Tent)

Package Fee:

Grp of 2pax = 2,500/pax

Grp of 3-4pax = 2,300/pax

Grp of 5-10pax = 2,100/pax (same rate applies to grp of 11-20pax)