My officemates went to Potipot Island one Saturday last March and their pictures of the trip on Facebook piqued my curiosity. Knowing that Google Maps had high-resolution satellite imagery of the Zambales coastline, I quickly searched for the island and found it with no problem since it was amply documented in other sites. So now it’s here in Vista Pinas!

For the benefit of those who have only heard of this island right now, it is a small 7.5-hectare uninhabited island located 5 minutes off the coast of Brgy. Uacon in Candelaria, Zambales. It’s becoming quite a popular vacation destination these past few years similar to other Zambales spots like Capones Island and Anawangin Cove.

Photo by my colleague, Armin Sarcia.

Like Capones Island, there are no public accommodations, hotels, or beach resorts on Potipot Island. You go there to explore the island and enjoy the sea, sand, and sun. If you want a comfortable bed at night, then there are a few resorts on the mainland like Dawal and Sunbloom. That said, you can go camping overnight on the island, or rent an overnight hut which apparently goes for P1,200 a night. Most visitors, however, just do a day trip on the island.

If you’re interested, there’s quite a lot of information on the web. One good web page that I’ve found is this blog post at Manilenio; the comments there are very informative. If you want an idea of how the isle was before it became really popular, then check out this WaypointsDotPH narrative written back in 2003.

Download KML file (for Google Earth)