8/4/2019 Subic, best Eco-Tourism destination

1/2

Travel: Subic, best eco-tourism destinationby Ramon T. Ayco

June 2009

(First published in the Travel Section of Pinoy Reporter, June 2009 issue.)

During the American occupation in Subic Bay, I

had experiences going to its beach, but only outside

the US Naval Base because ordinary Filipinos were

not allowed inside the military camp during those

times. So when I came in here for the first time

when it was open for the public after the American

pull-out in 1992, I was really amazed. One thing

that amazes me was the presence of wild monkeys

roaming around at the roadsides. Another was the

traffic system, a US-type as they say. And of course

the whole environment is truly amazing.

The institution I am working with had an office in

this province of Zambales, so almost every monthwe passed here in what they call now as Subic Bay

Freeport Zone (SBFZ) or simply Subic Bay. And

there were times that we also held here our

conferences, seminars, other meetings and celebrations. The last of these was only this April 20-21, 2009

where we conducted a seminar on local good governance held in Vista Marina Resort Hotel just near the

Watch Tower. Then on April 28-30, we celebrated our institutions 19th

anniversary at Forest View

Leisure Residences located inside the virgin forest of Subic.

On that occasion I again enjoyed being a local

tourist in this beautiful place and made another

round of visits to its tourist spots and recreational

areas. And luckily for the first time, I had enteredOcean Adventure where we watched a show of

sea lions acting like humans, exhibitions of

dolphins and whales, and an Acapulco-type high

diving in which expert divers jump from more-or-

less a hundred meter high diving board going

down to a very narrow swimming pool below.

Actually Subic Bay is now exploding as a tourist

destination with the number of both domestic

and international guest on the rise. While Subic

is now home of close to seven hundred locators

whose business range from customer service to

A whale show at Subic Bays Ocean Adventure.

trade and marketing to manufacturing and estate developing, it emerged into a prime tourist destination

with a concentration of recreational activities, wide range of night life and a wide variety of accommodations,

plus its historic and natural sites.

Subicv Bay is one of the favorite resort beaches of former U.S. Military men and their families where they

would enjoy endless lazy-days in the sun and restful evenings of leisure. All Hands Beach is a family-

oriented beach resort with beautiful clean waters,

While it is true that the US Navy built facilities and infrastructure here which later met the needs of

prospective investors, it also conserved thousands of hectares of untouched forest lands and pristine

8/4/2019 Subic, best Eco-Tourism destination

2/2

beaches. As a result, Subic Bay has become one of the favorite destinations for wreck diving enthusiasts,

water sports aficionados, hikers, campers and adventure tourists.

There are numerous world-class amenities and

activities available inside the zone. Facilities

include theme parks, yacht club and marina,

casino, various restaurants and bars. Among the

activities to choose from are: island tour,

shopping, scuba diving and other water sports,

racing, horseback riding and various jungleactivities including cultural immersion with the

local tribe.

Some places and amusement parks to visit are:

Grande Island with its rich historical legacy

dating back to the Spanish era and an untouched

forest area; Ocean Adventure, the only open-

water marine park in Southeast Asia; The Zoobic

Park - a Petting Zoo area where you can have a live interaction with deers, ostrich, albino carabao, bear,

monkey, eagle, miniature horse, ducks and a lot more plus a Honey Bee Farm, Animal Bone Museum,

Tiger Safari and others; The Tree Top Adventure Park which was patterned after the canopy tour or zip-

line tour originally developed in Costa Rica; and many more.

Today, Subic is gearing up to be one of the best eco-tourism destinations not only in the Philippines, but in

the Asian region as well.

Mon Ayco at Subic.