The water was cold on first dip. Too cold, in fact, that I doubled back a bit if I really wanted to take a morning swim at Nasugbu’s Long Beach. But my son, A, was already on his merry way along the waters—hands splashing on his sides, totally unmindful of the cold. Oh heck.

It was a quick weekends of sort at Nasugbu—a seemingly never-ending town in Batangas. It was my niece’s birthday, and they’re celebrating it on their hometown. We were only too quick to say yes to their invitation to join—wanting to let in a bit more of the outdoors in our too homebound lives nowadays.

AN OLD-SCHOOL BUS IN NASUGBU

The first thing that comes to my mind when you say Nasugbu is Caleruaga—a frequent lover’s jaunt from yesteryears off the outskirts of Tagaytay City. Second, is beaches. Not the white sandy ones you picture in your head, but grayish beaches with coasts filled with balsa or rafts—which I turned out to be wrong about, since Matabungkay Beach is located in Lian, a town away from Nasugbu.

►EXPLORE: TAGAYTAY TRAVEL GUIDE 

ANCESTRAL HOUSE TURNED DUNKIN’ DONUTS STORE IN NASUGBU

I actually thought that I have never been to Nasugbu—Caleruaga notwithstanding—but again, I was wrong. I have actually visited a beach on this town when we went to Pico De Loro Hamilo Coast several years back. It never occurred to me that it was actually in Nasugbu since we took the Ternate, Cavite route getting there.

But enough about the past. This time, we took the Tagaytay route to reach Nasugbu. The drive was scenic enough—going past the mountains of Batulao, and into Nasugbu’s quaint poblacion. I love the small home-town feel of the place—narrow roads, ancestral houses converted into commercial establishments, a slew of open-aired stalls tightly surrounding a massive old church.

THE WHITE HOUSE IN NASUGBU’S POBLACION

We settled on an AirBnB lodging a few blocks from the hubbub of activities. Dubbed as The White House, it was our homebase for the weekend. It has a living area, complete kitchen, a second floor family area, four bedrooms, a lanai, garden, hut, and ample parking area—it’s actually surprising how it was able to fit all that with such a compact design.

Families gathered, food and drinks flooded, wishes were said and birthday candles were blown. In between these, kids ran around the house, movies were watched, a few were glued to their tablets playing Supermarket Numbers game or watching K-dramas.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN NASUGBU

EN ROUTE TO PENINSULA DE PUNTA FUEGO

The next morning was spent on a side-trip to one of the nearby beaches in the area. We headed to Peninsula De Punta Fuego—a gated enclave for the super-rich. There are actually a number of public beaches in Nasugbu, but according to my sis-in-law, they have since deteriorated since years past.

NASUGBU’S LONG BEACH IN PENINSULA DE PUNTA FUEGO

There are a total of twelve pocket beaches in Peninsula De Punta Fuego—Fuego Beach 1 & 2, Sunset Beach, Pirate Cove Beach, Coral Beach, Rock Beach, Weathered Rock Beach, Sailor’s Cove Beach, Crescent Beach, Lost Beach, Palm Beach, and Long Beach. We went to that last one.

Long Beach is Peninsula De Punta Fuego’s main beach. It stretches for about a quarter of a kilometer and has fine, white sandy shoreline. It’s definitely far from Boracay-fine, but it is good enough.

►SEE: BORACAY TRAVEL GUIDE 

A, ENJOYING THE BEACH IN NASUGBU

The sand extends for about two to three meters into the waters before it turns rocky. I was actually a bit saddened that I didn’t bring any snorkelling gear with me as the seabed looked promising for underwater marine life. There are hardly any waves, the beach being part of a cove.

FINE WHITE SAND AND FINE SUNNY WEATHER

The beach faces west—a good spot to see the sunset. And yes, the water, even at past nine in the morning is more than a tad cold. But when your kid is already happily splashing along the waters way ahead of you, you hunker down and forget about how cold the water is, lol.

NASUGBU LONG BEACH, HEAVILY COVERED BY AGE OLD TREES

The shore is lushly covered by huge trees providing good cover for the sun. Concrete benches surround each tree, so if you ever forgot to bring your beach blanket, you can simply use those as your camp.

BEACH WEEKEND AT NASUGBU’S LONG BEACH

There were people preparing paddle boards, playing Frisbees, and swimming along the waters. Even on a Sunday, the beach is uncrowded—which is understandable since it’s off limits to the public. Only residents and people they can vouch for are allowed access.

GOODBYE BEACH!

I wasn’t really able to go far off the shore, being keen on simply following A along the water—piggybacking on my back, swimming like a fish, and collecting broken coral stones from the seabed (we threw them back to the sea, right after). It was fun enough for me, and I soon forgot how cold the water was.

And then it was time to go back. Too short. Too short, indeed. We definitely need more weekends like these.

Long Beach Nasugbu
Address: Peninsula De Punta Fuego, Nasugbu, Batangas
Entrance Fee: Free, not open to public
Opening Hours: No swimming by 6:00PM
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.134774, 120.586942