Summer in the Philippines has officially started a month ago but I am able to do a proper summer kickoff only two weeks ago during the long holiday weekend. The husband has planned our summer-outing-slash-out-of-town-road-trip last month and our itinerary is Davao Oriental once again. We have done the DavOr road trip last year on my birthday but this time we have larger company which makes the experience a hundred times more fun.

Our first destination is as usual the Aliwagwag Falls. Some of our companions who are first timers enjoyed the cool waters of Aliwagwag so much that for almost two hours they are just swimming their hearts out and enjoying the various drops of rushing water. Then after lunch we head our way to the municipality of Baganga. We drive to Lake Carolina and enjoy the cold water. Taking a dip at the icy cold waters of Lake Carolina is such a delight after an hour of very hot motorcycle ride. Sadly, it is here at Lake Carolina where we lost our SJCAM because the mount that my husband attached on the floater broke and the action cam was lost in the water huhu. Anyhow, at around 4PM we have all decided to head to our next destination where we will be staying for the night.

We are supposed to spend the night at San Victor Island but we are  informed that the island is closed from Thursday to Saturday morning because it was the Holy Week and since the island is owned by priests they do not allow excursions on said dates. The island opens back at 4PM on Saturday so we have decided to spend the night at another beach instead. Luckily, my husband has already known that the island is closed on the holy week so he booked ahead at Pilot's View Beach Resort in Baganga. It was even luckier that he is still able to book an open cottage as the resort's room accommodations are already fully booked.

Pilot's View Beach Resort is just 4.4 kilometers away from Lake Carolina and is located at Bobon Bay in Barangay Salingcomot, Baganga. It is easily located using Google Maps and is very accessible as the road leading to the resort is concrete and appropriate signage is found along the road.

MY THOUGHTS on PILOT'S VIEW BEACH RESORT. . .

- Resort is NOT OVER CROWDED! We are here during a long weekend holiday (Holy Week/Maundy Thursday). Even though the resort is fully booked, it still did not feel over crowded because of the long stretch of fine white sand and spacious resort grounds. The cottages are well placed and there are still plenty of space to pitch tents.

- VERY AFFORDABLE!!!! The open cottage is spacious and is value for money.

- Relaxing Island Vibe all over the entire resort. Since the beach front/shoreline is wide and long, there are plenty of space for you to sit and enjoy the relaxing sound of waves crashing the shore and cool breeze from the open sea. Trees are also plenty in this resort so there's enough room to rest under the shade.

- Good parking space perfect for people travelling with own vehicle or motorcycle.

THE ONLY COMPLAIN I have on this resort is the bathrooms and wash room. Their bathroom/toilet do not have a drain so the water coming from the faucet floods the floor. Also there's a time of the day that there is very low to no water pressure. The wash room is decent but the door knobs are busted and locks don't work so it's very tricky to take a bath and change clothes. You really need a companion to guard the door.

Overall, this is still a great beach resort which I think is very underrated. Actually, I think Baganga itself is underrated and is in need of major tourism promotion. There are so many beaches and even waterfalls (Campawan Curtain Falls) waiting to be discovered in Baganga that people just really don't know about yet. So if you are the type to go for not crowded and almost close to virgin island experience, then come and check this beach resort out.

Pilot's View Beach Resort Rates and Fees:

Entrance Fee: Adult - P10 / Children - free

Pool Fee: Adult - P100 / Children - P50

Open Cottage: P400

Tent fee: P50

P.S. we pitch 5 tents in total but the management did not charge us which is totally a plus point for the resort. Also we used too much electricity, charging our phones and using an electric kettle but we were also not charged for electric fee so I am assuming there is no electric fee.