Bolinao is known for a number of pristine beaches, the most popular of which is Patar Beach, situated on the western coast along the South China Sea southwest of the town proper. To get there in 2004, our team had to rent a jeepney to take us on a trip that included 30 dusty minutes of driving along a rough road. But once we got there we knew the place was worth the hassle. On our next visit to Bolinao seven years later (2011) the road was still unpaved along the last stretches to Patar Beach, but it is at least graded and the ride is not bumpy at all.
Patar Beach is a creamy white sand beach that slopes gradually from shore making it good for swimming. It is a public beach so it gets practically no maintenance. The tangle of seaweed in some areas especially during the hot and dry months of April and May attests to this fact. There are several more stretchers of white sandy beach with coral rock formatioins and small coves as you head further down south along the coast. This coastline includes stretches of nice beaches in the towns of Agno, Bani, Burgos and Dasol. You can easily observe beautiful, white-sand beaches along Pangasinan’s western coast from online satellite maps – many of which are not that accessible at the moment – just waiting to be discovered.
One nice thing about Patar Beach is that the place has hardly changed since we last visited seven years ago. There might be several more nipa huts (some of them under construction) along the beach but further south the beach has remained relatively pristine. Most of the resorts including the upscale Puerto del Sol are located along the coast north of Patar Beach. The only resort right on Patar Beach is Treasures of Bolinao which we heard charges high rates perhaps due to their monopoly of the area. South of this resort are the nipa huts that we rented for the day. There are some stores back of the beach where the public toilet and baths are also located.
Although Patar Beach is excellent for swimming there isn't a lot of underwater marine life that you can observe when you snorkel. This is probably because there isn’t much coral in the area although the snorkeling might be better the farther down south you go. But we did have the good fortune of seeing some fisher folk bring in a live puffer fish that they said they would feast on later. These fish are supposed to be an expensive delicacy in Japan and have been known to cause the deaths of some people when the poison was not properly removed.
THIS IS WHY YOU NEED PATAR BEACH TO VISIT
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