Flight chronicles of the backpacker Tutubi, with travelogues, pictures/photos/videos, travel guides, independent and honest reviews, affordable, recommended resorts and hotels (including inns, guesthouses, pension houses, lodges, hostels, condotels, bed and breakfast and other cheap accommodations), commuting guides, routes (sometimes street maps and GPS coordinates/waypoints) and driving directions to answer "how to get there" questions, information and tips on tourism, budget travel and living in Philippines, Exotic Asia and beyond!
Backpacking, independent travel, and flashpacking are cheaper than the "cheapest package tours" and promotional offers around but you can also use travel information for family vacations, even romantic honeymoon destinations.
More than the usual tourist spots and "places to see," this blog advocates heritage conservation, environmental protection, and history awareness for Filipinos, foreigners, and ex-pats wishing to explore Paradise Philippines and Exotic Asia!
A new facility currently enjoyed by locals of Paete, Laguna offers a ride on balsa (bamboo rafts) at the lakeshore park, called Wawa Park, where one can relax, enjoy the fresh air, eat snacks while floating on the waters of Laguna Lake.
Officially called Wawa Bayshore and Refreshment Park, it's a project of the local club of mandaragat (fishermen, fisherfolks and lakeshore community) and supported by the local government of Paete.
the entrance sign of the fishing wharf cum refreshment park
house on stilts with bamboo footpath
A small canteen, made of bamboo, serves sandwiches and refreshments (at mass market prices), but no fresh buko juice, something Tutubi suggested to the people manning the store, as well as other Paete delicacies and specialties like minani.
Alcoholic drinks are not allowed there, just family-oriented fun, a step in the right direction, actually.
Life vests, for safety, are available for free to boat riders and rafters. Note: Laguna Lake is actually shallow, only about a meter deep, and murky but does not stink like most people think.
Rates:
Entrance fee to enter the wharf (house on stilts) is a measly PhP5.00 while another PhP5.00 needed to board the bamboo rafts for 30 minutes.
To rent out the wharf either to just stay, eat or belt out songs on the videoke, you need to pay PhP20.00 for the first 3 hours plus PhP10.00 for every hour thereafter (rate per person).
To get a boat ride to tour you around Laguna Lake, it's PhP50.00 for the first 3 hours and PhP15.00 for every hour thereafter (per person rate).
Note, these rates do not distinguish between locals, tourists and even foreigners, and are actually cheap, so next time you drop by Paete, particularly early morning and late afternoon, you will find many people hanging out there.
wow! this is something to look forward to on the next road trip. btw, is the 3 hours enough to tour the whole lake, and is it ok to bring baon? salamatski :)
Hi Tutubi, thanks for this information, but can I ask if you can also add the info on how to commute to this place? I really want to go here sometime at the end of August this year. :) Thanks!
riisha, from where are you coming from? note that the place is currently submerged in lake water, wawa park is "flooded" and will probably be dry land again in december
anonymous, no contact number sorry. the facility is also not available at this time as it due to laguna lakes high water. try next summer when water recedes
the entrance sign of the fishing wharf cum refreshment park
house on stilts with bamboo footpath
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