I thought all resorts in Laiya (well most of them from the internet) require guests to buy food from them. Although, it's convenient and effortless, the buffet is not for everybody, we have children and senior citizens with us who are choosy with regards to food. I had to search for other resorts on the internet who allow bringing in of food. Since the shores are the same for the whole stretch of the Laiya beach and we just wanted a place to sleep in, I looked for the next 3 pages of the google search results. I came across Kabayan, Sabangan and Sigayan Bay. The first 2 are still expensive so I opted for Sigayan Bay. I found an aircon room with 5 single beds and 2 double sized double deck with own CR, ref, water and cooking facilities for only 6,500 pesos. Since the resort is not that popular, the room was still available for the date we wanted.
We arrived in Laiya around 8:00 am and since we cannot check in yet (check in is at 2:00 pm), the resort provided a picnic table for us to stay while the kids can already play in the sand and the rest of us take a dip. We enjoyed the beach and the sea. I was surprised because it was not what I expected it to be. The sand is fine and the beach is gradually sloping, you 'll be a few meters away from the shore to be chest deep. The water is clear, we saw fishes swimming around us. It was great! Who needs to be in an expensive resort to be enjoying these? The next day, we rented a boat (P600 for 10 persons) that took us to a place where we snorkel and explored the underwater wonders. We also docked in the nearby shore and enjoyed the rock formations.
Here are my negative feedbacks: since the resorts around these area are near each other and they allow videoke up to 10 pm, it was not quiet but since we also have kids with us who keeps on running around and shouting, who cares? The beachfront is full of docked bancas waiting for guests to rent them for snorkeling. But the place where we stayed has a place for beach volleyball so it was not dagat agad. It also had some nipa hut shade to protect us from the sun while enjoying the view. Nevertheless, I consider this resort a value for money find in Laiya. We brought food and we stored them in the ref and the next morning, we bought seafood from the fishermen on the shore and enjoy its freshness. Overall, I gave our family's summer getaway a rating of 8 out of 10, because we enjoyed it without spending too much.
For those budget travelers like me who wanted to have a good time at Laiya, I suggest you explore the resorts near Kabayan and you'll find them cheaper than the others, From Sigayan Bay, there's Punto Miguel, Punta Verde, Martha's Haven and Laiya's White Cove. These resorts allow bringing in of food and some have their own restaurants. The sand is finer and the beach is gradually sloping "hindi biglang lalim". It's like the Station 3 of Boracay - you get to enjoy the part of the beach without spending too much.
Here are some captured moments of our family's Summer Getaway in Laiya:
The rest of our Laiya pictures are posted in my multiply.
