Surfing in Baler takes you to where the sport first began in the Philippines, with beach breaks and reefs to get stuck into.
An introduction to surfing in Baler
Baler has engraved its name into the proverbial plaque on the wall when it comes to surfing in the Philippines. The theory goes that this is where it all began for the country. And it wasn’t down to some forward-thinking local or a venturing Aussie with their shortie in tow. It was all thanks to Francis Ford Coppola, who chose the estuary break to the north as the setting for his infamous surf scene in Apocalypse Now.
True or not, whether it’s the birthplace of Philippine surfing or no, the town certainly has some decent breaks to contend with. The best of them is Cobra Reef, where a lippy little wedge filters out into fast lefts and longer rights – it’s great fun. There’s also a good beach break for learning on. Sadly the area that features in the haunting Vietnam movie isn’t that fantastic, but you would be surfing in silver screen history if you made it to the spot north of town.
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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing Philippines
Surfing in Baler at a glance
The good
- This is hallowed ground in the world of Philippine surfing
- One lovely wedge reef wave
- Not too busy
The bad
- Small stuff on the main beach isn’t high quality
- Not the cleanest water
What’s in this guide to surfing in Baler?
- An introduction to surfing in Baler
- Where is Baler
- The top Baler surf spots
- Surf hotels and surf camps in Baler
- When to surf in Baler
Where is Baler?
Baler sits in a gap in the hills where the rivers of Central Luzon rip through the jungles to meet the Pacifica Ocean on the west coast of the island. Roughly 4.5 hours to the northwest of Quezon City and a touch more from Manila, it’s not the hardest place in the country to get to from the capital (yep, those aren’t considered terribly short transfer times in these parts!). Buses leave from the Central Bus Station in Manila every day. They are run by Genesis Transportation and take about seven hours in all.
A guide to the Baler surf spots
Baler’s two more remarkable breaks – the reef and the river mouth – are separated by the main beach break, which is really beginner’s stuff right in front of the town. The others are a short tricycle away, but can be walked if you have the time.
Sabang Beach
The spot for total beginners on the Baler surf is Sabang Beach. Long and downright pretty, it’s right in front of the town. The order of the day is set after a set of mushburgers that crumble like tofu under your feet. No wonder the local surf schools love it. Our advice? Crank up the board volume if you decide to surf here – a longboard, foamie or groveler is best. Sometimes there’s a real nice right for loggers in the middle of the bay you can watch appear as the tide pushes up.
Cemento Reef
Cemento Reef is probably the highest-quality break on the Baler line up. Also known as Cobra Reef, it forms the unique wedge shape of a fanned snake head (hence the name) to give left and right rides over jagged rock. It’s pretty shifty at the take off point but great fun on medium swells when it’s clean. In fact, we’d say don’t even bother if it’s not – this spot is all about the glassy walls. The walk out is over a hard pebble reef with loads of urchins for company. Get past the breakwater and it’s an easy paddle.
Charlie’s Point
Just south of where the murky river waters filter into the clean Pacific Ocean, you can see a long, black stone and sand spit. If you recognize it, we’re guessing you’re an aficionado of Apocalypse Now because it’s the very spot where Robert Duval as the US GI general went on his crazy wave tirade in the movie. That also makes it one of the first places to be officially surfed in the Philippines.
Sadly, the break itself hardly lives up to the hype. It’s a lot of work to get to (you need a tuk-tuk from the town and the paddle out can be hard) and it’s messy stuff, preferring close outs to any sort of shape. Sometimes it can be big and beefy, with wally rides that work well on those long-period autumn swells. You just gotta be lucky.
Where to stay when surfing in Baler?
Three hotels with walking access to the best of surfing in Baler…coming up.
Seasta Beach Resort
You can’t beat the location of the Seasta Beach Resort if you want to surf Cemento (Cobra Reef). The break is literally right out front. You just pull on the reef shoes (a must) and trot through the water to where the wave is rolling. Easy. The pad isn’t bad either. Away from the buzz of Baler town, it’s more tropical and low-key than its compadres and offers wood-built cabanas, a pool, and an onsite bar.
Isaguirre’s Pension House
There’s a handful of comfy rooms done out in contemporary styles at this low-key B&B. We love them for the easy access to both Sabang (the beginner beach break) and Cemento (the more advanced reef). All the basics are taken care of – air con, WiFi, onsite parking.
Lotus Sun & Waves Beach Resort
This is a really fun little hotel with one foot on the main Sabang beach where the beginners in Baler go. It’s colorful but simple, uber-welcoming but affordable. Guests get access to a pool and terrace area that’s great for chilling in after a day on the waves. There’s also a filling a la carte breakfast spread in the mornings.
Step-by-step guide to planning your surfing in baler trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the surfing in baler…We use Skyscanner and only Skyscanner for this. The reason? We’ve always found it the best site for comparing deals from basically ALL airlines and somehow seems to offer deals that beat going direct.
Step two: Book your surf lodge. There’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check how close EXACTLY that hotel is to particular breaks. Or Book Surf Camps, which is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages.
Step three: Book surf lessons and other activities For advance booking, you can use GetYourGuide or Viator. To be fair, though, we usually just leave this until we’re there – it’s easy to book in person in most surf destinations.
When to surf in Baler?
Baler faces east out into the wide Pacific Ocean. That means the NW trade winds of winter are actually onshore and what you’re waiting for are the low-pressure systems to work their way through in fall and late summer, when it’s winter down in New Zealand and the like. They can offer strong groundswells that pulse up into Sabang beach with nice long periods, adding strength and glassiness to the Cobra Reef, the best break in town. We’d say September to January is the peak, but it stays decent until about March time. No wetsuits needed. But do bring reef shoes because the walk out to the reef break over the rocks can be killer!
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This article is just one part of our complete guide to surfing Philippines
