Vegan-friendly Resorts reachable by car from Manila
Travelling as a vegan in the Philippines can be a challenge and advice from travelers tends to recommend finding your own room with a kitchen so that you can do your own cooking. The problem with this is that you will not always be able to reach the most spectacular places and that once in a while one does feel like being pampered. Do not despair, here are a few destinations not too far from Manila that will not require you to take another flight and that you will be sure to enjoy as vegans. While there are many other beautiful Islands in the Philippines, this circuit will take you to some of the best beaches and diving / snorkeling available, not to mention some of the best dining.
You can think of them as a circuit or as independent destinations.
Reservations several days/weeks in advance a must.
The Farm at San Benito – South Luzon
There is only one fully vegan resort in the Philippines and this is this one. It is located on Luzon Island, about 2,5 hours South of Manila. This high-end Resort and Spa, is rightly proud of its fine vegan cuisine, complete spa and wellness center, with individual villas nestled in a jungle landscaped oasis. Banana plantations surround the resort for tens of kilometers and the only noise you will get are from frogs, peacocks wandering the grounds and crickets.
The entirely vegan cuisine is indeed remarkable if not entirely original for seasoned vegans. You can’t beat the freshness of their products, straight from the organic garden adjacent to the restaurant. And if you stay there for many weeks (indeed some people do), you’ll never get tired of the food which includes a whole page of raw specialties.
What we enjoyed most there, besides the beauty of the setting, was the quaint luxury and peaceful ambience pervading the whole place. Beauty and good taste are obvious everywhere, all the way into the massage rooms (usually private villas with outdoor baths) up to their Thalassa therapy facility with more than 20 stations that include several Onsens (Japanese hot-spring baths and a “floating in the universe” tub. Their wellness center also caters to people with health issues and is supervised by medical staff.
The cost is dear but for a night or two you will make memories for life.
The Fisherman’s Cove – Mindoro Island
Mindoro is one of the few islands that are reachable by ferry, a couple of hours from Manila by the highway (or an hour and a half from The San Benito Farm) and then an hour and a half of ferry from Batangas will get you there.
As the title says, The Fisherman’s Cove is not a vegan resort unfortunately, but Giuseppe, the owner, is so helpful to vegans and the resort so well organized that we had to mention it. Giuseppe is a first-class Italian cook and he brings his art to vegan cooking as well. The produce is always crispy fresh, veggies never overcooked and the pasta divine. The Saturday lunch thin-crusted pizzas made in his brick oven can be ordered without cheese. I consider Giuseppe’s dining room one of the best places to eat in the Philippines. Make sure to mention that you are vegan when you reserve.
The Fisherman’s cove is a diving center where you can learn at any levels with excellent instructors or go snorkeling on one of Giuseppe’s 3 boats which will take you out twice a day to the spectacular corals along the coast.
Three nights should allow you to cover most diving/snorkeling sites near by.
Cost is all inclusive: the equipment, the room, the boats, the meals and though not cheap, you leave always satisfied and not ever thinking that it was not worth it.
Pandan Island Resort – Off Mindoro Island
At the South of Mindoro, a boat ride away from the rest of the world, this is the place to go if cost is a consideration. It provides little huts made of bamboo and straw on a paradisaical beach near some of the best corals and sea turtles reefs in the Philippines. What the resort does not provide in terms of luxury, it provides in terms of natural beauty.
The food is good and abundant and there is always something to eat for vegans on the buffet.
This is the place to go when the weather is good. When it rains, the water becomes muddy and you will miss all the underwater beauty. Plan at least 5 days there. Travelling there from manila can take a whole day. If you are coming from Giuseppe’s, you’ll have to go back to Batangas to take a different ferry.
