Crystal Beach Resort - San Narciso, Zambales

Crystal Beach Resort in Barangay La Paz San Narciso, Zambales has been a favorite place for weekenders who want to get away from the busy and noisy city life. It is famous as a camping site under its vast stretch of Agoho trees, swimming in its waters, and of course - surfing on its steady waves!

Crystal Beach Front - a  lady relaxing on a wooden chair

Crystal Beach Resort Camping Site

As we approached the receiving area of Crystal Beach Resort in Zambales, we were surprised by the long queue of guests waiting for their turn to be attended. It was a bit chaotic but the front desk officers managed to settle things fast. Initially, we were told that they are not accepting walk-in campers because of overcrowding. There were other walk-in campers like us who were denied to use the camping site. It was past 1 o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at Crystal Beach, so it must have been really full. When we were about to leave, an attendant phoned someone then, happily told us that there were still slots for campers available!

Bamboo shades

So we got in.

Tents pitched in.

There were probably forty or more tents pitched in already under Agoho trees. It looked like an evacuation center after a disaster except that everyone has tents orderly aligned. With these tents closely pitched together, it was really a disaster (hype is sometimes misleading; you just have to see it for yourself). We pitched our tents with the help of two friendly workers of the resort, closest to the beach but still far - probably more than a hundred meters away. Night fell and you couldn't get good sleep; nearby campers didn't care how noisy they were. Yes, at 3 AM I could still hear people talking loudly. Here's more, since the camping site is far from the beach, you can barely hear the sound of the waves - it was no fun.

Beach campers' tents.

We then realized we visited the place at the wrong time - it was the weekend! Maybe during weekdays, the camping site isn't like this; maybe it is more peaceful. But still, the allowed camping area is far from the beach.

The Waves of Crystal Beach Resort

Waves at Crystal Beach Resort were non-stop which gave swimmers the excitement and fun. Watching swimmers being pushed back to the shore when they're unaware of the wave coming, was fun. For me, this is why Crystal Beach became famous - its waves. We watched several surfers riding the waves that day. They have surfboard rentals available with an instructor for Php 400, for an hour per person. In my opinion, it is quite expensive but if you can learn within an hour, why not? What if you're already a good surfer and you don't need an instructor? Would it still be Php 400 pesos to rent? I tried to call the day before this writing and even emailed them but I didn't receive a response. Oh well, here's the link you might get lucky to receive a response when you contact them. Click here for the link.

Guests under a Tiki Hut

Tiki Huts are free to use

A scene at the beach

Capones Island in the background

A surfer and her longboard

Ride the wave!

At night, you will not be able to swim unless you get a waiver at the Front Desk. We were at the Tiki Hut relaxing and drinking when we heard the security guard forbidding a group of people to stay on the beach. I wonder if sitting by the beach also needs a waiver. Maybe those people were just trespassers from the neighboring beach/resort.

The Restaurant at Crystal Beach Resort

Domingo's Grille and Restaurant serves the guests of Crystal Beach Resort. We were not impressed by their Pinakbet Ilocano when we had it for our late lunch. The vegetables were overcooked, it needed a bit more of a fish paste, and it was served cold. The Buffalo Wings were good, Chop Suey was impressive and their Longsilog was great! We were unable to taste the famous San Felipe Longanisa because they already served it the day before our arrival. Oh before I forget, their serving was huge it can cover two hungry mouths!

Rooms and Other Facilities

The only facility we used at Crystal Beach was their toilet and shower rooms for we only got there as walk-in campers. Crystal Beach is blessed with Shower Rooms. There are lots of toilets as well, but you have to push the flush for 15 seconds for successful flushing. In general, shower rooms and toilets can accommodate a huge crowd. Visit their homepage to take a glimpse of their enticing rooms, their amenities, and instructions on how to get there.

In my opinion, Crystal Beach is a nice place to go but not on weekends, if you are avoiding the crowd. But if you are a sociable person, this could be the place for you on weekends. They have acoustic live band and bonfires at 7 PM.  Before visiting the place make sure to place a reservation.

Crystal Beach Resort blog topics:

• How to get to Crystal Beach San Narciso, Zambales
• Crystal Beach Restaurant
• Camping in Crystal Beach
• Surfing at Crystal Beach