cebu living

I swam with the fishes in Alegre. Literally. Try wading in the resort’s seas and they’d follow you around, circling your legs, perhaps hoping you’d throw them a morsel of bread.

The Alegre Beach Resort in Sogod in Cebu has declared its sea waters a marine sanctuary. A sign on the beach says fishing or capturing the friendly fish is prohibited.

Emboldened perhaps by the fact that they’re not harmed and that they’re fed by well-meaning beachgoers, fish congregate in the resort’s shallows. We had a blast watching them race for bed crumbs.

Resort structures, themselves, strive to disturb as little as possible the area’s rocky and uneven terrain.

Alegre’s offices, cottages, restaurants, and pool are located on a high cliff but stone steps have been carved out of the rock in strategic areas to connect the main resort area to the beachfront.

THE BEACHFRONT at The Cliff section of Alegre Beach Resort. At right is a bar. You can choose to take your meals or snacks here. Click on photo to enlarge.

A wooden structure built near the beach serves as bathroom and changing area for beachgoers.

Also on the beachfront below the cliff grows coconut trees hung with hammocks. A restaurant and bar called The Cliff has been built into a recessed part of the rocks.

An open cabana on the shore serves as a massage parlor.

The resort, in its website, describes its white sand beach as spectacular and uncorrupted. And spectacular and uncorrupted it is. The beach is a long stretch of fine white sand and the shallow water the color of clean and clear green. The deep is a dark mysterious blue.

FANCY a massage at the beach? You can have one in Alegre. Click on photo to enlarge.

Meals at the resort can be taken in a variety of ways: inside the comfort of the Pavilion Restaurant and Lounge Bar or at its terrace with an uninterrupted view of the sea or at The Cliff on the beachfront. The food can be a choice of local or international cuisine.

Close to the restaurant is the resort’s pool and a little farther off is a little playground.

Accommodation comes in the form of 20 cabanas set in lush gardens and taking inspiration from Spanish and Filipino architecture and style. Each cabana has two bedrooms with their own bathroom and lanai. The personal amenities available in the cabanas include a mini-bar, cable television, hairdryer, safe, and coffee maker.

Room rates are listed in detail at the resort’s website. A day trip to the resort, inclusive of buffet lunch, costs 800 pesos per person. Children get special rates.

TROPICAL PARADISE or something close to it. Alegre Beach Resorts pool and the open sea.
Click on photo to enlarge.

The resort also provides aqua sports equipment for snorkeling, diving, jet skiing, windsurfing, and kayaking.

Activities like island hopping, bird watching, mountain biking, and trekking can also be arranged upon request.

The resort also has a tennis court, golf course, game room, library, and conference room.

Alegre is among the top resorts in the Philippines. In 2000, the Department of Tourism named it the Kalakbay Award for Eco-Tourism Best Business Practice Category. It was also named the Kalakbay Resort of the Year in 1996.

How to get there

The Alegre Beach Resort is about 75 kilometers away from the Mactan Cebu International Airport. It takes about two hours of continuous drive to reach the place. Alegre says in its website that “transfers can be arranged and are free of charge.”

If you feel particularly adventurous and don’t mind the added hassle, you can take one of the buses that ply the northern route at the North Bus Terminal near SM City Cebu in the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City. The trip would take more than two hours, what with stops on the way.

More photos, click on them to view larger images.