Beach Treasures and Treasure Beaches

Tali Main Beach (Photo by Boxcar Designs/Bobbit Lim Photography)

Tuesdays are traditionally reserved for “Tallies and Tips” around here, but when I went searching for something along those lines today, I discovered that there is a beach in the Philippines called Tali Beach, and I’m running with it, even though I’m not sure how Tali would be pronounced in that part of the world.  Bwahahahahaha.

Tali is a private, gated, residential community in Batangas, about 2 hours drive away from Manila (the capital city), and by virtue of its private nature, it is known for being clean and not very crowded.  Apparently, the only ways to visit this beach are to visit a resident, to be or become a resident, or to rent one of the beach houses in the community, though it seems a visitor has plenty of rental options to choose from, and the price range varies pretty widely.  Any of the houses you rent give you total and full access to the whole beach, so you don’t need to be worried about any bit being exclusively private.

According to an article on OfficiallyPhilippines.com, “whichever place you choose, you simply shouldn’t miss cliff jumping at Tali. Ask your hosts about the cliffs near the Villaraza house and they’ll know exactly what you mean: a bleached cliff accessible by a steep staircase beside manicured gardens. Braver souls launch themselves off the thirty-foot highest point, but sissies like me prefer swimming in the azure waters and exploring the caves underneath the cliffs.”

Tali Beach is popular for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, and a plethora of other traditional beach activities, though I could not determine whether or not it would be a good place for beachcombing/shelling.  Have any of you readers out there been to Tali Beach?  Did you find any good shells, or did you see some really cool fish?  Please let us know!  This article could use some first-hand information, and there is, after all, a comment space just below these words.

Mahalo, and may your summer be full of beach exploration! -E.G.D.