My family loves beaches.  Give my kids some sand and they can be entertained for a few hours.  Give them sand, a well structured pool, lots of places to run around in plus the facilities a country club has to offer and they would want to stay there forever.

Pico de Loro is a members only leisure community developed by SM Land.  And my family has been there twice last year and 2 trips are scheduled back there this summer.  Pico has a good beach with fine light brown sand, huge open spaces with verdant greens, a man made lake surrounded by low rise residential condominiums, a very beautifully structured 3-tiered pool and complete club house facilities like bowling, kiddie play area plus ATV rides, pony rides etc.

Sharing you some pics and info (how to book etc.) of our wonderful Pico trip.  Enjoy!

The beach sand,  though brown, is fine and not ouchy to the feet.  The water was clear and there were lots of silver colored fishes to see.

My daughter had lots of fun trying to catch the schools of small silver fishes but they were just too fast.  The sun deck chairs dotted the beach, perfect for relaxation.  My son, his shovel and the sand are inseparable.

My kids and I can't get enough of the beach.  Go for an early morning walk. We were in the beach by 7am.  The sun is not scorching and there are not much people around. Plus there are more fishes to see.  Swimming in the beach is also safe.  No undercurrent and sudden drop that I know of and I walked quite far yet the water is still shallow.

My kids squealed in delight when they saw a small puffer fish that blew itself up.  We caught several crablets and a shell fish that stuck its body out looking like a grotesque alien.  All marine life we saw and caught were immediately returned to the sea.

The condominiums, the main club house (there is also a beach club) and the Pico Sands Hotel surrounds this serene man-made lake.  Afraid of dengue, much?  The lake has fishes so it shouldn't breed dengue mosquitoes.  We didn't feel mosquitoes too.  But just the same,  bring and spray those anti-dengue mosquito repellants.

More of the lake.  Bring your rubber shoes.  It's nice to have an evening or early morning run around the lake.

This well structured 3-tiered pool, by the main club house and near the hotel, is a beauty!

The fountain pool on the upper right come in 2's left and right (see pic below).  The low water level where the sun deck chairs are, are perfect for toddlers who are still too small even for kiddie pools.  After the infinity sun deck lap pool,  an even longer lap pool awaits.

Can't get enough of the beautiful pool.  The pool on the lower left is a separate pool located at the beach club house area.  Btw, be sure to check if the main pool is available on your date of travel.  First time we went, it was open.  Second time, it was closed for renovation.

Lower Right: Adjacent to the main club house pool is this kiddie pool.  And a separate kiddie slide pool where my kids went for the slide again, and again, and again.

There are a lot of spaces that are green and open.  And the whole family loved it!

Lower left is the pathway that connects the beach to the lake with the low-rise condo structures.  Lower right is the pathway from the beach to the chapel.

Hanging bridge by the lake will bring you to a small patch of land.

The glass chapel of St. Therese overlooks Hamilo Coast.

The simple yet stunning chapel of St. Therese, up close.

You can go around Pico using the top pic or settle for the friendlier jeepney.  Kidding on the cow.

This post is a tad too long.  I will make a separate post on:

Pico Accommodations and Reservations

Pico Club House Facilities and Dining

Trekking with the kids at Pico

Meantime,  my general review of Pico is that it is a wonderful place to travel with the family.  The beach, though not white,  is safe and friendly to the kids.  The swimming pool is beautiful and there are a lot of other activities to do.

The only setback for me is the number of people around.  When we went on the long weekend of Bonifacio day,  it was kinda packed.  I guess the renovation in the main club house pool forced people to gather around the club house pool causing the overcrowding.  If you can take an off on a weekday,  do take that.  My kids are a bit crowd averse and these things matter to them:-)

Address:

Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast

Nasugbu, Batangas

Website:  www.picodeloroclub.com

Contact Numbers:(02) 214-7888 or (0917) 809-1289 (Pico Sands Hotel)

Rate:  Members need to give you access to the club through an authorization letter.  If you are booked in the hotel,  the room rate of the hotel covers the access to the beach and country club facilities.  Some condominium owners also rent out their studio units.  Rental of the studio unit is exclusive of the guest fees below:

Holiday / Long Weekend Rates:

• Accompanied by member = Php500/adult & Php150/kid (ages 4-12y.o.)
• Unaccompanied by member = Php1000/adult & Php300/kid (ages 4-12y.o.)
• Kids = 3 years old and below is FREE of charge

Weekday Rates:

• Accompanied by member = Php300/adult & Php150/kid (ages 4-12y.o.)
• Unaccompanied by member = Php500/adult & Php150/kid (ages 4-12y.o.)
• Kids = 3 years old and below is FREE of charge

Directions:

Take SLEX and exit at Sta. Rosa and follow road to Tagaytay.  Go past Tagaytay until you reach junction of Balayan (Caltex Station on your right).  At that junction,  turn right to Nasugbu.  You will see lots of trucks carrying sugar canes because you will pass Central Azucarera de Don Pedro on your left.  When you reach the Shell Gas Station (on your left), turn right to go to the Nasugbu Town Proper.  You will then go uphill and will pass Canyon Cove and Punta Fuego.  Go further uphill until  you reach Pico de Loro, Hamilo Coast.  There are signs along the way, that reads “Hamilo Coast.”

In case you want to eat before entering Pico, your last stop for fast foods is at the Nasugbu town proper.  There is a Jollibee and Chicken Inasal.

Travel time by car is approximately 3.5 hours with relatively easy traffic flow.

Date of our Travel:  May 2012 and November 2012

Disclosure:  This is not a sponsored post.  My family and I went to Pico de Loro and paid for everything.

Hope you check out my other Pico de Loro posts:-)

Travel Happy!