Budget Friendly Summer Getaway!

Once again summer is here or at least in the Philippines..it is. An average of 31 degrees celcius in Manila...phew...boy that is hot!

Though we have planned to spend our holy week there, our late planning of special summer getaway failed. When we decided to find a place,it was already too late. Most places were already fully booked(I think they were booked at least one month in advance). We did not want to go places that were too far, otherwise most of our time will be spent on traveling alone instead of quality time with our kids. And of course, we also have our budgets to consider, thus giving us limitations to where we can really go.

Thanks to my aspirations of becoming a practical savvy mom, I remembered Club Manila East. It was only 15 minutes away from our home.We rented a cabana for Php2500.00 which is already inclusive of entrance fee for 5 persons and an addition of Php260.00 per head exceeding 5.(During holidays, it is still wise to book there at least one day in advance to avoid long queues). Their cabanas have it's own bathroom, kitchen sink, phone (for food deliveries and other CME services), and mono bloc chairs and tables. It was not air conditioned though but ceiling fan was provided and jalousie windows with screens. These techniques though minimal in alleviating heat,but overall it has good source of light and ventilation. I'd say it is energy efficient! Two thumbs up in an effort to save costs and the environment.

We did not go there prepared so we had to wait for SM Taytay to open so that we can buy life vests and sun blocks for the kids. It is only 5 minutes away from CME:) They have boutique shop inside but we prefer to have additional options than what was at hand. Bringing food inside is not allowed but should you go hungry, they have fast food such as Jollibee, Chowking,etc. and CME canteens. Some families opt to eat their lunch at the parking lots with their "baons", however, we decided to go home. It is Black Saturday...there is no such thing as traffics during this day! Hehehehe...

CME has fun filled activities in store for families and friends. You will never get bored inside. You can do kayaks, surfing (yes surfing!) and of course, swimming!!My kids were too young and too small so we spent it most in the kiddie pool and the kayaks. They have two wave pools, the beach wave pool and the ocean wave pool. To tell the difference, I really cannot except only in size. They do offer lessons in swimming and surfing. Surfing lessons were taught at the Beach Wave Pool and swimming lessons were taught at their Lap pools.

Overall, we had a blast and really saved a lot. There was no need to stay there overnight, no traffics to encounter, not toll fees to pay and does not need a full tank car to get there. We saved a heap amount of money, gave us more bonding time with our loved ones and helped to conserve energy as well (burning fuel;). I recommend we do this again if not within this summer...maybe next year again!Woohoo!!