We have been in Subic Bay since August last year as we needed to complete commissioning of our yacht, which was delivered from China via Hong Kong two years ago. I’ve read through the various comments and the most recent report on this marina was from some time ago, so decided it was time to do an unbiased update.

We arrived from Hong Kong after a difficult passage over the South China Sea (due to problems with the boat more than any weather issues!). Arriving at Subic Bay itself was not difficult but we were prepared with all the correct paperwork and the procedure. It is strongly recommended to book the marina in advance so they are expecting you and can make arrangements. On arrival into the bay, you need to VHF the port control on Ch16 when you get to Grande Island and advise them you are heading to the marina. They will give you permission to proceed. Also, VHF the marina on Ch72 when closer by and they will send the staff to assist with mooring. We had booked the marina in advance and I had also requested the berth number and a plan of the marina, so we knew where we were heading.

Before you arrive, you need to send pre-advice 48 hours in advance with crew list to bi.bss.noa@gmail.com. We didn’t get any reply – this advice is for the boat. You also need to complete the e-travel declaration for persons at https://etravel.gov.ph – supposedly 3 days in advance, but if impossible to do it can be done on arrival. I believe these are general instructions for the Philippines and not special to Subic.

Our advice would be don’t come into Subic in the dark unless you are familiar with it! The marina is very dark with lots of background lights and the berths are impossible to see. They are also very low to the water.

If you are staying at the marina then the check-in procedure is included – you pay only the fees applied by the three authorities – customs, immigration and quarantine. No fee to the marina for the service. We did this and it could not have been easier. We did later visa renewals ourselves at the immigration office in Olangapo – who are very helpful and friendly. The office is located in the new shopping centre.

Cost of the marina – it isn’t cheap by Philippine standards. By other standards it’s cheap. Our 75ft berth costs 31,500 pesos per month – but we were staying more than 3 months so took a term membership. This pays if you are staying this length of time but not for shorter periods. I do have the latest full price list for the marina but there’s nowhere to attach anything to this post – anybody interested, get in touch (dated from 1 May 2024 – first increase since 2018 I understand).

It is very true that the marina is very dirty – in fact the whole of Subic Bay is very dirty due to Olangapo City throwing all rubbish into the river which floats into the bay. However, the marina do now make an effort to clean the rubbish out at least once a day – which has made it bearable. We don’t find it noisy – there are not that many boat movements in the marina and we only get disturbed by the weekend events at the yacht club, which can sometimes be annoying. The previous report mentioned a US air base – but there is no air base here at all. Subic Bay USED to be a US naval base but not for many years and as far as I’m aware has never been an airbase (the US airbase was in Clark – about an hour drive away). There are some US naval ships in the dry dock and some commercial ships in and out but not really affecting being in the marina.

The previous poster also mentioned fueling only by jerrycan – there is in fact a fuel dock where most cruisers fill up from what I can gather. We are a long-range motor yacht and have large fuel tanks – so we arranged a bulk delivery by tanker with Hoya Marine +63 930 082 6421.

We are informed that the docks were recently renovated and there is some work ongoing. However, compared to our experience they are terrible – wobble when you walk on them and the timber is in bad state of repair, rotting in places. I understand it’s supposed to be good by Asian standards – so guess I’ll live and learn since so far we have only seen Hong Kong in Asia. Water is drinkable but very chlorinated and charged by the m3. Electricity is fine for a sail yacht – but struggle with the trawler and can draw just 32A from the 63A supply (or it blows the fuse on the dock). Not impressed with electrical, water and safety issues – but again maybe I’m just not used to Asian standards yet.

There are fabulous supermarkets in the area with two large Royal Duty Free and two large Pure Duty Free places on opposite ends of town – don’t be fooled by the duty free misnomer, as there is no such thing. A new shopping mall Harbor Point is within walking distance (at a push – not MY walking distance but probably most peoples!) – or it takes just a few minutes by car. We have been able to get absolutely everything we need here – plenty of Western goods available as well as local of course.

Deliveries to the marina are simple – from local or overseas online suppliers – subject to the normal Philippine issues for imports. The marina security will accept deliveries and these are either held at the marina staff office or brought to the boat – depending on the mood of the marineros on the day.

Plenty of restaurants in town – but not much in the marina itself. There’s a Chinese (Hong Kong style) and a local restaurant – but expensive and not particularly good. We would not be OK without a car here – but fitter people may be fine walking further than I am.

Plenty of workers around to help out with most things – although no sail loft, canvas skills in general are not good either. Stainless steel work is possible but difficult to get – carpentry there are good ones and GRP/fibreglass plenty of them. I’ll try to add some of our contacts into the database of services – not sure how to do that but I’m sure our Noonsite people will tell me.

Hope this is useful for some people – overall rating for the marina as a nice place to stay (2/10) – as a base for boat work and provisioning (7/10). As a typhoon shelter, I’m told it’s the best in the Philippines – but last summer was quiet on that front. We had no issues from August 2023 onwards.

Ed and Christine
MV DESTINY