Olongapo
Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo, is a highly urbanized city situated in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines.
According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 264,903 people.
Getting to Olongapo
From Manila, ride the red, white and yellow Victory Liner buses. The trip will go through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). The trip from Manila takes 3-4 hours and it will cost you ₱220-250 one way. The company also has 11 buses from Baguio via Angeles 3AM-11PM, and hourly buses from 4AM-10PM from [[Balanga (Bataan) |Balanga]] in Bataan.
Things to do
The tourism office for the area calls Subic Bay the "Pearl of the Orient" and much like a pearl inside an oyster, its true value is hidden unless you know where to look. Subic Bay offers some of the world's best shipwrecks, all within recreational diving depths, as well as tranquil coral and artificial reefs that explode with marine life.
Getting around Olongapo the local way
- Get aroundJeepneys are the primary mode of mass transportation in Olongapo.
- Get aroundUnlike in most cities in the Philippines, jeepneys in Olongapo are color-coded according to route and the government is very strict in implementing this routing scheme.
- Get aroundJeepney operators must display the body number, the plate number and the decal number at the side panels to eliminate unregistered jeepneys.
- Get aroundFares are conspicuously displayed inside the jeepney.
- Get aroundSimilar to taxis, this is an option if you prefer private trips and for trips that is beyond the jeepney routes.
From Wikivoyage: Olongapo, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.