This is the longest trip I ever had! And it’s indeed long in
every way. Why? Let’s talk about travel
time; I was not able to book a promo fare from manila to laoag so we had to
travel by bus to vigan and that’s 10 hours travel. Since I planned this a year
ahead and luckily everything fell into place (talking about leave from work) I
had the luxury of time despite the long travel.
Yes 1 whole week of vacation is quite a time. The travel was kilometric.
According to distances.com I was able to travel approximately 1,660 km. from Cebu to Pagudpud.
Here’s my detailed Itinerary to the trip to Ilocandia.
Day 0
Our flight to Manila was a bit delayed, we were suppose to
arrive around 7:00 pm but we actually landed past 9:00 pm. We were suppose to
go directly to FLORIDA BUS station in Sampaloc to catch the 10:00 pm Sleeper
bus leaving for Vigan but because of the long queue for a metered taxi there
was no way we could get there on time. Honestly, I didn’t expect we would be
late that long and I had no plan B for our transportation to Vigan, so we asked
the security guard for other alternative. Good thing we were told there’s a 24
hour trip to Ilocos and we could check the nearby Partas bus station in Pasay. We
missed there de luxe trip so we took the ordinary air conditioned bus, their
deluxe trip has a lazy boy for the seat, so your feet could relax in the 10
hours trip. We boarded the ordinary bus
that left at 2:00 am bound to Vigan. The road is very nice so one could really
sleep, in a seating position though, so
be prepared to endure a little back pain or stiff neck in the morning. We
arrived Vigan around 11:30 am. And we were welcomed by their dancing fountain
in the plaza. We went ahead and took our brunch because we were starving to
death at that time. (Flashback) Me and my friend just had cup noodles that
night and we skipped breakfast because we were too tired to alight the bus in
the designated breakfast place.
Day 1
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| Day 0 -itinerary |
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| Day 1 - Itinerary |
From here, we hired a tricycle that took us to BALUARTE ni Chavit,
and other places which are farther from the city proper. On our way to Baluarte
we dropped by the plaza to buy Vigan’s famous empanada.
About 15 minutes ride, we arrived at the
place, didn’t waste any time and went picture taking there. We saw few animals
like colorful birds, tiger, and my favorite – the Ostrich. We also went riding
a pony around the vast land of Baluarte. The place is still a work in progress,
so years from now it’s going to be more beautiful I’m sure.
We would have wanted to go to the hidden garden but we were
already running out of time so we just went straight ahead to Bellfry tower.
The structure is very lovely from outside, the climb is a bit scary though and
I have to fight my fear of heights just so I could gain the courage to get to
the top where the bells are located. The breeze and the view at the top of the
bell tower is lovelier. From here we went to our Inn and rested for a while
before proceeding to dinner.
The dinner was sumptuous!
We then went to the UNESCO world heritage site – The Calle
Crisologo. It’s a street filled with old
Spanish inspired houses and building, remnants of the almost 400 years of
Spanish occupation in the Philippines. Walking along the street from end to end
is like a travel back in time, and by the way, this street is the only street
still alive at past 9:00 pm. After walking and experiencing an evening in Calle
Crisologo we rode a tricycle to Plaza but unluckily the plaza at this time was
already deserted so we went home instead and slept early.
Day 2
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| Day 2 - Itinerary |
We woke up very early because there are still places and
activity we would like to visit and do before leaving Vigan. We took our
breakfast in the Inn as it’s included in the fee. We took pictures of the place
before leaving because our Inn is a museum in itself.
Then, we went to Calle Crisologo again. We hired a Karetela
that toured us around Calle Crisologo, Burgos Plaza, Their Cathedral, The Provincial
Capitol and their hall of justice, the Vigan welcome arc, Pagburnayan Jar
makers and then to the terminal to Laoag.
The trip to Laoag took almost 2 and a half hour. We took a
quick lunch in Mcdonalds Laoag and then hired a tricycle to the terminal to
Pagudpud. We alighted in Burgos where our tricycle/guide was waiting for us.
The trip took approximately 45 minutes. We went up and around the old structure
of the watch tower, wasn’t able to climb the very tower itself as it was not
allowed for safety reasons.
Shortly, we proceeded to Kapurpurawan rock formation. It was
mid afternoon when we got there, it made the walk extra challenging. But the
rock formation is a sight to behold, it definitely made the effort all worth
it.
The highlight of the tour, or shall I say the trip is the
windmill of Bangui. The thought of seeing the Windmills fueled the desire to
experience the place prior to this. And so I couldn’t contain my excitement on
our way and the moment we got there. I can’t help but go emo in silence (my
company might find it odd!). We had to change transportation though for this
part of the tour as the south tour itinerary doesn’t include Bagui windmills.
From the windmills we were dropped off at the bus stop for buses bound to
Pagudpud, another 30 to 45 minutes ride. From the dropped off point we took
another ride to our homestay in Saud beach. We took an honest to goodness
delicious dinner and then called it a day.
Day 3
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| Day 3 - Itinerary |
We had breakfast in our homestay before proceeding to our
North Pagudpud tour. We went by the beach side before starting the tour. At
this side of the beach you can see the windmills from afar. The beach is not
very enticing though , the sand is not very fine and white. And then we started our Pagudpud tour. We had
to take yet another 45 minutes walk to get
to Kabigan falls. We took a quick
plunge before hiking back and heading to our next destination, Patapat Viaduct.
By the time we were traversing the coastal road
of Pagudpud to Patapat Viaduct, the heat of the sun was already up. I
can feel it burning my skin and it was hell painful (it was only then, I
remembered I didn’t put on sunblock). We stayed just for a few minutes at the
viaduct because we couldn’t take the scourging heat, my digicam ran out of
battery too. We still proceeded to few more tourist attraction like the
Timangtang rock formation, Bantay Abbot cave and then to Blue lagoon (the sand
here are finer and whiter) after all. Quite satisfied with the food taste and
the price, we decided to take our lunch in our homestay before finally leaving
Pagudpud. We asked our guide to take us to Pagudpud Welcome Arc first and then
to where we can ride a bus back to laoag. The bus driver was kind enough to
wait for us while we took pictures of the welcome arc.
In laoag, we walked few meters from the bus station to get
to Hotel tiffany. We rested for awhile before deciding to take dinner at the
Diner just in the ground floor of our hotel. We strolled the city for a few minutes,
took pictures of the Provincial Capitol before calling it a day.
Day 4
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| Day 4 - Itinerary |
Laoag Tour! We wanted to start it early but were too tired
to get up. Our hotel was comfortable enough I guess that’s why we woke up a
little late. We took our breakfast at Jollibee just across the hotel and waited
for our tour guide there.
Our first stop was Sarrat Church – the ceiling of the church
was very impressive! With logs closely lined up at the ceiling which serve as
the foundation of the rooftop. It was really a site to behold, not something
you normally see in churches, especially the modern ones. Sarrat is also the
birthplace of the Late President Marcos, we went to his ancestral home which
was converted into a museum. And then to Bacarra we went. It is another lovely
church, here the bell tower is still functional and is being used. However a
rope had to be connected to the bell so it can be made to sound from below as
the tower was closed in the 80’s when an earthquake made the structure unsafe
for climbers. The debris brought about by the earthquake was preserved and
became part of the site. We also went inside Bacarra museum and saw lots of
antique materials in display.
Then we went to Paoay Church for a very quick photo ops
since the sun was up and scourging again. Paoay Church is another pride of the
Northern Philippines being declared as another Unesco – heritage site. From the
church we went to Malacanang of the North – The official residence of former
President Ferdinand Marcos whenever he and his family is in Ilocos. We had our
lunch here (ofcourse, the famous Bagnet) at the back part of the Mansion where
you get a good view of Paoay lake. We stayed for a while in the Mansion because
there’s just so much to explore. Next up is Batac, we went to Marcos Musuem and
also get the chance to visit the corpse of former President Marcos.
Our second to the last Itinerary for the day was Paoay Sand Dunes. I saw pictures and have seen
the place in movies and television shows so it was one of the destination I was
excited to visit. I didn’t really expect
I was in for a big surprise. After few prodding from the locals, we were
convinced to go for an adventure ride round the vast sand dunes. It was indeed
one hell of a ride, I had so much fun
screaming and keeping my balance as we went up and down the sand dunes.
The last stop before calling it a day was Fort Ilocandia. It
is Ilocos Nortes’ 5 star hotel. At first glance I felt intimidated to the rustic, grand, and
elegant stance of the place. We took our pictures at the façade and almost
didn’t make it inside because suddenly it just felt awkward. Our Manong driver
convince us to stroll inside as there are a lot of nice spots for picture
taking there. Our guide is right, the inside is even more beautiful. And then we went back to hotel tiffany to pick
up our things since we’re moving to another hotel.
We spent our last night in Balay de Blas. Unlike Hotel
Tiffany which is located at the heart of the City, Balay de Blas is located few
meters away. The place is as comfortable as Hotel Tiffany, it is just more quiet and a little more private. Here we
tried different foods like malunggay sherbet and saramsam pizza, then
went to slumber.
Day 5
Our last day in Ilocos! We had no itinerary on that day so I spent my morning just sleeping while my sister and friend went pasalubong shopping. It was almost check out time when we left the room and took our brunch (it’s free! Included in the hotel fee). My flight was set at past 8:00 pm so I still have few spare hours. I actually planned to spend my 5th day on a day tour to Abra but because I was too tired to get up early, I didn’t have enough time to push through with it. My sister and friend went to the airport shortly after lunch as there flight was scheduled earlier than mine. I checked out the backpacker hotel because I wanted to just spend the afternoon sleeping but unfortunately it’s all booked, I then decided to proceed to Robinson’s Laoag. There I slept at the movie house, so don’t ask me what I watched. Before going to the airport I had to ship the “pasalubong” via LBC because my sister warned me it’s not allowed to hand carry the stuff.
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| Day 5 - Itinerary |
Our last day in Ilocos! We had no itinerary on that day so I spent my morning just sleeping while my sister and friend went pasalubong shopping. It was almost check out time when we left the room and took our brunch (it’s free! Included in the hotel fee). My flight was set at past 8:00 pm so I still have few spare hours. I actually planned to spend my 5th day on a day tour to Abra but because I was too tired to get up early, I didn’t have enough time to push through with it. My sister and friend went to the airport shortly after lunch as there flight was scheduled earlier than mine. I checked out the backpacker hotel because I wanted to just spend the afternoon sleeping but unfortunately it’s all booked, I then decided to proceed to Robinson’s Laoag. There I slept at the movie house, so don’t ask me what I watched. Before going to the airport I had to ship the “pasalubong” via LBC because my sister warned me it’s not allowed to hand carry the stuff.
I went and say
goodbye to Laoag at a little past 8! At
about 5:20 a.m. I was getting ready to be back to Cebu. Two days later, the
trip back in time was over!
SUMMARY of EXPENSES:
click here for the breakdown
Day 0
transporation 830.00
misc./food 100.00
Total Day 0 930.00
Day 1
transportation 164.00
food 417.00
misc. 100.00
accommodation 634.00
Total Day 1 1,315.00
Day 2
transportation 559.00
food 300.00
misc. 150.00
accommodation 600.00
Total Day 2 1,609.00
Day 3
transportation 294.00
food 350.00
misc. 100.00
accommodation 520.00
SUMMARY of EXPENSES:
click here for the breakdown
Day 0
transporation 830.00
misc./food 100.00
Total Day 0 930.00
Day 1
transportation 164.00
food 417.00
misc. 100.00
accommodation 634.00
Total Day 1 1,315.00
Day 2
transportation 559.00
food 300.00
misc. 150.00
accommodation 600.00
Total Day 2 1,609.00
Day 3
transportation 294.00
food 350.00
misc. 100.00
accommodation 520.00
Total Day 3 1,264.00
Day 4
transportation 287.00
food 500.00
misc 1,000.00
accommodation 584.00
Total Day 4 2,371.00
Day 5
transportation 100.00
food 150.00
Misc. 1,000.00
Total Day 5 1,250.00
Total Expenses 7,475.00
Back to INSIGHTS
Day 4
transportation 287.00
food 500.00
misc 1,000.00
accommodation 584.00
Total Day 4 2,371.00
Day 5
transportation 100.00
food 150.00
Misc. 1,000.00
Total Day 5 1,250.00
Total Expenses 7,475.00
Back to INSIGHTS
2 comments:
Hi June, the tour you had in Pagudpud ang Laoag, whats your means of transportation? How many are you travelling?
Are there tour package availableon site? Meaning in Laoag and Pagudpud?
Thanks in anticipation
hi! is this a very late reply? hope not. Anyway, the whole time we were touring Ilocos we hired a trike (no aircon ;) ). There were just 3 of us. There are tour packages you can find online. I'm not sure if it's worth it though. I always go for Do it yourself travel, I think it's cheaper if you do it by group and the research part fuels the anticipation too. thanks for dropping by!
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