Itinerary - Dumaguete-Bais City, Negros Or.

This destination is a real paradise for tourists seeking nature. Imagine seeing hundreds of dolphins, spending your afternoon, in a sandbar, walking on mangrove boardwalks, and swimming. What else can you ask for?

DAY 1
A.M. Arrive by plane to Dumaguete City
Check-in at hotel
Proceed to Apo Island
*note: if possible, try to stay overnight in a resort in Apo Island
What to do: swimming, snorkeling, community visits

Apo Island is famous for scuba diving and snorkeling. But it is also very ideal for swimming. It also gained respect and recognition because the local community has been active in protecting their coral reefs.

P.M. Back to Dumaguete City (or OVN in the island)

DAY 2
Proceed to Bais City
In the morning, look for dolphins, lunch on-board the boat. Nothing beats seeing whales and dolphins in the wild!

In the afternoon, proceed to the sand bar for some swimming opportunities. I suggest that you spend the time here till dusk, specially if the low tide is towards the afternoon.

P.M. Back to Dumaguete City

DAY 3 City tour of Dumaguete
Explore Silliman University and the Marine Laboratory
Silliman University is a premier education institution in the region. This is a vast complex extending to several hundred hectares. The Marine Laboratory contains some display of marine life plus bone of dolphins and whales.

DAY 4
A.M. Shopping opportunities
Free Time

Depart for Manila

Itinerary - Laoag, Ilocos Norte

Welcome to the gateway of the north. Ilocos Norte is replete with numerous cultural and historical structures dashed with some outstanding natural destinations.

DAY 1

8:00 P.M. ETD Manila

DAY 2

6:00 A.M. ETA Laoag City

Check-in
Rest
Breakfast

9:00 A.M. Hire a jeepney or a service vehicle and visit the following:

St. William’s Cathedral
The centers of the old towns are usually dominated by the church. Get the chance to visit this place and marvel at the Spanish-inspired architecture.

Sinking Bell Tower
This is the bell tower of the St. William’s Cathedral. And it was built about 80 meters from the church! The reason? Just in case an earthquake hits the area, the bell tower would not topple down on the church! Another thing to be noted is the name of the bell tower. Yes, its continually sinking.

Paoay Lake
Quite a scenic place with the lake dominating the scene.

Paoay Church
This is a really special church with impressive architecture and massive buttresses. Don’t leave Ilocos Norte without seeing this church!

Malacanang of the North
Or Malacanan Ti Amianan in the Ilocano language. Yup, this used to be the resthouse of a former president during his heyday.

Fort Ilocandia
This is really a resort located in a vast open space. You can take a peek of this complex and marvel at the architecture. Or you can opt to spend your night and throw some money unto a gambling table.

Marcos Mausoleum

Unless the remains of the former president has been transferred, a visit to this place can give you some surreal experience. Reality bites - everybody, no matter how strong or popular, has to finally be laid to rest.

DAY 3

Whole Day Hire a jeep for a swim in any of the following:

Currimao
Ideal to get that great tan and spend the rest of the day swimming and snorkeling. There are also resorts here so you can check-in should you wish to spend the night here.

La Paz Sand Dunes
Actually, there is a beach area right at the edge of this desert. So swimming can be an option.

This is also often used as a location spot for films. Try to imagine the Panday killing all the ghouls in the hot sands.

9:00 P.M. ETD Laoag City

DAY 4

5:00 A.M. ETA Manila

Itinerary - Sagada

Sagada is one of the off-the-beaten track areas that has become a mainstream destination in the Philippines. The outstanding views, cool climate, resilient and impressive cultures make up the whole Sagada. But wait, there’s more – you can see hanging coffins and explore one of the best adventure caves in the country. If you’re going to visit Sagada, get ready to sweat it out in this cool destination.


DAY 1
10:00 P.M.
ETD Manila
Its best to leave Manila at this hour to maximize your travel time. It also saves you precious money that would otherwise had been spent on accommodation if you went a day earlier to Baguio.

DAY 2
5:00 A.M.
ETA Baguio City
Proceed to a 24-hr Restaurant
456 Restaurant or near the main bus terminal
Breakfast
Walk (or take a taxi) towards Lizardo Trans Terminal near the city market

6:00 A.M. ETD Baguio City

2:00 P.M. ETA Sagada
Check-in (there are quite a number of inns in Sagada. Just walk over to the town center and see if there’s an available room)
Rest

3:00 P.M. Visit the following (by walking)
Church
This is a quaint little church most ideal for souvenir photos.

Cemetery
Who would have thought that cemeteries could be nice tourist attractions? Actually you would have to pass through here to visit the echo valley. There’s just some character in this place that is so different from many “usual” cemeteries. Plus, you could take a look at the tombstones and notice that some residents would have Japanese-sounding names.

Echo Valley
This place really bounces off your shout. Plus, a few more minutes exploring the vicinity would bring you to some limestone tower-like formations. Again, get your cameras ready for some larawanan sessions.

Local Restaurants
A seasoned traveler knows that one of the nicest places to visit in a quaint town are the restaurants. In Sagada, this can be a very good time to taste some interesting meals while resting your toes.

OVN

DAY 3
8:00 A.M. Go to the town hall to register, pay for the local fees, and arrange for a guide. Guides are very important in Sagada if you really want to see and experience the best of this place.

8:30 A.M. Start visit to the following:

Hanging Coffins (which can be seen on your way to Sumaging, or Big Cave
The Hanging Coffins introduced Sagada to the outside world, and the tourists. This is an old tradition where the coffins of the dead are put in the precarious crevices of the walls of the limestone mountains. This is still being practiced by some member of the community. The Hanging coffins are quite a unique culture found only in Sagada and another place in China.

1:00 P.M. End of Caving
Packed Lunch or snack (don’t leave your inn without food!)

Detour to Lomiyang Cave on your way back to town proper
This is another very interesting spot in the area where hundreds of pinewood coffins are placed and piled up on the cave’s entrance. The local guide should provide you with some enlightening insights into this part of their culture.

OVN

DAY 4
6:00 A.M. ETD Sagada

2:00 P.M. ETA Baguio City
Option for Panic Shopping in Baguio market
Snacks/early dinner

Anytime Bus to Manila

Itinerary - Baguio City

It’s quite unnerving when you reach the age of 25 and somebody would find out that you have never been to Baguio City. This summer capital is like the mecca of every domestic tourist. The good excuse to visit Baguio City is to tell everybody that you haven’t been to this place (and wait for the reaction of your friends). So buy that thick jacket now and get ready to taste the cold spell of this place.

DAY 1

7:00 A.M. ETD Manila

I usually recommend a night bus to get the most time in a destination. But since this will be your first time, a day bus would be better so you can see the sights along the way.

2:00 P.M. ETA Baguio City

Check in hotel or inn

Rest of P.M. Walk Around Session Road and visit the following:

Burnham Park (of curs!)

This is a sprawling man-made park which occupies most of the remaining green area of this growing metropolis. You can just take a leisurely walk in the park or try out the small boats in the lagoon.

Baguio Cathedral

This church majestically sits on a hill and. Good for some visita iglesia and souvenir photos.

Public Market

You can opt to visit the market on your last day to grab loads of usual Baguio pasalubongs like strawberry jams, souvenir stuff, even flowers and vegetables.

Ukay ukay Market

This is where the art of ukay-ukay was actually made into a major industry. Have some fun hunting for cheap, used clothing.

DAY 2

A.M. Camp John Hay

This is a sprawling ground with lots of high class tourist facilities and places to visit. Don’t forget to visit the Lost Cemetery and the eco trail if you want to maximize your time here.

Wright Park

This is one of the “must visit” places in Baguio City.

Mines View Park

Mines View Park is actually a place ideal for seeing the vast mountain views. Today, it has become a very busy shopping place. Just in case you don’t have an idea where the heck is the viewpoint (as the area is dominated by countless shops), see where most of the people are headed. By the way, there might be some kids standing over the dangerous section of the ridge fronting the viewpoint. They would be waiting for people to throw some coins. These kids would then try to catch the coins. DON’T patronize them by throwing coins. It is illegal and you might cause the death of a child.

P.M. Line up for a bottle of Good Shepherd Ube Jam

Many visitors would go all the way here and line up for one or two hours just to bring home a bottle of this famed ube jam.

Or go to the strawberry farms in La Trinidad.

Bring some money for local delicacy-grabbing. Some farm owners would let you pick your strawberry but most would already have some packed delicious fruits ready for the eager buyers. Be warned, though that when you pick the strawberries instead of buying packed ones, you would most probably pay double the amount of the latter.

DAY 3

A.M. Tam Awan Village

This is a tiny village-like spot where traditional Ifugao huts are built. One of its use is that it serves as a haven for artists who can spend their time in the area and possibly sell some of their works.

P.M. Back to Manila

Itinerary - Daet, Camarines Norte

The town of Daet is actually a destination that you will have to visit and not just pass by on your way to other parts of the Bicol Region. For one, since the Quirino Highway was built, most buses to the southern part of the country do not pass by Daet anymore to save at least 2 hours travel time. Thus, when you visit this province, traffic will be light. But expect long and winding roads before reaching Daet. Better take that anti-dizziness pill. Travel time from Manila takes about seven hours by night bus.

With very little traffic and not-so-known attractions, visiting Daet can be an eye-opener for even seasoned travelers. But given a week-end of discovering the area, you can do the following here: swimming, learning to surf, snorkeling, island-hopping.

DAY 1

10:00 P.M. ETD Manila

DAY 2

5:00 A.M. ETA Daet

Take a tricycle to your hotel and catch some sleep

7:00 A.M. Breakfast

Hire a jeepney or a tricycle to Mercedes which is about 7 kilometers away

Hire a boat to Apuao Grande

Apuao Grande used to be the premier destination in the province where a classy resort was built. The resort is still there, though the operation has been drastically trimmed down. Aside from Apuao Grande, there are other smaller islands that you can visit. Stay for an hour for some swimming and snorkeling in one island then hop on the boat for another. Be sure to bring packed lunch.

3:00 P.M. Back to Mercedes Town proper

Back to Daet

DAY 3

Whole A.M. Hire a jeepney to San Jose Beach in Talisay

Swimming, roll with the waves

This is a very long stretch of gray sand where the waves are most ideal for either surfing or adventure swimming, that is, waiting for a big wave then letting your body roll as the wave hits the beach. A word of caution, don’t do this with the water level beyond your waistline. If you want to try learning how to surf, there are some local surfing dudes who rent out their surfboards and give you some quick lessons. But the better place to find surfboards to rent would be in Bagasbas.

P.M. Transfer to Bagasbas Beach in Daet

Continue Swimming

Bagasbas Beach gave Daet recognition as a tourist destination. This is connected to San Jose Beach. Aside from water sports, numerous restaurants are established in the mini boulevard fronting the beach. Thus, you can have the time of your life watching the waves while sipping your favorite refreshment (say, mango shake?).

Dinner in any of the restaurants in Bagasbas

DAY 4

A.M. Jeepney to Paracale

If you know the term Paracale Gold then you would immediately know that the shining stuff came from this place. Actually gold mining has been an established industry in Paracale even before the Spaniards came here. Although the mining areas are diminishing, the gold industry is still a dominant livelihood of the people of Paracale. You can visit some houses to look at how they make intricate gold jewelry. Then on to the streetside shops to buy not so expensive gold pasalubong.

Lunch Back to Daet for lunch and pasalubong shopping or spend more time Bagasbas for swimming and surfing lessons.

9:00 P.M. ETD Daet

DAY 5

4:00 A.M. ETA Manila

Coron Itinerary

Important Note!! - As of Oct, 2010, the superferry service between Manila and Palawan is still not operational. Travellers usually have no choice but to fly from Manila to Coron and/or Puerto Princesa. Will update this blog the soonest the ferry service resumes.

******

This particular destination is actually very far from Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan. In fact a lot of travelers get confused when they start planning a trip to Palawan. Many would already include Coron and Puerto Princesa in a three-day itinerary only to find out later on that in order to visit one on a three-day free time would mean dropping the other one.

For the uninitiated, the place called Coron is actually located in the northern part of the very long island of Palawan. To further complicate things, Coron is actually located in a group of islands called the Calamianes. There are also two Corons here: the town proper of Coron is located in a big island called Busuanga (there is also a municipality here called Busuanga). Now, there is also the tiny island of Coron which is located just a few minutes from Busuanga Island and/or the poblacion of Coron. Most of the premier terrestrial attractions in the area are located in Coron Island.

There is also some confusion in getting to the area. If you’re taking a plane, chances are the airlines would say that they will be landing in Busuanga. If you’re taking a ship, its port of call would be Coron. To meekly simplify this situation, the airstrip is about 45 minutes away from the Coron town proper.

Coron became famous because of the number of warships that went down during the Second World War. It was the time when the American forces came back to beat the Japanese forces and hundreds of U.S. planes were strafing and dropping bombs on the hapless fleets of Japanese ships. One huge fleet got caught in the area and sunk the clear waters. Now, those ships are the favored vacation objects of scuba divers with a fetish for shipwrecks.

But beyond (actually, above) the wrecks and excellent coral reefs, Coron holds much promise for people in search of great vacation spots. One can do island hopping and spend hours on end in white sand beaches or snorkeling in the clear waters of this tiny piece of paradise. The island also hosts some of the most impressive limestone cliffs and highly impressive lakes.

This itinerary is most appropriate for people who can spend two whole days in the area. The Superferry ship usually leaves Manila on Friday evenings and arrives in Coron early morning the following day. Then the next day, the same ship returns to Coron to pick up the passengers and bring them to Manila after a 12-hour nocturnal trip.

By Ship

Day 1

5 – 10 P.M. Depart Manila by Superferry

The superferry schedule is one of the best things in traveling to Coron. It usually leaves Manila at round 5:00 of every Friday (but the exact time of departure is notoriously changing, depending on what ship is used), then after a 12 hour cruising, it arrives at around 7:00 A.M. in the town of Coron. On the trip back to Manila, the same ship makes a port of call in Coron on Sunday evening then arrives in Manila at around 7:00 or 12 noon on Monday. Some seasoned travelers would already be wearing working clothes and be ready to get to their offices afer disembarking from the ship.

Day 2

7:00 A.M. Arrive Coron

Take tricycle to an inn (like Darayonan Inn)

Breakfast

9:00 A.M. Start discovery of Coron

Ride a hired boat in the town port and visit the following:

Bangol Beach

This is short stretch of white sand beach with a huge rock tower on the side. Definitely ideal for swimming and snorkeling. This is also used for picnic lunch while island-hopping.

Skeleton Wreck

You don’t need to learn scuba diving to see a sunken shipwreck! Located in a relatively shallow parts of one section of Coron Island, you can see the ghostly appearance of the wreck plus colorful sea life while snorkeling in the area.

Must have packed lunch

3:00 P.M. End of island hopping

Back to town

Snacks (say a pizza snack in Sea Dive Resort)

4:00 P.M. Trek to Tapyas Hill and wait for sunset.

With seemingly unending concrete staircases, you can have a combination of unscheduled penitence and exhilarating vista of the landscape and seascape of the area. Definitely worth the effort.

6:00 P.M. Back to town

Hire a tricycle to Maquinit Hot Spring

It’s a 15-minute ride to the (very) hot spring. Just right for your tired muscles.

8:00 P.M. Back to inn

Dinner

Day 3

9:00 A.M. Another island-hopping day. Take hired boat to visit the following:

Kayangan Lake

This is one of the main treasures of Coron. A brackish lake surrounded by limestone walls, and reputedly one of the cleanest lakes in the country.

Twin Lagoon

This is a very interesting site to visit. The boat will navigate through quiet waters bordered by sheer limestone mountains then you will stop right in front of a small hole where you have to swim in. On the other side of the hole is another lagoon. The experience can be very surreal and very fun. Even of you know how to swim, bring your life vest to save on energy and have more fun staying in the place.

CYC Island
This is a small island ringed by white sand beaches and growing army of mangrove forest.

Highly ideal for swimming, sunbathing and a bit of snorkeling.

3:00 P.M. Back to town

Souvenir shopping and explore the small town

Arnd 8:00 P.M. Back to Manila

Day 4

7:00 A.M. or 12:00 noon - ETA Manila

Palawan Itinerary

I've always been asked how to best enjoy Palawan. Im sharing this itinerary should you want to visit Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Its a tried and tested itinerary enjoyed by lots of my friends and their friends.

PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN
Always touted as the last frontier of the Philippines, the island province of Palawan holds true to that reputation. This area is considered as one of the few dream destinations for many seasoned and would-be travelers. With more than a thousand islands, islets, cays and shoals and matched by impressive limestone cliffs, excellent coral reefs, cultures and other interesting natural treasures, I recommend that you allot at least three to four days of your entire lifetime to visit the attractions in Palawan.

DAY 1
6:00 A.M. ETD Manila

7:00 A.M. ETA Puerto Princesa City
Take a tricycle or get to a service vehicle
Check-in Hotel or Lodging House
Breakfast

After Breakfast
Hire a tricycle or a service vehicle for a city tour

Visit the following:

Butterfly Farm
This is a private lot that was converted into a butterfly farm where one can see butterflies in all stages of their lives. Adult butterflies flutter about in a landscaped garden where tourists can freely walk.

Iwahig Penal Colony
This is actually a prison area where the inmates are given the chance to become farmers and workers in the sprawling land. A visitor can buy handicrafts made by the prisoners.

Crocodile Farm
A different kind of farm where crocodiles are kept in captivity to help their species survive in the Philippines. More than 500 crocodiles call this home. Visitors can see the skeleton of a huge man-eater that gobbled up people in the past. They will also be given lectures on the ecological importance of crocodiles and later, made to walk on steel boardwalks located on top of crocodile pens. Have some pesos ready for a photo opportunity while holding a baby croc and buying some souvenir items make of crocodile teeth. Try to cajole the staff into telling you the stories on the man-eaters they caught in the wild.

There are also cages of different animals they rescued from poachers and traders.

Late P.M. Back to Accommodation
Rest
Dinner (Accommodation or city restaurant)
Recommended: Kaluis, Kinabuch, Kamarikutan
OVN

DAY 2
Early A.M. Proceed to Honda Bay by hired tricycle or service vehicle (must have packed lunch)

Honda Bay is one of the must-visit destinations in Puerto Princesa. It has numerous small islands that are usually ringed by white sands. Get ready to have tanned skin under the sun while having the time of your life swimming, snorkeling and sun bathing.

Whole Day Island Hopping
Snake Island
Pandan Island
Any other island in the area

Late P.M. Back to city proper
OVN

DAY 3
7:00 A.M. Proceed to Sabang for a visit to St. Paul Subterranean River National Park (okay, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park). Either hire an FX or service vehicle.

10:00 A.M. ETA Sabang
Transfer to a boat

10:30 A.M. ETA Park
Register
Wait for your turn to explore the cave by boat

Lunch at the park area

2:00 P.M. Exploration should be finished by this time

Take boat back to Sabang

2:30 P.M. ETD Sabang

5:00 P.M. ETA city proper
OVN

DAY 4
Early A.M. Panic Shopping
Hire a tricycle and visit the souvenir stores in the city
Actually, there is an easy way – you can buy a lot of items at the souvenir shop beside the airport. You can do this after you have checked-in and while waiting for your flight.

11:00 A.M. ETD Puerto Princesa City

12:00 NN ETA Manila
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