Friday, September 14, 2012

North Luzon Adventures: Itinerary & Travel tips



      We planned to visit various places in North Luzon for just 4 days without compromising our vacation-spirit adventures & relaxation. Places we wanted to see are as follows: Vigan, Batac, Laoag, Sarrat, Piddig, Pagudpud (Saud & Maira-ira).  So, if you are a group of 3 pax and wanted to explore North Luzon by simply commuting, I have the best travel tips for you.

August 17: Friday
8:45pm – GV Florida bus from Sampaloc to Bantay (Alight at Caltex Gasoline Station at around 5am)

August 18: Saturday: Stayed at Bantay Health Center (next to Bantay Police Station) up to 6am. We had our breakfast there.
6:00am – Walked to Bantay Church & Bantay Bell Tower
7:00am – Trike to Calle Crisologo/Heritage Village
7:30am – Trike to Pagburnayan Jar Making
                Trike to Baluarte Open Zoo
                Trike to Maverick Weaving
                Trike to Crisologo Museum
                Trike to Syquia Mansion               
10:00am – Trike to Padre Burgos Museum
                (Walk) Plaza Burgos
                (Walk) Vigan/St. Paul Cathedral
                (Walk) Plaza Salcedo – A taste of Vigan Empanada
11:00am – Trike to Bantay Highway
1:00pm – Marcos Mansion & Mausoleum
                A taste of Batac Empanada
3:00pm – Bus to Laoag
                (Walk) Laoag Museum (next to Laoag Capitol)
                (Walk) Tobacco Monopoly Monument
                (Walk) Laoag Sinking Tower
                (Walk) Laoag Cathedral
4:00pm – Early dinner at Mcdonalds
6:00pm – Trike to Laoag homestay

August 19: Sunday:
9:00am – Trike to Sarrat Jeepney Terminal
10:00am – Sta Monica Church and Sta Monica Park
10:30am – Jeep to Laoag
                 Trike to Paoay Jeepney Terminal
11:30am – Paoay Church
                Trike to Malacanang of the North/Batac Ti Amianan
                Overlooking Paoay Lake
                Paoay Sand Dunes
1:00pm – Jeep from Paoay to Laoag
2:00pm – Trike to Laoag Homestay
2:30pm – Trike to Saramsam Resto
               (Bagnet, Pinakbet Pizza & Ilocos Longanisa adventure)
4:00pm – Trike to Pagudpud Bus station
5:00pm – Burgos Highway
                Trike to/from Burgos Lighthouse
5:30pm – Bus to Kapurpurawan
                (didn't pursue since it’s getting late, opted to visit Bangui instead)
6:00pm – Jeep to Bangui
                Trike to Bangui Windmills
7:00pm – Bus to Pagudpud Highway
                Trike to Homestay

August 20: Monday: (planned to wake up at 6am to stroll along the beach but it mizzles in early morning so we opted to snore longer ahihihi)
8:30am – Municipal Beach Park (strolling & swimming at Saud)
11:00am – Brunch at Saud Homestay
12:00am – North Pagudpud adventures
                Kabigan Falls (allot 2 hrs: 30 minutes trek to the falls + swimming)
                Patapat Viaduct
                Agua Grande Park
                >>> Timangtang Rock Formation (just  few meters from Bantay Abot Cave)
                Bantay Abot Cave
                Blue Lagoon
                Dos Hermanos Island
5:00pm – Rest/Organized things at Blue Lagoon Homestay
6:00pm – Stroll along the Beach Blue Lagoon + Dinner (Paluto is usually served after an hour)

August 21: Tuesday:
8:30am – Breakfast
9:00am – Strolling the shore + swimming
10:30am –Ordered our Lunch, rest, eat and organizing our stuff
1:00pm –Trike to Pagudpud Highway (Dropped by Timangtang Rock Formation)
2:00pm –Alight at Kapurpurawan, Trike to Kapurpurawan Rock Formation
4:00pm –Bus to Laoag
6:00pm –Arrived at Laoag 
             ---last itinerary (personal) before heading to bus station to Manila
11:30pm Bidding goodbye to North Luzon Adventures

               
EXPENSIVE  TRAVEL  TIPS
 Vigan Travel Tips:  Bantay Church/Bell Tower should be the first travel destination since it is just 3 buildings away from the gasoline station. Baluarte Open Zoo opens as early as 6am also, it is best to visit it first.  Afterall, Baluarte is the farthest tourist destination within Vigan.

Batac/Paoay Travel Tips:  Batac is very near to Paoay also.  It is just 15 minutes travel thru jeepney. It can save you a great time and money to travel it simultaneously. Negotiate with tricycle driver for Paoay adventures (From Paoay Church to Malacanang of the North/Paoay lake and Paoay Sand Dunes and going back to Paoay Church or Laoag Jeep Terminal). For Paoay Sand Dunes, you have to allot a budget (at least Php1,500 for 30 minutes and Php2,500 for an hour) for the 4X4 car to bring you to the heart of sand dunes.

Sarrat Travel Tips: Allot 30 minutes waiting time in jeepney terminal

Pagudpud Travel Tips: Pagudpud is 2 hours travel from Laoag.  It is best to avail the tricycle travel package (Php600 each) for North Pagudpud and South Pagudpud.  For South Pagudpud Adventures, tourist destinations are quite farther from each other and you may spend more by commuting and negotiating with different tricycle drivers.  For North Pagudpud Adventures, don’t miss to swim (or soak yourself in a very cold and relaxing water from the falls. Don’t swim nearer the falls because you may compromise your safety with the (water) current. Blue Lagoon meals are usually Palutuan (you select the fish/meat that you want and they will cook it for you). You have to wait for an hour for the food to be served.

7 comments:

  1. Nice info, and thank you for share this tips ?

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  2. this is a very informative travel tips.. i bet you enjoyed that North Luzon trip you have--that is why there's more fun in the Philippines.:)

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  3. Does the tricycle travel in Pagudpud take 2 hours?

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  4. Thanks for the dropping by :) @Swexie, tricycle travel tours normally takes half day, it still depends on how long you will stay in every tourist spot. As to our case, we stayed longer (about 2.5 hrs) in Kabigan Falls since we really love swimming ...feeling the cold water... so relaxing... :)

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  5. Thanks for posting your itinerary. I've always wanted to go back north. I haven't been there in a long long time. When I'm able to travel back up at least I have an idea where to go already. :)

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  6. great info thanks for sharing this post.
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    ReplyDelete

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