Showing posts with label How to get there. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to get there. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

DIY Baguio Tour 2018

After three years, we were finally able to visit Baguio again and I'd say this time, we're able to make the most of our trip.

In this post, I'll be sharing our itinerary during our 2-day stay. Before our trip, I already planned the places we'll be visiting that's why  we didn't have much idle time there.

It's already past 11PM when we arrived at the Victory Liner Terminal in Cubao (the one located beside Grand Prix). i was actually planning to take the 11:55PM trip but since they have a bus departing at 11:30PM, we rode that one instead. There's not much people travelling at night so everything was smooth. I only spent 5 minutes in their ticket booth and in no time, we're already being boarded. The fare is still at P455 (Student fare is P356).

We didn't mind the zig zags and the long travel time since we're all sleeping during the 5-hour trip.

Upon arriving, we went off to Good Taste to have our Breakfast. The taxi fare from Victory Liner Terminal to Good Taste is P50 and there are a lot of taxis waiting outside the terminal so you could easily hire one. The generous serving of their delicious Buttered Chicken made sure that we'll be full during our city tour.

After taking our Breakfast, we walked all the way to Session Road to attend the mass in Baguio Cathedral. We're just in time for the 6AM mass.

After the mass, we went off to Camp John Hay. The taxi fare from Baguio Cathedral to Camp John Hay is P70. The Bell House is still closed and the guard said it opens at 8AM so we just explored around. We took photos in the Liberty Loop first, then went around the Cemetery of Negativism. Then we went to visit the Butterfly Sanctuary. There is an entrance fee of P70 and for that price, you'll get to have unlimited photos with the Butterflies. I think that's overpriced but we paid it anyway for the experience. At exactly 8AM we're already walking towards to entrance of the Bell House and they're already open. We paid an entrance fee of P60 each and for that amount, you'll get to visit the Bell House, the Bell Ampitheatre, the Secret Garden, and the Trail. We spent an hour and a half roaming around, taking pictures and appreciating the place.






Our next stop after the Bell House is Choco-late de Batirol. Our taxi fare costed P50. The place is hidden behind trees and it's cozy but Instagrammable.Since all of us are still full from our heavy Breakfast, we opted to just try their Hot Chocolate. I loved their Baguio Blend. It just has the right amount of sweetness unllike the Choco Mallows. We spent 40 minutes in this place before we went off to Wright Park.

From Choco-late de Batirol to Wright Park, the taxi fare is P50. We took pictures in front of the Mansion first before roaming around Wright Park. Just outside the park, there are a lot of vendors selling strawberries and grapes, and Strawberry taho. Inside the park, there are stalls selling souvenirs and pasalubong so I was able to buy my kids tshirts. There are a lot of empty picnic chairs and tables so we're able to rest there and had some snacks.




It's already past 11AM when we left Wright Park and headed off to Minesview Park. The taxi fare to Minesview Park is P50. There are also a lot of stalls there just outside the park selling pasalubongs but we will still visit the market tomorrow so I will just buy my pasalubongs there. We took the stairs to go to the View Deck and since the place is so crowded, we just left after a few minutes and walked all the way to Good Shepherd. At around 12:30PM, we're already walking back to Minesview Park but I was disappointed when I learned that there's no 50s Diner there contrary to what I read in Google so We have to settle in one of the carinderias. We're all done by 1:30PM so we headed off to Cafe Caridad in City Camp Alley where we'll be staying.


At Cafe Caridad


Everyone's really tired after a half day tour so we all went to sleep right after checking in. We woke up at 7:30PM already and we're all hungry so we took a taxi to Pizza Volante in Session Road to have our Dinner. Fare is P50. It's already past 9PM when we finished our Dinner so we just walked to Harrison Road to check out the night market. After a few hours of going through all stuffs and cheap finds, we're all tired and went back to our transient.

The following day, we're still tired from a lot of walking during our first day so we just bought coffee from 7 11 and went back to our room. It's a good thing everything we need is just a few minute walk from our place.

After checking out at 10AM, we walked all the way to Session Road again and took our Brunch in 50s Diner. Finally, we're able to dine here and I'd say it's the best I've ever had in Baguio. After eating, we're supposed to be visiting Bell Church but since it's already past 12NN, they're already closed and will open again at 1:30PM. We visited Tam-Awan Village instead and it's not really for me since I haven't fully recovered from my knee surgery yet. The fare is P90. I was challenged by the trail but I survived even though I almost faint  because of my acrophobia (fear of heights). I loved the paintings displayed in their gallery and I'm hoping to buy a masterpiece or two in the future.




After visiting Tam-Awan, we finally headed off to my favorite place in Baguio, the market. The fare from Tam-Awan to the market is P90. After buying pasalubongs, we went to my Uncle's house and spent the afternoon there and come evening, they accompanied us to the terminal.

It's another great experience for us being in Baguio and I'm already excited to visit next year.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Puerto Galera during the Low Season 2016 Part 1: Going to Puerto Galera - Bus Fares, Boat Rates and other Fees

My Hubby and my Brother-in-law wants to surprise my Mother-in-law on her birthday and they decided on taking her and the whole family to Puerto Galera. I, being a cheapskate, was the one assigned to do the planning and budgeting.

I remember we almost got scammed last year when a fixer approached us and told us he will negotiate with the ticket seller and have our 3 yr. old son waived of the boat fare. After handing us our tickets, we gave him a tip but he asked for half of the supposed boat fare he was able to negotiate. When he started shouting at the entrance of the terminal, we immediately went inside. He was trying to deceive us when in fact 3yrs. old and below are free to ride the ferry. It's a lesson learned and from then on, I will just buy the tickets myself. Anyway, there are staffs from the different shipping lines who will assist you.

So now, the first thing I have to do is check the latest fares. As posted on Jam Liner's Facebook page, their latest fare from Cubao-Batangas Pier is P175. Minolo Shipping Lines reply to my text message is that their fare is the same at P500/roundtrip Batangas Pier-White Beach. Round trip tickets are cheaper by P50 than 2 one-way ticket. Kids 3 yrs. old and below are free of charge. Apart from the bus fare and boat fare, there is still a P30 Terminal Fee and a P50 Environmental User Fee that needs to paid at the terminal. Kids 3ft and below are exempted from the Terminal Fee, and Senior Citizens and students have discounts. For the Environmental User Fee, kids 12 yrs. old and below are exempted and Senior Citizens have discounts as well. I read in a blog post that you can ask for a discount if you're coming in group of 5 or more, so I guess I will do that when we get there.

So, here's a rough estimate of the fare going to Puerto Galera:

Bus Fare (Cubao - Batangas Pier - Cubao) - 350
Ferry (Batangas Pier - White Beach - Batangas Pier) - 500
Environmental User Fee - 50
Terminal Fee - 30
White Beach Exit Fee - 10

TOTAL FARE EXPENSE PER PERSON: P940