Get to visit Philippine's historical spots, experience places that has the touch of foreign countries, and feast your eyes with spectacular landscapes. They call it Ilocandia tour, for tourists who are looking for mega sightseeing, Ilocos is just a perfect place. The Ilocandia tour is divided into three destinations, Pagudpud, Laoag and Vigan, each destination has an innumerable tourist spots, so if you plan make the most of your trip, I suggest to reserve at least 3-4 days of your schedule.
As first timers in this tour we heed the advice of our fellow backpackers, and that's to start our journey to Pagudpud which is the farthest, then Laoag and last is Vigan. Prior to travel we already contacted our tourist guides who would help us visit each destination. Traveling along with one of my best friends, we took a Florida bus from manila going to Pagudpud, we strategically traveled during the night, since it's a 9-11 hours travel to Pagudpud, so by the time we'd be there it would be morning then we could start our tour and waste no time. We Departed 9:30 pm and has reached Pagudpud around 7 am. As we reached Pagudpud, we had our breakfast at Kusina ni Aleesha, the place is pretty popular as we were fetch there by our tourist guide, Mang Amor. The tour would be via Tricycle, maximum of 3 people. Pagudpud tour is divided into two trips South and North, you can choose one or both. Supposedly the tour cost is 600 pesos for the North and 600 pesos for the south, but I guess we're lucky that Mang Amor is so kind to just charge us 1,000 pesos for both South and North tour.
Pagudpud Tour
List of spots we visited
*First spot Kabigan Falls
We paid 120 pesos for another tourist guide for it's advisable to get one. From its entrance, we walked for almost 30 minutes to reach the falls, we were led by Ate Lina our tourist guide who's very informative and a good picture taker.
Clear and cold water. We were better off bathing than just playing the water with our bare hands, however there's no room to change clothes.
*Patapat Viaduct
*Aqua Grande
*Paraiso ni Anton
*Timangtang Rock
*Bantay Abot Cave
*Blue Lagoon
White sand, blue water and a not so gentle waves. Both sweaty and hungry, it's a perfectly timed arrival for lunch and bathing as we reached Blue Lagoon.
White sand, blue water and a not so gentle waves. Both sweaty and hungry, it's a perfectly timed arrival for lunch and bathing as we reached Blue Lagoon.
Ready
Set
Beach!
After eating lunch we never waited a minute, and we just threw ourselves to the beach. I definitely enjoyed clashing myself to the waves as it washed away my stress and gave my back a massage service.
*Saud Beach
*Bangui Windmills
(These last two spots is located in Burgos, we have to change tricycle service, since our service is not allowed to get inside Burgos. We paid 300 pesos for a different tricycle service in exchange to visit these two magnificent spots.)
*Cape Bojeadour Lighthouse
Above the light house, eyeing this perfectly painted horizon
*Kapupurawan White Rock
This is definitely not Greece, but it felt like I just visited the place.
The trip is fluent as we arrived in each attraction in a perfect time and condition. It's already late-afternoon after we visited the last spot on the list which is the "Kapupurawan White Rock", we then headed to Laoag via bus, and took us almost 2 hours to be there. We never had trouble finding a place to stay in Laoag for there are a lot of inns and hotels nearby. We stayed at Texicano Hotel: Probably not the most but certainly a cheap place to stay. We asked for the cheapest room they have which cost 410 pesos per night and we also had our dinner at their own restaurant.
Morning came, around 8:30 am we were fetch by Mang Toto, our tour guide, at the hotel we stayed in.
Laoag Tour
List of spots we visited
* Malacañang of the North
As we continued our Ilocandia tour, we, first explored the Malacañang of the North also known as "Malacañang ti Amianan"
It was an interesting infiltration at the two-storey mansion of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. The place is now a museum of the late president's memorabilia.
*Sand Dunes
This is were we totally had fun during our tour in Laoag. It was definitely a thrilling adventure as we burst speed the ATV through the sea of sand, though we ended up getting stuck in the sand, I had fun watching my best friend being showered with sand as she did the reverse to get the ATV out to were it got stuck. Well, it's just one of those laughable moments we could look back during our tour here.
*Paoay Church
*Mousoleum
I gotta admit I'm not really a fan of museums
*St. Williams Church
*Sinking Bell
It was early afternoon when we finished our tour in Laoag, after our tour, Mang Toto dropped us off to Partas Terminal, and we waited for a bus there bound to Vigan, while waiting, we were talking about our tour going to Vigan, then a random guy overheard our conversation and asked us if we already have a tour guide, luckily for both parties, we haven't contracted any tour guide for our tour there, he then referred his friend, Manong Alex to us as our tour guide and gave his phone number. We contracted Manong Alex, and he gave us the whole package tour for 500 pesos but we bargained him if we could get it for 400 pesos and he agreed. It's an almost 2 hours transit time to reach Vigan. It's already 5:00 pm when we arrived. We were fetched at Partas Terminal by Manong Alex and helped us looked for a place to stay for the night . He told us the places we're going to visit, and how Vigan shines the most during the night, he told us a lot of stuff about his place like a professional tour guide. He's very nice, accommodating and very excited to show the beauty of his place, thus in the end of the tour we decided and gave him 500 pesos because he deserves it.
Vigan Tour
Well, too start off, Manong Alex fetched us quarter to 7:00 pm at the place we stayed and took us to Plaza Salcedo to watch the Popular Dancing Fountain, He told us that our tour wouldn't be completed if we won't watch the show.
*Dancing Fountain Show
Being my first time, I was wowed and overwhelmed by the show, I've only heard from my Aunt that she had seen a dancing fountain when she visited Singapore but I never expected that Philippines has this first class show and that I'd see one myself
Good thing I was still able to take pictures from the show, as what I mostly did was dance and get mesmerized as the lights synchronized in every music played by the show.
Close to the Plaza Salcedo is the Vigan Cathedral
After the show, Vigan Cathedral caught my attention as it
glimmers beautifully to where I'm standing.
*Calle Crisologo
Held last December, 2014 as one of the New 7 Wonder Cities of the World.
Traversing the popular Spanish touch Street had me lost in its past. Seeing these old fashioned houses, walking through these treasured cobbled stone and hearing the familiar sound of Calesa, it's no doubt that I'm sucked in the past of Spanish period but that illusion was soon broken when I saw modern people passing by. Surely, Calle Crisologo made me experienced time travel for an instant moment.
*Bantay Bell Tower
*Malacañang First
*Burnayan Pottery
There's a fun in playing dirt; Look! I made a pot myself.
*Hidden Garden(No Pictures)
*Baluarte
Baguio Side Trip
Before going back to Manila my best friend and I decided to have a side trip to Baguio.
Spots we visited
*Burnham Park
*Minesview Park
*Lourdes Grotto
(No Pictures)
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| Ilocandia Tour (Pagudpud, Laoag and Vigan) Baguio Side Trip - Summary | |||
| Pagudpud Tour | |||
| Period | Destination/Activity | Outlay | Additional Info |
| Day 1 (9:30 PM to 7:10 AM) | Manila To Pagudpud ( via Florida Bus) | 650 pesos/pax | Florida Bus Address: Earnshaw Street, Sampaloc, Manila, Metro Manila |
| 7:10 to 7:45 AM | Breakfast at Kusina ni Aleesha | 150-200 pesos for 2 pax |
Tourist Guide: Mang Amor (Tricycle No: 300)
Contact No.: 09195712905 Package Tour Cost: 1,200 Pesos |
7:45 to 11:45 AM
| ~Kabigan Falls | (w/tour guide) 120 pesos | |
| ~Patapat Via Duct | |||
| ~Agua Grande | (25 pesos Entrance Fee) | ||
| ~Paraiso ni Anton | |||
| ~Timangtang Rock | |||
| ~Bantay Abot Cave | |||
| 11:45 AM to 1:30 PM | Lunch at the nearby carinderia at Blue Lagoon then swimming after. | (25 pesos Entrance Fee) Lunch: 200 to 250 for 3 pax | |
1:30 to 5:45 PM
| ~Saud Beach | ||
| ~Bangui Windmills | |||
| ~Cape Bojeadour Lighthouse |
These two spots is located in Burgos so we have to change tricycle service to visit these two spots
Cost: 300 pesos 5:00 pm: Cut off time to enter the place | ||
| ~Kapupurawan White Rock | |||
| Laoag Tour | |||
| 5:45 to 7:20 PM | Pagudpud to Laoag (via bus) | 120 pesos | |
| 7:30 PM | Check-in at Texicano Hotel | 410 pesos/night | Double Bed w/ Cr and Ceiling fan only |
| 8:00 PM | Dinner at Texicano Restaurant | 300-350 pesos for 2 pax | Tourist Guide: Mang Toto Contact No.: 09183801833 Package Tour Cost: 600 pesos |
| Day 2 (7:30 AM) | Breakfast at Tapsilog Avenue | 130 pesos for 2 pax | |
8:30 AM to 12:20 PM
| ~Malacañang of the North | ||
| ~Sand Dunes | 800 pesos for ATV Rental | ||
| ~Paoay Church | |||
| 12:20 PM | Lunch at Batac | 150 pesos for 3 pax | We only had Empanada for Lunch |
1:20 to 3:00 PM
| ~Mousoleum | ||
| ~St. Williams Church | |||
| Vigan Tour | |||
| 3:15 to 5:00 PM | Laoag to Vigan (via Partas Bus) | 160 pesos/pax | Partas Terminal in Laoag |
| 5:00 PM | Check-in at Noli's Transient | 800 pesos/24 hour |
Double Bed, w/ aircon and CR
Contact No.: 09164610847 Located at San Julian |
| 5:00 to 6:45 PM | Nap time | ||
| 7:00 PM | Off to Plaza Salcedo to watch dancing fountain show |
Tourist Guide: Manog Alex
Contact No.: 09357724212 Package Tour Cost: 500 pesos | |
8:00 to 10:00 PM
| ~Calle Crisologo | ||
| Pastries and Coffee trip for dinner at Coffee Break Vigan | 200~400 for 2 pax | ||
| 10:00 PM | Back to Transient House | ||
| Day 3 (9:00 AM) | Breakfast at Mcdonald | ||
9:00 AM to 12:25 PM
| ~Bantay Bell Tower | ||
| ~Malacañang First | |||
| ~Crisologo Museum | |||
| ~Burnayan Pottery | |||
| ~Hidden Garden | |||
| 12:45 to 1:30 PM | Lunch at Hidden Garden | 650 pesos for 3 pax | |
| 1:30 to 2:30 PM | ~Baluarte | ||
2:30 to 3:30 PM
| ~Calle Crisologo | ||
| Coffee Break Vigan | |||
| 3:30 PM | Back to Transient | ||
| Baguio Side Trip | |||
| Day 4 (11:00 PM to 5:45 AM) | Vigan to Baguio (via Partas Bus) | 334 pesos/pax | Partas Terminal in Vigan |
5:45 to 8:00 AM
| ~Burnham Park | ||
| Biking | |||
| 8:00 to 8:30 AM | Breakfast | 200 to 250 for 2 pax | |
| 8:30 to 10:00 AM | ~Minesview Park | ||
| 10:00 to 10:30 AM | ~Lourdes Grotto | ||
| 10:30 to 11:00 AM | Lunch | 150 pesos | |
| 11:00 AM to 7:15 PM | Baguio to Manila (via Bus Dagupan Transpo) | 445 pesos | |
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"
