Kaboom and I’m here in Baguio City! A trip that I could say somehow relative to preparing a cup of instant noodles, that in an instant you’ll be in a place different from the hassle and bustle of Metro.
The City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city located in the province of Benguet in Northern Luzon Island of the Philippines. It is one of the most visited cities by Manilenos for its easy access and inviting weather making it a destination for people who wanted to have breezy localized winter weather. Because of its altitude, the Philippine Commission designated Baguio City as the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
If your travelling here are some tips to consider;
- Always make an itinerary
- Search and Use Mr. Google
- Do an advance Ticket Booking and Accommodations
- Always bring an extra money
Well actually those tips listed above are the things I wasn’t able to do in this trip. It’s like just an hour of decision making “at Nagkayayaan lang! Biglaan!”
For budget travellers like me, I’ve set my spending mark not more than Php 2,000. And because I’ll be travelling with friends, expenses could be much cheaper specially when renting an overnight stay for 4 persons.
We started the journey at Victory Liner in Cubao. If your leaving on a holiday or weekend be sure to book a ticket a day before or a week before you leave specially if you wanted to book a particular time or seats in the bus. In our case we didn’t booked so we waited an hour or two to be able to be accommodated. We took a regular air-conditioned bus ride going to Baguio costing Php 450 each. So that sums up to Php 900 to and from. The Deluxe bus ride of Victory liner have its own toilet and a bit more spacious plus there is a free snacks and assistance from a stewardess as well. One ride cost Php 715 thou. It’s ideal as well to travel in the evenings so you could have a nice 5-6 hours sleep with two stopovers in Tarlac and Sison Pangasinan.
When we arrive the weather was colder than inside the bus at 16 degrees. It is ideal to buy your tickets going back to Manila to ensure your prefer time of departure and the bus seats.
If you have friends in Baguio its good to asked some suggestions for a place to rent. Like what we did, we rented a place in costing just Php 1000 for one day.
The accommodation we rented is good for 4 person near the Navy Base
On a day trip with a very limited budget, here are some of the suggestions you could do to still enjoy your trip to Baguio City.
- Night Market – usually starts at around 6pm till midnight. Harrison Road is closed from end to end to accommodate sellers of mostly called wagwag (ukay-ukay) Priced ranges from less than a hundred up to a thousand defending on what items you would buy. They have items here from shoes to caps. And other items you can buy for pasalubong.
2. Burnham Park – is centered around a man-made lake located at the heart of the city. It was named after the city’s planner, Daniel Burnham. The park is a favourite place of local residents and visitors alike.
3. Wright Park – which is located at the eastern part of the city and fronting the main gate of the Mansion, is one of the many scenic parks in Baguio City. Its main features are a shallow elongated rectangular body of water known as the “Pool of Pines” and the park circle which is on one end of the park.
The Wright Selfie
4. The Mansion – One local told me that one of the reason why Baguio was called to be as the Summer Capital of the Philippines is because of The Mansion where the president of the Philippines usually visits every summer, thus the name Summer Capital was given. The Mansion is located on the eastern part of the city along the Leonard Wood Road and right across from Wright Park.
5. Ukay-Ukay Hub – just a few walks at the end of session road you’ll find a series of buildings where ukay-ukay hunters loves the most.
6. Botanical Garden – This is one of the place perfect for photography enthusiast, the place has got a lot of subjects and angles to do a photoshoot. The Botanical garden is located just 1 kilometer from Session Road, along beautiful Leonard Wood between teachers Camp and Wright Park.
6. Baguio Public market – is located right at the lower end of Session Road and behind the Maharlika center. It is where to by different souvenirs typical of Baguio.
7. Sm City Baguio – This was actually the first mall I’ve visited that doesn’t have an air conditioning. I listed it here because its one of the place which has a viewing deck where you can have that top view of the city facing the Burnham Park.
8. Session Road – I could say is the busiest street in Baguio. It’s the main thoroughfare of the city and also the center of Baguio’s commercial establishment. This is where you will find department stores, banks, movie houses and bazaars. And if you’re a bit hungry, this is the perfect place to dine in for there are a lot of restaurant choices along the area. To end up our tour, before heading to manila, we visited the popular restaurant for vegetarian and healthy eaters. Oh My Gulay is a garden/art like place located at the top floor of the La Azotea Bldg. along Session Road. Regular dining can cost around 100- 300 pesos. The servings are good for sharing as well. Aside from the great ambiance the overlooking view was also great place to relax.
OMG!
There are still a lot of places to visit in Baguio. You can check out their website www.baguio.gov.ph to know more. And because I’m travelling with friends, its ideal to take the Taxi to and from, taxi fare costs a flag down rate of only 35 pesos, and because Baguio is a small city taxi fare could only cost less than a hundred. Whats good about here is that taxi drivers do give change even up to a peso. Coolness!
All in all I’ve spent around Php 1,800 (including the Fare Php 900, Overnight Stay for Php 250 each for 4 persons, Food with 3 meals Php 450, miscellaneous which includes taxi fare Php 200) and more if your planning to buy some stuffs in Ukay-Ukay or pasalubong from the local market. Here are some other pictures from my travel.
Enjoy eating the localised version of Taho in Strawberry Flavor
Don’t forget to have a personal shot of yourself on your visit here in Baguio City
You can check out more pictures here.
