3-Days in Iloilo City – Travel Guide: Where to Stay, What to eat and Things to do in the City of Love

Located geographically at the very center of the Philippines, Iloilo City is fondly called as the City of Love. And true to what it was coined, Ilonggos can truly be considered as one of the most friendly, loving and soft-spoken people. According to some of the people I have talk to in the place, crime rate here are almost insignificant, making this one of the best places to visit down south.

And early of this year, I was able to come back and visit this awesome place. Though my trip was a bit short, it still gave me that satisfaction because I was able to satisfy my cravings and just gave me a few more reasons to just go back again and visit some of the places I missed in this trip.

In this blog, will be giving you information on some of the places you should not missed if you would be visiting Iloilo city this year.

At my back is the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art

Where to Stay in Iloilo City

There are actually a lot of nice hotels and homestays in Iloilo City. But just like what I have said from my previous travel article, it is always good to find places that are near to some of the establishments you would be visiting, for you can save both time and money from transportation expenses to these sites. In my recent visit, we decided to book a two night stay here at Richmonde Hotel along Megaworld Boulevard in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. The hotel is near to a mall, and a museum we planned visiting. You can check out my review about the hotel here.

Read: Richmonde Hotel Review

Here are some of the other options to check on your visit.

• Days Hotel by Wyndham Iloilo
• Casa La Granja Hotel
• Bearland Paradise Resort
• One Madison Place Tower 1
• Eon Centennial Plaza Hotel

Places to Visit in Iloilo City

How much time is ideally great when visiting Iloilo? Well, It really depends on the things you would be doing. If you just decided to stay and roam around Iloilo City, 2- 3 days would be enough. That length can already be considered a relax tour. But if you would want to do island hoping in Gigantes island, and/or visit the other tourist destinations in other municipality, adding a day or two would really be fine.

Outside the Molo Mansion

Riding jeepneys would be the best way to roam around the city affordably. Taxis are also available. Here are some of the places you can visit in Iloilo City

• Jaro Church and Belfry
• Museo Iloilo
• Molo Mansion
• Molo Plaza & Church
• Casa de Emperador
• Iloilo of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCO)
• Iloilo Esplanade River

Iloilo City Business Park

One of the art pieces inside Iloilo Museum of Contemporary  Art

One of the newly open mall in Iloilo City

Molo Church and Park

Also Read: Cruising from Manila to Iloilo City

Where to Eat in Iloilo City

Iloilo City is one of the best places to do foodtrip for there are a lot of delicious and authentic dishes to try in this place. Of course you should not forget to try the famous Iloilo Special batchoy. Thou some of these places are a bit difficult to find (some are located inside the wet market), checking it on google maps can truly be helpful.

Here are some of the places we visited and tried on our stay.

1. Eat Batchoy at Popoy’s Special Batchoy

Popoy’s Special Batchoy has recently been hailed as the best batchoy in Iloilo during the recently concluded and first ever Batchoy Festival. Popoy’s could be a bit difficult to find specially for first timers because it is located inside Iloilo Central Market.  As I was told, if one would really want to maximize his time, it is best to avoid visiting during lunch time or late afternoon or else you’ll find yourself lining up before getting a seat.

Puto Calasyaw and Batchoy for the win! 

The good thing about here is, you can ask for a soup refill, which they called Caldo (batchoy soup) without additional payment. Amazing!

2. Madge Café

Located in another market, La Paz Market, a coffeeshop is located, Madge Café has been known in this place to offer delicious coffee variant prepared thru a pre-war technique which actually gives a totally different coffee experience.

3. Eat “Pansit Molo”

Another signature yet lesser known Ilonggo soup dish is called the Pansit Molo. Try this one at JD’s Bakeshop which you can easily find one inside SM City Iloilo – Manduriao.

4. Biscocho Haus

Of course for pasalubong, never missed to visit Biscocho Haus.

You can also try Siopao in Robertos, Netong’s Batchoy, Tataoys Manukan, as well as the ilongo dish called K.B.L. (short for Kadyos, Baboy, Langka) or also called Kadyos, which is a type of food in red bean , pork and langka.

Places to Visit Outside Iloilo City

Aside from Old Catholic Churches, there are actually a lot of places that you could visit in Iloilo. When I was planning this trip, I was able to list down tons of awesome places to see, but I do know that I couldn’t really squeeze everything in just three days, so we decided to just trim it down and prioritize those that are easier to visit.

The Miagao Church

Personally, I really love to visit and see the mountainous side of Iloilo as well as the islands in this province. But because it will take time to do so, we decided to just visit some spots in San Joaquin and Miagao, because it will only take us less than two hours bus ride from the city proper.

The Old San Joaquin Church

Miagao is considered as the “Onion Capital of the Visayas” and has been a popular destination to many who are fond of seeing Baroque Churches – The Miagao Church, which was included as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. Miagao is also where you can find the endemic parasitic plant species called the Rafflesia Speciosa.

The municipality next to Miagao can also offer touristy places like the San Joaquin Church and the now famous Garin Farm.

San Joaquin Cementery

Hablon making in Miagao

Bat Sanctuary in Miagao

How to go to San Joaquin / Miagao?

You can either ride a Bus at the Southwest Bus terminal in Megaworld Boulevard in Mandurriao, Iloilo City or go to Brgy. San Pedro Molo Bus terminal. Look for the Buses heading to Aklan or Antique. This will pass by Miagao and San Joaquin and will take an hour to two-hour bus ride. Bus ride cost Php 88 pesos.

Until our next discovery in the City!

またね Mata ne! 

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