Travel With A Group It’s really a big money saver to travel with friends in Baguio. I usually go on a trip alone, but I definitely think that a group of five is better for this trip. As you may know I recently blogged about my 5,000 pesos challenge in Baguio. But your expenditures could get even less. Aside from planning your activities with your friends, you can agree on splitting the cost of the meals, lodging, and transportation among yourselves.

Night Travel I needed to be back to work by Monday, so I planned to spend my weekend in Baguio and left on a Friday at around 1am. I highly suggest you travel during nighttime as it will be easier to sleep. I was rested enough and had a good 6 hours of sleep for my day’s activities.

Hotel Booking I definitely recommend the Baguio Palace Hotel along Legarda road. Burnham Park and Session Road is a good walking distance. If you’re not picky like me, there are a lot of inns and transient houses can be found around the city. Lodging can go as low as P200 per person, per day.

Early Check-In The hotel where I stayed in allowed me to check in early because it was off-peak season then.  After taking the night trip and enjoying an early breakfast along Session Road, I was able to check in at my hotel by 8am. That said, you can freshen up and get ready for your day’s activities.

BenCab Museum The museum of National Artist Ben Cabrera is located beside his home in Asin. I paid P100 for my cab fare to museum. But if you split it with your friends, transportation could be not bad.

North Haven Spa I learned that Baguio is a spa destination. The North Haven Spa, located at Avelino Street corner Ferguson Road, offers a surprising relaxation for the Baguio tourist.

Parks I really enjoyed the parks around Baguio – Burnham Park, Mines View Park, and Wright Park. The best part is that there are no entrance fees. After strolling around, I got hungry, so I tried out different street food they offer. Yum.

Other Landmarks Baguio Cathedral, the Mansion, the Philippine Military Academy, the Lourdes Grotto, the Bell Church and the Baguio Botanical Garden.

Pasalubong The most popular Ube jam in Baguio is made at the The Good Shepherd Convent. I bought strawberry jams, choco flakes, peanut brittle and other pasalubong from the Baguio Market. My favorite so far is the peanut brittle, which I bought at Romana’s. Not to be missed!

DINING

• Pizza Volante
• Rito’s
• Vizco’s
• Brod Pitt
• Kubo Grill
• Cafe’ by the Ruins
• Camp John Hay

Upon my arrival in the island I was met by a good friend and a photographer, who took these beautiful Boracay pictures. So much to see and to do!

Getting There:
Via Kalibo or Caticlan From Manila, take a Philippine Airlines, Zestair, or Cebu Pacific Flight to Boracay. Most Boracay resorts provide airport transfers. The trip usually takes an hour and fifteen minutes. So if you’re a foreigner traveling to the Philippines, I suggest you fly my friend. Traveling here is cheap by western standards. Also, if you want to a sure seat or avoid the hassle of lining up early in the morning, buy tickets at the port or reserve seats online.

Going Around:
Boracay tourists, once you’ve arrived in the Caticlan airport, rent a tricycle for about 15-25 pesos that’s equally half cent a dollar. If you’re traveling alone, you pay zero tax, and only pay for just the boat ride. If you’re traveling in a group, it’ll only cost you a couple of dollars.

Getting in the three stations of Boracay is really easy. And the best part is? – it only takes less than 15 minutes!

Station 1: This station is where the posh ones stay. Resorts and hotels here are far more luxurious than in the other stations. The north of the island is the main tourist belt, and some giant name resort hotels here are Fridays, Cocomangas, the newly built Discovery Shores and the Shangrila Hotel.

Station 2: This station is where I usually stay. There are loads of resorts to stay at like Nigui Nigui, among others. What’s nice about this station is that it’s in the center of everything else. Many restaurants, eateries, D mall is here, and of course bars and hot spots for clubbing! Food is great and you can freshly buy them straight from the market to have it cooked/grilled.

Station 3: This station is on the far south of the island. Forgive me for the lack of a better word, but this part is the lowest class (CLASS C) where a few inns, huts, hotels and resorts are frequented by locals, and their foreign boyfies.

One last note: Drop everything and fly there now. And now that you know Boracay is really one of the best beaches in the world.. it’ll be wonderful to just soak up and frolick under the sun at this spot. Since it’s a 4km stretch of pure white beach sand, nothing beats exploring this place that’s brimming with people that know how to have fun – at your own pace.

This is something I learned from one of the staff of the Sunset Hotel in Angeles City. She was making some candles late/early one morning for their dining tables around the pool. I struck up a conversation with her, and she was happy to show me what she was doing.

Now, I always fill up an empty water bottle on my trips to beach areas, an make candles to have around the house. You can also add little shells, etc. to make them even more attractive.

Please forgive the quality of the video, it is my first attempt, and I only have a video camera in my Casio EX-Z8 to work with.