Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has 6 provinces, namely: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province. Can you believe that you can visit 3 of these in just one trip in 3 days time? If you have #travelgoals of reaching all the 81 provinces of Philippines, then this trip may be a good start. For approximately Php5,000, I had explored Ifugao, Mt. Province and Benguet with less hassle amidst being budget-conscious.
I contacted Travel Galore, a travel agency (tagged to me in facebook) that offers weekly trip to Sagada and covers mostly the tourist sites I wanted to visit. Their reviews were quite satisfying so I gave it a try and secured 2 slots (for a friend and I) for Mar 4-6 batch tour. They only required a Php300 reservation fee for each of us and half of the total package rate to be paid a week before the scheduled tour date. They offer P2,999 each for a 2-pax group; P2,799 each for 3 or more pax. Thus, the more you are in a same group booking, the lesser you’ll pay. The package rate includes gasoline and driver’s fee, entrance fees and accommodation. Just prepare extra money for personal necessities, meal expenses and pasalubongs.
For more information, you can visit their FB page at https://web.facebook.com/travelgalore07/?fref=ts.
So here’s the agency’s itinerary plus some additions we decided to do and visit when we got there.
Day 00.
We departed SM MOA Convention Center parking lot at around 8:30 PM. The van we were in had 15 passengers, so imagine how we managed to be steady and moved less more than necessary for a 12-hr ride having our bags on our laps and some underneath the seats. (This was 1 of the 2 things I complain about in this tour package; second was the inn-booking made by the agency.***) For some hours, I felt how sardines were complaining (if they were alive) being compactly packed inside a small can. Phew!
|
TIME |
PARTICULARS |
AMOUNT |
| Total package rate |
Php2,999 |
|
| 8:30PM | Departure |
Day 01.
| 2:00AM | Stopover |
45 |
| 5:30AM | Stopover @ Jollibee Nueva Viscaya |
50 |
| 9:00AM | Banaue Rice Terraces | |
| -Picture taking | ||
| -Souvenir shopping | ||
| -Meditating! 😀 | ||
| 12:30PM | Arrival @ Sagada | |
| 1:00PM | Lunch @ Pinikpikan House |
140 |
| 2:00PM | Check-in @ Valley View Inn | |
| 3:00PM | – Echo Valley Tour | |
| -Hanging Coffins | ||
| -Underground river | ||
| -St. Mary’s Episcopal Church | ||
| 5:30PM | Back to Inn | |
| 7:00PM | Dinner @ Masferre |
220 |
| 9:00PM | Bed time |
Day 02.
| 4:30AM | Call time | |
| 5:00AM | Bound to Sumaguing Cave | |
| -Cave Orientation | ||
| -Spelunking (Buwis Buhay!) | ||
| 8:30AM | Bfast at a store just across the cave entrance | |
| -Cheese bar (Yummy!) |
20 |
|
| -Cup noodles |
40 |
|
| 10:00AM | Bound for Bomod-ok Falls | |
| -Bomod-ok group fee for 2 guides (15 persons) |
127 |
|
| 10:30AM | Start of trekking | |
| -Buko bar (along the way) |
20 |
|
| -Mineral water (on the way back) |
25 |
|
| -Topload-jeep |
17 |
|
| 3:00PM | Lunch @ Rock Inn Cafe |
345 |
| 5:00PM | Back to inn | |
| 6:30PM | Gaia Cafe (That Thing Called Tadhana shoot location) | |
| -Hot choco with sweet treat |
95 |
|
| 7:00PM | Lemon Pie House | |
| -Lemon pie slice |
30 |
|
| 7:30PM | Youghurt House | |
| -Youghurt preserve |
90 |
|
| 8:30PM | Pasalubong shopping | |
| 9:15PM | Back to Inn |
Day 03.
| 4:30AM | Call time | |
| 5:00AM | Bound to Mt. Kiltepan | |
| -Jeepney fare (B&F) |
50 |
|
| -Sunrise viewing | ||
| 8:00AM | Bound for La Trinidad, Benguet | |
| -Bfast @ Amkaweng, Bauko |
85 |
|
| 10:30AM | Stopover @ Benguet Highest point | |
| 12:30AM | Arrival @ La Trinidad | |
| –Strawberry picking | ||
| -Strawberry ice cream |
25 |
|
| -Pasalubong shopping | ||
| 2:30PM | Lunch @ Baguio City |
90 |
| 4:00PM | Stopover @ Lion’s head | |
| 4:30PM | Bound for Manila | |
| 9:30PM | Arrival in Manila (NAIA 3) |
| TOTAL | Php4,513 |
Total expenses above didn’t include my plane fare (promo @ Php1,183 B&F), dinner meals upon arrival and departure to & from Manila and money spent for pasalubongs. These are variable expenses, dependent on your place of origin and personal budgeting skills.
[***Our package was actually good for a private room for 2 with private toilet and bathroom. However, the room we had was yeah, actually a private one, but with a common T&B. This was due to the fully booked rooms and there’s just only 2 private rooms under Travel Galore with a private T&B. We were 3 pairs booked in the same inn but it’s only Kyzy & I who were just friends, and the other 2 pairs were actually couples. I complained for about 5 mins but finally gave them the 2 rooms just to save time. (Haaaaayyyyyy!) It’s just notable though that the T&B for common use were clean and decent to use (at least). Kudos to Valley View Inn! It was only the misrepresentation or honest mistake made by the agency I was annoyed at. If you’re planning to contact them, make sure to refer this kind of situation and request for what you really prefer.]
Enjoy and have fun!
Other related posts:
Travel Guide to Sagada:
La Trinidad Strawberry Farms | Benguet
