Baguio City has been my sweet escape every summer from the scorching weather in Manila. For two consecutive years I went to Baguio City for an unplanned “Panagbenga” Festival visit and to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday.
Since its holiday due to the festivity it is advisable to book your bus ticket(s) ahead of time (2-3 weeks before your travel date) to get a guaranteed seat and a good schedule going to Baguio. We normally go directly at Victory Liner to buy our tickets before we travel.
We planned our Baguio trip almost a month before but the accommodation are almost sold-out by that time. I checked my best friend site (Agoda) for an accommodation but I failed to get a hotel for our travel date so I personally emailed some of my preferred hotels and was put on waitlisted for three days; fortunately enough after almost giving up and days of waiting Citylight Hotel called me and confirmed our reservation. I was able to get our hotel room at P3,200.00/room/night good for 2 persons with breakfast (room is actually big enough to accommodate 4 persons). Location wise Citylight Hotel has an advantage for a very good location it’s situated at the heart of Baguio’s city proper. It is a 2-minute walk going to Session Road and a 5-7-minute walk going to SM Baguio.
Since its holiday due to the festivity it is advisable to book your bus ticket(s) ahead of time (2-3 weeks before your travel date) to get a guaranteed seat and a good schedule going to Baguio. We normally go directly at Victory Liner to buy our tickets before we travel.
We planned our Baguio trip almost a month before but the accommodation are almost sold-out by that time. I checked my best friend site (Agoda) for an accommodation but I failed to get a hotel for our travel date so I personally emailed some of my preferred hotels and was put on waitlisted for three days; fortunately enough after almost giving up and days of waiting Citylight Hotel called me and confirmed our reservation. I was able to get our hotel room at P3,200.00/room/night good for 2 persons with breakfast (room is actually big enough to accommodate 4 persons). Location wise Citylight Hotel has an advantage for a very good location it’s situated at the heart of Baguio’s city proper. It is a 2-minute walk going to Session Road and a 5-7-minute walk going to SM Baguio.
What is Panagbenga without a float? Here’s the only photo we have for the Panagbenga Festival. hehehe.
Given that it’s Panagbenga Festival and there are a lot of people witnessing the activity we decided to go to BenCab’s Museum located at Asin Road. Entrance for the Museum is P100.00/person. We were lucky enough to met Kuya Ryan who becomes our instant museum guide/photographer. It’s actually my 2nd time visiting the BenCab Museum and still fascinated by the art works inside. Here are some of our photos at BenCab's museum.
Given that it’s Panagbenga Festival and there are a lot of people witnessing the activity we decided to go to BenCab’s Museum located at Asin Road. Entrance for the Museum is P100.00/person. We were lucky enough to met Kuya Ryan who becomes our instant museum guide/photographer. It’s actually my 2nd time visiting the BenCab Museum and still fascinated by the art works inside. Here are some of our photos at BenCab's museum.
As a tourist per se we took advantage of visiting the normal places a tourist visits such as:
The Mansion also known as the official summer residence of the President of the Philippines.
The Strawberry Farm at La Trinidad, Benguet.
Price per kilo of strawberries depends on the owner of the field but normally it ranges from 300-400/kilo. Our strawberry picking is 300/kilo. Picking and eating strawberries at the same time is fun. hehe. Its okay to eat a few pieces; again depending on the owner.
Baguio will never be Baguio if you will not bring home “Pasalubong” for your family. A very famous place to buy “Pasalubong” is at the Good Shepherd located at Gibraltar road operated by nuns. You can buy freshly made Ube Jam, Strawberry Jam, Peanut Brittle etc. Again, holiday and people are everywhere so queues are everywhere as well and there’s a limit of “Pasalubong” item to buy per person.
Talking about food on our 1st night we ate at PNKY Café at 12 Leonard Wood, Baguio City. We just ordered pasta & vegetable quesadillas with nachos. I love this place because it’s romantic, peaceful and relaxing. Food is okay and you get your money’s worth.
Price per kilo of strawberries depends on the owner of the field but normally it ranges from 300-400/kilo. Our strawberry picking is 300/kilo. Picking and eating strawberries at the same time is fun. hehe. Its okay to eat a few pieces; again depending on the owner.
Baguio will never be Baguio if you will not bring home “Pasalubong” for your family. A very famous place to buy “Pasalubong” is at the Good Shepherd located at Gibraltar road operated by nuns. You can buy freshly made Ube Jam, Strawberry Jam, Peanut Brittle etc. Again, holiday and people are everywhere so queues are everywhere as well and there’s a limit of “Pasalubong” item to buy per person.
Talking about food on our 1st night we ate at PNKY Café at 12 Leonard Wood, Baguio City. We just ordered pasta & vegetable quesadillas with nachos. I love this place because it’s romantic, peaceful and relaxing. Food is okay and you get your money’s worth.
We had a buffet breakfast at Citylight Hotel. Their breakfast buffet has a lot of food to choose from; from Filipino, Chinese, European and English dishes. Breakfast is included on the room rate.
We also tried street food at night & the Takoyaki for P5.00/piece is to die for because of the fresh cabbage.
We also ate at Inihaw Republic where your only utensil is your own hand to be able to eat your food (Pinoy style; kainang naka-kamay) which is actually fun. Hehehe. And their combo meal is P150.00 only with Pork BBQ, Liempo and Longganisa. Inihaw Republic is only a part of the food booth during the "Panagbenga" Festival.
I checked one of the local Cafés in the area the Beanstalk and ordered some hot coffee to beat the cold weather.
We also visited the most-talked The Ketchup Community across the Wright Park for Lunch. We ate at the Green Pepper and ordered their Sinigang which is less P300.00 good for 4 persons.
And lastly, I will never miss the chance to eat at my favorite pizza parlor in Baguio the Pizza Volante along Session Road. They have the best hot sauce in town. hahaha.
We also tried street food at night & the Takoyaki for P5.00/piece is to die for because of the fresh cabbage.
We also ate at Inihaw Republic where your only utensil is your own hand to be able to eat your food (Pinoy style; kainang naka-kamay) which is actually fun. Hehehe. And their combo meal is P150.00 only with Pork BBQ, Liempo and Longganisa. Inihaw Republic is only a part of the food booth during the "Panagbenga" Festival.
I checked one of the local Cafés in the area the Beanstalk and ordered some hot coffee to beat the cold weather.
We also visited the most-talked The Ketchup Community across the Wright Park for Lunch. We ate at the Green Pepper and ordered their Sinigang which is less P300.00 good for 4 persons.
And lastly, I will never miss the chance to eat at my favorite pizza parlor in Baguio the Pizza Volante along Session Road. They have the best hot sauce in town. hahaha.
And oh, did I mention that once you arrive in Baguio you need to buy ticket(s) ASAP going back to Manila before the schedules are fully-booked? Well, unlucky for us we weren’t able to buy tickets going back to Manila on our preferred date so we extended our stay and booked a different hotel at Chalet Baguio which is P2,300.00/night good for 2 persons with plated breakfast (cheaper than Citylight Hotel because it’s no longer a holiday stay). For an affordable rate we had a premier deluxe room at Chalet Baguio.
Btw, getting around Baguio is easy because of the metered Taxis, unlike in Manila Taxis in Baguio ask for the exact amount only and its the discretion of the passenger to give the change to the driver; flag down rate starts at P25.00.
Even though we spent additional night and money in Baguio it was still a good birthday-cation for me and my boyfriend because Baguio City is one of our favorite places for vacation.
Btw, getting around Baguio is easy because of the metered Taxis, unlike in Manila Taxis in Baguio ask for the exact amount only and its the discretion of the passenger to give the change to the driver; flag down rate starts at P25.00.
Even though we spent additional night and money in Baguio it was still a good birthday-cation for me and my boyfriend because Baguio City is one of our favorite places for vacation.