sardiaries: 2018

Budget friendly travel to Pinsal Falls and Badoc Island

For a weekend getaway, we planned a target destination: Pinsal Falls and Badoc Island.

We started our travel at 7a.m. from Burnham park, Baguio City and reached Savemore, Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur around 11:30 a.m., where we purchased foods and things we needed since the trip was decided a night before the travel thus, we only prepared our personal belongings.

We had our lunch first at Ally’s Restobar, which is located just beside savemore before continuing our trip to Pinsal Falls around 12:30 p.m. and reached the destination at 1 p.m.

➤Pinsal Falls is a hidden scenic spot located in the town of Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur. It will take 20-30 minutes’ drive from the main road (Landmark: Savemore). The road is concrete thus; the location is easily accessible up to the boating area going to the falls.

It’s really worthy of a road trip destination since aside from its remarkably well maintained beauty; fees are reasonable which I personally admire.

Fees:

Parking Fee: Php30.00/vehicle

Boat fee: Php10.00/head (Back & Fort: Php20.00)

The stairs going to the top of the fall where the "small pools" are located.

⇓View at the top of the Falls. There are lots of small pools where you can dip/swim.

The water is NOT freezin' cold unlike other falls I've been to, so we really enjoyed swimming.

sobrang ganda mag picture dito 😊

After exploring Pinsal falls, we continued our travel around 4 p.m. to Badoc, Ilocos Norte. We planned to have an overnight at the Island however; it was already dark when we reached Sinait. We therefore decided to go to the Island the next morning. We looked around where we can pitch our tent, we inquired at Sinait Floating Cottage and it will cost you Php550.00 overnight. We drove further until we reached La Virgen Milagrosa Chapel, it has a wide beachfront where we freely pitched our tent; we only gave donation to the Brgy. Tanod for the Church. The church is also a landmark to one of the boating area going to Badoc Island that costs Php1, 200.00 (6pax).

In the morning, we went to Pagsanahan Norte, 5-10 minutes’ drive from La Virgen Milagrosa Chapel where you can actually view the whole Island. Boating fee here cost cheaper (Php1, 000.00/6pax). We were informed that boats will start at 9-10 a.m therefore; if you wish to go earlier you need to coordinate beforehand. We then went to Badoc Public Market for Breakfast that is 10-15 minutes away, then returned at 8:30 a.m. to the boating area.

Badoc Town Proper

Boating area to Badoc Island (Pagsanahan Norte)

➤Badoc Island is an uninhabited island located about 1km away from the mainland. Badoc has crystal clear water, and powdery sand that has lots of shells and rocks. During our visit, we only saw 2 sheds wherein we used one for free although, I am not sure if it’s the same during peak season. You must buy everything you need before going there since there were no stores around. One good thing if you camp there is that, you can go around the Island and hike early in the morning since the sun is scorching hot as early as 9 a.m. otherwise, you can explore the island if you don’t mind the sun.

Badoc Island view from the mainland

Badoc Island experience

We head back at 12:30 p.m.; by the way, there are shower rooms near the boating area that costs Php 20.00.

Travel date: November 17-18, 2018
Video:

Baguio to Dagupan-Mayos Beach Resort

Unwind in Dagupan

insert Jez 😂

For a weekend getaway, one of our colleague suggested this place, Mayos Beach Resort. It is a 2hours 30mins drive from Baguio via Marcos Highway. We started our travel around 9:30 and reached the place around 12PM.

The place is a back to basic resort, a nice venue for group outing/relaxation (barkada, family etc.) or for events since it is privately used per reservation. Mura pero sobrang sulit yung ibabayad mo since you really just need to bring your personal belongings and foods to be cooked. You’ll also have to enjoy the company of your group since kayo lang ang tao aside from the caretaker.

Rate for overnight stay (as of 2018): Check-in: 1PM| Check-out 12NN
➤Minimum to reserve the place: Php 2, 500.00

11 y/o & above: Php300/head

4-10 y/o: Php240/head

3 y/o & below: FREE

Use of LPG & kitchen: Php200.00

Videoke rental: Php800.00

Rate inclusions:

Cottages with complete beddings & electric fans

Kitchen with complete utensils and free use of Refrigerator

Free bonfire & beach volleyball- Although, we were not able to try since everyone was engaged in singing (videoke), cooking and swimming, late na namin narealize nung pauwi na kami 😁😃😂

There are stores nearby for uling, mineral water, etc.

Some Photos taken:

Function Hall and Grilling Area

➤I think you can bring your electric grilling pan if you want less hassle however; I am not sure if there is additional cost. I just noticed that they had lots of sockets inside the cottages and function hall. We were able to use freely, charging our phones and never heard of any restrictions.

Cottage/Accommodation-At first, we were all excited to stay at the cottages nearest the beach but then, when we checked the others; we were amazed with their unique and cute designs thus, any cottage is actually all right for me. They have 7 cottages, each has a double deck good for 4, except for cottage 1 that has 2 double decks for 8 persons.

Kitchen with complete utensils

➤For other things you need, you can just nicely ask for help from their kind caretaker.

Activities

***They have this cute steel framed pool for adults and kids where you can dip and have conversations with your friends/group. Its not that convenient for swimming in group however, you certainly have the beach as an option.

Video:

➤also, the owner of the resort was very kind in giving us extended free time as long as no one reserved next during the stay.

➤They are accommodating and easily reached thru their Facebook page for inquiries/reservation.

Road Trip to Tambobong, Dasol, Pangasinan (Colibra Island)

What happens when you landed unexpectedly to a strange place?

On June 23, 2016, 2PM, we had an unplanned road trip to the Hundred Islands from San Fernando, La Union thinking that it was near and just 2 hours’ drive however, we reached the boating area at 6:40pm for a reason that we got lost along the way and it was raining heavily. It was then getting dark and there were no boats already going to the Islands for an overnight camping; since we did not want to get our trip wasted, we searched for a nearby destination, which was in Tambobong, Dasol, Pangasinan.

It was raining heavily and we thought we were heading to a dead end location as there were no cars passing by and no houses, you can only see cows, goats, carabaos along the road so you really need to be careful when driving. We just continued until we reached the town around 10PM. There were no people outside their houses to ask so we just parked along the road and slept inside the car. Before resting we tried catching fishes first at the shoreline since it was high tide and had so much fun even if we did not get any.😂😂

Our first stop while on our way to Alaminos; where we realized we got lost.😁

Boating Area to the Hundred, Islands

In the morning, we asked around if there were restaurants but there was none thus, we had coffee and bread at one of the stores.

We looked for swimming areas around the shoreline however; the sand was not enticing as it was grayish and had lots of seaweeds. The locals suggested that we should visit Colibra Island with a boat rental of Php800.00 (4pax).

We thought of purchasing foods to cook in the island but then the store owner said they render "paluto service" for Php150.00, we just had to buy the ingredients to be cooked. We opt for the service since we had no cooking utensils. By the way, they also have accommodation services.

Tambobong, Dasol, Pangasinan-Boating area to Colibra, Island

Colibra, Island- This little island has a fine cream color sand with crystal clear water. It will take 30 minutes boat from the mainland. The size is very small which you can walk around the whole island for 15 to 30 minutes.

Cabacungan Cave- A side trip after Colibra Island, you have to hike 10-15 minutes to reach this small cave where you can dip and watch fishes if you have your snorkel masks with you. Although, be careful with the splash of waves it's a bit powerful.

Trip to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

There are several tourist spots in llocos Sur & Norte. Below are some of our stops during my 2 times trip in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

Road Trip to Ilocos -San Fernando La Union to Pagudpud

Date of Travel: March 25-27, 2016

One morning we thought of having a road trip going to Pagudpud. We started around 9AM from San Fernando, La Union and arrived at Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte around 8PM. The place was over crowded since it was Peak Season therefore, accommodations were full, we then rented a tent good for two (Php500.00), our 2 companions slept in the car. It was also raining hence, the waves were gigantic.

Along the way Photos: I just realized that We took limited photos that time :). We literally just enjoyed the road trip.

Since it was an unplanned trip, we just searched for some stops along the way, here it is:
1. Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

2. Bangui Windmill

3. Saud Beach-It is a nice place to relax after a long and tiring trip when you traveled at least 8-12 hours just to reach Pagudpud. The sand color is cream and the beachfront is wide so you can pitch your tent there. The entrance fee is Php 20.00/head. There are washrooms thus; you don’t have to worry on where to shower. If the washrooms have long queue since the place gets crowded during peak season, there are houses nearby where you can shower for only Php 20.00. If you do not have tent there are open cottages for rent or rooms for rent nearby where you can cook at the same time.

4. Paoay Sand Dunes-On our way home, It was around 6-7pm when we reached Paoay, still we tried to go to Paoay Sand dunes unfortunately, we were not able to see the view since it was dark already.

Duirng My Second trip, it was for a week training and we were given a chance to visit some of the tourist attractions in Vigan and Pagudpud.

Date of Travel: April 23-27, 2018

Calle Crisologo in Vigan, Ilocos Norte

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte Tourist Attractions:

1. Paraiso Ni Anton

2. Patapat Viaduct

3. Bantay Abot Cave

4. Blue Lagoon/ Hannah’s Beach Resort

5. Saud Beach -During our first time visit to this place, the waves were gigantic however, it was too calm during the 2nd time.

6. Bangui Windmill

7. Alta Vista Ilocandia-It's a beautiful relaxing place with a mountain and beach combination. This place is good for team buildings, training venues and camping site. The beach however is rocky and there's no swimming pool in case you wish to swim.

DIY Trips: Dinadiawan & Baler Aurora

Dinadiawan's beach sand is color cream with peaceful & clean environment, good for family/barkada bonding. It is also budget friendly depending of course on where you want to stay. For us it was more on adventures/experiences far from comfort of our homes. Here's how we spent our time during our 4 times trip in this scenic place.

May 31, 2016

Our first time was an unplanned trip from Solano, Nueva Vizcaya to Didipio, Quirino where one of the biggest mining companies located. After the trip to Didipio we decided to go in Baler via Quirino province. Along the way, we saw these beautiful beaches in Dinadiawan however, we just had photos since our target was Baler-being one of the famous destinations that time and we thought that maybe the beaches there are even better, only to find out that we pass through the best-in my opinion.
Around 8AM we traveled from Didipio and reached Dinadiawan around 12PM (*The bridge somewhere at Maddela-Aurora Rd was under construction, so you have to pass through a creek with the help of people you need to pay to Pull your car on the other side of the road.*)
Then from Dinadiawan it takes atleast 2 hours to reach Baler.
We went back home From Baler to Solano via San Jose, Nueva Ecija.

Dinadiawan

Baler

January 1, 2017

Our Second trip was another unplanned road trip with friends from Solano to Dinadiawan via Quirino Province then back to Solano via San Jose. We started the trip around 12PM and reached Dinadiawan at 5PM. Since the weather was not good, the current was too strong thus; we only had a picnic at _resort(forgot the name)__ then continued our trip going back via Baler-Pantabangan-San Jose Road.

May 27, 2017

Our third trip was from Lagawe, Ifugao to Dinadiawan. We started around 8AM and reached our destination around 3PM. We planned to camp at the beach unfortunately, after setting up our tents, it rained during night time and accommodations were fully booked giving us an option to sleep in the car and some of our companions slept in an open cottage.