Anybody been to Vigan?

[penfires]

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Hi TS!

Share lang nako amo trip to Ilocos - ILOCOS ROADTRIP - basin makakuha ka sad idea.. suggestion on the place: El Juliana Pension House naay swimming pool pero barato, single room P600 ata to.

[EXZ]

Omgeeee! Karon pako kabasa ani. And yes, I will never, ever let the year end na dli ko kaadto aning lugara. Dream place jud ni nko. Mas sought after pani nako kaysa Palawan or Boracay. Hehehe this time, I won't be alone. Coz dalhon na nko akong hubby og among new born puhon! Weeee thanks sa tanan nnyo suggestions! I appreciate it a lot! ^_^

[byangxxx]

my trip is manila-laoag-vigan-baguio-manila.. im from ormoc city...manila-laoag is by cebu pacific.

day 1: manila-laoag
arrival: 9pm
check in: hotel tiffany naa rani sa city gyud then affordable
morning bound:
-Paoay church
-Paoay Lake
-malacañang of the north
-lunch at cafe herencia( a must try crispy dinogo-an, poqui-poqui, ilocos longganissa
-Batac bound for Pres. Marcos museum
-the famous empanada of ilocos
afternoon bound to:
-singking bell tower
-tobacco monopoly
-william cathedral church
dinner @ macy's 50's diner, nice 50's diner ambiance, claasic!
dessert at la preciosa( a must try carrot cake ever! swear!)
back to hotel tiffany for bed time.

Day 2: bound to:
ride a bus going to pagudpud, then stop over at bangui windmills.
-Bangui windmills(150.00 tricyle to bangui windmill)huwaton ramo sa driver.
-snack time at kankang windmill cafe
-bound to pagudpud, lots of white beach there..then back to Laoag by lunch
check out:12NN
1:30 pm - bus bound to vigan, ilocos sur
3:30 pm - hello VIGAN!
3:30 pm - 5:30pm - Vigan tour by kalesa(tartanilya) 150.00/hour
the kalesa driver will take you sa mga tourist and famous destination sa vigan. apil na ang buying souvenirs.
basta igo ra ang 2hrs nga ride sa kalesa. dghan naka maadto-an nga mga heritage.i love calle crisologo, dghan cafe and
souvenir shops ddto, then sa baluarte ni chavit pud.
6pm: walking-walking around the street of vigan lang(calle crisologo), dala sa among trolly bags.
7-9pm: dinner at cafe leona sa calle crisologo ghapon, famous ni sya na resto. nice ang food, tambay mode, coffee and beer lang.
9pm: bound to terminal: BAGUIO CITY BOUND
10:30pm - bound to baguio na! via Partas Bus
2:30am - Hello Baguio City! perting tugnawa gyud! as in mag-aso imu baba kng mostorya, kadlawn man gud.
check in na dayon: good morning baguio, sleep sa me kad****.

mao lang to, d nlang nko tiwason kay sa vigan raman kaha mo kutob. d nlang nko apilon ang baguio.. hehehe. hope this will help you..

[code_blue]

very informative! I'd like a trip there sometime Mid Aug. Who wants to go with me?Hehe Thanks

[The_Watcher]

If you are planning to go to Vigan, I would suggest that you plan for at least 2 weeks vacation para dili amazing race ang style. Vigan is just one of the stops if you plan on a trip heading north. If you have the time, don't take the plane from Manila to Laoag. You will miss out on a lot of beautiful sceneries along the way.

Before we start, let me ask you. Are you the photographer type who needs at least an hour or more each area? Are you the type who wants to just sit down at a place and absorb the scenery? Are you the type who likes to take long walks along new avenues or streets and try new foods and stuff? If your answer to all these is a YES, then read on. Otherwise, this post is not for you. The following is based on my experience although this was accomplished a long time ago and some things might actually have changed now.

Day 1 Amateur Beach Bumming

Take the bus from Manila to Bauang, La Union. What is in Bauang? Really nice white sand PUBLIC beaches. yes, very public. no entrance fees. not even cottages. you just stroll there and enjoy it. the beach is really clean too. I spent the whole day there just lying on the sand, watching the bright blue sky, listening to the waves crashing to shore. forget surfing for now, save that for the next destination.

an optional side trip would be the Bauang river where you can take a dive and actually catch fresh shrimp, dip it in vinegar, and eat it fresh! yummy! don't eat too much though coz it will make you tipsy.

around 4pm, you might want to take the jeep now heading for San Fernando, La Union, about 15 minutes away from Bauang. You can find cheap places to stay overnight there or find some decent hotels as well. To name some and NOT in any order at all:

Hotel Mikka, Oasis Country Resort, Sea and Sky Resort, Woods Way Inn, Citi Gate Hotel, Southern Palms, and Blue Lagoon. Among all of these I have only tried on which is Sea and Sky. rooms start around 800 to 1500 back then. They have a sun deck and swimming pool with a good view of the bay.

Now you can actually go directly to the resorts in san Juan which is about 15 minutes away but I preferred to go around San Fernando city at night and save the surfing for the next morning. I love provinces so I take the time to go around and sightsee. There are a lot of ukay-ukay stalls in San Fernando just like Baguio. I was able to buy a really nice NorthFace backpack for 250 pesos which lasted me until now. Ate dinner at their fiesta like resto in near the plaza, i forgot the name though. its somewhat like Larsian here in Cebu but they have the Ilokano dishes like their own version of papait and dinengdeng, which is veggies with bagoong. yummy! oh yeah, dont be surprised that they serve and eat the fruit of malunggay there. they love it! it tastes great too and healthy as well.

Day 2 Surfing!

The next morning, head on out to surf at San Juan. Mind you, as I stated earlier, you can go directly to San Juan and skip San Fernando if you don't feel like going around the plaza and all. I am the type of person who stops at every possible city or town and take time to stroll around.

At San Juan, well, what can I say? SURF! its not your huge 9 foot waves like Siargao but its still fun. Depending on what month you go there, there are months where they have some nice 4 foot waves. I think its around the Ber months but I am not sure. One day is not enough for me. I don't know how much it costs to rent boards since I just used my friend's board, but it should not be more than 500 pesos for the entire day. Surf instructors are plenty and starts at 200 per session and onwards. they have a number of resorts to stay in at San Juan ranging from the cheap to luxurious. there are also quite a number of foreigners there surfing....and bikini babes too! At night, you can enjoy bonfires along the beach. what I love about the beaches there is that even though they have resorts and all, the beaches are not fenced in like the ones here in Mactan which is stupid! you can't stroll along the coastline. but let me not get on that

Day 3 Waterfalls!

Head on out to Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. Don't forget to buy some crispy cornik at Candon though! its gonna help out on those bus rides. Santa Maria has a nice coastline with adequate surf but the problem is the rocky shoreline, so you can only watch and swim but no surfing.

Now, what does Santa Maria offer? They have the beautiful Pinsal Falls. It is the pride of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur and I think one of the biggest falls in the area. You can have a picnic there for the easy goers, but for me? biking with a slight downhill fun. it was my first time to go downhill on a partly dried up river bed which eventually concludes into the waterfalls. The only con was carrying the bike on your bike up the really steep steps. One iconic feature of this water falls is the phallic shaped rock protrusion near the waterfall. According to my friend, legend has it that it is the giant's male organ. You see, they have this story about a giant and his wife there, but I can't remember it anymore, hehe. There are steps along the sides which lets you climb to the upper area of the waterfall where there are more pools of water to bathe in. Although its a water fall, the water itself has a slight to moderately salty taste. Lastly, don't forget to bring eggs to be cooked in the hot spring a few meters away.

After our frolicking at the falls, we stopped by at Sta. Maria Church which is a heritage site. A photographers delight! Too bad, I did not have even a digital camera during these times.

Day 4Finally....

leave for Vigan around 6am to maximize daylight, hehe. Once you get to Vigan, its breakfast at Cafe Leona. It is situated at Heritage Village and already a museum in itself and easy to locate. If you have your bikes, its even easier. They have a pretty wide menu selection at a price that is bang for the buck. Personally, when Im in Vigan, its all Bagnet, bagnet, and bagnet! Also Vigan longganiza! The Vigan longganiza has two versions and mostly as big as Bolognas. They have the sweet spicy and the garlicky flavor. Both are favorites of mine. Cholesterol is not in my vocabulary when Im in Vigan to dine Try to look for stalls that sells Batac empanada, which is a personal favorite of mine as well. Super yummy! Batac also has its offering but I never got to go there from Vigan. For lunch and dinner, try out the pork bagbagi and poqui-poqui. i almost forgot, my favorite soup, the Sinanglao! There are so many restos to choose from and probably even more now, so I will leave it out to you to plan your lunches and dinners.

What I love about Vigan is that it feels like you are in Baguio because of the somewhat cool climate minus the steep wet roads. The air is fresh and clean and gives you a chance to go back in time. They still have calesas that are not dilapidated.

Before going around, you might want to check in your bags and stuff. From my experience, Hotel De Salcedo and Vigan Plaza Hotel are fine and affordable. If you are traveling light, then you might as well continue on your tour right away being in Heritage Village already. You can also find souvenir items for sale there as well, even bulky statues if that is your thing, hehe.

Must see in Vigan aside from the Heritage Village are the following: Calle Crisologo, then head off to Crisologo Museum, father Burgos Museum, and Baluarte de Vigan. Go for a picnic in Mira Hills which is also an eco park itself. There is also, Hidden Garden, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to go there. Jars and earthen potteries you say? You can find 'em at Mira Hills. They have their own native craft there, i forgot what they called it.

Snack time! Find some kankanen. It will give you the sugar you need. They have a lot of varieties to choose from. My personal faves are tupig, dila-dila, tinubong, patupat, and kaskaron.

Day 5 to be added in when I come around.... (to be continued)

[Islands Accommodations]

Tourists coming from Manila can reach Vigan Plaza by air and land. You have the option to take a Laoag City or San Fernando, La Union flight. When you get to Laoag or San Fernando, take a bus headed to Vigan. The ride will be at most two hours.

On the other hand, Manila-to-Vigan bus rides take about seven hours, setting off from Cubao or Sampaloc.

[jhanjhan]

agree with Island Accommodations kay mao mana akong route hehehe anyway Vigan was a blast kung kaya sa imong oras TS go sad sa Laoag ang enjoy their off road adventure ala Dubai style kung makabalik ko sa Norte mao gyud ni akong buhaton to ride sa mala disyertong Paoay unya sand skateboarding daun

[Im_always_In]

been there..layo lang sya but worth it..

[Engineering]

yes ive been there..from vigan to laoag...

[nursebonita]

any new updates sa vigan?