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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Top day-trip destinations near Metro Manila

Here is a list of my favorite day-trip destinations near Metro Manila. With summer just around the corner, it's time to plan your trips!

Manila day trip - Anawangin Nagsasa Capones Zambales1. Beach hop in San Antonio, Zambales
Call them San Antonio's Big Five - Anawangin Cove, Camara Island, Capones Island, Nagsasa Cove, and Pundaquit! And you can reach all these great beaches from the jump-off point in Pundaquit. I most definitely enjoyed the surreal landscape of Anawangin. So remote it is that you need to hike several hours or take a pump boat to get to it. Nagsasa Cove is just as pristine!

Manila day trip - Taal Volcano2. Taal Volcano trek
You've always seen the Taal Volcano from Tagaytay City. Have you ever tried visiting the island itself and hike or ride a horse to the crater lake? This is a one day-trip option you can do together with a culinary tour of Tagaytay.

Manila day trip - Mount Pinatubo3. Mt. Pinatubo trek
All it takes is a drive to Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac to begin that breathtaking journey to Mount Pinatubo's crater lake. A one hour 4x4 ride, plus a one hour trek across some of the most unusual and unbelievable landscapes makes the journey there even more exciting. The crater lake of Mount Pinatubo is perfect for a swim especially when it is baby blue! It's easy to organize a visit through the Pinatubo Spa Town. And don't forget to get a massage after the trek!

Manila day trip - Corregidor4. Corregidor Island day-trip
As I mentioned, this is one of those day-trips taken for granted. Reliving the story of Corregidor is a very enriching experience. The Sun Cruises tour includes round-trip ferry transfers, buffet lunch and a guided tour around the island. You get to visit the various war memorials and the surviving gun batteries which formed part of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. You can also opt to stay for the night and explore the Malinta Tunnel in the evening and do a morning trek among the less-visited batteries the next day.

5. Road trip around Mount Banahaw
You've all heard about the Viaje del Sol route and the wonderful establishments along the way. But go the extra mile by completing the loop around Mt. Banahaw. Along the way, you can visit the seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna. You'll pass by the grand Art Deco mansions of Sariaya and the magnificent churches of Tayabas and Majayjay, both National Cultural Treasures. Don't miss the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan. Plus you can munch on Lucban's famous longaniza and pancit habhab. Slipper addicts will have a blast in Liliw, Laguna! You can stretch this trip another day by staying a night in Pagsanjan and doing the next suggested day-trip.

Manila day trip - Pagsanjan Falls6. Shooting the rapids in Pagsanjan
This one you should try at least once in your life. It was exciting and exhilarating. I personally enjoyed the raft ride that takes you right under the falls. So make sure you have extra clothes. The only catch is that the boatmen will pressure you to give hefty tips.

Manila day trip - Pampanga food7. Pampanga culinary adventure
You haven't been to Pampanga if you haven't savored its food, both local and international cuisine. San Fernando is home to Everybody's Cafe where everyday Kapampangan food is as exotic as it can get. Angeles City is the birthplace of sisig and make sure you taste the original at Aling Lucing's. At the Camalig, Kapampangan pizza is topped with longaniza, salted duck eggs, and pickle relish. And Fields Avenue near Clark brings you around the world with its international restaurants, my favorites being C' Italian Dining, Zapata's (Mexican), Subdelicious (American), Cottage Kitchen (Cajun/Creole), Red Sea (Lebanese), Hana-mi (Japanese)... the list is endless! Now obviously, you can't eat at all these places in one day since that would be gluttony! So why not stay another day?

8. Road trip around Laguna de Bay
We all know about the visita iglesia route which will take you to Pakil and Paete in Laguna, and Morong, Baras and Tanay in Rizal. But there's more! Make sure you also visit the heritage town of Pila, Laguna and stop over at Lumban to check out their wonderful pina cloth emroidery. Have you ever considered stopping over at Daranak and Batlag Falls in Tanay, Rizal? Well, you should! End the day with a sunset dinner high up on the ridge in Antipolo.

9. Intro dive in Batangas
Even if you don't have a license, you can still experience diving with the help of a dive master through an intro dive. And that's exactly what we did in Bauan, Batangas! It's a different world down there and all I could say is, "Wow!"

Manila day trip - Ipo Watershed10. Plant trees at the Ipo Watershed
Now this is travel with a cause. Just contact the UP Mountaineers to find out if you can join one of their reforestation trips to the Ipo Watershed. Any advocacy to preserve our cultural and natural heritage is close to my heart. Which is why we made a visit to the Ipo Watershed to support the advocacy of the UP Mountaineers to protect it!

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous11.2.09

    Wow!

    Thanks Ivan for including Ipo Watershed in your list!

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  2. Anonymous13.2.09

    YEAH! Many thanks Ivan for choosing Corregidor Island as one of the top day-trip destinations near the Metro!

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  3. Anonymous19.2.09

    how do you arrange for the pinatubo tour?

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  4. Anonymous19.2.09

    This is very useful! I'm taking note of it and add them to my list. :)

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  5. @anne_g, please click on the title for more details on the Pinatubo Tour. Thanks!

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  6. hmm nice..
    makapag food trip nga sa pampanga this weekend! :)

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  7. Anonymous4.6.09

    zapata's near Clark is really very good mexican resto and reasonably priced!!! evrybody's cafe is really authentic kapampangan resto!!! you're great ivan!!! cheers!

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  8. Hi Ivan! I've done with half of your list. I'm done with (2) Taal Volcano, (4) Corregidor, (6) Pagsanjan, (8) Laguna Bay roadtrip and just last weekend part of (5) Mt Banahaw when we went to Tayabas via Rizal. Years ago, I reached up to Liliw via SLEX so I guess.
    I'd like to experience in the future (1) Zambales beach hop, (3) Mt Pinatubo and (10) Ipo Watershed. And I have no interest in (7) Pampanga Culinary Adventure and (9) Dive in Batangas. :-)

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  9. Nette Baltazar2.7.09

    Hello Ivan.. I am glad I found your site. We love to visit the Philippines too. And we found out diving as the best so far. I hope our family can also tour our 7,107 islands....

    Hope to read more... your write ups helps a lot. Especially if you have a place in mind and don't know how to get there...

    Hope to read more...

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  10. mariedelmv28.8.09

    I really love your blog.I am a fan of tourism and culture.As a matter of fact,I would want to do research on Philippine tourism someday.I am a Communication Research graduate,by the way.Sana you could also devote a section here on low-budget local trips and destinations.Thanks and kudos!

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  11. Anonymous2.2.10

    hi i like your posts but seems that these are for adventurous people. hope you posts vacation sites for families with women who are not much of a trekking, hiking, etc type. Simple, pristine beach resorts maybe? :) thanks

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  12. Numbers 4, 5, 7 and 8 are all relaxing trips. Being an archipelago, almost every every province has a pristine beach resort. So I decided to focus on unique activities.

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  13. Anonymous17.8.10

    Hi! ivan, Cld u advise places to visit during this raining month. I be having some guest in oct and will have my inlaws n my parents in nov n dec.Thanks.

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  14. Hi Ivan,cld u advise places to visit during this raining season.I b having my gfs coming in october so what is there to do around metro manila.N my inlaws n parents in nov n dec.They b here for some time so v can do day trip or 1/2nite stay during the christmas school break.thanks.

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  15. Anonymous7.11.11

    Hi, Ivan. I would want to try the culinary adventure in Pampanga and i'm looking for tours or tour guides. Can't find it here. Can you recommend someone or a group that organizes culinary tours. Thanks.

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  16. Please e-mail reservations@ultimatephilippines.com for Pampanga food tours

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  17. Thank you so much for this, we need this for our show! ;)

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  18. hi ivan, this site is really help me. just drop by to say thanks from malaysia

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  19. Ive been trying to find a list like this since my nephew is visiting the Philippines soon. Thanks for this.

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