Tra-Abel Guide to Ilocos Region

Ilocos is located on the most northwestern part of the Philippines. Plenty of tourists visit this region to learn and reminisce the rich history the place offers, home to the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site - Vigan City, which boasts of Spanish-era mansions, the kalesa and cobblestone Crisologo Street. 

In addition to these historical treats, you can also find a century old lighthouse at Burgos and a century old baroque church at Paoay. 

Also, if one ventures beyond, Ilocos is home to stunning white sand beaches, enchanting caves and waterfalls, and exceptional rock formations. If these are not enough reasons for you to pack your bags and head to Ilocos now, then maybe the following reasons can make you. Ilocos is also where you can find the scenic Bangui windmills, the first in Southeast Asia, or surf the perfect waves of Pagudpud and partake into the adrenaline inducing adventures offered at Paoay sand dunes.

How to Get There

By Air

There are budget airlines flying directly to Laoag, Ilocos from Manila. You can check out their websites for the availability and schedule of their flights. From the airport, you can hire tricycles and jeepneys to take you to the town proper.

By Land

From Manila, Baguio, Pampanga or San Fernando, there are various bus lines going to Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Laoag, Ilocos Norte. More popular choices are Partas, Florida, Victory, Farinas, Dominion and Viron. The Florida buses have trips as far as Claveria in Cagayan, which you can take to get you directly to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. Travel time is around 10-12 hours if you’re coming from Manila, so it is best to leave at night. Fare varies from P500 to P700 depending on the bus of your choice.

Where to Stay

Most of my visits to Ilocos, I either stay at my relatives’ or friend’s house so I can only share with you my experiences with the accommodations I tried during my latest visit. 

Vigan, Ilocos Sur

RF Aniceto Mansion Tourist Inn and Restaurant

Contact Number: +63777222383 / +63777222384

Email Address: anicetomansion@yahoo.com

Address: #1 Mena Crisologo Street | Plaza Burgos, Vigan, Luzon, Philippines

Rate starts at Php1,500 per night

          Review

After an hour of looking for accommodations with available rooms, we were brought by our feet in front of RF Aniceto Mansion. [Backstory: We came unprepared and without a concrete plan. No booking of accommodations, no preparation of (even a) rough itinerary, or even researching for the basic travel information. LOL. Worst is we did not know that Vigan is celebrating its Annual Longganisa Festival when we visited in May 2014. So we did not anticipate the lack of available accommodations.] Anyway, back to my review of Aniceto. Our stay there was comfortable and satisfactory. The hotel itself is a reminder of what houses look like during the Spanish era.  It was decorated with antique furniture, old family portraits (a little creepy though) and things you usually see in a museum. In other words “OLD” things! LOL. The facilities were great, it was well maintained (even though some of the floorings or steps in the staircase were making a creaking sound), the service was satisfactory and the staff were friendly. I cannot say much about the food they serve since we only ate there during breakfast.

            Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

           

Arlyn Danao’s Homestay

Contact Person: Arlyn Danao

Contact Number: 09185698886 / 09277568679

Address: Saud, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

           
          Review

Unlike our horrible experience of looking for hotel at Vigan City, we immediately found an accommodation in Saud. With the help of the Manong tricycle driver that we hired at the highway junction, we were brought to Arlyn Danao’s Homestay in a jiffy. We did not look further since we found the rates offered by Arlyn’s acceptable (it’s actually cheap) and the facilities of the homestay satisfactory. We stayed there for 2 days and 1 night. We occupied a room in the 2^nd floor. Our room can accommodate a maximum of 8 persons, so it was quite spacious for the three of us.  The location of the homestay is a plus since it was a tumbling away (isang tumbling lang? LOL) from the beach. It is also near the eateries which are located near the entrance of the beach. The only thing that I think can be improved is their common bathroom. It should be more spacious and should be cleaned more often (a necessity since it was common).

Activities and Sights

For recommended activities and sights at Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, please read the following entries:

·         Tra-Abel’sTop Things To Do at Ilocos Norte

·         Tra-Abel’sTop Things To Do at Ilocos Sur

Sample Itinerary

3 days (Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan)

Day 0 (Night/afternoon before the day of actual trip)

Travel from Manila to Pagudpud via the Claveria bound buses.

Day 1

Arrival in Pagudpud and check-in at the hotel

Ilocos North Tour (tricycle guided tour)

·         Kabigan Falls

·         Patapat Viaduct

·         Timmangtang Rock Formations

·         Bantay-abot Cave

·         Blue Lagoon

·         Dos Hermanos Island

Night swimming at Saud Beach

Day 2

Check-out of hotel and leave pagudpud

Ilocos South Tour (DIY tour)

·         Bangui Windmills

·         Kapurpurwan Rock Formations

·         Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

·         Baccara Church

Include in your itinerary Paoay Church, Sand Dunes and Malacanang of the North

Arrival in Vigan and check-in at the Hotel

Night walking at Calle Crisologo and dinner

Day 3

Vigan City Tour

·         Calle Crisologo

·         Visit Spanish era mansions and museums

·         Baluarte Park (can be skipped if you have limited time)

·         Try the Pinakbet Pizza, Ilocos Longganisa and Empanada

·         Pagburnayan jar-making

·         Bell tower of Bantay

Back to Manila

Notes:

1. Going to Pagudpud first and eventually making your way back to Vigan is recommended. This will get you nearer to Manila. But you can also do it the other way around.

2. Since I grew up in Quirino Province where Ilocano is also a known dialect, let me teach you some helpful Ilocano words and phrases:

Naimbag nga bigat/aldaw                               =          Good morning/day

Naimbag nga malem/rabii                               =          Good afternoon/evening

Tigmano (Mano)Atoy (Daytoy)/Ata (Dayta)    =          How much is this/that

Mangan ta’yo                                                  =          Let’s eat

Ayan na iti                                                       =          Where is

Anya iti                                                            =          What is

Naimas                                                            =          Masarap

Napintas                                                          =          Beautiful

3. Famous mode of visiting the major tourist spots at Ilocos Norte is through self-guided tricycle tours. It is composed of North Tour and South Tour, common rate for each tour costs P600. Since the rate is not monitored by the Department of Tourism or the local government unit, you can always try to ask for discounts and negotiate with the driver for a lower price.