Filipinos during holy week / Lenten season often find themselves in a holiday. Mostly go out of towns, hit the nearest islands, some even fly abroad just to savor one of the much awaited days off in a year. We seldom go out of town on holy week, but because “Eon” arrived..it tempted our itchy feet to do a spontaneous road trip up north. “Kaja let’s go to Vigan!”
Going up north was my driver / Dear’s achievement since he wanted to test his driving limits and give our Eon another break-in. Out of town trips during holy week is not a good idea haha, it was the worst / longest / irritating traffic that we endured just to get to our destination. It took us whopping 15 hours of travel time from Manila to Vigan, and the traffic going even further north to Laoag and Pagudpud is another issue. If you search it on Waze during that time, it will take 3 hours from Vigan to Laoag (usual is 2 hours) and 4-5 hours from Vigan to Pagudpud (usual is 3 hours). We left Bacoor, Cavite at 3:00 am, arrived at Vigan around 6:30 pm, whooo road trip! 🙂
Getting there (commuting)
Our last Vigan post on year 2012 will guide you on commuting to Vigan, but usually it’s just an 8 hour bus ride from Manila, get off along Bantay National Highway where the Saint Augustine Parish Church “Bantay Church” is also located. From there, you can ride tricycles going to your chosen accommodation.
Getting there (private car)
This would be your best route:
North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) > Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) > Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway (TPLEX) > drive through Manila North Road, you won’t get lost since there were mostly town arch that you will pass by.
What to do / Activities
Food trip and shop for delicacies
Walk along & enjoy the rustic charm of Calle Crisologo, a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Visit Bantay Church and Bantay Bell Tower, do photo-ops.
Visit the town’s plaza and other touristic places, you may find our guide in this post and here too.
Accommodation
Since it’s a spontaneous trip we had, we did not even bother to book for our room haha. This an added lesson we learned especially for holiday out of towns. You must always book a room prior or you can also do this while you’re still driving to your destination, there’s plenty of online sites to help you like Agoda. Going back, when we arrive at Vigan, the place was just flocked with tourists and we got hopeless since all the hotels were fully booked. We thought we’re just gonna sleep inside the car or just get some rest and head home.We did hotel search while driving around and found Green R Hotel. It’s located in front of Vigan Public Market, it’s near Jollibee, and a grocery store. All rooms provide a/c, cable tv, private toilet & bathroom. Rates starts at Php 1,125.00 (2 pax) and Php 2,025.00 (4 pax) no breakfast included. It can work if you’re not so choosy with your accommodation and you’re just in Vigan for a short period of time. We liked that the hotel’s location is near to several establishments and you can also walk to Calle Crisologo, around 3-4 blocks away. But you can always ride a tricycle since they often pass by the hotel too.
Estimated Budget
- Gasoline – Php 2,000.00 round trip
- Toll Fees – Php 1,100 round trip
- Accommodation – Php 1,125.00
- Food, Pasalubong – Php 1,500.00
Contact Info
Green R Hotel – 09430014290, +63 (77) 6321149
- Address: Alcantara Street Extension, Barangay VIII, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur
- Check in time: 2:00 PM; Check out time: 12:00 NN
- Website – www.greenrhotel.com
Initially our plan was to spend an over night at Vigan then head on for Laoag day tour, and then spend an over night at Pagudpud. That all changed because of the heavy traffic we experienced and so we decided to leave for Manila upon check-out. It was a good choice, no traffic at all and we just drove 6 hours from Vigan to Bacoor, Cavite.
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Kaja let's go! 