Travelogue: Baguio Itinerary

It is exactly a year ago since we last went to the summer capital of the Philippines: Baguio City. I can definitely say that Baguio City is a must try. Way back then, about 8-10 years ago, we’ve been frequently visiting the city because of my army grandfather who was once assigned at The Masion, Baguio City. The perks of having an army lolo is actually a privilege and amazing at the same time because we were able to have a rest house in the city, so every time we visit baguio we don’t need to worry for transients and hotels.

Last April, 2015, our family visited again the city and that was very amusing because we don’t need to look for itineraries since we are familiarized with baguio for a couple of years already. We went to different places and had a lot of unforgettable experiences. It is always a good time when you are with your family. Some of our co-Filipinos are still travelling the globe to search where to spend their free times at. You no longer need to fly abroad for that; i mean hey, look around, look at your own country, the beauty that lives within your nation. Baguio is really a nice place! And read the whole blog post for Baguio travelogues and itineraries. Enjoy :)

We arrived baguio at around 3 am and my dad is the one who drove our car for about 4-5 hours (Manila-Baguio). The first thing we did was to sleep (most probably).  After the sun risen, we now traveled and explored around baguio! Here are some itineraries (highly recommended and must go places) that we've been through,  discovered and went to after travelling baguio for a couple of years. 

The Burnham Park

If you want to go biking, boating and chilling, this place is a must go. The Burnham Park is considered as the very heart of the Baguio City in the Philippines and The Mother of all parks. In that park, you can go rent for a bike in a cheap price, you can also go boating at their lake, you can also go sight-seeing for you can see there different kinds of places and you can also eat to their fancy food hubs. Lastly, if you want to chill for some sec, this is the perfect place for it due to its comfiness and peacefulness. 

Botanical Garden

This garden has different kinds of plants which came from different places throughout the world. This place is a must go, for it is a plant boutique wherein you can sight see such plants, this place is perfect for botanists and plant/nature lovers. Before you enter the main garden, you can see the igorots who are constantly waiting for tourists and they are expert when it comes to photobombing because every time they have been included in your photo-ops you need to pay them 5 pesos for every shot, witty, yeah i know hahaha. Have you guys noticed my mom and dad from a pic above? They were like hazel grace and agustus waters that time because of their grass-laying thingy which makes them tfios-ish.

Cafe by the Ruins

Cafe by the Ruins is the most classical cafe we've been through all throughout baguio city. It serves high-classed dishes and what i love about them is they instilled the tradition and the culture of our country by means of serving Filipino dishes in an expensive taste. It is perfect for foodventurers and thrill seekers. I also loved their Matcha Tea which is really good and appropriate to Baguio's temperature. You can't leave Baguio without trying out this cafe. 

Sitio La Presa

Are you guys familiar with forevermore? Well, if you must know, it is a primetime TV show that was taken here at La Presa. La Presa is the peak of baguio. From the main city going to La Presa will take you 45 minutes of travel but it is really worth it, you can see the whole baguio city when you are there. It is kinda Sagada-ish for it is very high and you can also shout and let go all of your hatreds over that peak.

Good Shepherd

The Greatest food pasalubong shop for all. I usually don't eat ube but their ube jam is extraordinary. They have strawberry jams (strawberry again, of course), peanut brittles, puddings and such. Those delicacies mentioned are made by the scholars of the good shepherd foundation. Good Shepherd was established and raised by sisters and other religious ministries from baguio city. Your already eating delicious jams and at the same time, helping scholars every time you buy goods from them. 

Ketchup Food Community 

The food hubs over here tested my taste buds, for real! They have lots of varieties. From south-east Asian to western countries to north-west to south-west and other countries all around the world. We ate lunch in a fil-mex food hub which serves filipino-mexican delicacies, i don't eat mexican dishes that much but this did not leave my taste buds. I would definitely go back to that food hub if we ever came back to baguio city again. We also ate in a thai restaurant the next day, they served us an upside down halo halo which is really good and delicious, that halo halo is very unique due to its thai flavorings. Please do visit this food community if you want your taste buds to be tested and if you want to taste the different delicacies around the world. 

La Trinidad, Benguet - Strawberry Farm

La Trinidad, Benguet is made famous by the hectares of strawberries planted on it. Strawberry picking is really fun and worth it experience, even though it is a bit expensive (400/kilo strawberry-hand-picking-experience), it is still worth it because you get to experience how to harvest strawberries and you can eat it freshly. Their strawberry shakes, strawberry taho and strawberry ice creams are must tries. But you still need to travel 1 hour from baguio proper to La Trinidad, Benguet before you go through the hand-picking experiences.

Baguio Market

Yes, even markets are worth going to! Specially the longganisa section that seemed to be Vigan City for curtains and curtains of longganisas hanged over the stalls. Baguio markets are well known for their cheap pricing specifically to the vegetable sections. You guys can buy raw foods over the market and cook it on your transients when you get home. it's always a good time when you are with the perfect company, your family

Mines View Park

Over-looking? Sight seeing? Chilling? Shopping? Souvenirs? Well this is probably the perfect place for those. I love how the park maintained the igorot presence and igorot era in their place. This is a park wherein you can see beautiful views from the plateau and perfect sights for over-lookings. The park also lets you to have photo-ops with the well known dogs, some of our igorot/aeta friends and you can also have the opportunity of wearing igorot attires. If you also wish to shop for souvenirs and remembrances, this is the right place. 

Diocese of Baguio

Diocese of Baguio is probably the second best Church i have went to (first is the Archdiocese of Manila). it felt like im in another country because the church was so greatly established and built. I love the spiritual presence that the place gave me, a time for reflection, a time for rest and a time for a conversation with God. I prayed and thanked God for letting me visit Baguio several times already, for always keeping us safe in terms of road travels and for always giving me a perfect vacation with the perfect company. 

The Mansion House

This is most probably my last itinerary. I made this last because our rest house is beside this. The perks of having an army lolo is really great because not all have the opportunity of entering the Mansion's gate but in our instance, we were able to go near it and we were also able to go inside it and take pictures. We were able to snoop around the woods at the back of it, we were able to play golf, we were able to go near the "The Mansion" plant sign wherein it is restricted (sorry for that hahaha) to where people are taking risks just to have the perfect shot from afar. These experiences would definitely not leave me.







How about you? Where is your travel place?