Banaue Sagada Baguio DIY Itinerary and

Travel Guide 4D3N

The Travel DebuggerDecember 10, 2015 Baguio, Banaue, Philippines, Sagada, Travel 7 Comments
Banaue Sagada Baguio DIY Itinerary and Travel Guide 4D3N
For a very long time, travelling to Sagada seems very unreachable to me. I always ask one
of my uncles who frequent Sagada (they bring their own vehicle) when can I travel with
them but our schedules dont always match. Ive always wanted to go to Sagada because of
the cool climate, beautiful sceneries and the unique tradition and culture of the people
there. This is even long before we watched the movie That thing called Tadhana. So I told
myself, I shouldnt put any more hopes on travelling with my uncle. I then finally scheduled
our trip this cold December not only to Sagada but to Banaue and Baguio as well!
Initially, it was supposed to be just my wife and me but our friend from Abu Dhabi tagged
along the trip since she will be on vacation to the Philippines. The more the merrier! It was
all our first time in Sagada.

In this post, you will get to know our Itinerary, expenses, travel guides and our wonderful
experience in culture rich, simple but amazing Sagada. Read on folks!

Our Itinerary:
We really wanted to have a relaxed Itinerary. Just chillin and knowing the culture is enough
for us. No extreme cave spelunking or mountain hiking.
Day 0 (Dec. 2)
10PM Depart from Manila to Banaue via Ohayami Bus

Day 1 (Dec. 3)
7AM Arrival in Banaue
Breakfast at Homestay Lodge

8:45AM Depart from Banaue to Sagada by Van

Picture taking at Banaue Rice Terraces View Point

11AM Arrival in Sagada

Check-in at Residential Lodge

Rest a bit

12:30PM Lunch at Salt and Pepper

Pay Environmental Fee at Municipal Hall

Shopped a bit

Rest again

3PM Start DIY tour (no guide) to Sugong coffins and Lumiang Burial Cave

4PM Merienda at Sagada Lemon Pie House

Rest again (So good to sleep in a chilly climate)

7PM Dinner at Luckys Shanghai Hauz and dessert at Strawberry caf

Day 2 (Dec. 4)
4:30AM Kiltepan Sunrise (500 Van roundtrip)

6:30AM Rock Farm Cafe / Orange Picking (Additional 150 for the Van)
9:30AM Echo Trail Tour (guide fee 600)

The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Sagada Cemetery
Echo Valley
Hanging coffins
Underground River
Bokong falls
12:30PM Sagada Weaving

12:45PM Lunch at Centrum Building

Rest a bit

4PM Supposed to walk to Lake Danum at 3PM but we overslept and woke up at 4PM!

Tried to walk to Lake Danum but failed so we ended up at Sagada Pottery.

6PM Streetfood for dinner and shopped a bit

Day 3 (Dec. 5)
7AM Travel to Baguio

1PM Arrival in Baguio / Lunch at Good Taste Restaurant

2PM Check-in Hotel Veniz

3PM Souvenir Shopping at Good Shepherd and Mines view Park

5:30PM Dinner at Ketchup Food Community

Day 4 (Dec. 6)
6AM Breakfast buffet at Hotel Veniz

7:30AM Shopping at Baguio Public Market

10AM Pack-up

12PM Check-out

2:10PM Depart to Manila (Victory Liner)

TIP: For me, its much better if you go to Sagada on Weekdays rather than on Weekends or
Holidays since its jampacked on those days. We had a calm and quiet trip on Sagada, just

perfect

Transportation
We chose the Banaue-Sagada-Baguio route because we think its the most efficient and less
tiring since we would be just chillin and buying souvenirs in Baguio.

Going to Banaue
We boarded the Ohayami Bus route at 10PM from Sampaloc, Manila to Banaue. Travel time
took 9hrs with 2 stop overs.

Fare: 450 plus 20 online processing fee

Click here to book online.

For more information, go to www.ohayamitrans.com
Once in Banaue, there are drivers willing to take you to your destination whether it be in
Sagada or your booked guesthouse in Banaue.

Going to Sagada
We boarded a van in Banaue for 300 each. Travel time took around 2hrs with a stop over in
one of the amazing viewpoints in Banaue.

No words can describe how beautiful this place is. Breathtaking!

Many tourists also take the Banaue to Bontoc, then Bontoc to Sagada route riding at the
topload of the Jeepney.
Going around Sagada
Walk.. walk.. walk Sagada is all about walking but you can also hire a vehicle if you want
to just like what we did in Kiltepan. We hired a vehicle for P500 going to Kiltepan and met
the driver at the Saggas tourist information office at 4:30AM.

After Kiltepan, we decided to go to Rock Farm for Orange picking and breakfast. We just
added P150 for the driver to take us there and to the town proper after. Its a good deal
especially if you are too full because of all the oranges you ate.

No sunrise, but still awesome.

For more info on the vehicle rates, click here.

Going to Baguio
We boarded the GL / Lizardo Trans Bus at the Sagada terminal at 7AM. I believe the earliest
bus leaves at 5AM and the last one leaves at 12:30PM.

The GL/Lizardo Trans bus we boarded to Baguio

Fare: P220

No need for advance reservation. Just go there before your planned departure and buy your
tickets at the bus conductor.

Halsema Highway has one of the most amazing sceneries Ive seen in my entire life (no
kidding). This is also the reason why I chose to go to Baguio from Sagada for our last leg.
Too bad I dont have pics.

Going back to Manila

We boarded the trusted Victory Liner from Baguio to Manila. At first we thought we wont
get a ticket out of Baguio by Sunday (We went to the ticket office at Saturday) as all the
trips were fully booked but fortunately they opened new trip schedules. We boarded at
2:10PM (just the right time out of Baguio) and arrived at Manila at 9PM.

Fare: P460

Travel time: 7hrs

Accommodation
In Sagada:
Residential Lodge 2 Nights for P300 per person per night

We booked this lodge since it has rave reviews on the internet. It didnt disappoint. Booking
is hassle free (deposited 50% down payment through Landbank) and the contact person
responds back immediately for queries. Its one of my main criteria on booking a place.

The owner and staffs are really polite and helpful. The room is just adequate and cozy for
those chilly Sagada nights. They have hot and cold shower and wifi in the main lobby. For
300 per pax per night? This is a great deal.
Residential Lodge Living Room

Click here for more info.

Contact them at: 0919 672 8744

In Baguio:
Hotel Veniz 1 night for P1395 Junior Standard room with no aircon plus 500 for additional
person.

Who doesnt know about Hotel Veniz in Baguio? Right at the heart of the city, this Hotel is
one of those bang for your buck accommodations since its relatively cheap but with
complete Hotel amenities.

We chose to book a Hotel since we needed a mini-staycation that stays on our budget. We
wont need airconditioning anyways.

More info at www.hotelveniz.com

Book your stay at Hotel Veniz through Agoda here!

Tours
We didnt join a group tour in our Banaue-Sagada-Baguio Trip since we wanted to go on our
own pace. We went on a DIY trip where we just commuted from Manila to Banaue, then to
Sagada, Baguio and back to Manila either by bus or van.

Upon arrival in Sagada, you can then go to the Saggas tourist information office and check
the tours you wanted to avail. There are tours that you can DIY while there are some that is
required to have a guide like spelunking in the Sumaguing Cave. If youll be going on DIY to
some of the places, please ask the information officer in the Saggas office first if a local
guide is required or not. This is very important! Safety and precaution first before doing
anything stupid lol. For Kiltepan view point, you dont need a guide but you can hire a
vehicle since its a long walk from the town proper. All up to you though.

Before proceeding to the tour, you must register first at the Municipal Hall for the
environmental fee for P35 each.

We only availed the Echo Trail tour which you will visit the following places:

The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Sagada Cemetery
Echo Valley
Hanging coffins
Underground River
Bokong falls
Note that though these places are near to each other, you still have to walk and trek a lot
up and down the trail. But dont worry, our guide told us that the Echo Trail is one of the
easiest trek in Sagada. I even saw old people doing this tour.

Guide Fee for this tour is P600 but if you are happy with how your guide assisted you, then

please give them a little extra

Sagada Hanging Coffins

You can DIY the Echo Trail tour, but if this is your first time in Sagada, its much better to
get a local guide to explain the history of the places and their tradition and culture

If you will just go to one place e.g. Echo Valley, then the guide fee is just P200 for a group
of 15 persons.

You can check the Saggas Tour rates here.

Food
In Sagada
Eat Like a Tourist:

Sagada is not only known for its adventurous activities but its also known for its food.
There are several restaurants to choose from but be prepared to shell out around 150 to
300 per dish as they cater mostly to Tourists. So how good was it? For us, its a hit or miss.
We liked some dish but the others are forgettable. Click here for our Sagada Food Trip.
Eat like a Local:

If you are on a budget, but you still want to eat good food that the locals eat, then head to
the basement of Centrum Building (a.k.a. Eduardo Gaudan Longid Centrum, besides the
Sagada terminal). Our local tour guide in the Echo Trail tour suggested this to us as we are
looking for good yet affordable food in Sagada.

Centrum Building. Go to the basement for the small restos.

We ordered fried daing na banugs (P140), sinigang na bangus (P90) and nilagang baka
(P100).

Yummy! Nilagang baka is sooo goood!

It was really good! Home cooked meals at its finest! The servings are generous too plus we
get to try the red rice of Sagada which the other restaurants we went to didnt offer.

Eat like a pauper:

On our last night in Sagada, since we wanted to save more on our budget, we decided to
just eat anything we see on the streets. First stop, we saw this barbeque stall on our way
home from Sagada Pottery. One stick of fine barbeque meat cost P12.

Barbeque stand

Then next are all of Pinoys favorites fishballs (3pcs for P2), chickenballs (P2 each) and
kikiam (P1.5 each). Last but not the least, sweet corn on a stick which cost P35. A total of
P64 per person, not bad right?

In Baguio
One of the branches of Good Taste restaurant is just besides Dangwa terminal in Baguio
where the GL / Lizardo Trans bus last stop is. This is our 3 time to eat here and of course,
rd

it didnt disappoint. For P95 for a rice meal with ample servings and good taste (redundant
lol), its definitely one of the best restaurants in Baguio.
After shopping for souvenirs in Good Shepherd, we went to dine in the popular Ketchup
Food Community just right across Wright Park. Well, its popular because they really offer
good food! We dined at Happy Tummy (Thai Food) and ordered Pad Thai (P195), Chicken
Satay (P175), Sticky Mango Rice (forgot the price) and Lomo Pork Ribs (P205) at Canto.

Happy Tummys version of Pad Thai

The Pad Thai was really good! One of the best Pad Thai we had outside of Thailand and Im
glad we have it here in the Philippines. The Chicken Satay with I think, is a turmeric sauce
is nice as well. The Lomo Pork Ribs at Canto is to die for! The meat is tender and soft and is
marinated nicely. For dessert, we had the Sticky Mango rice that looks like a sunny side up
egg at first look lol. Its delicious too though.

Happy Tummys Sticky Mango Rice. Looks like an egg no?

Maybe Ill create a separate post for my review in Ketchup Food community. Stay tuned.

Expenses:
Here is a summary of our Expenses for our 4 days trip in Banaue, Sagada and Baguio.
Please note that shopping items and souvenirs were not included as this may vary per
individual preferences. Food and drinks are shared between the two of us. Some items like
the Van to Kiltepan are shared between the 3 of us in the group. Kindly see the remarks
column for more information. I also didnt include the expenses for bottled water as it is too
tedious to note.

Spelunking
Sumaguing Cave
Most of the time first timers would try this first. Expect waist deep water in some parts of Sumaguing
cave.
Last entrance to the cave: 4:00pm
Guide Fee:
Php 500 for 4 visitors or less
Php 600 for 5 visitors
Php 1000 for 6-9 visitors (2 guides)
Php 1200 for 10 visitors (2 guides)
Php 1500 for 11-12 visitors (2 guides)

Cave Connection
Lumiang-Sumaguin Cave takes about 4-5 hours.
Last entrance to the caves: 4:00pm
Guide Fee: Php400/person

Balangagan Cave aka Marcos Cave

Last entrance to the cave: 4:00pm
Guide Fee: Php 650 for 4 visitors or less

Waterfalls
Bumayeng Twin Falls
Fee: Php 2500 for 5 visitors or less (guide fee + packed meals)
Hike Duration: 3 hrs one way
Transportation: Php 650 two way

Bomod-ok Falls aka Big Falls

There are two ways to get there, via Aguid and via Bangaan. I suggest to try via Anguid going down,
then via Bangaan going up, or vice versa for a different view.
Hike Duration: 1 hr going down, 2 hrs going up (depends on your phase)
Fee: Php 500 for 10 visitors or less
Transportation: Php 650 two way

Pongas Falls
This is the second favorite option because Bomod-ok becomes overcrowded.
Fee: Php 600
Hike Duration: 1 hr
Transportation: Php 650 two way

Bokong Falls
Bokong falls is known as small falls.
Fee: Php 200
Transportation: Php 250 two way

Eco-Tour
3 hours of loop hike to Echo Valley Hanging Coffins, Sagada Underground River entrance, St. Mary's
Church, and Bokong Natural Swimming Pool passing thru small river, valley/canyon, rice fields and
Sagada Weaving
Guide Fee: Php 600 for 10 visitors or less

Adventure Trail
3 hours trek to Echo Valley, Hanging Coffins passing through St. Mary's Church, enter the
Underground River, forest trails, river crossing, Bokong swimming pool
Guide Fee: Php 1000 for 10 visitors or less

Echo Valley Hanging Coffins

Short hike to have a close-up view of the coffins
Guide Fee: Php 200 for 10 visitors or less

Kiltepan Sunrise
The best time for sunrise viewing will be in summer. Leave for Kiltepan at 4:30am, 15 minutes drive
from the town center. You can do topload going back so make sure that the vehicle has some rails for
you to do topload.
Transport Fee: Php 500

Lake Danum/Sunset
You can drop by Sagada Stoneware pottery along the way. 20 minutes drive, or around 1 hr walk.
Transport Fee: Php 500

Mountain Trekking
Mt. Ampacao Traverse
A loop hike from town center to Lake Danum viewpoint then to Mt. Ampacao and down to the village
of Demang or Ambasing. This will take around 3 hours or so depending on your ability to walk on
natural mountain or trails.
Guide Fee: Php 800 for 10 visitors or less

Grassy Land / Marlboro

2-3 hours of back trekking. It is also a camping site and sunrise viewpoint.
Guide Fee: Php 1000 for 3 visitors or less

Mt. Sisipitan
The highest mountain in Sagada, it is 2,200 meters above sea level.
Guide Fee: Php 2000/person

Mt. Polis
Nestles between Mt. Ampacao and the "Grassy Land"/Marlboro, provides a good view of Sagada.
Guide Fee: Php 1500 for 3 visitors or less

Marlboro Hills - Blue Soil Traverse Trek

4-5 hours trek passing through rice terraces and limestone formations.
Guide Fee: Php 1800 for 3 visitors or less
Transport Fee: Php 1,350

Our Expenses for the 4D3N trip to Banaue, Sagada and Baguio

Lets say we spent 5k each. Still not bad for 4 days getaway in 3 different places right?
Items that can be lessened here are the Van to Kiltepan (you can just walk, but we prefer to
take a Van coz its a long walk), not hiring a local guide in the Echo Trail Tour (but not
recommended for first timers), not giving tips (also not recommended), eat packed food or
streetfoods/carinderia all throughout (possible but really hard) and just stay at a
guesthouse/inn in Baguio instead of a Hotel (we really need some staycation sometime lol)

Souvenirs in Sagada is also a little bit expensive but when you buy, just think that its a way
of helping them in their daily lives and a way of saying thank you for such a wonderful

visit

Some prices I recall:

Fridge Magnet ranges from 50 to 100

Sagada T-Shirt 150/160

Sagada Orange in Rock Farm 60/kg

I hope this post helps you in any way on your planned trip to Banaue, Sagada and Baguio.
Stay tuned for more posts regarding our trip. In the meantime, feel free to ask questions
and I will try to answer them as much as I can. Thank you!