SAGADA TRAVEL GUIDE : DETAILED DIY ITINERARY FOR 2D/1N || AS the movie suggest Sagada is a place where broken hearted go. But then I’ve realized that one does not need to be broken hearted to start and venture in this special escapade at Mt. Province.
There were a lot of travel agencies offering this joiners trip to Sagada, which normally falls on the weekends. I personally is not always a fan of those, as I wanted to maximize my stay in a particular place while managing all my time and itineraries.
With the will for a brand new adventure with my ever supportive gals and girlfriends we decided to give it a try, searched for the best itinerary and head over the next bus trip to Sagada. I’ll share with you our DIY trippin’ with the budgets and reminders one has to consider when you visit this place.
We stayed at Baguio for a day trip of food adventure and for pasalubongs and the next day we headed to Sagada early in the morning.
Also read : Baguio City : A day tour guide
HOW TO GO TO SAGADA FROM BAGUIO CITY?
At 4:00 am we headed straight at GL Liner Terminal in Baguio Dangwa Terminal in Barangay Sto. Nino. Since we are in a private vehicle it was pretty much convenient on our end. But for some a cab going to the terminal is okay too. It would just take around 10 – 15 minutes travel time if you’re from the Victory Liner Terminal.
*Terminal is almost near SM Baguio and Session Road (we only walked from GL Terminal going to SM Baguio on our way home)
ALSO READ THE DETAILED BLOG POST : How to go to Sagada? (via Baguio)
We were so keen and very conscious of the time as we all wanted to grab the earliest bus trip at 5:30 am. There were no early bookings / reservation for the bus ticket going to Sagada so it is really a first come first travel policy, the text trip was scheduled for 7:30am and so on (*every hour until 1:00PM)
Ticket cost PHP 220.00 all the way to SAGADA. And you still can’t buy ticket in advance going back to Baguio.
Heres the schedule for the bus trip :
5:30AM; 7:30AM; 8:30AM; 9:30AM;10:30AM; 11:30AM and the last trip at 1PM
Note : best if you’ll arrive in Sagada to grab the earliest bus ride, if you’re coming from Manila take the midnight trip so you’ll have enough sleep as well.
The trip would take around 5 – 6 hours, so make sure you grab enough breakfast at the terminal or bring food with you. There were also 3 stop overs for restroom breaks and food stalls to check out as well.If you’re a type of person who is so “mahiluhin” or not accustomed of long bus ride journey make sure to brace yourself.
I was sleeping as much as possible trying to relax during the trip, but I tell you, it was one hell of a ride. It feels so scary and I couldn’t imagine traveling if its raining. It was high and the trip was more of twirling. It was the scenery going to Mt. Province that makes it so worth it and so exciting that I couldn’t help my excitement while traveling. By 11:30 we made it! Touchdown Sagada. The moment I stepped down at Sagada feels so exciting, it felt so fulfilling that finally I’m here. It was Sunday when we got their, so good thing about it, travel agencies were all on their way back home to Manila. They weren’t much of the tourist at the time (*which is good I guess) *Hooray for the perfect timing!
YOGHURT HOUSE
We had our lunch first at Yoghurt House, as we reached Sagada by 11AM, based on research it’s a best place to dine here before heading to a major activities. And true enough as they serve big meals both rice and pasta whichever you prefer 🙂
The specialty, as the name suggest is Yoghurt 🙂 which is actually delicious and a must try as well.
Read full review here : BAGUIO – SAGADA : A guide for a foodie traveller
Misty Lodge and Café
Just right outside the Town Proper of Sagada comes Misty Lodge and Café offering one of the best food stop.
It is basically a stay-in lodge but it’s café and the variety of food were all so good as well.
This is where we actually spent our night, so we had our dinner in Misty Lodge after the activities.
Also Read Full Review On Misty Lodge : Misty Lodge Café – where to stay in Sagada?
Ambiance of the café is too picture perfect, everything about the place is IG worthy. With its colorful, playful colors that adds up its wooden and feels like home feels is a must visit place.
They have books in the area, and some board games to keep you entertain as you wait for your meals. And a perfect match for a cold and cooling breeze is a Sinigang Meal, in which Misty Lodge offers. Pizza were great and pair it with a hot chocolate drink.
Though it was situated outside the community area, it was hard to visit Misty Lodge most especially during night time.
Sagada Lemon Pie House
Located at the Town Proper in Sagada
This is a perfect spot to spend you breakfast after watching the sunrise at Kiltepan. It opens at 7am *perfect timing though
The resto vibe inside the resto is sooo Tokyo feels *wink. Seated on the floor, chatting and bonding with your friends, it feels relaxing and the place is IG worthy itself.
Breakfast meal, offers big serving and it’s sulit. Though it is just the usual breakfast café.
We headed to this resto to check out their specialty, The Lemon Pie! Which cost P30 per slice. Not bad and I love it 🙂 must try as well.
GAIA Coffe Shop
Same spot as #ThatThingCalledTadhana Movie.
Offering cold and hot drinks. Drop by the coffee shop as it is over-rated over the internet already, it has a perfect overlooking view *which I find scary at some point lol.
Better to drop by here after your caving activity, as it passes thru going to the Spelunking location *it’ll save you transpo cost.
*Note : Food restaurants in Sagada is everywhere, literally everywhere! Just within the community. It depends on your food preference and type of food you wanted to try out.
Budget wise, the prices ranges from P150 – 250 per meal. Make sure you are ready for this. There were carinderia’s available as well but rice meals still range between P120 – 150. So better brace yourself for food expense.
WHAT TO DO IN SAGADA?
So what do we do in Sagada anyways? After lunch we headed straight at the Municipal Tourist Information Center, and paid for the environmental fee of P35 per person.
*Note : Make sure to keep your receipt at all times while staying in Sagada, as all activities requires you to show the copy of the receipt.
The Municipal Tourist was just right in front of the bus terminal and so we checked the tour group and the schedule of what could be best for us.
We got this brochure as reference for all the activities :
And one could decide right away what’s best for you.
If you do not have much time to spend at Sagada make sure you plan properly. We thought of the famous caving / spelunking experience and that it would take much time.
*Note : Apart from the usual rate of the tour, transportation is exclusive of its cost, it would be best to go with a group of friends or family as it will save you cost if you’re sharing it.
Sumaguing Cave / Short Course Caving
Budget : P500 – 4 pax or less | P600 – 5 pax | P1000 – (2 guides) 6 – 9 pax | P1200 (2 guides) 10 visitors
Duration : 2 – 3 hours
Optional : (transportation 2-way P350)
First we tried Sumaguing Cave / Spelunking, which according to them would take around 2 – 3 hours and / or depending on the movement of the trail. We were 5 girls who are all first timers of this activity. It was also raining pretty hard when we get there which makes it more scarier, but the guide was telling us that it is still safe to continue it.
Spelunking was such a great experience, it feels like conquering all your fears once you’re inside the cave.
Lined up in one from the slowest to the fastest member of the group, so you’re sure no one misses out. Once the guide teaches you and shows you how its done, one should be able to picked it up and understand that you can’t stay all day in the cave if you do not move on. (hahah!)
Golden Rule :
-One must not be “pabebe” on this, you’ll get you’re hands and feet dirty all the time
-Wear the most comfortable outfit you could thought off, OOTD’s are so not my major concern on this :p
-Make sure you wear slippers, or a footwear that could easily be removed as the second part of the trail requires you to be barefooted
-Shorts is okay, leggings could also be a good choice, but it gets a little wet at some areas
-I do not recommend you holding a bag or pouch when you enter the cave, as your hands get busy trying to save yourself from falling or from injury.
-Your cellphone or cameras may be best if its inside a dry bag or waterproof bag for safety and hanging in your neck
It was pretty cold as well inside the cave, the water was super and extra cold and as mentioned it was raining hard when we get there so there were water everywhere. If you are afraid of the dark, make sure you bring flashlight with you. One should be ready of the heights as well and the small openings for some areas.
They weren’t really much time for a photo op, or we were freaking tired rather trying to figure out if it was the best decision we had to do (hahaha!)
As per the guides, the cave gets busy during weekends and it is really noisy and crowded at the same time. Moments like waiting for the first group to finish happens as well. By 4PM is the last time, a group could enter the cave, estimating that it would be finish by 6pm. We ended our caving at around 5PM, but Sagada gets a little dark earlier as what we experience in Manila. We head back right away to the lodge and grab a cup of hot chocolate since it was freaking cold already!
We were so tired after Spelunking but we felt so proud of our self after finishing it. One could try the Sumaguing-Lumiang Connecting Spelunking if you have much time to spend and much will to try and experience.
Watch Sunrise at Kiltepan
Travel Time : 15 – 20 mins
Transpo Fee : 500 good for 10 pax
One of the highlights in Sagada is the sea of clouds at Kiltepan which is totally amazing!
We left the lodge at 4:30AM to make sure we get a nice spot for the sunrise! And true enough though it was a Monday people started picking up as time goes on. Making sure they get the perfect spot to capture it. Aside from the sea of the clouds the entire ambiance at Kiltepan was really superb and amazing.
One can shout at the top of their lungs as what the movie projects :p just for a person to release everything! Haha!
Food stalls are everywhere! And to tell you, it was really pricey. We decided to get back in the town proper after the sunrise at around 630AM and had our breakfast in town instead.
Echo Valley Walking Tours
There were actually many options for the walking tours and it depends on how much time you still have to stay.
As for my case, compressed over time we decided for the Echo Valley Hanging Coffins Tour. It is a short hike to the view point and a challenging slippery walk to have a close-up view of the coffins.The coffins were hanging due to tradition and practices of the locals. Better asked your guide about it to elaborate it better 🙂
It was another enchanting view on top of it after the small hike which took us at around 2 hours to return.
There was still much to see and to try in Sagada (*I know) but we ‘ll just have to maximize the time we got. 🙂
Hurrying to be back at around 9AM at the lodge to make sure we made it to the earliest bus trip ride as much as possible.
Traveling back to Baguio requires the single terminal in Sagada, everything was also on a first come first travel policy as well. Make sure to make it till the 1PM bus ride back to Baguio because once you misses it out you’ll have to stay for another night at Sagada before heading home.
So there, I felt that I haven’t really gotten the chance to really immersed in this wonderful place and I’m sure that I’ll be back for another adventure. If you are a traveler I suggest that it is still best to do it DIY, to make it more personal and you get to maximize your time with the activities you choose for yourself.
Weekdays would always be the best time to travel (as for me *wink) and If I were to choose to be back in this place, I would surely be back.
Sagada was truly truly amazing, and it will definitely give you that moment to relax, time to think, time to realize that it is possible to shout at the top of your lungs at Kiltepan for you to move on, to be adventurous and be strong that every challenges is like a Spelunking activity (hard and scary, but everything is worth the try), to appreciate the beauty of the nature and all resources with your own two eyes.
And yes, maybe that’s some of the reason why broken hearts go to SAGADA.
Here’s my budget breakdown for my stay :
So there let me know if you have questions.
All the love.
N ❤
ILOVENATS 