Taal Volcano Island Tour in Batangas
Tagaytay is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines because of its outstanding scenery of overlooking iconic view of Taal Volcano Island in the middle of the lake and its cooler climate provided by its high altitude. So, if you want to get away from the busiest city and traffic congestion of Metro Manila, Tagaytay is only an hour and thirty minutes drive from Metro Manila and a perfect destination for you to get unwind and have some fun like what we did!
Today was our most awaited day in our life! After couple of months of planning and saving for this day, our waiting finally paid of! Although we were quite upset because we are not complete in our first summer adventure, we believe that we have more adventures to try and conquer in the future altogether! Truth be told, we don't plan this outing in detailed because we fear our plans will just remain drawing with unfilled colors. In Tagalog saying, "Ang sobrang planadong gala nauuwi sa wala."
Here's what we only planned for this outing:
- Where to go? TAGAYTAY!
- Save money for: Car Fuel, Skyranch Tagaytay 70% off "Ride-All-You-Can" ticket & Pocket money!
- Ideal month —yup, no exact date— when? SUMMER VACATION!
Truly, on sale products are only a wallet saver but also a life saver! Thus, if you have the opportunity, it will always be the best choice to purchase on sale or discounted products because it will really help you minimize your expenses. But please be reminded as well that don't purchase on sale items immediately. Take you time and only choose what's the best and most beneficial to you. In our situation, we purchased Skyranch Tagaytay "Ride-All-You-Can" ticket for only 350 PHP!
D-DAY
For us to roam around in Tagaytay, we have to leave early which we all did. Before 5AM, I already arrived at Jean's house —one of my best friend, with packed adobo and some big chips as our supply of food for this outing. We travelled together with her parents using their car.
We departed around 6AM from Jean's house to fetch Leila and from it, our adventure began! From Bulacan, it took us only two and a half hours to arrive in Tagaytay! We first passed by the Skyranch before we go around the city.
OUR FIRST STOP: TAAL VOLCANO ISLAND!
My first time in Picnic Grove, I was with my college friends, but today I am with my best friends since High school. I know, it's a same destination. But trust me, it'll be a different story.
After paying the entrance and parking fee, there's a man came and waiting outside our car. Don't fret. He is just a typical man —holding a poster with an ID, that you will encounter when visit the place.
He offered us discounted "boat ride" to Taal Volcano Island. We refused because it's kinda expensive package for us (1,600 PHP) although it was already discounted from its original price (2,000+ PHP). But Tito insisted and wanted to give it a try because the man said it's already a full package tour to Taal Volcano Island. Therefore, Tito and Tita treated us 1,000 PHP off the package and the remaining 600 PHP will be divided by three of us —Jean, Leila and I.
Since we found it a good offer for five (5) persons, we all gave it a try! Before we headed to Taal Volcano Island, we first ate our brunch from the resort beside the beach which is also their port going to the island. We ate our packed foods at the cottage. The cottage fee was already included to the package.
He offered us discounted "boat ride" to Taal Volcano Island. We refused because it's kinda expensive package for us (1,600 PHP) although it was already discounted from its original price (2,000+ PHP). But Tito insisted and wanted to give it a try because the man said it's already a full package tour to Taal Volcano Island. Therefore, Tito and Tita treated us 1,000 PHP off the package and the remaining 600 PHP will be divided by three of us —Jean, Leila and I.
Since we found it a good offer for five (5) persons, we all gave it a try! Before we headed to Taal Volcano Island, we first ate our brunch from the resort beside the beach which is also their port going to the island. We ate our packed foods at the cottage. The cottage fee was already included to the package.
OUR TAGAYTAY ITINERARY
7:00 AM to 10:00 AM — Travel time from Bulacan to Tagaytay
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM — Brunch time
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Taal Volcano Island Tour
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Taal Volcano Island Tour
1:00 AM to 3:00 PM — Tagaytay Picnic Grove
3:00 PM to 8:00 PM — Skyranch Tagaytay "Ride-All-You-Can"
8:00 PM to 11:00 PM — Travel time from Tagaytay to Bulacan
3:00 PM to 8:00 PM — Skyranch Tagaytay "Ride-All-You-Can"
8:00 PM to 11:00 PM — Travel time from Tagaytay to Bulacan
On our way to the island, we only brought the two (2) most important essential: the water and chips, because the man said we will get thirsty and hungry in the island.
WARNING: If will be your first time riding a boat, don't seat any near the front of the boat if you are not ready to get your clothes wet —especially if did not bring any extra clothes.
THE TAAL VOLCANO ISLAND
Arriving at the island made me feel like I am in an isolated small community. It will took you at least 4 KM to the crater-lake from the tourist reception, so it is really necessary to rent a horse —especially if you hate long walks ... on ashes.
Since we were not financially ready for this unforeseen expense: renting a horse for each of us, because it's kinda expensive (500 PHP). We just decided to just walk all the way to the top.
But the people living from there insisted that we should at least rent even just one (1) horse, so we did.
We saw residential houses on our way to the top.
You will pass by the few stations like the photo above as a sign you are already near the crater-lake. But sadly to say, we failed to reach the crater-lake since they were already tired of walking, so they asked to go back to the Picnic Grove.
At the end, we only spent few hours in the island since it wasn't included from our initial plan and itinerary. But we are blessed to experience this kind of adventure with my best friends and hoping if we get another chance to go back here, we are already complete and financially ready with any unforeseen expenses.
We may look like enjoying the boat ride, but behind this photo we are all literally freakin' wet —especially my entire right side of the body! Moreover, I did not bring extra clothes! So before we drove back to the Picnic Grove, they let me dried myself first because even them, they have no extra clothes for me to borrow.
Here's my important takeaway from this adventure:
Always bring extra clothes even if you did not plan any water activities!
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New to a place? Have no idea what transportation to take? Where to buy tickets? 12Go offer booking services for all kinds of public transportation worldwide. You can now book flights, transfers, taxis, trains, buses and ferries anywhere you are!
To compare airlines, dates and prices all in one place, you can use Skyscanner. You can also book in advance on Klook for train tickets, rent a car and airport transfers; or book your flights, hotels, trains, cars and tours all-in-one with Trip.com.
Discover and experience all amazing things to do on your trip!
My family and I usually do DIY travels outside our country. This made it much hassle-free, fun and exciting, and it was all thanks to GetYourGuide and Klook for being our travel companion.
Klook and GetYourGuide have a lot of great activities you can include on your travel plan at exclusive prices! You can also book transfers, rent a car, buy train tickets, WiFi and Sim Card all in advance; or save up to 50% on combined prices for admission to must-see attractions with CityPASS!
Get up to 80% off hotel deals for your travel accommodation!
We always book our travel accommodation in Agoda or Airbnb because they are very easy to use and has a lot of options to choose. They have guesthouses, hotels, resorts, hostels and more at affordable prices with high-quality services.
If you are looking for your next travel accommodation, Agoda have more than 2M listed properties worldwide. Search here your next destination and get up to 80% off exclusive discounts on selected hotels for your next accomodation.
You can also book your stay and find the best deals at Hotels.com; or use the promo code: STAYMORE7 to get 42% off sitewide on OYO Hotels! Valid until December 31, 2020 only.
Don't forget to travel with travel insurance!
Travel insurance is your protection against illness, injury, accidents, thefts, travel delays and more. So, if you are planning to travel make sure sure to get one! I've been using SafetyWing —the world's first insurance for digital nomads, for a while now and it's incredibly easy and affordable.
You can get insured for as low as $9 per week starting today to get covered wherever you go and get access to a qualified global network of hospitals and doctors for the fortuitous events!
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2 comments
Di namin naakyat yung tuktok dati kasi di kami prepared sa budget, haha! The boat trip was really cool tho!
ReplyDeleteLove, Richel. | Richel Goes Places
Same Haha! Yup! We did enjoy it :) Thanks for stopping by, Richel :)
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