The first one was to enjoy a summer outing with my wife’s high school friends.  The second, to attend a beach wedding of one our office mates.  The last, to celebrate my sister’s graduation with an overnight stay at a white-sand beach paradise in the north of the Philippines — Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

What can I say? It’s summer time in the Philippines!

The Philippines, with its 7,107 islands boasts of very beautiful coastlines and mesmerizing beaches.  Enjoying a weekend at the beach, however, need not be expensive.  Here are some saving tips I learned while enjoying my summer vacation.

1) Share a ride

Share a ride together with friends to save on gas and/or travel expenses.  Do a carpool. 

The first time I shared a ride, I was the one driving.  Me, my wife and her friends went out on a summer outing to La Luz Batangas, a 3-hour drive south of Manila.  Two of our friends rode with us on that beautiful Sunday morning.  My wife enjoyed the trip because she was able to catch up and share stories with her friends while I busy myself driving us to our destination.

The second time I shared a ride, my wife and I attended a beach wedding.  One of our friends was gracious enough to offer us a ride going to the venue which was (surprise! surprise!) the same beach we went to the previous week for our summer outing.  Even though it was the same beach, we were still thrilled because it was our first time to attend a beach wedding. 

One thing I noticed while driving in the Philippines is that majority of Filipinos drive a van or something large to fit the whole family.  This is nice because you can save on gas if the whole family is riding with you.  But if you’re the only one in the car, you’re actually losing money because you consume more gas than if you were only driving a small car.  Just a little something to keep in mind when deciding to buy a car.

2) Share a room

Share a room with your friends.  You not only save on accommodation, you even get to spend more time with your friends.  The great thing about going to the beach with friends is that you get to share stories with them.  Sometimes, you even remember “old” funny moments together and laugh your hearts out reminiscing those days.

Besides, if everyone is having so much fun, finding the time to sleep is the farthest thing on everyone’s mind. 

In both the summer outing and the beach wedding, we were able to share a room together with friends.  Our expense is about PhP 500 each per night.  That’s 10 of us.  So the room is actually around PhP 5,000 (US 100) for a one night stay.  Not too pricey. But it’s a big savings for us considering that if my wife and I got a room for ourselves only, we would have spent around PhP 3,000.

Of course, if you’re on a honeymoon, that’s a different story. You obviously cannot share a room with your friends.

3) Cook your own food

If your resort allows it, it’s cheaper to prepare and cook your own meals.  We were able to take advantage of this while celebrating my sister’s graduation since the resort we got was actually owned by one of my mother’s distant relative.

My aunt and mom prepared the meals together and I helped out grill the pork and fish.  Unfortunately, the weather was not helping out that time since it was raining hard while I was busy grilling.  One thing I learned — It’s hard to grill fish against a windy rain!

The morning after, the weather was better.  We were able to enjoy and swim on the beach and take a few pictures just like this one. 

Hope the above tips help you save money on your next vacation!  Cheers!

We departed from Manila around 5am in the morning to get away from traffic.  Since it was still early, we were able to reach Tarlac City at around 7am.  Just in time for breakfast.  As we were feeling a bit adventurous, we decided to park on the side of the national highway and eat our breakfast behind the refreshing view of corn fields and sunrise.

Here’s a picture of the sunrise while we were having breakfast on the side of the road.

Look how near we are from the road.  I could feel the trembling when a big truck passes us by.  It was an adventure and it was certainly fun. =)

The trip was long but certainly full of unusual and very interesting sights along the way.  Here’s a picture of a small shanty anchored atop of a tree-less mountain.   I can’t imagine having to climb the mountain everyday just to get to your house.

To prevent boredom, we took some pictures from each town while driving.  It’s amazing to know that each town actually has it’s own arch to welcome visiting guests.  Here are a few of the arches we were able to capture.

La Union

I was told that the province of La Union is actually a “union” of lands taken from surrounding 3 provinces: Ilocos, Abra and Pangasinan.  La Union is considered one of the top surfing destinations in the country with its beaches’ powerful waves.

Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Upon reaching Vigan City, visitors are welcomed by a modern steel arched bridge connecting the city from nearby Narvacan town.   The 300-meter length bridge is breath-taking as it is supported by the scenic view from the mountains on both sides and adorned by the peaceful river down below.

About 30 minutes from the bridge is the main plaza of Vigan City.  Here lies the junction, welcoming visitors with its lovely arch.

Vigan is one of the most popular destinations in Ilocos region mainly due to its historic Spanish villas along Crisologo street.  Vigan is also famous for its mouth-watering delicacies like Vigan Longganisa, Royal Bibingka, Empanada, and many more.

Ilocos Norte

After almost 10 hours of travel, we finally reached the province of Ilocos Norte.  Here’s a picture of the province’s welcome arch supported by bricks.  Ilocos Norte is known for its tobacco, garlic, and especially for its most famous citizen, the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

Laoag City is the capital of Ilocos Norte.  You can learn more of the tourist attractions in Laoag City by reading my previous post “Laoag City Philippines – Sunshine city of the north.

Further along north is the tip of the Luzon island, the beautiful town of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.  The town is popular for its untouched natural resources like Saud Beach, Maira-ira Beach also known as “Blue Lagoon”, and some waterfalls along the way to Cagayan province.

There’s also a breath-taking view of the “Patapat” viaduct.  This is a very long stretch of majestic beauty: the green mountain view on one side and the refreshing mist of the wild sea from the other.

So many towns and cities.  So many arches and bridges.  So many beautiful places to see.  Take a trip to Ilocos.  Explore the refreshing sceneries of northern Philippines.

Scenic view from the Gilbert Bridge

“Laoag” is the Ilocano term for “light” or “sunshine”.  It was a shiny day as we were welcomed by the scenic view from the Gilbert Bridge.  The bridge is the first  one to greet visitors of Laoag city and the last thing that will say goodbye when they leave.  I took this picture from the bus while travelling on the bridge.  As a kid, I have spent many times riding the bus going through and out of Laoag and it’s always a special feeling when I take a step into this beautiful city.  I have very fond memories here.  I spent some of my most cherished personal victories like when me and my high school classmates won the provincial statistics quiz.   Or the time when I took and passed the UPCAT (UP College Entrance Examination).  Now, I am adding more beautiful memories as I tour the city with my wife.

Sinking Bell Tower

At the end of the Gilbert Bridge lies one of Laoag’s most popular tourist spot – the Sinking Bell Tower.  Yes, it is still sinking.  Well, at least that’s what some of the people are saying.  The “sinking” of the tower is mainly due to its sandy foundation.

Calesa

While waiting beside the Sinking Bell Tower, I caught a glimpse of this very peculiar transportation in Laoag City – the “Calesa”.  The “Calesa” is a very eco-friendly horse-driven means of transportation within the city.  I remember when I was still in grade school, my family and I rode the “Calesa”.  The “kutsero” (a local term to refer to Calesa driver) was very nice and offered me to sit beside him in front and let me try to drive the Calesa by myself.  It was one of the most exciting things I’ve done as a child!

There were many things I still wanted to go to and visit in Laoag but we needed to get back home to Batac (nearby town) to prepare for Christmas celebration.

How about you? Have you been to the sunshine city of Laoag?