Baguio City: Panagbenga 2019 Schedule + Solo Tour & 2D2N Budget
Known as the City of Pines, the Summer Capital of
the Philippines is now in full bloom for the most awaited festival in the
country. Aiming to top last years’ celebration of the grandiose Panagbenga
Festival, the tourism is coming up with fresh ideas to perfectly feature the
history, traditions, and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras.
PANAGBENGA 2019 SCHEDULE
The term “Panagbenga” comes from a Kankanaey word
that means “season of blooming” which is sometimes known as the “Blooming
Flowers Festival” by the locals of Baguio City. It is an annual celebration
that is jampacked with thousands of tourists from all over the country and from
abroad, all eager to witness the Grand Float Parade and Festival Street Dancing
which are the highlights of the festival.
P50 for a photo opt with this iconic horse found inside Mines View. |
The theme for this year is “Panagbenga 2019:
Blooming Forward” and this is set to happen from March 2 to March 10, 2019. As
for the event highlights, the Grand Street Dancing is scheduled on March 2
whilst the Grand Float Parade will be on March 3, 2019. The whole celebration
will end on March 10, 2019 at the strip of Session Road.
So if you’re planning to schedule your trip to
Baguio City for Panagbenga 2019, be sure to mark these dates down and don’t
forget to bring along some friends for an even more fun trip.
SOLO TOUR
Baguio
City has been one of the country’s perfect spots to travel to considering
its weather and the city’s booming economy. As of this writing, the city is
experiencing a 9 degree Celsius of coolness making it even more enticing to
book a trip. Though Baguio isn’t exactly a new tourist destination, but there
are many ways you can enjoy the place even if you go through the classic
tourist spots – not to mention the upcoming Panagbenga Festival 2019.
My Baguio City Solo Trip Story here: http://bit.ly/BaguioCityxTTCT
THE ITINERARY
You
have lots of options when traveling to Baguio City, however, for a solo
backpacker outside Luzon, the most ideal is to book your flight with AirAsia as
they’re currently the cheapest airline flying to Clark. But of course, you can
still book your flight with whichever airline you choose.
At the arrival area of Clark, there’s a jeep terminal on the side that you can ride comfortably for P100.00 heading to DAU Terminal which is located at the heart of Pampanga City. DAU Terminal is the access point of Pampanga where you can get transportation service to just about anywhere in Luzon. From there, you can take a bus straight to Baguio City for only P350.
In my case, before I went to Baguio City, I decided
to have an overnight stay in Tarlac which is about an hour or two travel time
from Pampanga. Then from Tarlac City, I rode
a bus for Baguio at around 8:00AM and arrived at 12 noon.
Traveling to Baguio from Tarlac would take about 4 to 5 hours. But if
you’re coming from DAU Bus Terminal in Pampanga, it will take around 6 to 7
hours land trip. Per my observation, I don’t see any direct bus that will
transport you nonstop to the City of Pines, there will always be one or two
stops.
I arrived at 12noon in Baguio City and before
I went around the places, I took a cab that charged me for P75 only from the
bus drop-off point to Good Taste restaurant for some lunch. First business for
the day was to eat here as I have been getting a lot of recommendations about
the place and this seems to be Baguio’s favorite dining place and I certainly
would not want to miss it for the world. So I ordered a good enough meal for
myself and I was quite astounded at how affordable the bill was. And aside from
its cheap price, the food was delightfully good which I can now confirm to be
indeed worth a visit.
I did not spend a single peso
going to Burnham Park from Good Taste as it is just a stone’s throw away.
Thanks to Google map for guiding my way to this famous landmark of Baguio City.
Burnham Park offers a lot of activities to do and it was just unfortunate that
during my visit, it rained so hard that I wasn’t able to maximize my stroll.
Since I was already stuck in the middle of the park, I bought a small umbrella
to use so I can sneak out and go straight to the hotel I booked using the
Booking app.
There are so many options on where to stay in Baguio and there are lots
of cheap hostels and lodging houses that you can choose from but I decided to
book to a bigger space so I can do whatever I want to do. The place charged me
for P2300 for a 2 day accommodation enough for 3 to 4 persons. I just stayed an
hour and decided to go out to take the first steps into my adventure.
Baguio City has a strategic geographical positioning of its landmarks
and attractions so tourist can really go around town. You can either take a cab
from your hotel in Baguio to wherever you want to go or even walk from one part
of the city to another. While I mostly walked around on my first day, I decided
to rent a cab for my second day so I can maximize my visit and reach far areas.
BUDGET
Day 1:
- Good Taste: P245.00 (meal good for 1 to 2 persons)
- Burnham Park: P120.00 (umbrella)
- Cafe by the Ruins: P533.00 (meal good for 1 to 2 persons)
- Session Road
- Bohemian Café: P120 (for 2 bottles of beer)
- Baguio Night Market:
- Hostel: P2300.00 (2 days room accommodations fit for 3 to 4 persons)
- Taxi: P50.00 (from Night Market to Hostel)
- Extras: P79.00 (other expenses like water, street food, etc etc.)
Day 2:
- Baguio Cathedral:
- Valley of Colors — Benguet
- Strawberry Farm, La Trinidad Benguet
- Tam - Awan Village: P60.00 (Entrance Fee)
- BenCab Museum: P150.00 (Entrance Fee) + P50.00 (Taxi Parking Fee)
- Diplomat Hotel:
- Botanical Garden: P20.00 (Optional: Picture taking with Ifugao Outfit)
- The Mansion
- Wright Park
- Mines View: P50.00 (Optional: Photo opt with the Horse) + P30.00 (Parking Fee)
- Lion’s Head
- Extras: P317.00 (other expenses like meals, water, CR, etc etc.)
- Taxi Fare: P2800 (Solo or group for 10 exclusive ride)
Day 1 Total Expenses: P3447.00
Day 2 Total Expenses: P3477.00
For 2D2N stay in Baguio City,
I was able to spend a total pocket money of P6924 which included the
aforementioned details. In fact, the amount stated is quite lavish since
everything in Baguio is affordable. Note that the above information doesn’t
include the total amount I spent on food. I’m always hungry so I need to eat at
every pit stop. LOL!
As much as I would like to, I
wasn’t able to spend another day in Baguio as I needed to rush down to Manila
for an important meeting. But I am happy knowing that I am flying again this
summer and probably adding Sagada on my itinerary and then will go straight to
Ilocos City. See you around!
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