A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
The town of Lucban in Quezon is celebrating the Pahiyas Festial soon. Known as one of the most colorful festivals in the Philippines, Pahiyas is celebrated every May as a means to give thanks after a bountiful harvest. ‘Pahiyas’ literally means “precious offering,” and the practice dates back to the 16th century. People celebrate it in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the farmer’s patron saint.
Tagaytay is always a favorite weekend destination for families wanting to escape the summer heat in Metro Manila. While you can easily visit on a day trip, you can also extend your trip and stay overnight so you can have more time to go around, try new restaurants, or just enjoy the cooler weather.
During our last trip to Tagaytay in March 2023 to do the Taal Lake Bike Loop, we stayed a couple of nights at View Park Hotel, an elegant yet affordable boutique hotel.
Continue reading “View Park Hotel Tagaytay: Scenic and comfortable weekend retreat”
Royal Enfield has just announced the opening of its brand new exclusive store in Lipa City, Batangas. The seventh exclusive store in the Philippines, located in Pilahan St., Barangay Sabang will further enhance the reach and accessibility for customers in the country.
Last December before Christmas, we spent almost a week in Sagada just to enjoy the cooler weather. This lovely town in the Mountain Province is probably the closest place you can get to experiencing winter in the Philippines. At any rate, it’s always a respite from the summer heat. The cooler temperatures in the months of November to February dip to lows of 15°, though the average temperature all year around is 18°, which is amazing considering the 40° heat index we’re currently experiencing in Manila.
Nueva Ecija, best known as the “rice granary of the Philippines,” is an underrated tourism destination. Aside from quick visits for work or stopovers in some towns like Cabanatuan City, we usually just pass through the province during road trips on our way to other destinations in the North.
We’ve taken road trips to Dingalan in Aurora passing the towns of Laur and Gabaldon. We’ve also driven through the zigzag mountain roads of Bongabon on the way to Baler. During previous motorcycle rides, we usually just stopped at the tourist markers, welcome arches, and the views of mountains on our way to the coastal towns.
Continue reading “Travel Guide: Nueva Ecija (2023)”The sidequest for beer continues! One of my main motivations for traveling these days is to check out new opened craft beer spots or revisit old favorites. Aside from doing the Taal Lake Loop, one of the main reasons I wanted to revisit Tagaytay was to check out Papa Bolo.
Papa Bolo is a relatively new brewery in Tagaytay City which opened last June 2022. The huge brewpub serves quality Filipino craft beer brewed with local ingredients along with upscale food to match.
Continue reading “Papa Bolo: Cool new craft brewery to drink with a view in Tagaytay”A year before the most recent eruption of Taal Volcano and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in 2020, we rode our motorcycles from Metro Manila circling Laguna Lake and Taal Lake. Back then, it was just for the thrill of the joyride and so we could hike to the crater lake on Volcano Island afterwards.
Want to travel around the Philippines by sea for free this summer? 2GO Travel is inviting budding content creators to the 2GOKada Creators Cruise sailing this May 2023.
In partnership with the Department of Tourism, 2GO Travel is giving a new breed of content creators a chance to experience the best of the Philippines by sea.
Continue reading “2Go Travel invites content creators to cruise for free this summer”Clark Freeport Zone (or simply Clark) in Pampanga is a former U.S. airbase in the Philippines that has been redeveloped into a modern industrial area. These days, it’s known as a center for leisure, fitness, entertainment, and gaming in Central Luzon. Clark is home to several family-friendly theme parks, casinos, and the Clark International Airport, a major airport near Manila.
For cyclists, Clark offers a great, bike-friendly destination near Manila. Since the pandemic hit, a lot of improvements have been made to appeal to cyclists and leisure bikers. Aside from the large open spaces and greenery and natural canopies provided by trees in the whole area complex, there’s a very good network of freshly painted bike paths, safety signages for bikers, and facilities to host cycling festivals and events.
Continue reading “Travel Guide: Biking in Clark, Pampanga”Zamboanga City is one of my favorite destinations in Mindanao. With its stunning natural sights, vibrant culture, preserved history and amazing cuisine, it’s a place I don’t mind revisiting again and again. “Asia’s Latin City” is known for strong Hispanic and Latin influence. Zamboanga City is the center of economic activities in Mindanao, with its modern international seaport and airport serving as the entry point in the country to many destinations in Southeast Asia.
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