Ilocos Itinerary

Ilocos is definitely worth the hours of driving. Both the man-made and the God-made aspects are pretty darn awesome - from houses, bridges and windmills, to seas, landscapes, and everything in between. They are all beautiful in its own right, probably given less credit than they actually deserve.

I did some research as to what places are must-sees. There were a lot but we only chose the top spots. The following made it to our list:

Vigan:

Bantay Church and Bell Tower

Calle Crisologo

Pagburnayan Jar Factory

Pagudpud:

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

Bangui Windmills

Beach

Laoag:

Paoay Church

Paoay Sand Dunes

Malacanang of the North

Marcos Mausoleum

Most people do a Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpud or Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan itinerary but we decided on this schedule for the following reasons:

We only have 2 drivers in the group

We didn’t want to drive at night

8 hour drive to Vigan is long enough so we will definitely stop and rest there first

3 hour drive from Vigan to Pagudpud is bearable + couple of stop overs for views before check-in

We didn’t want to drive 14 hours straight from Pagudpud on our last day

 We can drive from Lagoag to Vigan for lunch before the 8 hour drive again going home

I’m struggling how I’ll review each of our stops so here’s a quick highs and lows list:

Bantay Church and Bell Tower

+ we were there with only 2 or 3 other small groups

+ great view on top

+ minus all the time to take countless selfies, you can quickly finish this stop in 10 minutes

+ right before the entrance to Vigan / super on the way

- street kids on site, persistently begging for money

- in the registration sheet, they had a space for you to input your “amount of donation”

Calle Crisologo

+ beautiful during day or night time

+ one stop place for pasalubongs

- sometimes too crowded

- horse poop everywhere

Pagburnayan Jar Factory

+ we went to the one with no cars/people (hehe)

+ they accommodated us even if we arrived after 5pm already

+ each will get the chance to make their own pot

+ donation only and it feels good to help and support them. They got real talent!

- mosquito galore

Plaza Salcedo Light Show (not originally on our itinerary but suggested by our hotel)

+ surprisingly nice / I didn’t expect that it would be that good

+ show runs for about 15 minutes (Or more? A lot of songs played and we didn’t finish it anymore)

+ super bongga – lights and fountain show literally on the whole plaza (people walking can get wet haha)

- we got wet :))

- may become too crowded

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

+ uuuh-mazing view even just on the parking area!

+ free

+ we were there with 2 or 3 groups only

+ great photo op location

- one lane only on the way up. You have to constantly blow your horn to be extra careful

- ongoing construction

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

+ free

+ there was a kuya who was sharing some trivia and facts about the place, and he also took lots of pictures of us, but didn’t accept our tip!

+ amazing view of the beach, windmills, rock formation, landscape, all in one place!

+ has a comfort room

+ road going there was already developed

- a bit too crowded when we got there. Had to wait for them to leave hehe

Patapat Viaduct (we didn’t realize it was sikat until we got home. We just pulled over to take pictures)

+ beautiful view!!!!

+ with parking and it’s only P10 hehe

Bangui Windmills

+ free

+ the windmills were actually turning (hahaha, others weren’t kasi)

+ super photo op

- rough road going there

Pancian Beach – at barangay Pancian in our hotel, Pannzian Beach and Mountain Resort

+ We were considering going to the white sand beaches (Saud and/or Maira Ira) but this beach is also too beautiful to leave :)

+ we owned the beach (it’s always good to check-in on a Sunday hehe)

+ clean shore, expansive shoreline, great (foam-y) waves!

+ you have the view of Patapat Viaduct

+ with Smart signal plus 3G! (yay, Smart, live more haha)

+ with an estuarine (place where salt and fresh water meet, it’s probably my favorite part of that beach)

- black sand (but actually it’s not bad at all)

- no signal for Globe and Sun

Paoay Church

+ fulfilling to visit a UNESCO heritage site

- that’s it

Paoay Sand Dunes

+ perfect timing. We were just in time for sunset!

+ kuyas were very accommodating and they take amazing pictures!!

+ epic experience!

+ sandboarding included

+ with a view of the beach

- another group was with us (haha, wanted it all to ourselves sana)

Malacanang of the North

+ I wanted to take some of the furniture home

+ nice view of Paoay Lake

- a lot of people were there with us

Marcos Mausoleum

+ the corpse looks real! They said it is real but I still don’t know if I’ll believe them haha

+ free viewing

- scary ambient music (but effective! Haha)

- no pictures allowed

Sightseeing in Ilocos is very budget friendly too. Most of the destinations do not have entrance fees and these were the only ones we paid for:

Bantay Church and Bell Tower – donation only

Pagburnayan Jar Factory – donation only

Paoay Sand Dunes – P2,500 for a 4x4 ride (for 5 pax)

Malacanang of the North – P30 entrance fee

We only spent less than P100 each for all the locations which was super sulit because the views were absolutely priceless! I also allotted some budget for the 4x4 activity since I’m dying to tick that off my bucket list. Well, it was money well spent!

If I get an invite to do this roadtrip again, I will most certainly go, and would be happy to use and suggest this itinerary as well. It isn’t as packed as others but it definitely has all the good (actually, best, I think) stuff Ilocos has to offer. It’s a good way to absorb everything as opposed to having a full schedule but racing through every location.

If you’re the type who wants to tick off everything in the “100 things to do in Ilocos” list (if there’s one), then this itinerary might not be for you. But if you like the idea of swimming on a beach on a Monday morning or chilling and taking your time, or just want to experience things in ways different than most people, then this might actually work.

During our trip, I also took videos on my iPhone using the VideoStar app. You can find Part 1 and Part 2 in these links :)

Thank you, Ilocos. You are stunning! I shall return! :) (photo below taken by my boyfriend)