For years, Baguio has been a favorite travel destination in the Philippines. With its cool fresh air, lush surroundings, various parks and attractions, the City of Pines has the promise of an ultimate family vacation destination. But how does a traveler maintain excitement and novelty when he/she has already experienced what the place has got to offer? That’s our challenge when we went back to Baguio last December to spend the New Year again with our relatives there.

Easy Transpo:

Victory Liner has trips to Baguio every hour. Prepare yourself for a loooong ride, though. I left Cubao at 10am and arrived almost 6pm. That’s eight long hours on the road baby!

On our way back, we tried Genesis Bus Lines because Victory doesn’t allow pets and we’re bringing home Brix, our 2-year old Shih Tzu. Seats aren’t as comfortable as Victory’s, and the stop-overs aren’t good at all! But we had a faster trip this time, we left Baguio at 10am and were in Manila already by 3pm.

Of course, another option is to bring your own car, or rent vans going there. It will be costlier – but more comfortable.

After Pepeng, the super typhoon that caused major landslides and floodings in Baguio and nearby provinces, a lot of people avoided Bagiuo due to travel safety reasons. But tourism is already picking up, I must say. Baguio was crowded anywhere during the holidays. Well, maybe not like 2008, but still, I’m hoping the best for this little city.

Sulit Stay

We were lucky that my uncle and his family live here and that they have rooms for rent. We didn’t have to worry about finding a hotel and including the fees in our budget. In 2008 though, during the PMAP Conference, our company delegation stayed at Microtel Inn and Suites. It’s nice, new, and rooms are spacious. I heard they have reasonable rates too. Plus, they’re located at the back of the Victory Liner terminal, so it’s very accessible.

Fun Food Tripping

You will never get hungry in Baguio. Every nook, every street, every building have restaurants and food stalls. This year, we had a sample of some of Baguio’s famous food joints namely: Café by the Ruins, Oh My Gulay, and Tea House.

Tours and Treats

The more common landmarks are Burnham Park, Camp John Hay, PMA,

For pasalubong, go to Pink Sisters. Try the Session Road also for some tiangge and ukay-ukay. If you want to buy silver jewelries, go to Ibay’s main store or at their branch in Session Road.

General Itinerary

There’s no itinerary for us this time. And our dedicated guide is Melay, my lovely cousin.

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I’ve read a lot of raves about this cafe, that’s why I decided not to pass up on the chance to visit the place and see what it has to offer.

True to its name, the café cum restaurant is in the ruins of a former prominent structure during the Spanish period. They did refurbish the place but still maintained that old Spanish ruins, which added more appeal.

We’re still full from our family picnic in Burnham Park so we just ordered some light snacks.

For a Makati girl like me, prices are reasonable; but a bit more pricey as compared to their Baguio counterparts. Al fresco ambience is good, but it can get chilly especially at night, so better be prepared.

It was a good experience for us. For a good cup of hot chocolate though, I’d still go for good old Mary Grace.