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| View from Top: Taal Lake |
Long weekends are a great chance to relax and unwind from the busy city. It specially becomes more precious because we don't have many long weekends to look forward to in the Philippines and I didn't want to spend this one boring myself at home. So me and my partner embarked on a journey to Tagaytay, having fun the only plan in mind.
We got a reservation from the web for a room, but the place was empty and looked so creepy that we decided to find another place to stay. Besides we chose that place for the pool which apparently was not functional due to the rains. I will not mention the name of the lodge, but it's one of those very cheap places you'll find in a famous hotel booking site. Lesson: beware of extra cheap deals.
The other room we got, Rehm's room for rent, was pretty comfortable and very accessible. It was just a few walks away from the main road and transportation is not a problem.
We planned to head out early morning to Taal Lake to trek the mountain and swim (as we were told there was a decent place there but was never told that there was a fee). We were initially informed the fee was just P1,500 but it turned out to be waaaay more expensive. There were so many undisclosed charges that literally emptied our pockets.
I'm gonna post the breakdown of our actual cost and what I think is a fair estimate of the most cost-efficient trip, both to serve as lesson to us to plan the trip well and a friendly advise to would-be travelers. The estimate of 6 people are based on the max no. of people for a boat ride to Taal Lake.
no. of people 2 6
days of stay 2D/1N 2D/1N
transportation commute commute
A quick summary of our expenses are as follow:
transportation 2,788.00 5,294.00
Taal Lake Tour 1,020.00 3,020.00
meals 1,280.00 4,350.00
accomodation 1,600.00 3,600.00
Total 6,688.00 16,264.00
per head 3,344.00 2,710.67
I did not include the cost of our first hotel reservation for comparative purposes.
Below is the two-day breakdown comparison:
Tagaytay-Olivares
from Pasay Rtda 160.00 960.00
Olivares to Rehm 50.00 100.00
Lunch 500.00 1,500.00
Room 1,600.00 3,600.00
Dinner 155.00 1,500.00
2,465.00 7,660.00
2nd Day
Bfast - -
from city proper
to Talisay 300.00 1,000.00
Boat Ride 1,500.00 1,500.00
Boatman 200.00 200.00
Tour guide's fee 500.00 500.00
refreshments 50.00 300.00
Horse ride 400.00 2,100.00
tip for tour guide, 70.00 120.00
boat assistant
Lunch 625.00 1,350.00
from Talisay
to bus station 400.00 1,000.00
bus to pasay rtda 178.00 534.00
4,223.00 8,604.00
Total 6,688.00 16,264.00
per head 3,344.00 8,132.00
The room rate estimate is 3 persons per room with additional P 200 charge on matress. A simple breakfast of coffee, rice with hotdog and egg are included.
You have an option to walk from the shore of Taal Lake to the crater if you can endure the 90-minute walk with the trail full of horse manure. We actually did this going up, but a combination of rain and exhaustion made us ride horses on the way back. You still have to pay for the tour guide if you choose to walk.
You can also opt to hire a van (ideally less than P5,000) or bring your own transport. The downside of course is you might get lost if you're not too familiar.The road is also curved much like in Baguio so any vehicle is harder to navigate specially when it's raining. Even our hired tricycle almost broke an engine. Kuya Bong the driver was kind enough to assist us and was very helpful throughout our stay. You can contact him through 0999-720-1224 if you ever need a transport within Tagaytay.
It wasn't a memorable experience cost-wise, but it was great experience nonetheless. The trip could have been much better if it was well-planned, but I believe we can always take something good out of everything we do, and this trip is no different. Sometimes you only have to look around to appreciate it.
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| My desperate attempt to make a jumpshot. |
