Bataan DIY Itinerary and Travel Guide

If you’re thinking that Bataan is less appealing and less gorgeous than other places and you haven’t considered it in your list of must-see Philippines destinations yet, then you may want to squander your time in reading this Bataan DIY Itinerary and Travel Guide post and I might persuade you to revisit your list.

How we got there:
We took a Genesis bus bound for Mariveles from Pasay. (Fare: P200.00 per person)

Notes:
a. Genesis Pasay Terminal is adjacent to McDonalds, Pasay Rotonda and at the rear of Sogo Hotel, Pasay Rotonda. Another major bus line you may consider is Bataan Transit which shares a terminal with Five Star in Cubao.
b. If you intend to visit Balanga first, immediately inform the bus driver to drop you off in Balanga City.
c. The earlier you leave Manila, the better. (Trust me on this)

Day 1

5:30 a.m. – Bus left Pasay Terminal

8:45 a.m. – We arrived in Balanga City. We had breakfast at Jollibee which is just across the bus’ drop-off point.

9:30 a.m. – We took the tricycle going to Crown Royale Hotel. (Fare: P10.00 per person) Tricycles queue outside Jollibee. Hop a ride to reach the Balanga City proper.

I recommend Crown Royale Hotel mainly because of its cheap price considering its proximity to Plaza Mayor de Ciudad Balanga (City Plaza) and Central Terminal. The type of accommodation we got already includes breakfast and complimentary water.

9:45 a.m. – We headed to Balanga Church and City Plaza. From the hotel, there are two ways to reach downtown: by walking or by riding a tricycle. (Tricycle Fare: P10.00 per person)

After visiting the church, we went to Central Terminal which is a few walks away from downtown.

10:00 a.m. – In Central Terminal, we rode the jeep bound for Cabog-Cabog to reach Mt. Samat at Brgy Diwa, Pilar, Bataan. (Jeepney Fare: 20.00 per person)

10:30 a.m. – We arrived at the foot of Mt. Samat.

To reach the summit of Mt. Samat, you could either ride the tricycle for 100 per person (one way) or endure the 8-kilometer uphill walk for 2-3 hours. There’s no way we could reach the top without fainting and getting famished, so we decided to take the tricycle.

Along the way, we didn’t see any human beings walking uphill. So I was like, “thank God, we decided not to be frugal this time.”

10:50 a.m. – We reached the entrance to Mt. Samat National Shrine (Dambana ng Kagitingan). (Entrance Fee: 20.00 per person)

Note:
We requested the tricycle driver to wait for us until we finish the tour because when we got off, we noticed that there were no other public vehicles waiting there.

We didn’t waste time because we needed to face another steep uphill stairs to reach the foot of the Giant Cross.

While going up, I felt like I was on top of the world.

11:20 a.m. – After 30 minutes of uphill walking, we finally reached the foot of the giant cross which is covered by the sculptures of some of the Philippines’ heroes.

This giant cross has an elevator that can take visitors to a viewing room encased inside the arms of the cross. (Elevator Fee: 10.00 per person)

It was past 12 noon when we went down to the Colonnade.

1:00 p.m. – We visited the museum. (Entry pass: The ticket given at the entrance gate.)

1:10 p.m. – We left the Mt. Samat National Shrine and headed back to the intersection at Brgy. Diwa.

After the sightseeing, we headed to Stregato Gelateria which is a walking distance from our hotel. You gotta check this out because they have a very cool place.

Day 2

7:30 a.m. – We checked out from Crown Royale Hotel

8:00 a.m. – We went to Balanga Bataan Central Terminal and took Bagac-bound jeep to get to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. (Estimated Travel Time – 1 hour)

Note:
a. Inform the Jeepney driver beforehand that you’re heading to Las Casas so he can drop you off at the nearest stop.
b. Ride a tricycle to take you inside the Las Casas (Fare: 10.00 per person)

9:00 a.m. – Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

After the tour, we ate our lunch at one of their freaking expensive restaurants! Their restaurants are ALL pricey unless you’ll go for pasta and other light food, so we really got no choice. We opted for a restaurant that serves Filipino cuisine.

Our heritage tour did not start until 2:30 pm so we had ample time to explore the place by ourselves.

Let’s have a trip down memory lane.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, we had the heritage tour where we were accompanied by a tour guide in visiting some of the restored heritage houses situated inside the resort.

The rest of the afternoon was our free time to explore the place and take pictures.

We also visited the beach inside the resort though we were not able to dip because it was a scorching afternoon.

After the tour in Las Casas, we headed back to Balanga Central Terminal (via tricycle and jeepney) to catch the bus going back to Manila.

Note:
You may visit the Philippine-Japan Friendship Tower which is nearby the terminal of jeepneys bound for Balanga Central Terminal.

So, you have seen our itinerary and pictures but still, you’re gonna ask me if it’s really worth going there? I mean, there are more places which are far famous, so why Bataan?

Is it really worth going there?

I’ll just let this picture speak.

Scenic is an understatement of what Bataan is. I would still love to go back.

For more information about Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, you may visit their website.

 

Notice: The pictures posted here are owned by the blogger. All photos with watermark “THEBLOGGERAM.BLOGSPOT.COM” were exported from Bloggeram’s old site (thebloggeram.blogspot.com).