Baguio Day trip for P1500

My hubby and I skipped spending Valentine's Day due to a number of reasons. The main one being we hated crowds and we knew from experience that most places would be flocked by couples wanting to make this day extra special. Our first Valentine's date as a couple was in Baguio seven years ago. But we don't have the luxury of time as we did back then as we both only had one rest/off day.

So we both decided to go on a day trip. We also did not want to spend that much, so we both agreed to spend P1500 each for this day trip.

The bulk of our expense was with our bus fare. We took the 12:40 AM bus ride to Baguio and it costs P450 each. Travelling at this time gives us two advantages. One is there is no traffic along the towns of Pampanga and Tarlac where the bus will traverse. Two, you get to sleep during the five hour journey. We arrived at 5:30AM.

First on our itinerary was breakfast at Good Taste. The last time we visited this restaurant was in 2012. The prices have changed, but the quantity of their servings have not. I love Baguio's brewed coffee as they are local coffee beans, freshly roasted and ground. And depending on the restaurant, a cup will cost you between P25-P50. We spent P150 each.

After breakfast we walked towards Burnham Park. Carnations were abloom this time and since it's almost Panagbenga there were garden exhibits along the road. There are also stalls selling souvenir items around Burnham park.

From Burnham Park, we exited towards Harrison Road to take a cab to Wright Park. You have an option to take the jeep going there, but it has been five years since I last visited Baguio that I have forgotten which jeep to take. Our taxi fare was P70.

We were unable to take pictures outside the Mansion as President Duterte was there. We simply walked through the park and took pictures. Most people would start from the Horse Tree Area then go up the flight of stairs to exit to the lagoon/the Mansion. What we did was the opposite where we started from the lagoon, then exited Romulo Drive. From there, we walked towards Botanical Gardens.

From Botanical Gardens, we took another cab to Mine's View (P70). The cab driver offered to take us on a city tour for P2500. We declined his offer because not only was it going to blow our budget, we also did not see the practicality of the price as most of the tourist spots in Baguio can be reached using jeeps/public transportation.

We stayed for a while in the Mine's View viewdeck. The place was crowded because it was a Saturday and in time for the PMA alumni homecoming. Then we browsed the shops in Gibraltar road while walking towards Good Shepherd.

Good Shepherd for those who may not know is famous for their Ube Halaya and Strawberry jam. Unfortunately since there were a lot of visitors, we did not queue up to order these goodies. What we did was enjoy a cup of Civet/Alamid coffee for P100 each.

By then it was lunchtime. My hubby and I decided to go to Victory Liner first to buy tickets for our return trip in advance. We took the jeep from Mine's View to Victory Liner for P10 each. After buying our tickets, we ate lunch at the second floor of the terminal. There's a Maxim's tea house outlet there, also KFC. We had congee and siopao for P120 each.

While eating our late lunch we noticed that it looked like it was about to rain. So instead of going to Camp John Hay, we opted to go to SM Baguio. We took a cab (again) for P55. Good thing we did that as it rained hard and we were planning to go to Bell House and the Cemetery of Negativity.

We hung out at SM Baguio enjoying the cold weather. Then when it stopped raining we went to Baguio Museum, entrance is P40 each. You will get to see old pictures of Baguio when it was first developed by the Americans, the different tribes and their traditional clothes. There is also a mummy on display.

At Sunshine Park beside the museum, we were also able to watch kids practicing the local/tribal dances using gongs. Then we walked to Victory Liner terminal.

If it hadn't rained there were still three more places we could've gone to. One of the reasons why we went home early is because we're no longer young people. My tummy was acting up, and my hubby had a tooth ache. So, we were not able to go food tripping (Ketchup community, Volante, Jacks). But it was a day trip we both enjoyed.