Manila to Naga

[jojopad]

Traveled back to Bicol for family matters over the long weekend.

Manila to Nabua (additional 40 km from Naga) was a little less than 9 hours including lunch. Left Manila at 10:30am, stopover for lunch in Lucena at 12:30, arrived in Nabua at 7:15pm.

Took the old-school route (Sto. Tomas - Alaminos - San Pablo - Tiaong - Candelaria - Sariaya - Lucena - and so on) and then Andaya Highway, but skipped Naga and passed through the Minalabac route (GMA Highway). Not recommended to pass GMA Highway at night - no streetlights, lots of sudden unpaved areas and landslides.

Going back, it was 7 hours from Naga to Manila (2pm-9pm). This time passed by Eco Tourism road from Lucena Diversion then exit at Lipa STAR. No street lights for most of Eco Tourism road, and then even at 7pm there was still traffic in San Juan and Lipa.

It was my first time back in Bicol since 2015 - I appreciate the wider roads along Andaya Highway. The Gumaca diversion road is a scam - they say passable to light vehicles but 80% of the road was unpaved.



Despite the generally crappy roads, the scenery is still very relaxing, so I enjoyed the drive a lot.










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I've been planning to go back to Polangui Bicol for quite some time. How's the pothole situation at Andaya Highway?

Also, is the Eco Tourism road 100% pavement? Last time I drove there was 2017 Dec. There was a small section that was still unpaved. My car's underchassis scraped some mud tracks.