bicol road trip...

[jut703]

Hi, guys.

Planning a road trip to Bicol this first week of April. Medyo madaming tanong para sa isang first timer:

- Easiest/safest route from Manila to BIcol (preferably Tabaco)?
- Saan po magandang mag stop over (kainan/rest) coming from Manila? Magisa po akong magdadrive with wifey and 3 kids.
- Anong time po ang ideal na alis sa Manila?
Saan po ang best room/guest house to stay? Pwede din yung mga nasa countryside area. Yung mura lang sana, kasi madalas nasa galaan kami sa tourist spots.
- Magstay kami for 7 days, meron po ba kayong itinerary?
- Tourist spots to visit? Hindi po kami pwede sa caves or falls na may mahabang lakaran.
- Things to remember?

Thanks!

Brother, for the itinerary, I already posted my suggestions, just check the previous post.

If you're going to Tabaco: SLEX-Maharlika Highway (passing through the towns of Laguna and Quezon) then take Andaya Highway to bypass Cam Norte (from Tagkawayan, Quezon, ang labas mo na is Sipocot, Cam Sur). Then just follow the highway to Naga.

Stopover usually sa Gumaca, Quezon. That's about 3.5 hrs away from Manila. May Jollibee, McDo, and yung mga local restaurant.

Personally I prefer to stopover along the seaside at Atimonan, Quezon. Fresh seafood. May bagong bukas na resto dun overlooking the Pacific Ocean, good food.

Ideal time to leave is about 3am para breakfast sakto sa Quezon. This way, maiiwasan mo rin traffic sa Laguna/Quezon. Then lunch time nasa Naga ka na sakto.


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[eminem6480]

Brother, for the itinerary, I already posted my suggestions, just check the previous post.

If you're going to Tabaco: SLEX-Maharlika Highway (passing through the towns of Laguna and Quezon) then take Andaya Highway to bypass Cam Norte (from Tagkawayan, Quezon, ang labas mo na is Sipocot, Cam Sur). Then just follow the highway to Naga.

Stopover usually sa Gumaca, Quezon. That's about 3.5 hrs away from Manila. May Jollibee, McDo, and yung mga local restaurant.

Personally I prefer to stopover along the seaside at Atimonan, Quezon. Fresh seafood. May bagong bukas na resto dun overlooking the Pacific Ocean, good food.

Ideal time to leave is about 3am para breakfast sakto sa Quezon. This way, maiiwasan mo rin traffic sa Laguna/Quezon. Then lunch time nasa Naga ka na sakto.


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Thanks sir! I will try your recommendations.

We will be staying in Bicol for 7 days. May masuggest po ba kayong guest house or private room na mura lang within Tabaco or Legazpi. Mostly pahinga at tulog lang gagawin namin sa room.

Salamat!

[dreamur]

It's best to spend a week to fully enjoy Bicol. A suggested itinerary:

Day 1: Travel to Naga, have dinner along Magsaysay Ave (Bob Marlin, Chili Peppers and Wok are my favorites), overnight stay at Avenue Hotel.

Day 2: Travel to Caramoan (land and boat trip), overnight at Caramoan (Tugawe and Gota are good resorts, there are other cheaper options too)

Day 3: Return from Caramoan, check out the deer farm in Tigaon, travel to Legaspi, have dinner at Four Seasons resto, overnight stay at Venezia or The Oriental.

Day 4: Travel to Donsol in the morning, whaleshark watching, return to Legaspi in the afternoon for Mayon ATV ride and Cagsawa sight-seeing

Day 5: Travel to Subic Beach in Sorsogon, your choice if you want to overnight (no hotels, just cheap huts where you grill your own food, but with aircon) or just go back to Legaspi

Day 6: Trip back home from Legaspi/Sorsogon, you can drop by Naga again for lunch

Bicol is a beautiful region to visit. 😀

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Bro, any areas that we should be on alert?

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[jut703]

Bro, any areas that we should be on alert?

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Be careful when driving along Andaya Highway because the towns (Tagkawayan, Del Gallego, Ragay) are sparsely populated and far from each other. It's safe even at night but noone will save you if you have a flat tire or whatnot.

As long as you stay on the highway along Cam Sur/Albay, that's safe. Just don't travel to and from Sorsogon after sundown - many people loiter on the side of the highway (sometimes drunkenly), and I've seen too many cases of people getting run over. The highway there is filled with twisty roads that's a lot of fun to drive on but risky for newbies.

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[CVT]

Be careful when driving along Andaya Highway because the towns (Tagkawayan, Del Gallego, Ragay) are sparsely populated and far from each other. It's safe even at night but noone will save you if you have a flat tire or whatnot.

As long as you stay on the highway along Cam Sur/Albay, that's safe. Just don't travel to and from Sorsogon after sundown - many people loiter on the side of the highway (sometimes drunkenly), and I've seen too many cases of people getting run over. The highway there is filled with twisty roads that's a lot of fun to drive on but risky for newbies.

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I hope the stretch of road at Tagkawayan is better now.. It was the worst one when we were in the area a few years ago....

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[@alon]

Due to Holy Week Traffic, I am contemplating on taking alternate route to and from Bicol, mainly para maiwasan San Pablo, Tiaong, Sariaya traffic. Going to be Bicol, leaving 3am from Manila, we'll take Lipa-Tiaong road (I'm pretty much decided on this as my Uncle said he uses this route every time). Going back to Manila, we'll leave Easter Sunday (9am), and if we reach Lucena latest 4pm, I'm planning to take this road I see on Google Maps, Quezon Eco-Tourism road, then Rosario-San Juan-Candelaria Road, then to Lipa Star Toll. Has anyone passed thru this roads? How is the road condition and the area?

[remzam]

Due to Holy Week Traffic, I am contemplating on taking alternate route to and from Bicol, mainly para maiwasan San Pablo, Tiaong, Sariaya traffic. Going to be Bicol, leaving 3am from Manila, we'll take Lipa-Tiaong road (I'm pretty much decided on this as my Uncle said he uses this route every time). Going back to Manila, we'll leave Easter Sunday (9am), and if we reach Lucena latest 4pm, I'm planning to take this road I see on Google Maps, Quezon Eco-Tourism road, then Rosario-San Juan-Candelaria Road, then to Lipa Star Toll. Has anyone passed thru this roads? How is the road condition and the area?

If you have unli data on your phone plan, use waze also. Baka lang kasi lahat kayo going to the south same ang iniisip na byahe. Para you can also adjust accordingly. HTH

[@alon]

I tried to waze nung Christmas holiday going back to Manila, wala din sa routes option yung Quezon Eco-Tourism road. Maganda lang sana to have plan B na alternate route, malala kasi talaga ang Easter Sunday traffic from Pagbilao all the way to SLEX na. Thanks remzam.

[Lew_Alcindor]

The last time we went to Bicol, traffic was very long approaching Lopez then Gumaca Quezon. Nakakainis kasi that is for no apparent reason. Pagdating sa bayan ng mga lugar na ito normal situation lang - yung mga pulis nga nakaupo lang akala siguro walang mahabang pila.

[sleeepy]

Due to Holy Week Traffic, I am contemplating on taking alternate route to and from Bicol, mainly para maiwasan San Pablo, Tiaong, Sariaya traffic. Going to be Bicol, leaving 3am from Manila, we'll take Lipa-Tiaong road (I'm pretty much decided on this as my Uncle said he uses this route every time). Going back to Manila, we'll leave Easter Sunday (9am), and if we reach Lucena latest 4pm, I'm planning to take this road I see on Google Maps, Quezon Eco-Tourism road, then Rosario-San Juan-Candelaria Road, then to Lipa Star Toll. Has anyone passed thru this roads? How is the road condition and the area?

Saan po itong Eco-tourism road? saan ang entry at exit point from Lipa and Lucena. Thanks!