Tagaytay

Finally made it to Taal and Tagaytay. We stayed at the Royal taal inn - a hidden gem (and no - the owners do not give me a commision for writing this! he he!). Enjoyed every bit of the stay. We had a private balcony with views of the lake. But what I liked more was the greenery all around and the customer service.

How to reach Tagaytay

Take one of the following buses from the Cubao bus terminus (in order of priority and frequency) –

1)       San Agustin

2)       Erjohn & Almark

3)       Golden dragon

The buses go to Nusugbu (final destination), but have “via Tagaytay” written on the signboard next to the driver. Frequency = one bus every about 30 minutes.

Travel time = 2 hours

Disembark at a crossroad called Olivarez square (now shown on google maps). Easily spottable due to the large KFC restaurant (if you are on the right side of the bus) and “Pure Gold” and Mc Donalds” signs if you are on the left side of the bus. After this stop lies the Rotunda (with a statue in the center and colourful lights at night)  - this forms the center of the town of Tagaytay.

Tagaytay does not have a dedicated bus terminus – buses just stop at this part of the road. Ask the bus conductor to tell you when the stop comes.

Avoid taking buses going to Batangas or Balibago. Avoid JAM transit.

How long to stay –

I recommend one night - arriving here on Saturday noon, and leaving on Sunday noon. Keep it overnight – that way you won’t hurry yourself and can see places free of the Manila crowds.

Morning is the best time to see places – free from crowds.

Places to see –

People’s park in the sky

(arrive in the morning at 8 or a bit earlier when it just opens). Excellent fruits (mangoes, pine apple), pasalubong, t-shirts, etc. Has a small grotto (Our lady of love), a viewing place, garden and food stalls.

Time to spend = 1 hour

How to reach?

Last stop of jeepney or take a trike. About 5 kilometres from the rotunda

Picnic grove

Nice place to saunter around. It has a eco-trail which really is just bridges in the greenery with nice views. Don’t expect quiet – it is noisy with tourists, but the other side of the eco trail is quieter.

There is a zip line (costs about 300 pesos for a short ride), horses to ride, camping / picnic grounds and of course, food stalls.

Time to spend here = 2 hours.

How to reach?

It lies about 3 kilometres from the rotunda. Take a jeepney or trike from the rotunda / Olivarez plaza.

Taal volcano

Time to spend = 4 hours.

Details here - http://taaltagaytay.blogspot.com/

Where to stay / Should a view of Taal lake be a criteria to choose where I stay?

No - The view of Taal lake is over rated – nothing special in it. It has gained this popularity more because f it’s proximity to Manila city (You can sell anything different to us city dwellers)

Layout of Tagaytay –

Olivares Plaza lies at the center of Tagaytay. To the right of it are the pricier places, with Taal vista hotel right at the end. En route are PAGCOR casino (easily spotted because of it’s pink crown!), a number of good eateries, and some new ugly 20-30 storeyed buildings.  An SM too is coming up (yeah.. sad!). City folk love this part , which means there are always traffic jams here on Sat-Sun. No jeepneys on this road. Pros of his part of Tagaytay – lot of choice of places to eat. Nice to walk (meaning there actually is a pavement). Many fruit stalls.

Cons – Ugly, looks more like Makati of 90s, lot of traffic, no jeepneys, difficult to find trikes.

To the left of Olivares plaza lies Picnic grove (about 3 kms away) and then peoples park in the sky (a further 2 kms away). His road, in my opinion is better to stay on – it has more greenery, less crowds, less traffic (after picnic grove, the traffic visibly reduces to nil).

Pros of staying in this part of Tagaytay – less crowds, more peaceful, more greenery, closer to Peoples park in the sky and Picnic grove.

Cons – Fewer places to eat. If staying at Royal Taal inn, breakfast is taken care of by the hotel, for lunch / dinner, you can order take out from maxs, Chowking and 2 other restaurants.

Honestly, when in Tagaytay,  you most probably will be out sight-seeing in the afternoon will anyway lunch out, finishing in the evening, which means you will probably eat out and then return to your hotel. Hence this does not appear to be a high criteria to choose the place of stay.

Where to stay –

Costs – of hotels vary from 1000 pesos per night, to 3000 pesos (Royal Taal inn) to 6,000 pesos per night (Taal vista)

Here are my personal favourites (the best are right on top)–

1)       Royal Taal inn – All rooms have a private balcony, large and roomy, excellent customer service, a hidden gem. Surrounded by rich foliage (see me review on Royal Taal inn herefor details )

2)       Taal vista hotel – Luxurious. A great place if you do not plan to sight-see much, for you will feel like staying in the room only! Even if you don’t stay here, I highly recommend the lunch – there is a folk dance show every sat, sun at 1 pm – after which they invite guests to dance with them. Also has serenade singers. Good food, mostly Filipino local cuisine.

3)       More to come……

 

By the way, I was just a guest of Royal Taal inn – I am not the owner of the hotel.So plee contact the hotel for reservations.

Room rates –

The Superior room cost us 3,000 pesos per night inclusive of breakfast (fried eggs, coffee, toast with butter and jam, and juice. They also served us tea / coffee in the afternoon when we asked for it)

They have 20 channels of cable TV – including GMA, sports, HBO, AXN, CNN. Plus for 200 pesos, you can hire a dvd player and many movies that they have at the reception.

How to reach Tagaytay?

Take a bus (Erjohn & Almark OR Golden Dragon OR San Agustin) from Manila (Cubao or Pasay – Cubao is better) to Tagaytay. (The final destination of these buses is Nasugbu, but they have Tagaytay written in front also). Ticket costs 200 pesos.

The bus stop for Tagaytay is “Olivarez square” –buses just stop on the road side (no waiting shed / sign board etc). You can easily spot it by the KFC, Jollybee, Mang Inasal, Mc Donalds all jostled next to each other.

How to reach Royal Taal inn?

From Olivarez square, take a trike (most trike drivers know “Royal Taal inn” or else tell them – “after picnic grove, opposite La Verna house of prayer, near Crosswinds”). This costs about 80 pesos. All trikes in Tagaytay have a carrier behind the passenger set to keep your suitcase, so this is preferable to Jeepney.

You can also take a jeepney – it costs 20 pesos.

Here are details of the hotel’s official website and contact numbers –

Website - http://www.royaltaal.com/

Address - Royal Taal Inn, Calamba Road
(In Front of La Verna House of Pray.)
BGY Iruhin Central, Tagaytay City
Philippines

Email - info@royaltaal.com
Telephone -  + 63 46 483 1066
(+63 is the international dialling country code for the Philippines)

Mobile -
International Dialing Code: + 63 927 555 1144
Within Philippines: 0927 555 1144

If you have any further questions, please post it as a comment and I will get back to you asap