National Museum Vigan Branch or Padre Burgos House

The National Museum Vigan Branch or Padre Burgos House is located along Padre Burgos Street. It is one of the branches of the National Museum displaying archaeological artifacts from the Spanish era.


Padre Burgos House is included in the Vigan Heritage Tour. The entrance is also free and the museum is open from Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM. For weekends and holidays, the visit to the museum is by appointment.


The museum is the ancestral house and birthplace of Padre Jose Burgos. There are memorabilia of Padre Burgos and his family. There are artifacts from Iloco-Kankanay-Itneg material culture. Dioramas, old books and liturgical collections are displayed in the museum.

Villa Angela Heritage House in Vigan

One of the famous tourist destination in North Luzon is Vigan.  It is owned by a prominent Versoza family of Vigan.  The entrance of the heritage house is located along Quirino Boulevard but has a backdoor along De Los Reyes Street.  It is a few blocks away from the Vigan Heritage Village.

The house was built in 1870 and was named for their matriarch Angela Versoza Villanueva.  The house was a gallery of the mementos of the family which they displayed in the house and admired by the visitors and guests.

The house was restored by descendants in the eighties.  It is also one of the locations of the famous movie Jose Rizal.  Tom Cruise also stayed in the heritage house during his film shoot in 1989.  A picture of him hangs in the walls along with the photos of the Versoza clan.  

There are private rooms for the guests.  I was able to stay in one of the rooms with a bathroom inside and another room without a bathroom.  There is a common bathroom in the second floor outside the kitchen area.  In the first floor is a dormitory for groups.

Breakfast is served in their antique dining area were we could see the antique kitchen objects like pots, porcelain and china wares. Guests enjoys the living room area with huge windows made of capiz.  Old personal furniture of the Versoza clan are found in the house.

San Juan, La Union

Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan is one of the surfing sites in La Union. La Union is 6 to 7 hours away from Manila by bus. Or 5 to 6 hours by car.


To enjoy the waves make sure to visit from July to October for the South Swell and from November to March for the North Swell. Enjoy the Urbiztondo beach during summer.

This is my getaway in the Northern Part of Luzon. I had seen the changes in the town since early 2000. Every time I visit Urbiztondo, there’s always something new.
I had been here for the nth time. Urbiztondo is also a site for a beautiful sunset. The waters of La Union are facing the West Philippine Sea.

My favorite place to stay in San Juan Surf Resort and Sebay Surf Central which is located along the National Highway. The resorts are overlooking a beautiful beachfront.

San Juan Surf Resort

San Juan Surf Resort is a resort and surfing school of the renowned Filipino-Australian surfer Luke Landrigan. I was able to see him on my second stay in the resort when the resort was still small. To date, there are new restaurants and buildings for accommodation.


The surfing camp offers lessons for locals and tourists. One of the perks of staying here is seeing the famous surfer Luke Landrigan. I saw him only once though. The restaurant serves yummy food which is called the Coast Call Kitchen and Bar.

Sebay Surf Central

Another good spot to stay in Urbiztondo is Sebay surf Central. I love this resort because of its restaurant which is on the beachfront. I love staying in the restaurant to enjoy food and to hear the waves and the tourists and locals enjoying the water.

La Trinidad Strawberry Farm

La Trinidad, Benguet is home for the strawberry farm. It is often confused that the strawberry came from Baguio City since it’s just a nearby town.

The La Trinidad Strawberry Farm was made for the cultivation of the strawberry. Tourists can also tour the harvest from the farm and buy it fresh. The farmers will help locate where to pick the strawberries ready for harvesting.

It is located in front of the Benguet State University and near Benguet Hospital

Sugba Lagoon

Sugba Lagoon is an amazing and scenic lagoon surrounded by virgin forest and mountains It is located in Del Carmen, Surigao del Note.


This was our last stop from the Siargao Island tour that we availed. From Magpupungko Rock Pool we headed to Del Carmen for our next trip.

We arrived at Del Carmen Tourism Center and went to the port. From there we were transferred to a boat which is good for 8 people.

It is half an hour ride from the port to Sugba Lagoon. What are the things to do in Sugba Lagoon?


You can rent for a paddle-board or a kayak. You can also try cliff diving from the diving board. You can also enjoy the “balsa” or the bamboo platform that will take you to the lagoon.


If you have lots to time you can also check the following places in Kawhagan Island, Pamomoan Beach. You can also enjoy the other island called Poneas Island.

Magpupungko Rock Pools

Magpupungko Rock Pools is located at Pilar, Surigao Del Norte in Siargao Island.


Our next itinerary was the Magpupungko Rock Pools and Sugba Lagoon. These places were the scheduled places to visit on our 3rd day in Siargao. We availed it from the same tour operator for our Sohoton Cove and 3 Islands Hopping.
It is a one-hour ride from Sandy Feet Siargao. You will enjoy the scenic view going to Magpupungko.
The best time to visit the Magpupungko Rock pools is during low tide as they are tidal pool. The tides dramatically changed throughout the day but you can also check the tides change.


The rock formations add beauty to the rockpool. The rocks looked like a large rock is squatting on another rock. “Pungko” is a Visayan word for squat hence it is called Magpupungko.


There are lots of small restaurants and nipa huts to stay while in Magpupungko. If the tides are high in the rock pool, you can also enjoy the stretch of the long sandbar of Magpupungko beach.

Siargao Island Hopping

There are three different islands visible from our resort. The islands are Guyam Island, Daku Island and Naked Island.
Going back from Sohoton Cove and the continuation of our island tour were three other islands. We first went to Naked Island.

Naked Island

Naked Island is locally called Pankikian. It was changed to Naked Island as tourists discovered the white sand beach in Siargao. It is naked as there are no visible plants or trees except for the shimmering white sand.


We were blessed to enjoy the island without any tourists. We were the first boat to arrive on the island and we enjoyed the seclusion for a brief moment before most of the tour boats arrived. We spent our time swimming and enjoying the sun and the crystal clear turquoise water.

Daku Island

The second island visible from the shore of General Luna is Daku Island. Daku means big. It is a big island with a wide sandy beachfront.

There are locals who are inhabitants of the island. We also enjoyed the food and swimming here.

Guyam Island

Of the three islands, Guyam is the tiniest island. The small island is shaded by coconut trees. It is also a place for events on the island.


The side of the island which is facing the Pacific Ocean has a stunning view of rock formation.

Sohoton Cove, Bucas Grande Island

General Luna in Siargao Island is a place for a cheap and expensive restaurant, hotels, and resorts. You can also avail of the surfing lessons here because it is near Cloud 9.
From Sandy Feet resort we were fetched by our tour operator using 2 tricycles. And we went to General Luna Market near the port where our boat for the tour is waiting for us. The first tour that we avail was the Bucas Grande Tour and 3 other island tours.

It was early in the morning, 6AM and we arrived at the port by 630AM. It was almost 7AM when we left. It was a 3 hours boat ride. Our group was diverse; we got a 10-year-old kid as the youngest and almost a senior citizen as the oldest. We were 10 in the group.
We tried to entertain ourselves during the boat ride. We also enjoyed the view of the surroundings while inside the boat. And sometimes we just sleep. For a while, it also rained hard before reaching the first part of the tour which is Bucas Grande.

Sohoton Cove

Sohoton Cove National Park is located in the Bucas Grande, Socorro, and Surigao Del Norte. It is the home natural wonders such as caves, lakes, cove, karst, and limestones.
The first stop was the Sohoton Cove Tourist Information, the gateway to the Sohoton Cove National Park. From here you will see the beautiful Titikan Lagoon.
We transferred to a small boat with 6 people capacity with our two tour guides and boatman. We passed by the Sohoton Cove which is called because of its meaning which is to pass through a small opening. During high tide, it is not accessible.

Horsetail

We passed by a rock formation which is called horsetail, It is one of the famous landmarks inside Sohoton Cove.

Hagukan Cave

The first activity was Hagukan Cave, a small luminous cave which is like an underground pool and accessible during low-tide. It is also called snoring cave as the sound of the snoring waves.

Magkukuob Cavern

The second stop is a diving spot in called Magkukuob Cavern. The person needs to go inside waist-level water in the cave and walk inside a dry path of rock formations. To exit the cave, you need to cliff dive and plunge to 12 feet above the water.

Jelly Fish Sanctuary

We went back to the gateway and transferred to a small boat good for 2 people and 1 boatman and went to the jellyfish sanctuary.

We went back to the Sohoton Cove Tourist Center to enjoy our lunch. There are many other places to go here like Crystal Cave, Bolitas Cave, Tundan Cave, Bubon Group of Islets, Club Tara Resort, and Bubon beach. But you need a whole day or more to explore all.