My First Trip!

My first out of town trip! 

Not for work or show. Not even a 'free' kind of trip. And when I say 'free', it's those trips that you get invited and all you have to bring is pocket money. 

Yup, first time!

Anyway, hopefully this post will help you just in case you're planning to go to San Fernando City, La Union.

We went to La Union to attend my partner's friend's wedding. Since this is one of his highschool friends, he has to be there. PERIOD. You know childhood friend duties where you have to be there? So, instead of traveling a total of 12-hrs just for a wedding, we also decided to stay after the event.

We need a nice place to stay, just about the right distance from the wedding proper and reception and practically perfect for a quick vacation. We really did search a few places, considering the price for a 2 nights stay. We also did read a lot of reviews before choosing a place. 

Place to stay.

SUNSET BAY BEACH RESORT. 

For an instant stay, affordable and I'll-be-back kind of place, this is definitely the place to be. I love how it is located along the beach itself, so you don't have to bother traveling from your hotel all the way to the beach. The beach front view is perfect in the morning and all throughout the sunset!! You can just stay in their restaurant and chill while you stare at the beautiful sea for the whole day. Definitely my kind of vacation! Speaking of restaurants, their food is great!! The food price is worth it! Really, it is!! Well, maybe except for the drinks. They also have a pool, so you have the option to swim in the pool or in the beach. 

We got the deluxe room for 2. That's Php 2,200 per night. The room was nice and simple. I'm not the picky type of person in choosing a room. I just need a private toilet and bathroom, an air condition, and a comfortable bed to sleep in, that's all. We weren't lucky enough to get a glimpse of the other rooms personally but they have a few photos of it in their link. You can check their prices and other details in their website, Sunset Bay Beach Resort. And before I forgot, their staffs were all accommodating.

If you're also planning of going around the city and you don't have a ride, you can take their tricycles and go from one point to the other. 

The price per transportation is usually Php40. 

We had that figured out when leaving the place. We paid our first few tricycles for about php70 and above. Yeah, you still got those vibes of paying too much for something and not getting informed. That's why I'm telling you on this post! Most tricycle drivers would play safe and say that you can pay how much you want, or fool you from saying a much higher price. I mean, with that kind of travel (<10mins/ride), you sure won't pay just Php20 like the usual manila tricycle ride. 

Moving on...

Places to see.

La Union has pretty much a lot of places you can visit. Given the time, we only had the chance to visit Ma-cho Temple in the same city. It's a chinese temple, not sure how old, but has a nice overlooking view of the place upto the Thunderbird Resort. It was peaceful and relaxing! 

Ma-cho Tempe was one of the closest place we can actually go through from our hotel. Pindangan Ruins are also within San Fernando City.

I would probably visit San Juan and try surfing next time!! :)

Foods to try.

Different provinces has a lot of different foods to offer. One of the thing that we made sure not to miss was the Halo-Halo de Iloko at Zandueta street. Walking distance from Ma-cho temple, no need to ride a tricycle. All you need to do is activate your GPS, just to make sure your walking towards Zandueta street or you can just simple ask around. Don't worry they don't bite at all. :p 

Upon arriving, we had to wait to get seated. From the number of people, and from the looks of their orders, most of them were tourists trying out this restaurant. Most of the people ordered Fiesta and Buko halo-halo, well, it was actually hot so everyone would normally grab into something cold to freshen up.

My partner had the Fiesta Halo-halo and I had to try the Ginataang halo-halo. Despite that hot weather, I really really wanted to try ginataang halo-halo. My personal opinion? The ginataang halo-halo was the best!! Yup, bias right here!! 

We learned about the Halo-halo de Iloko from Surf's up: A 'Biyahe ni Drew' itinerary to La Union. Watch the video! Ginataang halo-halo for the win! :)

One of the best sights on the beach was, of course the sunset. Still the best scene for vacations!! 

La Union was great! I'll definitely be back to visit, see and try what else La Union has to offer!!  

If you want to know more about La Union, here's a link that was REALLY helpful during our research! :) 

It's from Two2travel. Their travel guides are the best! You want details? They've got it!! Go check their blog!

That's about it! Hope you had fun reading! If you have any suggestions or you just want to share your experiences in La Union, feel free to share it in the comments below! Have a great summer!!!