2 Nights, 2,000 Pesos and the Banaue Rice Terraces

A trip to the Banaue Rice Terraces isn't expensive.  With 2,000 pesos, you can spend 2 nights in Banaue.  

Florida Liner in España cor Galicia streets in Sampaloc has daily trips to Banaue.  Trip is either at 8.00pm or 10.45pm.  A bus ticket one way will cost 450 pesos.  It is an 8 hour trip to Banaue, so if you leave at 10.45, you will arrive Banaue at around 7.00am.  When you get to Banaue, there are a host of hostels to choose from.  Room rates range from 350 - 1,500 pesos a night.  Green View Lodge near the town center has standard rooms with a shared bathroom for 500 a night and People's View Lodge, at the same strip, offers it as 350 a night.  Meals in the hostels are pretty pricey (100pesos/meal) since they usually cater most to tourists.  You can get cheap and good meals near the market in the town center.  They serve home cooked meals for about 30-40 pesos.

When I went to Banaue, I did not join a tour or get my own guide.  I just rode a tricycle to a certain spot and walked.  I wasn't into the "hike-on-the-terraces" tour, I was more into just breathing, sitting, and basking in the beauty of the terraces.

A view of the Banaue Town Center 

 

 The mist that surrounds the mountains in the early morning.  

This is the sight you see when you arrive.

One of the many mountain springs that you see by the roadside.

Breathtaking.

Can you even fathom how this was done with crude materials?

On trips like these, I usually just take a tricycle to move around, walk a bit and just really bask in the color and beauty.  If you want to join a tour or have a guide take you around, there is a tourism assistance booth by the center of the town, near the market.  They can immediately hook you up with the a tour guide with the rates.  They also give out maps if you are adventurous enough to go on your own.  Frankly, it is doable.  Especially if you'll just go to the areas close to the town.

                                 Fare:    P 900 (Manila - Banaue - Manila)

                                 Room:     700

                                 Meals:     200

                                 Fare:       200 (Around Banaue - estimation)

                       Total Cost:   P2,000

Do not let money stop you from discovering new places and the beauty of the Philippines. A weekend in Banaue will even cost you less because you will only get to spend a night there.  A weekend might not be enough to see everything there is to see, but a weekend in Banaue is enough to rejuvenate and give you breathing space.

So, on the next weekend you are free, why not think about Banaue as your next destination?