Today's post features last weekend's stay in Shangri-la's Mactan Resort and Spa, which we were able to avail at a promo rate of P6,500 per room - buffet breakfast for two included. This is a photo diary, and not an actual review, because really, what hasn't already been said about this prestigious, 4.5-star hotel in Cebu?

I've frequently received questions regarding how much we spent on our Ilocos trip. So I've decided to do a quick breakdown of our itinerary and expenses for everyone's reference.

First off, I'm from Cebu so we booked a Cebu-Manila flight, and another Manila-Laoag flight. Although most agencies will offer pick-up from Manila, we didn't want to endure a looooonngg drive since a short plane ride is so much more convenient. We booked our round trip tickets in January even though we had planned an August trip.


I then booked our trip with J2F Ilocos Escapades and got an unbelievably affordable deal. The more people there are in your group, the cheaper it is. The package tour was customized for us and was inclusive of 3 days, 3 nights hotel stay (don't expect a luxurious hotel, you're only there to sleep and bathe anyway), breakfast, transportation, driver/tour guide and all entrance fees.

Before the summer ended last May, we were able to squeeze in a trip to Dumaguete. On our second day there, we ventured off to Apo Island, Dauin, Negros Oriental, which is known as a good dive spot and is also famous for the sea turtles. To get there, you need to drive 1-2 hours from Dumaguete proper until you reach the drop off point where you can park your car, and ride a pump boat to the island. Fortunately, one of our friends lives in Dumaguete and booked the boat beforehand.

I was in Boracay this month to attend my friend's beach wedding. (See what I wore to the beach wedding here.) The morning before the wedding though, we got to enjoy the beach. I have been to quite a few beaches around Cebu and even around L.A., as well as the also well-loved Malapascua and Bantayan Island, but I swear, nothing compares to Boracay's clear waters and the softest sand. Larger text and bold letters for emphasis. The sand is just that soft.

On the last day of our Ilocos adventure, we got up at 6 AM and went straight to La Paz Sand Dunes. I've read that the best time to go on this adventure is at 6-10 AM or after 4 PM so that the sun is not too scorching hot.

We had a glimpse of what the Ilocos windmills look like when we went to Kapurpurawan Rock Formation but the actual Bangui Windmills look much bigger and more awesome.

Forever 21 top, SM GTW scallop shorts, People are People sandals

The Manila airport has framed photos of the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation captured at sunset. It was the perfect teaser to get us more excited as we were waiting to board our Manila-Laoag flight.

The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation was part of our Day 2 itinerary thanks to J2F Ilocos Travel and Tours. 

After visiting Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, the iconic rock formations were our next stop. 

After we've had our fill of fun at Fort Ilocandia, off we went to the rest of our stopovers for our Laoag tour.

One of the great things about booking with J2F Ilocos Travel & Tours was that all our entrance fees were already included in the package. We didn't have to shell out money for every single museum we went to. Saves you from the hassle, eh?

Here are more places we went to on Day 1 of our Ilocos tour:

1. Malacanang of the North

Lately, reading blogs before traveling to a place is a prerequisite for me. They're always so honest and informative in a way that typical travel sites just aren't.

This was my first time booking a travel package tour so even though my friend referred me to J2F Ilocos Travel & Tours, I was a bit apprehensive. Paranoid questions like, "What if this is a scam?" would of course pop up. But they only asked for a P1,500 downpayment (for the whole group tour) and no scammer would go for that small an amount, right?

So book the tour I did and I'm soooo glad I chose to book with them. The package tour was both extremely convenient and budget friendly, I totally recommend.

Our driver slash tour guide picked us up from the airport (we had an evening flight), and we checked in at the hotel. The next morning, the guide picked us up at 7:30 AM and off we went for adventure Day 1. Our first stop: FORT ILOCANDIA.

Top - Forever 21, Skort - Vetus Shop, Shoes - Cotton On, Bag - Pull & Bear

Booking cheap, promo flights mean you can't really be choosy with flight schedules. Our flight from Cebu to Manila was 8:30 AM while our Manila to Laoag flight was at 7 PM which gave us approximately 6 hours free (when you deduct the time that we're supposed to be back at the airport). It was the same story during the travel going home. So we chose to spend the time at the closest big mall, SM Mall of Asia.

Of course, we had to:
1. dine in a restaurant that hasn't invaded Cebu yet. So we were able to satisfy Kenny's craving for authentic Japanese ramen at Ramen Nagi. It seems they only have 4 choices of ramen - but these are customizable as you can fill up the checklist according to your preference. Since I love spicy food, I chose the Red King ramen and since I'm no ramen expert, opted to only check "beef" then the rest would be according to the "chef's recommendation." It was delicious. Expensive, but delicious. It's a big bowl too, so you won't go hungry. Had a taste of my friend's black ramen and uuuhhh.. it was just a little too weird and salty for me.

Spent the past week planning an upcoming trip and realized how reading blogs has been so helpful to me. It's always nice to read from someone's personal experience because the input is just more raw and honest. So I thought I'd contribute to the world wide web's helpfulness by writing about my travel experiences too. First up, Danasan Eco Adventure Park.