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.

New restaurants have been sprouting up all over the Lahug area and you can't miss this quaint little cafe across Fujinoya. While the parking up front is very limited, you are allowed to park at the Tsai hotel's basement parking area. I've already visited Tazza Cafe and Patisserie twice. First on a Saturdate and next, because I was able to purchase a Groupon voucher (yey 50% off!).

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.

Top - Oxygen, Skirt - Online buy

One Claypot House has been on our bucketlist of new Cebu restaurants that we wanted to try. They used to be a tiny restaurant near Capitol with no visible parking area but they moved to this place near Holiday Spa, which appeared to have only a couple parking slots in front but on the right, hidden from immediate view, is actually a much bigger than expected parking space.

First off, the interior was fabulous.

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.

Today, I'm feeling cold and gloomy, just like the weather. Maybe the weather's got me down or maybe I'm PMS-ing.

Although I've got a cool and easy-going enough personality, I've never liked unanswered questions or situations where I am not fully prepared regarding what to expect. I may not be obsessive compulsive in a way that I have to have detailed step-by-step plans, but I always have to ensure my success by assessing my success rate beforehand and always having a back-up plan (and back-up plans for my back-up plans).

I can be adventurous enough but I also love my comfort zones. Taking a risk or a leap of faith is quite frightening. But these are musts in life. You can't stay in your comfort zone forever. Or else you won't get anywhere.

But for today, I'd just like to hug and cuddle.. maybe it's the gloomy weather. Maybe.

Plaid polo from H&M, jeans from Forever 21, shoes from Cotton On

I fear that all other pizza has lost a little sparkle for me now that Pizza Republic is here. I think that I could even go as far as to say that it may possibly be the best pizza I've ever tasted.

Unfortunately, Cebu is still so extremely hyped up about it that I don't think I'll be visiting again anytime soon. I braved the crazy long line twice already. And that was before they even had a grand opening. Talk about a very successful start. Will definitely visit again sometime though. Maybe at an unusual hour so that there's less people.

I don't know why it took me so long to try out Bucket Shrimps, which is located near the Capitol area, only a short drive from home. Probably because the people closest to me sort of scoff at the thought of paying for overpriced shrimp when you can cook it at home easily at just a fraction of the cost.

A bucket of shrimp at P350 and you can choose what flavor you want it in. We ordered one in Cajun and another in Curry. My friends preferred the Cajun one while I, a curry lover, ate more of the one in curry sauce.

Last Easter Sunday, my friends and I decided to have lunch after church. We ventured off in search of this new restaurant, Circa 1900. It was perfectly easy to find, just enter the corner next to the JY Square Jollibee branch, go straight, and you can't miss the grand restaurant that looks like a Spanish era mansion that got a makeover.

The BFF and I were off to have some snacks after a well-deserved pedicure session so we drove to Sarossa hotel (where we parked) and had two choices: Sunday 2 PM or Bar Tea More? And since we both haven't tried either yet, we decided to share a dish in each cafe.

I have my Sundays back and all my Sundays for the rest of the year can be as pretty as this one!

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.