Beautiful Baguio | 2DAYS 1NIGHT Itinerary | Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines

Christmas is fast approaching!  Its high time for most of the people to travel and have a much awaited vacation with their family and friends.  Me? Oh I'll be having a cold Christmas (literally & figuratively speaking). Since we're #TeamLDR we have never ever spent holidays together, sadly.  But hey,  we're fine! Let's say we've celebrated the holidays in advance during his vacation last August. My husband have been to many countries but have never been to Baguio. So,  come on travel back the memories with me!

Why Baguio? 

This small town on top of the mountain of Cordillera is called The Summer Capital of the Philippines. So,  if you wanna experience cold weather,  you don't have to wait for December. It's just an 8-hour drive from our province in Cagayan North. From Manila,  probably its just gonna be a 5-hour drive. Wow! 

DAY 1

Burnham Park Lake as a backdrop looks picturesque 

We arrived in Baguio City at around noon so after checking in from our hotel and rested for an hour,  we went straight to Burnham Park.  It is the most famous tourist destination here in Baguio named after an American architect Daniel Burnham who planned the entire town that we're enjoying right now.

At our back are the bikes available for rent

Burnham Park  is located at the heart of the city so it's not hard to find. In here,  you'll see people from different walks of life. Like lovers,  friends,  families and of course the business people who are busy offering variety of products & services to the park-goers.  First,  we tried riding on a bike with a side car. We rented it for 50 pesos good for an hour. Yeah,  we're pretty surprised it is so cheap. It's extremely fun biking without getting all sweaty here in Baguio. We biked around the entire park. We're so happy seeing everyone around us is smiling & laughing. Whoa, good vibes everywhere! 😇

Don't leave your kids unattended while on board

Next stop,  after eating strawberry ice cream, we went on board a swan pedal boat which cost us 200 pesos for 30 minutes of use. If you don't want your feet to be hurt pedaling then you have the option to just row a swan boat instead which will cost the same. 

Puto bungbong-a Filipino delicacy

It's night already and it seem like we're not yet tired because of our enjoyment in the park. However, our stomach is starting to grumble. Luckily,  we passed by The Solibao Grill. We decided to try it out because it's like their blinking Christmas lights are calling us.  😂  Yes,  they have christmas lights at the middle of August during our visit.  Aside from our Binagoongang Lechon Kawali & Steamy hot Lomi,  I also ordered Puto Bungbong to complete out Christmas feels.  If I'm gonna rate our dining experience it's gonna be 101%. The food is tasty & generous. The service is fast & the ambience is Christmas perfect!  Just what we needed. 

The Cathedral at night

Afterwards, just near Burnham Park is Our Lady Of the Atonement Cathedral a.k.a Baguio Cathedral where we visited to pray and thank God for the safe travel and the opportunity to see the beauty of Baguio. 

Then we headed back to our hotel in The Old Orangewood to end our night with a bottle of ice cold beer. 

DAY 2

Upon checking out from our hotel,  we continued our journey to Wright Park. It is in the Eastern part of the city just beside The Mansion. 

Yuri striking a pose with her hand-knitted dress from of course,  Baguio. 

This part of the town is so mesmerizing it looks like it was taken out of a postcard!  In here,  there is an elongated shallow pond where hundreds of colorful Koi fishes live. It is also called "The Pool of Pines". 

From the top,  if you take the stairs going down you'll see more exciting activities like riding on a stable (small horse) . We paid 200 pesos for 30 minutes of getting around on a horse with a guide. While my husband & daughter are having fun, I checked out the stalls around that sells lovely flowers,  plants & bonsai. If only I can take all of them home! It's so hard to decide which plant to buy because they're all attractive. 

The dog have a sunglass to protect their eyes from the sun and also the camera flashes.

We also had a chance to get upclose and have a picture with this huge St.  Bernard with a fee of 20 pesos.  😂 I know,  everything have price tag already! 

Father & daughter moments in The Mansion

Next stop,  The Mansion.  Don'tcha worry,  it's FREE entrance!  😂  This is where the Philippine President officially stays whenever he/she visits Baguio City. I can remember when we went here on my younger years, tourists are only allowed outside the gate.  But right now,  they would at least allow guests to be within the premises with restrictions of course. 

Yuri's Nap time with a view

Suddenly,  it's noontime so we stopped by Mine's View Park & Observation Deck to eat our lunch.  But before that we went for a walk first to see the very popular observation deck of Mine's view park.  To be honest,  my husband is kinda disappointed with the place because 1. There's so little to no place where people can sit down 2. Its full of stalls selling plants & souvenir items.  3. Trash are scattered on the deck.  Needless to say,  the view of the mountain is still breathtaking.  After lunch,  we went straight to our next destination ---The Cafe in the Sky.  

I wish that the sign board of the sponsor of the paint would be moved back a bit because its blocking the Lion's head.  Nice marketing strategy Davies Paint.  😁

Going down from Baguio we decided to take Kennon Road just to see The Lion's Head. If you're wondering why there's a lion head at the middle of the road it is because the Lion Club of Baguio who opened this attraction in 1972 wanted to have a symbol of their club in the area. 

There you go!  It's so nice reminiscing while writing this article.  I already miss travelling with my husband. Family travels are the best.  Til next time Baguio... Ciaó!!! 

Tips:

•For girls,  if you wanna fully enjoy Burnham park,  don't wear a dress or a skirt.  I wish I didn't.  😁

•Better download an offline map because some parts of Baguio is spotty. 

• Gasoline in Baguio is expensive so as much as possible have your tank full.