We’re glad that before the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) implemented mid-March, we were able to set a travel going up North again and this time is in Baler, Aurora. I personally took the chance as well to enjoy my remaining days before going to new work, new office, new colleagues, and new desk. You’re right! I resigned from my previous job for five years and two months to take on another horizons and face new challenges in the industry I’m belong, improving my craft and hoping to contribute enough in the new organization I’m with. So it’s a brand new year, brand new job, brand new travel experience!

Baler is among the well-known destination up North and this is just 5-6 hours travel from Metro Manila. Not too far compared to Ilocos, Baguio or Sagada that will took about 8-9 hours travel time. My friends asked me to do our itinerary including looking and booking of hotel and some sort of other stuffs. This is a Baler DIY Travel Itinerary good for 3 days and 2 nights. We used our own car (sedan), a Kia Soluto for the transportation. We hit Skyway, down to EDSA, NLEX and SCTEX from Las Piñas at around 4:00AM and arrived earlier than expected at 8:30AM.

Baler is the capital of Aurora province, home of the first President of Commonwealth of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon. Baler founded in early 1600’s and despite its proclamation in 1951 as the province capital, Baler remains as a municipality up to this date. Even with its growing tourism industry, Baler still has the simple vibes of being in a province that is truly worth to feel. No huge malls, no skycrapers, and not so crowded and busy streets filled with people and vehicles.

Baler and other pueblo (towns) in Aurora offers numerous attractions from its rich history and cultural foundation up to scenic view of nature’s wonders. Baler faces the segment of the Philippine Sea that also meets the mother of all oceans, the great Pacific Ocean. Baler has been one of the subject of Spanish, American and Japanese occupation in the Philippines back in the days but now emerge as one of the surfing hub in the country.

Without further ado, I am sharing below details that might be helpful if you thinking to visit Baler one of these days or maybe right after the ECQ. 

How Much Did We Spent 

Since most of the travelers like me are very conservative when it comes to expenses and some are on a tight budget, let’s check first how much did we spent.

Our budget is Php 10,000.00. That would cover the accommodation, gas and toll fees, food, some environmental and entrance fees. But hey! Don’t react yet, that will be divided into five because I’m traveling with my friends and we are using our own car for the transportation. That means that we only have a Php 2,000.00 damaged per head. Economical isn’t it? We also allotted a budget for the groceries to lessen our food expenses and since we can actually cook our own food right there at the lodge, why not run for some groceries right? For your appreciation, see below summary of our expenses to help justifying what I have mentioned.  

Place to Stay

You can't go wrong finding good places to stay in Baler because plenty of options are up which would always depends on your taste, preference, location and of course budget. But, for our budget friendly trip to Baler, we secured a family room, with basic needs we need like the toilet and the hot shower, free WI-FI, TV set for entertainment, air-conditioning system, a soft and comfy bunk-beds, and free use of kitchen (utensils, water, etc.) if you wanted to boast that sexy talent of yours in cooking but you need to pay for the gas at a minimal fee.

Thanks to Booking.com, I secured an accommodation at Ver Amare Place by Zen Room for Php 3,000.00 good for 3 days and 2 nights. Located in Buton Street Barangay Sabang, Baler, and just 20-30meters away from the Sabang Beach, a famous location for surfers. It’s also 5 minutes’ drive going to the downtown.  This place is quite generous in terms of space and the owner and their staffs are so accommodating. It’s a three story building and some rooms has its own patio and or balcony. In addition, it has a swimming pool, not too huge but good enough for those who doesn’t enjoy wavy and volcanic sandy beach.  

Private parking is available at Php 100.00 overnight. Cheap but safe and secured. You can check all other accommodation apps online or thru your mobile and you can compare prices. By the way, we paid it right away using a credit card. Convenience as it finest indeed.

Places to Visit

To be honest, we haven’t really followed our itinerary due to time constraint as usual but we still managed to explore some of the best attractions in Baler.

In our first day, we had our historical tour all around the downtown before heading out to check-in by 2:00PM at Ver Amare Place to laidback from that long hour of travel and after having a glimpse of Baler with their historical landmarks.

Things to Note