My Batanes Itinerary

August 9, 2010

My Batanes Itinerary
(4 days and 3 nights at Fundacion Pacita)
(Free and Easy Tour)

My Tip:
If you are going to Batanes for the first time and would like to get full value for the trip, my suggestions are:

1. Stay at least 4 days.
  •   This means that Day 1 is the day you arrive and day 4 is the day you depart. As of this writing (August 2010),  only SEAIR flies to Batanes. Their daily Manila-Batanes flight is scheduled in the morning and the Batanes-Manila return flight is also in the morning. Therefore on Day 4, you no longer have a day to go around Batanes because you need to take the morning flight to Manila.
  • Regular flights to Batanes are very expensive. To  get the full value of your trip, you need to stay longer. The additional cost per night for the accomodation is relatively cheap compared to the cost of returning and flying again to Batanes to see what you missed the last time.
  • In case you're unable to return to Batanes for another vacation, you will be able to see and do everything already if you stay 4 days. 
2. Stay at Fundacion Pacita
  • If you are going to Batanes for the very first time, I urge you to stay at Fundacion Pacita. You have already spent a lot for your airfare so you might as well stay at Fundacion Pacita to make the trip one of your most memorable. Fundacion Pacita is located on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the rolling hills of Batanes. No other hotel, resort or inn in Batanes has that enviable view and tastefully designed rooms.
  • If you cannot afford Fundacion Pacita, Batanes Resort is a far second in ranking.

Day 1
Departure from Manila, Arrival at Basco Airport, Half-day Batanes cultural heritage tour
     5 am: wakeup
     6 am: leave the house and go to the Manila Domestic 
                 Airport   
     720 am: arrival at the Manila Domestic Airport  
     820 am: departure from Manila via Seair DG605
     1005 am: arrival at Basco Airport
  • We booked Fundacion Pacita so we were picked up from the airport by the staff of Fundacion Pacita.
     11am: check-in at Fundacion Pacita
     2pm-6pm: Batanes cultural heritage tour courtesy of Fundacion Pacita
  • This is the free cultural heritage tour included in the room rate.
     7pm: dinner at Basco Lighthouse


Day 2
Half-day Batanes cultural heritage tour (not covered by the Fundacion Pacita sponsored heritage tour)
     7 am: wakeup
     8 am: free breakfast at Fundacion Pacita
     11am: pick-up by hired van to go to Basco town
     12nn-2pm: lunch at Pension Ivatan
     2pm-6pm: Batanes cultural heritage tour
  • We booked this on our own to cover places not included by the Fundacion Pacita tour.
     7pm: dinner at Fundacion Pacita

Day 3
Beach, Motorcycle Tour around Batan Island
     7 am: wakeup
     8 am: free breakfast at Fundacion Pacita
     9-11am: explored the beach below Fundacion Pacita
     11am: hired a motorcycle to explore Batan Island
     12-2pm: Lunch at Pension Ivatan
     2-6pm: Motorcycle tour around Batan Island
     7pm: dinner at Fundacion Pacita

OR
SABTANG ISLAND TOUR
  • If you have kids with you, you cannot do the motorcycle tour I mentioned above, you can instead take the Sabtang Island Tour where you can also visit and have lunch at Nakabuang Beach
  • To make the most of the trip, others would prefer to take the Sabtang Island tour. My husband and I prefer the free and easy tour so we chose to motorbike around Batan Island instead.
Day 4
Departure from Basco, Arrival in Manila
     7 am: wakeup
     8 am: free breakfast at Fundacion Pacita
     9am: departure from Fundacion Pacita
     930am: arrival at Basco airport
     1020am: departure from Basco via Seair DG0606
     1130am: arrival in Manila


Pasalubong and souvenirs
I actually had a hard time finding pasalubong and souvenirs at Batanes. There was no one selling them at the sights we went to. There are two places I saw where you can find them:
1. At the Basco town market 
  • garlic, flying fish fillet, marinated flying fish
2. At the airport grounds
  •  ref magnets, tshirts, garlic chips, camote chips, etc.
Total cost of trip: under construction





2 comments:

Maricel said...

Thanks for this. Your website is very helpful.

My friends and I are into photography and we would like to take pictures of the lighthouses. Any suggestion how we can do that?

Thanks a lot.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I are thinking of traveling to Batanes in February 2013. Can you give me an idea of the total cost for the 4-day package + airfare - and where to book? Thanks.