Free Cultural Heritage Tour of Batanes (as included in your Fundacion Pacita Accomodations): Summary and Tips

Free Cultural Heritage Tour of Batanes 
(as included in the Fundacion Pacita Accomodations)
Summary and Tips

If you book Fundacion Pacita accomodations, the package includes a free half-day cultural heritage tour of Batanes. When I booked Fundacion Pacita, I wondered whether the cultural heritage tour is complete and includes all the must see sights of Batanes. It does not. Firstly, it only covers Batan Island. Batanes has 3 islands, but the other island that visitors can go to, which is Sabtang Island, is not covered by the cultural heritage tour. And even if it only covers Batan Island, it does not cover all the must-see sights of Batan Island, such as Marlborough Hills.

What is included in the free half-day cultural heritage tour

The half-day tour is conducted the day of your arrival. It lasts from 2pm-6pm. To see more details, photos and description of the tour below, see here.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Municipality of Basco:

Radar Tukon

3:00PM - 4:00 PM

Municipality of Basco:
Chanarian View Deck 

Municipality of Mahatao:
San Carlos Borromeo Church

Municipality of Ivana:  

House of Dakay

4:00PM - 5:00 PM

Municipality of Ivana:

Ivana Church

Ruins of the 1st Church of San Jose

Ivana Port with Jackstones

Honesty Coffee Shop

5:00PM - 6:00 PM

Municipality of Basco: 

Naidi Hills

6:00PM - 7:00 PM

Municipality of Basco: 

Basco Lighthouse

7:00PM onwards

Dinner at Basco lighthouse

Note: We paid driver and van overtime because we went beyond 6pm

My tip:

1. Book another half-day tour of Batan Island the day after your free tour to have a complete Batan island tour. 

The regular Batan Island tour is actually composed of the Northern and Southern parts of Batan Island. And it usually needs a whole day to complete a tour of the whole Batan Island.

2. If you are in a big group, you can hire the same guide, driver and van you used the day before. 

It will not be too expensive per head

3. If you are only a couple, I do not advise that you hire the guide, driver and van for your exclusive use. 

It will be too expensive per head if you hire them for your exclusive use. What is more practical is to talk with the same people you were with the day before and ask if they wish to share the same van, driver and guide the next day. They too would most probably want to have a complete tour of Batan Island like you and will be amenable to sharing the fixed cost of driver, van and guide. Whether you are 2 people or 10 people, the total cost will be the same because the driver and van fees and the guide fees for a half-day tour is fixed. They do not charge on a per head basis.

Note: the rental of van with driver is fixed for a certain number of hours, while the guide fees is fixed for a day, which means, whether or not you use your guide for a half day or a whole day, the rate is still the same. What you really save in the free cultural heritage tour is the half day rate of the van and driver.