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Advice on Banaue Itinerary

by gruby

Oct 18, 2010 at 11:18 AM

We have planned the following itinerary for our Banaue part of the trip: This is for the week before Easter. So I assume it will be quite busy. Would really appreciate advice or comments Thu: Take the Florida bus to Banaue at 10.45pm. Arrive Friday morning (How early in advance is the bus ticket bookable?). Register at tourist office and take either a jeepney or tricycle to the viewpoints and on to Batad. Stay at Hillview Inn if possible. Get a porter for our luggage and later hike to the village. Next day early morning, start to hike to the waterfall, pick up our luggage afterwards and hike back to the Saddle. Arrange for transport back to Banaue at around 3pm and travel on to Uhaj Native Village Inn. Would we have to organise our return transport the day before? If so, how reliable are drivers to pick you up? Can it be arranged from Batad instead, maybe through the B&B? Also if we leave from the Saddle at 3pm, would we manage to get to the Uhaj Native Village Inn before dark? Sunday: relax and explore rice terraces around the Inn, perhaps travel to Hapao and return to Manila on the 8 pm bus. Are we likely to encounter any difficulties getting seats on the return leg of the bus journey, if we try to book it as soon as we arrive in Banaue? I’m a bit concerned given it will be only a week before Easter. Is it not possible to book the return leg before setting out from Manila? Are jeepnies for private hire readily available in Banaue? I also have a question regarding the waterfall hike at Batad. If we set out after breakfast, do we have enough time to get to the waterfall and back up to the Saddle by 3pm? I know it’s only supposed to take an hour each way, but that surely depends on the hikers. I am reasonably fit and have done other major hikes such as the Inca trail and the W in Torres del Paine, but I am not too keen on heights and tend to take my time when descending any steep slopes or clambering over boulders. I don’t want to miss out on this though, as it looks fab. Any advice would be appreciated.

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Re: Advice on Banaue Itinerary

by lyralen Oct 22, 2010 at 6:51 AM

Hey, sounds like a great itinerary. We took a tricycle to the Batad trail head and arranged for the driver to come back and pick us up. We were in contact with him by text in case things changed (Batad hadn't had electricity for two weeks when we were there, but the cell coverage was great). I think you'll be fine to be back up at the Saddle by 3pm. We hiked it with a baby, and it couldn't have taken us much longer than an hour. I'm doing a weekly blog series on our Philippines trip, and currently I'm covering Northern Luzon, so you might want to hop over and take a look: casteluzzo.blogspot.com/2010... Have a great trip! Warm regards, Sarah

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