Tagaytay Day Trip: Exploring Taal Volcano from Manila
Famous for its cooler climate, scenic landscapes, and views of Taal Volcano, Tagaytay is one of the Philippines most popular day trip destinations from Manila. Tagaytay is full of panoramic vistas and scenic views overlooking Taal Volcano in the middle of Taal Lake.
If booking a Tagaytay day trip from Manila, expect to browse some markets, eat local dishes, visit observation decks overlooking Taal Lake, and even take a Bangka ( traditional boat of the Philippines) on Taal Lake to get close to the volcano.
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Booking a Tagaytay day trip from Manila is a great choice for a quick escape from the city without the need to plan, drive, and book all the attractions. Let a tour company handle all that while you spend your time enjoying the scenery hassle free.
Booking a day tour is convenient and saves you time. You are paired with expert guides who know the area and they stop at places you’d otherwise pass by. So I highly recommend booking a day tour to the Tagaytay area.
I booked this tour: Taal Volcano Experience Scenic Countryside and Volcano Tour
The Taal Volcano Experience Tour just offered everything I was looking for in a day trip from Manila. Markets, Nature, and Volcanoes.
Through Viator or Get Your Guide, there are other Manila day tours you can look into and find the right one that best suites your Manila travel itinerary.
Below are a few other tours that are worthwhile:
Spectacular Manila to Tagaytay: Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
What to Expected on a Tagaytay Day Trip
While on the Taal Volcano Experience tour I felt like the first half of the tour was a food tour, which I loved and the second half delivered with Taal Lake and Taal Volcano.
Here is the Tagaytay day trip itinerary. So whether you are booking the same Taal Volcano Tour that I did or traveling solo, feel free to follow this itinerary. If you find other cool stuff along the way, leave a comment and let me know!
Pickup from Hotel
I stayed at the City Garden Suites Manila in the Ermita district.
The tour description for the Taal Volcano Experience offered free pickup/drop off from hotels in Makatai, Taguig, Ermita, Malate, Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, and Pasay. For other areas, they might charge extra.
The tour van was large, spacious, and comfortable (Picture above is from a Jeepney, not the actual van). It made the couple hours drive to and from Taal Lake pretty stress free.
Try Balut at Tinahan Ng Itlog Ni Kuya
Our first real stop along the way to Taal Lake was at a small roadside shack called Tinahan Ng Itlog Ni Kuya. Our guide had us try Balut.
For those that don’t know, balut is a popular Filipino street food. It consists of a fertilized duck egg with a partially developed embryo inside.
The one I tried here I believe was a 16 day old egg so the embryo was more developed. To be honest, I like balut. If you can get passed the texture, it tastes just like a boiled egg.
Buko Pie at Cecilia's Buco Pie, Tarts, and Pasalubong
According to our tour guide, no Tagaytay day trip is complete without trying Buko Pie. Buko Pie is a sweet and creamy coconut filled pastry. It was a nice treat. Perfect blend of fresh, creamy, and coconut flavors.
We stopped at a road side stop called Cecilia’s Buco Pie, Tarts, and Pasalubong. This store had Buko Pies and a lot of Pasalubong, which makes for the perfect gift to bring back home to friends, family, or people at work.
Pasalubong is like the Philippines version of Japan’s Omiyge.
Sample Fruits at Vangelyn Fruit Stand
The Philippines is know its variety of fresh tropical fruit. Thanks to the warm climate and fertile soil, you can find a variety of bananas, mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, jackfruit, and so much more!
On the way to Taal Lake, we stopped at a local fruit stand to try fresh Bananas and Jackfruit. I’ve seen jackfruit but have always been curious about the taste, so I was glad to try it finally. It kind of tasted sweet almost candy like.
Tagaytay Public Market
Who doesn’t love a good market when traveling. As I stated earlier, this Manila to Taal Volcano tour felt more like a food tour at least the first half of it, I’m not complaining.
But we made a pit stop at the Tagaytay Public Market mainly just to walk around and see what local vendors were selling. We did try some pastry type food items that were, just alright! I love walking local markets, so this stop was an awesome addition to the Taal Volcano Tour.
People's Park in the Sky - Observation Deck
For great views of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano, there are numerous observation decks in the Tagaytay area. The tour I was on stopped at an observation deck called People’s Park in the Sky.
We took a Jeepney from the parking area to the top, there is a fee to ride the Jeepney.
People’s Park in the Sky did look a little run down but seemed to be a popular area. The views here were spectacular. The majority of the time here it was foggy, but it would come and go and reveal the lake and volcano.
Taking a Bangka on Taal Lake to View Taal Volcano
The final destination on our Taal Volcano tour from Manila was of course Taal Lake an Taal Volcano.
We actually got to sit in a Bangka which is a traditional Filipino boat or canoe. It’s wooden with outriggers on each side. The outriggers are usually made of long bamboo poles and they are placed on each side of the boat.
There was a boat captain but he took us on an hour-ish boat ride around Taal Lake and got us pretty close to Taal Volcano. Unfortunately, you cannot access the Taal Volcano Island. So taking a Bangka on Taal Lake is as close as you can get.
Information about Taal Lake and Taal Volcano
Taal Volcano is one of the most famous natural landmarks n the Philippines especially because it is so close to Manila.
Taal Volcano is considered to be one of the smallest yet most active volcanoes in the world. It’s most recent eruption was January 2020.
Taal Lake was formed by an ancient volcanic eruption. This combination is unique because you have a volcano within a lake that is within a volcano.
Taal Lake is the third largest lake in the Philippines.
Conclusion
A Tagaytay day trip from Manila is the perfect escape for travelers who are spending multiple days in Manila. I felt visiting the Tagaytay area was a great way to get out of the city and see beautiful nature and experience riding in a Bangka.
There is a lot to do and see in Tagaytay. Taking a boat ride on Taal Lake to get close to Taal Volcano was definitely a highlight but I also loved trying the unique food and fresh fruit along the way. Add Tagaytay to your Philippines itinerary.
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Plan Your Trip: 🗺️✈️ 🇵🇭
Booking Accommodations ⛺️🛖
For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com
Activities and Tours 🏖️🚁
Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.
In need of a car rental? 🚗🚘
I recommend checking with Rental Cars.
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