Budgeting for Baguio

Budgeting for a trip is one of those areas that I don’t like doing but have to. After all, one looks forward to the vacation and the experience and not the expense. But, in order to have a great vacation, you need to set a budget in place so that you can truly enjoy your vacation and not have money guilt when you get back home. So today, let’s talk about budgeting for a Baguio trip.

Bus Fare/Car

If you are going by Victory Liner bus, fare is between 400-700+ pesos. Senior citizens and PWDs get a discount. If you are taking your own car then you have to budget for a full tank, maybe even more as it is a 6-hour drive. I suggest you take stopovers as frequently as you can if you have kids onboard.

Fares in the city

It’s very easy to get a cab in the city. Fares will cost you 50 pesos and above. If you want to go to far away destinations, you need to get a contract with a taxi driver. That’s usually 200 pesos per hour or 800 pesos for a round trip.

Shopping

Shopping is very cheap in the market. Cardigans cost 150 pesos. T-shirts cost 2 for 150 pesos. You can also get pasalabuong (homecoming gifts) for 8 for 100 pesos. Key chains and coin purses are also great pasalubong as they are priced at 3 for 100 while the purses are around 25-40 pesos. There are a lot of crocheted items in the market. Strawberries vary in price daily.
The prices in SM are the same here in Manila so you already have an idea. I thought I would not buy anything there but it turns out there are some items there that are not or no longer available here so you might want to budget for that.

Food

Food is inexpensive in most local restos but be wary of he taste. Some are quite bland as I mentioned in my food post.  I had to budget for 3. I have to say that food took the biggest chunk out of our budget.

Sightseeing and entertainment

There are many beautiful sights in Baguio but they also cost money. We only went to Dinosaur Island and Holy Land. That will cost you 600 pesos for a package. Of course, Burnham and Mines View Parks are always free.

Accommodation

There are many hotels in Baguio. Prices go up during peak seasons. There are also transient homes for budget travelers.  Hotels cost around Php1,500 and up depending on the location and season.

We stayed there for a week and I think it cost us around 10-15,000 pesos. I’m sorry, I don’t know the exact amount as my husband was the one in-charge of the money. Oh, another thing. You should also have some “JIC” (just in case)  money for times when it rains and you don’t have an umbrella or you forgot your jacket in Manila and other instances that will require you to shell out extra cash. If you have kids, make your JIC money bigger.

I hope you found this post helpful. Have fun in your Baguio vacation!