Tagaytay Travel Information
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TAGAYTAY
Tagaytay has traditionally been one of the most visited tourism destinations
in the Philippines. It was the most visited Philippine tourist destination
in 1998, and the trend is likely to continue. The weather in Tagaytay
is one of the primary attractions for people to live outside Manila, but
the spectacular view of Taal Volcano is undoubtedly the biggest tourism
draw. Tagaytay is only about 45 minutes from Makati, Manila's business
district. It is only 30 minutes from Alabang, an area which is currently
Manila's most exclusive suburb. It is only 15 minutes from Santa Rosa,
Manila's fastest growing suburb which is destined to replace Makati as
"the place to live" and Santa Rosa will likely be the Philippines
main financial district within 10 - 15 years.
The fastest way to get to Tagaytay is to take the South Luzon Expressway
(SLEX) which was formerly known as the South Superhighway. Exit at Santa
Rosa, and in about 15 minutes you will be in Tagaytay. You can also go
the "old way", which is through Silang, Cavite.
Taal Volcano itself is very accessible, and can be reached easily by
boat from Talisay, the lakeshore town which is only about 15 minutes from
Tagaytay. To get there, make a left on the Tagaytay ridge road when you
come from Santa Rosa (or the main Tagaytay rotunda that you reach via
Silang). A few hundred meters later (about 1.5km from the rotunda), you
will see signs that say "Talisay Laurel". Turn right on this
concrete road, known as "Ligaya Drive" and take it down to the
lakeshore.
At the bottom of the road, there will be a lot of people offering rides
to the volcano. You can take one of these, or you can turn right and follow
the signs to Taal Lake Yacht Club. At TLYC nobody will hassle you. Although
it is primarily a private club, you can get a daily entry pass for P75
(less than $2) per person. You can park your car in peace knowing that
it is secure, and you can sit down at one of the huts (P300 per day) and
eat your own picnic lunch, or go to Ray's floating Bar and Restaurant.
You can get a Banca (Native outrigger boat) to take you to the volcano
for about P1200. You can rent a sunfish or an escape sailboat for P800
(P400 on weekdays) or a Hobie Cat for P1600 (P800 on weekdays).
Top instructors are available for only P400/day. Kayaks (P500/day) and
Windsurfers (P400/day) are also available. Camping is allowed at Taal
Lake Yacht Club. It almost sounds silly, but the bathrooms are a big draw
for the expat community. It's hard to find clean bathrooms in many developing
countries, and the Philippines is no exception. In their initial vision
of the perfect family oriented yacht club, two things were given priority.
"Big clean locker rooms with hot showers", and the other was
"Cold beer and drinks". Camping then becomes a very enjoyable
experience.
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