Driving to La Union

Just found myself out in La Union the other day to attend a birthday party of friend’s kid. I won’t be sharing photos of the party, but I’ll be sharing photos of the trip!

Surprisingly, I drove through it. It took about 8 hours one way. Such a long drive it is, though I think it can be lowered down to about 5 hours if you drive fast enough. I was driving between 60-100kph then due to unfamiliarity.

Getting to La Union is fairly simple.

1. Drive through NLEX
2. Take Dau Exit
3. Enter SCTEX
4. Take Luisita Exit
5. At the end of Luisita, turn right at McArthur Highway
6. Keep on going straight until you reach La Union

Driving Through SCTEX

SCTEX Luisita Toll Fare as of Apr 2012

That easy. What’s a pain in the ass is the drive. Literally. As mentioned, it will take a while and it can really tire up your body, though I’d have to say it is pretty doable. But boring and tiring.

We mainly visited Bauang and San Juan in La Union. We thought of going up to Baguio City but it would entail another 1.5hrs of driving from there and rest was needed.

It's kind of a sad photo...

What’s in La Union? I’m not particularly sure. But being in Bauang, La Union, a friend mentioned there should be an endless supply of garlic and no source of onions……

But seriously? I heard there are good waves here. Unfortunately, as seen in the photos, our visit was untimely and we did not get to see any waves. We stayed at the San Juan Beach Resort. We did get to see a couple of dogs riding boards as their owners paddle through the water.

So yeah, if you ever plan on taking the driver seat towards La Union, be prepared, it will take a while. But of course, such time can be ignored if you got company and a good set of stopovers

Driving back, we stopped by the Basilica of our Lady of Charity in Agoo. We also encountered a couple of vendors on the side of the road primarily selling good quality sundried fish like Bangus, Salmon, Espada, Squid, Dilis, as well as special home-made bagoong (shrimp paste) and suka (vinegar). There’s also a nice source of  flavored cornick along the way. And yeah, once you’re in Tarlac, a stop by Isdaan is a good way to feast through fatigue of driving and rest for a couple more kilometers left til you hit Manila.

FYI, there are buses who only cater to around 16-20 passengers. It has a built in restroom and seats are more spacious. No stop-overs as well. So do consider that if driving isn’t your type.

Other posts you might like:

About

View all posts by →

Comments are closed.