I have been so slow in my updates due to work that I just realized I’m still not done with our 2014 road trip from Manila to Davao. Until someone asked me about it. I found out that my story has helped several friends who wanted to do the same. You know, buy a vehicle in Manila and drive from there to Davao. Yes, it is safe! Just be an intelligent traveler. And don’t drive at nights. Make it your vacation time with family or friends. However you may want it. But have fun. The Philippine countryside is very beautiful. 🙂
So on Day 5, we left Hotel Alicia after breakfast. Yes, our booking came with it. When I book, I make it a point that it comes with that so we do not need to waste time in looking for restaurants. Their food was mostly Filipino dishes. It wasn’t buffet so you just choose from the menu.
Mt. Mayon is about 15 minutes from the hotel. My family saw this volcano during our family road trip in 2003. But something weird happened, the video we took didn’t work. So we were left with just a few pictures. Also in 2010, John and I didn’t think of taking a souvenir picture.
Oh, I took a picture of Mt. Mayon. We’re just not in it. ha ha… The hubby jokingly said, how do I know you didn’t copy that online. hahaha… Yeah, I know. Sometimes, we’re not bright. lol
Look how beautiful that is… I took this picture last 2010. Considering its major explosion in the past, the fact that it still has its perfect cone is amazing. Now you understand why John and I forgot to take souvenir photos. haha
Okay so back to 2014, we made sure that we took pictures of us. Lots of them. haha
Mt. Mayon and the Cagsawa Ruins.
What you see in the picture below is only the top portion of the church. Part of it got buried together with the rest of the town, when Mt. Mayon erupted on February, 1814.
The ruins got neglected for years but at the moment, it is under the protection of Daraga’s Local Government and the National Museum of the Philippines.
Mt. Mayon, known as the volcano with a perfect cone and the Cagsawa Ruins are two of the most famous tourist attractions in the country.
The next major province in this road trip is Sorsogon. I find the shrimp, crab and clam on the welcome sign cute. 🙂
We’re about to leave Luzon through Matnog Pier in Sorsogon. That’s a 2 hour ferry trip going to Samar, Leyte. The passenger and vehicle fare aren’t much. I remember spending about Php20,000.00 pesos only from Manila to Davao City for the following – fuel , passenger fare and the vehicle fare. And that’s for the Montero , the van and 8 family members. The drivers are free. Compared to the P30k or so shipping cost per vehicle when you purchase it in Davao, that’s so cheap. Whatever we saved on the shipping cost meant a vacation for the whole family. Doesn’t that sound better? 🙂
Matnog Pier, as we were leaving on our way to Samar , Leyte.
The view in between the two provinces…
Beautiful island with white sand beach. I tried to check google map, but I cannot find it there. So if you know its name, let me know please. 🙂
On board the ferry.
Samar, Leyte Port.
Coin Divers in Samar, Leyte.
And the road trip continues. 🙂 On our way to Ciriaco Hotel in Calbayog, City. The hotel where we will be spending the night.
There is always repair works going on in Leyte. So be prepared. Include an allowance on your travel time. 
The GPS seems to be lost. Check the picture. It shows that we are driving on water. haha
Beautiful view of mountains from afar. Normal view for Leyte. 🙂
Finially, we arrived in Ciriaco Hotel before sunset. 🙂 We do not want to travel in the dark. So we make it a point to be at the hotel before that.
I book our hotels through http://www.agoda.com . I find it cheaper than most. Since I have been a member for years, I’m able to save not just on the hotel rate. But I get to earn points which I can use to pay for future bookings.
This time, I booked 2 family rooms and 1 suite room for me and the hubby.
This is the view from our bedroom. Nice right? If we bought our vehicles in Davao, we would have missed this. ha ha
Our room.
One of the family rooms. With the family. 🙂
You know, I’m so glad we thought of comparing the cost of buying in Manila and Davao back in 2010. This experience is so worth it. Specially when it’s shared with the family. Come to think of it, from what we saved on discounts and freebies, we got to do a Philippine road trip. Plus there’s still extra savings. How awesome is that.
Oh before I forget, Ciriaco Hotel has its own restaurant. So there’s no need to go out anymore. We just had dinner at the hotel so we can all rest early. 🙂
Thank you for the safe travels Lord!
The view from our room.
Lea C. Walker
leawalkerblog 