"A day trip to Taal Volcano in Tagaytay" Top 5 Page for this destination Talisay by lahoree

I have been to Tagaytay many times but had never thought of going to the crater lake of Taal Volcano; reason was simple, view of volcano from restaurants in Tagaytay is awesome. It was only recently that I developed interest after visiting Pinatubo Volcano. As it was a day trip, preparations were simple, advance booking for boat in Manila and that is it.

Who joined

Starting from the right

Barbie - Doctor
She assumed the role of an accountant and performed pretty well.

Jonx - Accountant
She was silent all along; perhaps she has a misunderstanding that human mouth has only three functions (a) inhaling oxygen (b) exhaling carbon dioxide and (c) eating. Another interesting thing that I had noticed her was carrying design shoulder bag instead of back pack. It's OK; we accountants sometimes do such things. First time when I visited a beach in Philippines, I was wearing joggers....funny!

Marianne - Teacher
Jonx you should learn the fourth function of human mouth from Marianne. She never let us feel bored.

Tham - Engineer
Based in Singapore, she was visiting Manila on her month long tour of Philippines.

Me - Driver
I transported the team to Talisay and back to Manila. I even drove the boat that carried us to the Volcano from Talisay.

For coffee, I stopped on the way to Ministop

Our meeting point was at MiniStop Robinson's Galleria. Unexpectedly I received text message that they are all "in time" at the MiniStop. After five minutes, I was with my "pangga"; I stopped at StarBucks for coffee but found out that it was closed as it was too early in the morning. I parked right in front of MiniStop and texted that I am in a silver colored car parked right in front of them. They were all looking at the car but "again" no one responded back. I folded window glass and then they excitedly stepped out towards me.

We turned towards C5 and soon we hopped on South Luzon Expressway. Even after three years, this expressway is still under construction; a lot of diversions all along. Not inviting for a long drive but still fun. After an hour or so, we reached Tagaytay and started our drive down to Talisay. Single lane road snaking down to Talisay is not an easy drive, should not be tried by someone who is not that confident driving in hills as it is really steep.

In one hour and thirty minutes we reached Talisay from Manila. After surrendering advance booking deposit slip, we were allotted a boat that carried us across the lake to Taal Volcano from where we started our trek to the crater lake.

All along the trek to the top of the crater lake, landscape is stunning though the trek itself is polluted with horse poops. Tourists usually hire horse for the trek; I don't know why as it is an easy climb. On the way up and coming down, only our group and a couple of topless foreigners were on foot. We reached the crater in one hour and fifteen minutes. Views of carter lake below is rewarding though the view point is encroached by stalls selling soft drinks and souvenirs shirts. We headed towards left and after ten minutes of easy walk we were at peaceful place away from vendors. Here we took some pictures and headed back.

Our guide

Boat man was waiting for us and soon we were on the way back to Talisay. Shortly he offered me to drive the boat and instantly I said "opo". The next moment I was on the driving seat. He showed me direction of a blue guesthouse in Talisay that was our destination across the lake. All along, I have been trying to keep the boat towards the direction of the guesthouse as Jonx was sitting between me and the milestone. It was a different experience, still exciting though accelerator of the boat was not that responsive. When we were about to land, I have to hand over controls to the "Captain" as he was afraid that the owner of the boat might see "Co pilot" cruising.

We were back on the road leading to Tagaytay; really steep climb. I turned off the aircon, but still on some blind turns my "pangga" started screaming; "Honey you are killing me". I can't stop, I have to maintain momentum or "pangga" will skid back towards ravine. I kept pressure on the accelerator; "pangga" half heartedly kept a slow pace and ultimately we were back to Tagaytay.

We had our lunch at a restaurant offering mushroom burgers. It was an excellent idea by Barbie. While we were having our lunch, it started raining heavily and we ended up staying there for over three hours. Rain stopped just after sunset and we resumed our journey back to Manila. It was a good day for us; full of fun; but not for the "pangga". Immediately after leaving Tagaytay main road, a jeepney stepped ahead and bumped on her back.

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