"Boracay Of The North" Pagudpud by zoe_girl18

Okay, okay.. truth is, our trip to Pagudpud came through mainly because of budget constrains.. we were actually planning to go to Palawan but changed our minds mid way during the planning stage.. well because it's the holiday season & resorts, airfares, etc.. are all more expensive than the usual. And going out of town as a large group, we opted to go on a road trip instead! =)

Our itenenrary.. manila-vigan-laoag-pagudpud.. 560+ kms away.. whew!

We really had no idea on how to get to Pagudpud.
I tried to search the internet & the only idea i got was that going to Pagudpud, we must ake the North Expressway at Balintawak and get off at Sta. Ines exit. pass by Angeles City, Tarlac, Urdaneta, Pozzorubio, and Rosario. Proceed further north, past San Fernando (La Union), Vigan (Ilocos Sur), and Laoag (Ilocos Norte). Take the road towards Cagayan to reach Pagudpud.

We just had to go with our guts! (and prayers.. hahaha!!) My husband and I were only familiar with the road up to Sison, and from there onwards.. ???? oh no.. :p

We left manila around 10:30pm with my poor husband doing the driving.. :) Luckily, traffic was really light and the drive was really smooth... we reached vigan at 4:30 am! and everybody told us that the drive from manila to vigan takes 10 hours!

We decided to go straight to Laoag & have our breakfast there. We got to Laoag before 6am and all establishments were still closed. So we opted to wait for the opening of Jollibee at 6am to have breakfast there. We can barely keep our eyes open while eating!

and my poor husband :)

And off we go again to Pagudpud.. another 3 hours drive.. but it took us more than that because we had to stop by the bangui windmills and the lighthouse at cape bojeador.

We finally made it to the Pannzian resort at 11am.. we were all so tired especially my poor husband who had to drive the whole way! We rested for a few hours to start our adventure and off we go...

well.. except for my poor husband who had to beg off and take a rest to re-charge himself.

Welcome to Ilocos Norte. This was taken on the border of Ilocos Norte and Cagayan. Ilocos Norte is noted for being the birthplace of former President Ferdinand Marcos. It is also known as a tourist destination , being the location of Fort Ilocandia and Pagudpud.

Pagudpud is considered as one of the most famous beaches in the north. It is knowm for its white sandy beach. It is located at the Northwest tip of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. It is bounded to the south by the town of Bangui and to the east by the Cordillera Mountain Range, the town of Adams and the province of Cagayan. It lies about 72kms away from Loaog and 560kms away north of Manila.

• Pros:nice beaches, friendly people, very clean
• Cons:resorts are more expensive than average