Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort (Day Tour)

The travel time from Lipa to Villa Escudero is over an hour. It is located at San Pablo, Laguna, but closer to Tiaong, Quezon.

I enjoyed my mini vacation at Villa Escudero. The day tour, for me, is enjoyable and sulit. Upon arriving at the place and securing our payments, we were given stub tickets for different activities, which were collected by their personnel in each stop.

Our first stop was the museum. We were not allowed to bring our bags inside, but only our priced items. Cameras were also not allowed inside. They have a mini hut outside which serves as the baggage counter. The personnel there were quite nice and polite. I love the interiors of the museum. It was like an old Spanish church. The place was filled with antique items like chairs, church floats, preserved animals, insects, clothes, letters and so much more. People who love history can surely enjoy this stop. However, they should allocate more effort in its maintenance, since a lot of the items were (almost) damaged.

The second activity was the carabao ride. The carriage has a lot of sitting space which is very comfortable in addition to the soothing voices of the duo that sang and played old kundiman songs at the back. The coachmen were also very accommodating to questions, which I like. When asked why the carabaos there were all female, it was because according to the coachman, male carabaos (which they used before) fight each other even during work which became a problem for them and their visitors. Female carabaos are easier to handle. The ride made me feel like I am really at the province in the past. They dropped us off at the main activity area where we went swimming, ate lunch and watched the cultural show.

My friends went on swimming. They were very strict with the swimming attire. While they were swimming, I took a little adventure, roamed around and took some photos. They have pools for kids and for adults. They also have four Jacuzzis, a café and a lake where we went water rafting later on.

I loved the ambiance of Café Indigo. It felt home for me. They offer different caffeinated beverages, hard drinks and a variety of snack choices. At the patio, I had the most amazing view of the lake and the people enjoying water rafting. I loved it.

Lunch time came, and again another unique experience to eat with your feet soaking wet from the water from the falls. They offered Filipino foods. I felt like I am in some mystical land of fairies and dwarfs being surrounded by tall bamboos, trees and a waterfall.

In the afternoon, we tried water rafting. We rode a two-seat bamboo raft. That was the first time I paddled on a 400-meter deep water. My friend and I sure worked hard on that as we reached the most end of the lake and returned back to the starting point. It was not a smooth paddle, of course. But, it was fun!

We spent the entire afternoon in the Jacuzzi and decided not to attend the cultural show. I would have enjoyed that too hearing from afar the music of their performances, but my love for the waters is equally if not stronger.

 Finally, it was time to pack and go home. Unfortunately, there were no tricycles available for us to ride, so we have decided to walk that 1-km path to the roads. It was fun!

HOW TO GO TO VILLA ESCUDERO FROM LIPA CITY

• Ride the jeepney to Tiaong, Quezon and tell the driver to drop you off where you can ride a jeepney to San Pablo.

Time: 1 hour from Lipa to Tiaong

Price: Php 47.00

• Ride a jeepney to San Pablo and tell the driver to please drop you off at the entrance to Villa Escudero.

Time: 10 to 15 minutes from Tiaong to Villa Escudero entrance point

Price: Php 8.00

• Ride the tricycle at the entrance to Villa Escudero or you can just take a 1-km walk from the entrance point to Villa Escudero.

Time: 10 minutes (tricycle)

20-30minutes (walking)

                Price: Php 50.00 (tricycle)        

ENTRANCE PRICE OF VILLA ESCUDERO:

 The day tour only costs Php 1,600.00 per head. Inclusive of the following:

•  Welcome drinks
•  Museum tour
•  Carabao ride
•  Lunch
•  Water rafting
•  Cultural show
•  Use of Swimming pools and Jacuzzis 

MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES:

• If you want to rent a locker, the initial charge will be Php 500.00, but it can be reimbursed after you return the key.
•  Extra snacks or meals which you can buy at the café or bars around the vicinity.
•  Swimming necessities which you can buy at the store near the pool.