Transit: Going to Sagada
Sagada Bus Window at Halsema Highway
Once in a while, I miss long road trips. Riding at the bus for hours on the road. Come night you rest comfortably at your seat and let the rocking motion of the bus cradle you to sleep. That may also be one reason what drew me back in Sagada last I went there. It’s the road journey itself. And the highlands is the perfect destination for it. Even if the bus doesn’t have air conditioning, most times packed on their crammed little seats, the cool mountain air blowing from the window, the bucolic back country panoramas sliding in front of your eyes is enough to satiate my crave to hit the road and travel.
Victory Liner Terminal upper floor
For anyone who wants to try to travel on their own (or with friends) Sagada is the perfect destination to test your mettle. Sagada was the first destination I ventured on my own, curiosity piqued by by a brief travel article on an NU 107 newsletter handout way back in 2000. The thought of finding a shangri-la up in the mountains were poets, artist and vagabonds enjoy a bohemian life was such a lure that it took me more than a couple of years to be captured. I kept that article in my stash until finally I took the first step to go there. I can say that that first solo trip truly awakened in me the adventurous spirit of travel. That’s why I love the place so much that I’ve been there for the 4th time already since then.
It is fortunate for people now that there are a lot more resources available on how to visit Sagada. Unlike before, when a search in the internet will not yield the info you needed. Right now, there are actually 3 ways to go to Sagada:
Halsema Trader’s Cafe Stopover
The most common route is the Baguio – Sagada Route. From Manila it’s a 5-6 hours ride, then from Baguio it’s another 6-7 hours bus ride to Sagada. GL Lizardo bus at Dangwa Station in Baguio leaves as early as 5am and will have one every hour or 2hours scheduled departure until 11am. On peak seasons even up to 1pm. In case you missed the Dangwa Buses you could try the D Rising Sun Buses heading to Bontoc from the Slaughterhouse then just take a 45minutes ride to Sagada from there.
This was the route we used on this recent trip. The advantage of this route is the more flexible time schedule in taking transportation. Victory Liner from Pasay have Baguio buses leaving every hour at night so it isn’t hard to find a ride. The GL Lizardo Buses also have a number of buses leaving a few hours from each other. From this route you also get to pass the highest highway in the Philippines, the Halsema Highway. The only disadvantage I see here is that personally I feel this route is more tiring since two travels are cut into two more even travel hours.
Rising Sun Bus Passengers
The second route is via Banaue – Sagada Route. It’s a 9 hour bus journey from Manila to Banaue and from Banaue it’s a 2-3 hour jeep ride to Sagada. AutoBus which has a station in España and Cubao has daily buses leaving at 10pm. Florida Bus also at España leaves at 10:45pm daily, When you reach Banaue there’s the Emmanuel Bus and Bonbon Bus going to Bontoc and from Bontoc there’s the Jeep to Sagada leaving until 3pm (or until it’s filled up). If you have a good number of companions, you can hire a jeep to take you straight to Sagada from Banaue.
The advantage of taking this route is you can do a short stop over at the famous Banaue Rice Terraces, Ba-yo Terraces and the Bontoc Museum. I also find that the travel here is less strenuous since the second trip is much shorter. The disadvantage here though is the inflexibility of schedules on this route. You have to be real early to catch those buses when going back to Manila because from Banaue there is only 1 bus that leaves daily at 5:30pm. If you miss that bus, you have to stay there for the next day or find an alternative route.
Sagada Old Lady at the Waiting Shed. Written on the board are the jeep schedules going to Bontoc
The third is somewhat a short cut, the Manila – Bontoc Route via Cable Tours Bus. The bus located near Trinity College, QC have a 12 hours bus ride heading straight to Bontoc. In Sagada last time, we even saw a bus that heads straight to Sagada from Manila. This one I have yet to try.
Halsema Stopover Paid Rest Room
Just so you’ll be aware on the transportation schedules of Buses and Jeeps in Sagada, here are their Schedules:
SCHEDULE OF BUSES
(sagada – baguio) 6am • 7am • 8am • 9am • 10am • last trip – 1pm • (baguio – sagada) 6.30am • 8.30am • 9.30am • 10.30am • 11.30am • last trip – 1pm • (banaue – manila) auto bus – 6pm • florida – 8pm • (banaue – baguio) 1st bus – 4pm • 2nd bus – 5pm • 3rd bus – 6.30pm •
SCHEDULE OF JEEPNEYS
(sagada – bontoc) 6.30am • 7am • 7.30am • 8am • 8.30am • 9am • 9.30am • 10am • 11am • 12nn • last trip – 1pm • (bontoc – sagada) 8.30am • 9.30am • 10.15am • 11am • 11.45am • 12.30pm • 1.15pm • 2pm • 2.45pm • 3.30pm • 4.15pm • 5pm • last trip – 5.30pm
TRIPS TO BANAUE:
(JEEPNEY) (bontoc – banaue) 7am • 10am • last trip – 1pm • (BUS) 7am • 7.30am • last trip – 8.30am
Essentials:
Cable Tours Bus
0928.6267293 (Sagada) • 0918.5216790 / 0928.2305330 (Manila)
Autobus Line
7358096
Florida Bus Line
7433809/7315358/4933667
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Friday, September 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm 
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September 26th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Thanks for info. totoo yan, dati wala kang makuha info sa internet kung pano pumunta sa Sagada. Hindi pa ako napunta, hopefully next summer.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
kelan kaya ako makakapunta sa sagada?
September 27th, 2008 at 9:58 am
i’ve never been to sagada. despite the many trips that i’ve done, i never had the right timing to go to sagada. maybe the best thing here is to never plan it. if ill have a free weekend, ill just go. hehehe… thanks to this guide. this will be of great help. based on your options i think i’ll like the second option wihich passes by banaue.
i’ll definitely be using this guide soon. very comprehensive guide ferdz.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Mainit ka talaga sa framing. Ang gaganda. Lula ako sa Highlander Monk’s shot mo. Congrats for this month’s recognition.
September 27th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Thanks for this very informative post. Been to Banaue twice and Sagada once, never on public, drove all the way via the Nueva Vizcaya route. I think I would want to go back doing it by bus just for the sheer thrill of it.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
wulfriend, invaluable tips eto for those who’d want to go to sagada or return to this place.
siguradong matutuwa ang mga readers mo for the info, pati the wonderful pictures you took along the way.
tama ka, suwerte ng mga travelers nowadays, mas flexible na yung sked going here.
ang dasal ko lang, sana manatiling maganda at hindi ma-overdevelop itong sagada tulad ng sapa valley.
buti na rin lang, mahaba talaga yung biyahe as what appears to be a hurdle may yet save the place from commercialism.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Hi Ferdz! gusto ko rin makapunta dito kasi na inspire ako sa movie ni Papa P (Piolo Pascual) hehe. ask ko lang if ok ba yung buses papunta? para kasi nakakatakot yng daan eh.
September 28th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
na eexcite na ko ferdz sa mga post nyo ni oggie. thanks sa mga bus sched at contact number info
September 29th, 2008 at 10:21 am
i also love loooonng travels. might as well visit sagada. sana soon. hehehe! tnx for sharing info..
September 29th, 2008 at 11:08 am
wow 4th time ka na pala doon ferdz. the place must really be good for you to keep coming back there. never been there, i’ll probably go in the summer.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
True Nina, way back 2004 wala pa masyadong info sa net about Sagada.
Tin-tin, try mo lang on some of the upcoming long weekends.
Haha. Thanks Dom, it’s best if you just go there. Not really that hard as you may find out. One suggestion is to go from Banaue and go back through Baguio so you may see both routes.
Many thanks Tochs! Nice to know you’re still dropping by
Hi Ivan Mandy! Nice of you to drop by. Going by common transport is quite an experience as well. You’ll have a chance to brush shoulders with the locals and even see what their lugging during their trips.
Oggie, I was glad that nothing much has changed. I guess with the inaccessiblity for most people it would take a rather long time before it goes to the conventions of Sapa valley.
Hi Dyanie! Yeah I know that movie but haven’t seen it. The roads are much better than before so I guess the travel is much smoother and safer this time around.
Erick, for sure you’ll have a great time there.
Hope you can drop by the place real soon as well Ninyakin.
Naku Lawstude, if you just want to relax and enjoy the cool atmosphere this is the perfect place.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
CONGRATULATIONS from the TechScribe!
October 1st, 2008 at 6:46 am
I miss long trips too. Hopefully I can go to Baler this October, via bus. =) That would be perfect. Haha.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
Another article for Sagada! Yay!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
when we did sagada two or three years ago, we joined a group tour and i think we rode cable tours and it brought us from manila to sagada with stop-overs in banaue and bontoc and the driver was really used to the mountain province highways that he navigates them like he is on edsa hehehe. the experience was both scary and exciting.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Thanks Gloria!
Now that’s another long ride Paoruiz. Still a great place.
Thanks Benj! Feel free to use the info.
Haha. Drivers there have nerves of steel Zherwin.
October 4th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I’ve been to Sagada many years ago. I was still a student in Baguio, we(with a classmate) went first to Bontoc, visited the museum then traveled to Sagada and stayed overnight. The following day we hiked four hours from Sagada to their hometown of Bauko via the mountain and forest. It was a wonderful experience.
I will be back to Sagada by Christmas break this year.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Where can i buy green tea leaves? specific place?
December 26th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
hi… tnx so much for the info but would it be possible if you could give the route using a private vehicle? tnx more power to your blog.
oliverryanramos@yahoo.com
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 am
Very interesting and very helpful site. Thanks and More Power!
March 18th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Thanks for the info, very useful for us, God bless