Taal Volcano in Tagaytay
Have you ever dreamed about traveling to an exotic location and having adventures like hiking up to the summit of an active volcano? Talk about stories you can take back to your family and friends and retell for years to come!
The Philippines just happens to be home to not just one or two but up to 50 active volcanos, depending on who you ask and how you define “active”. While some of the Philippines’ volcanoes haven’t shown much activity in recent centuries, Taal volcano is not one of them.
Ranked as the country’s second most active volcano after Mount Mayon.
Taal volcano is considered the country’s second most active volcano, with 33 historical eruption events to its credit. Why hike up the side of the second most active volcano? To say you did it, for the view, to get some great exercise, the cooler climate, whatever your reason, it is one of the go-to destinations for tourists who come to the Philippines.
In this post, learn how to plan your own trip to hike the Taal volcano.
Planning Your Trip to Tagaytay
The Manila International Airport will be your initial point of arrival and departure. This busy, hectic airport serves incoming and outgoing travelers from around the world, so it is best to be prepared by setting up your transportation in advance.
You have two options, depending on what time of day you arrive and what you plan to do first. You can either stay in Manila or head straight for Tagaytay.
The good news is, the weather in the Philippines is so reliably beautiful for so much of the year, you can choose either option in advance with a very roomy and comfortable margin for error.
After you have booked your airline tickets and your lodging, the next step is to rent a car with driver Manila to Tagaytay. This is the most comfortable way for you and your loved ones to travel to Tagaytay and you don’t need to worry about local transportation to visit the places of interest in Tagaytay.
Then you can get on to the business of planning your Taal volcano hiking adventure!
Getting to Taal Volcano in Tagaytay
Your first order of business once you are in Tagaytay is to get to Taal volcano.
Unless you fancy a crash course in jeepney haggling (a jeepney is basically a refurbished bus, often open air and usually packed with people….and you won’t depart until it is, which can take hours depending on when you go.
Even worse, once your jeepney stops in People’s Park, it won’t go any further. Here is your one chance to rent a tricycle (no that is not a typo) and ride it seven kilometers (4.3 miles) to Talisay Bay.
To avoid all this, you can just arrange in advance to rent a van with driver Manila to Tagaytay.
A tip: if you schedule your pickup for early morning, you will avoid most of the commuter and tourist traffic in the area and can head straight for the lovely volcano trailhead.
Once you get to Talisay Bay, there is still one more leg of your journey to reach the trailhead. You will need to take a boat from the Bay to the island where the volcano is located. This trip, which usually only lasts 20 minutes at most, offers you a beautiful view of the volcano and is a great place for photo ops! The cost for a banca boat (good for 6 to 8 pax) is 2.000 Pesos or roughly US$ 40.00 but is negotiable, especially during the slow season and on weekdays, plus 500 Pesos for registration/visitor fee.
Hiking Tagaytay’s Taal Volcano
Some travelers prefer to book a tour of the volcano in advance while others enjoy just showing up and winging it. Keep in mind that the volcano will always be busier if you plan to arrive on a weekend day.
To hear seasoned travelers to the site tell it, your cost to hike Taal volcano may be lower if you book a package tour deal in advance, especially if you plan to arrive on the busier weekend days.
By “package,” we mean the boat ride over and back, a guided tour by foot or horseback (around 500 Pesos or US$ 10) of the area, plenty of interesting information about the entire site and sometimes water and snacks as well.
When you book your tour or on your arrival day to the site, you will need to decide whether to do just the Taal volcano hike or to also add the Red Lava site to your hike.
Red Lava is a special lookout point that gives access to ticket holders only. It is the premier spot for photo ops and only costs about $1.12 USD or €1.00 more than just getting the Taal ticket. It takes about two minutes walk time to get there from the Taal crater top.
Visiting Taal volcano is definitely at least a half-day to a day-long trip depending on which hike path you choose.
There are treks for all skill levels from easy (a toddler could do it) to more challenging (intermediate level). The easiest hikes take less than one hour each way. The more challenging hikes may take five hours or more each way. Taal being a volcano, there is plenty of ash and it can get dusty at times, especially if it is windy.
What Will It Cost to Hike Taal Volcano?
It is quite economical to hike Taal volcano.
The boat ride over and back will cost around $40 (€36) depending on which dock you want to visit (the harder Spanish Trail dock point takes an additional 10 to 20 minutes travel by boat) and your negotiation skills.
You can buy water, coconut water and snacks for fairly affordable prices along the hiking trails. For the most economical trip, bring your own.
Many travelers who choose to make a full day trip to Taal volcano enjoy staying in Tagaytay for at least one night. Not only are there other fun things to see and do while you are in Tagaytay, including some quite glorious sunsets and sunrises, but the town offers some surprisingly plush hotels and tasty local fare at very affordable rates.
Hotels generally run from $20 (budget) to $100 (luxury) per night (€$17 to €89). Sometimes meals are included, but you can also walk about and find tasty local fare that will cost you just a few dollars or euros.
After you visit Taal volcano and are ready to return to Tagaytay/Manila, you can rent a van with driver Manila to Tagaytay.
Would you like to visit Tagaytay and Taal volcano? Rent a van with driver from Manila to Tagaytay. Just complete our booking form and we will take you there.
Please also read our blog about other things to do while visiting Tagaytay
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