Michi Photostory

I checked the Klook website for possible options: 

Hotel Luna also offers a Vigan City Tour for PHP 5,500 (minimum of 1 person, maximum of 5). But since we were only three people, I felt like we could save more with a DIY tour—so we went to Vigan without a fixed itinerary. 

If I had booked the Hotel Luna Vigan City Tour, here are the places we would’ve visited: 

Vigan Cathedral 

Padre Jose Burgos Museum 

Syquia Mansion (with entrance fees) 

Crisologo Museum 

Burnayan (Jar Making) 

Baluarte (Mini Zoo) 

Hidden Garden (Lunch) 

Camangaan Loom Weaving 

Bantay Bell Tower 

Calle Crisologo 

Hotel Museum Tour at Hotel Luna 

After reading the list, I realized there were three tourist spots we hadn’t visited during our first trip: Padre Jose Burgos Museum, Hidden Garden, and the Hotel Luna Museum.

We started our tour a little past 8 AM. Our first stop was Calle Crisologo. We walked around, took pictures, and checked if any stores were open. After going around, we found ourselves back at Hotel Luna. I asked the guard how much the fare for the tricycle to Bantay Bell Tower was. What a coincidence, a tricycle arrived, and the driver offered us a Vigan City Tour for PHP 800. 

I think it was a good deal—better than hopping from one tricycle to another. We also let the driver decide the order of the destinations. 

Our first stop was the Parish of Saint Augustine of Hippo and the Bantay Bell Tower. The tower once served as a watchtower during the Spanish Colonial Era. 

Thirteen years ago, we were lucky to go inside the bell tower, and this was the view. But during our latest visit, we couldn’t get near it anymore. Part of the structure crumbled on July 27, 2022, due to a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Abra and nearby provinces. 

There’s no entrance fee, but you’ll need to register. The staff will gently remind you about the donation box. One staff member followed us and offered to take our pictures—so we ended up with tons of fun shots, like we were at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He was really good at taking photos!

After that, we made a quick stop at the church. 

Crisologo Museum is the ancestral home of the late Congressman Floro S. Crisologo. The museum provides insight into his life and tragic death. 

Opening Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM, Mondays to Saturdays 

Entrance Fee: None (Donations only) 

Syquia Mansion was under renovation, so we went straight to Baluarte Zoo. We were hesitant at first because I found out na meron ng entrance fee—it used to be free. We’ve visited a few zoos abroad, and I knew this one was relatively small, but since we were already in Vigan, we decided to go. 

PHP 100 – Entrance fee only 

PHP 150 – Package A with shuttle service 

PHP 300 – Package B with shuttle service 

We just paid the basic entrance fee. Like last time, we didn’t explore the whole zoo. We just checked out a few birds while waiting for the live show, then left afterward. 

It was our first time visiting Hidden Garden. The area is quite big, with lots of items to buy and places to eat. I originally planned to have lunch here, but we weren’t hungry yet when we arrived. So, we explored, bought some plants, and picked up souvenirs. 

Lilong and Lilang Restaurant 

Plant Collection 

Grotto Area 

Bamboo Groves 

Lovers’ Corner 

Coffee Shop 

Bonsai Garden 

Plant Souvenirs

Clean Restrooms (with a small fee) 

Thirteen years ago, we only watched how they made pots. Now, visitors can try making a clay jar themselves! My son gave it a try since he didn’t get the chance to do pottery in Sagada. I didn’t join because we were in a bit of a hurry to finish the tour. 

We were the only guests at the time, so it felt like a private demo. No entrance fee; donations are appreciated. 

The driver asked if we wanted to visit a longganisa factory. I thought we’d see how it was made, but it turned out to be just a shop selling bagnet and longganisa. Hehehe! Still, we bought some since we had a fridge in the hotel and a cooler in the car. 

1 Kilo – PHP 560 

3/4 Kilo – PHP 420 

1/2 Kilo – PHP 280 

1/4 Kilo – PHP 140 

Vigan Longganisa 

PHP 160 – per dozen (large)

PHP 140 – per dozen (small) 

Actually, the bagnet my husband bought for his officemates at Calle Crisologo was cheaper. But maybe the driver earned commission from our orders—that’s probably why the price was higher. Still, both the bagnet and longganisa taste good, so no regrets! 

Our last stop was the National Museum. No entrance fee or donation needed. It’s an ancestral house built in 1788 and now houses three museums: 

Old Carcel Museum – Originally a jailhouse in 1657; President Elpidio Quirino was born here.

Magsingal Museum – Used to be a convent during the American period

Padre Burgos Museum – Previously served as a post office, Philippine Constabulary headquarters, and a branch of the Philippine National Bank

We completed our DIY Vigan City Tour in 4 hours and were back at the hotel before 1 PM.

After sunset, we returned to Calle Crisologo to take some night shots. We were planning to watch the Luneta Park Musical Dancing Fountain at Plaza Salcedo, but I wasn’t sure if the show would push through because it rained. So we just went back to the hotel to pack our stuff.

Sadly, no matter how I wish, I can never turn back time but I can relive those moments. So finally, I will update my Scandinavian series. More than two years had passed already but I am thankful for this travel experience because I have something to look back. We were in Stockholm for 5 days and 4 nights so now let me share with you our Day 3 in Stockholm Sweden itinerary. 

Like I’ve said before, I don’t have a prepared itinerary for our trip so we just planned before we hit the sack. This is a sample itinerary on the Stockholm Pass flyer and we planned to do this for our third day. 

Hop on-Hop Offf Bus and Boat SEK520 

Skansen SEK195 

Vasa Museum SEK150 

Prince Eugen’s Waldermarsudde SEK150 

When we were in Europe, we always check the weather so during our trip the temperature was around -3 to 9 degrees Celsius so it was really cold. The start of the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus is 10AM so we left the hotel around 8:30AM so we have enough time to eat our breakfast at the Central train station.

For our breakfast we just ordered the 4 McMuffin Bacon & Egg combo, it includes sandwich and hot and cold drinks, the total is SEK180. 

After our light breakfast, we went straight to Bus Stop 21 which is just outside the Central Station. We made sure that we were there before 10AM. There are tour buses passing by like the Stockholm Red Bus Sightseeing Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour but we did not see any Hop-On-Hop-Off bus for the Stockholm Pass. The bus stop started to get crowded and after one hour of waiting, we started to get impatient. According to other tour bus drivers, they did not see any Worldwide Citysightseeing bus.

 

I don’t know what happened but we were so disappointed. We paid for it but we were not able to use it. We don’t want to wait any longer because time is running out so we just took a taxi to Vasa Museum. We know how expensive taxis are in Europe but we had no choice. 

Adults: SEK 170 

Young visitors: 0-18 years free of charge 

This is part of our card pass so we did not pay any entrance fee. If Denmark has Viking Ship Museum, then Sweden has Vasa Museum; the latter is also one of the most visited museums in Scandinavia. Vasa is the name of the ship that has the shortest voyage in history. On August 10, 1628, Vasa set sail and sank in Stockholm harbor after sailing for 1,300 meters. Thousands of people witness how the ship sank 32 meters below. 

The supposed to be a powerful warship in the Baltic that was built by hundreds of craftsmen became a grave. It was a tragic incident because only 30 crews and guests survived and most of the people were trapped in the ship. After 333 years, the shipwreck was salvaged, reconstructed, and preserved. What you can see in the Vasa Museum is 98 percent original. The museum has 5 levels so it took us more or less 2 hours to explore. You can join a guided tour for 25 minutes and watch the film for 17 minutes.

After our Vasa Museum tour, we went straight to Skansen Museum, it was a long walk but we made it even we are already h-angry. Again, this is part of our pass so we just show our card to enter. 

Child 4-15 yr: SEK70 

Adult: SEK220 

Student/Senior/Group: SEK200 

Skansen is founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius, it is the oldest open-air museum in the world which showcases the buildings, farmsteads, gardens, and animals of Sweden. Skansen covers an area of about 300,000sqm so it is much bigger compared to Glomdal Museum in Elverum Norway. If you have kids in tow, it is a must to add this to your itinerary. I think you need a whole day to maximize your stay because they have a lot of activities. Don’t forget to get a map and a schedule of activities. 

The museum is open from 10AM to 4PM and some establishments closed as early as 3PM so we had very limited time to explore the place. So we are happy that we were able to visit the Skansen Aquarium, Children’s Zoo, Baltic Sea Science Center, and 19th-century town. There is a close and open-air zoo where you can see Nordic animals and domestic animals. We were able to see European bison, brown bear, moose, reindeer, and other Scandinavian animals. 

We had our late lunch at Skansen Restaurant and we enjoyed the food here. We ordered pasta, waffle, ice cream, and of course Swedish meatballs. 

When we heard that the museum is about to close, we started walking to the exit where Bus stop 12 is located. We failed to visit Prince Eugen’s Waldermarsudde because it is already late and we were tired already. And because of what happened in the morning, we had no idea if there will be a bus in the afternoon but we were hoping na meron. We overheard other passengers, according to them, the bus will arrive so naniwala naman kami kaya nakihintay din kami. We are thankful na may dumating and we did not take taxi anymore.