I Accidentally Went to Baguio During a Pandemic and Honestly It Was Kind of Perfect

so yeah, december 2020. the world was on fire (metaphorically and in some places literally) and i somehow convinced my friend that a road trip to baguio was a good idea. we had one working mask between us and the wifi at our hostel kept dying but honestly? best decision i made that year.

the weather greeted us like an old friend who hasn't seen you in years - that cool, misty embrace that makes you forget manila's suffocating humidity. 18 degrees celsius felt like winter to my tropical soul. locals were probably laughing at us in our thin hoodies but i didn't care.

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: Absolutely, but only if you actually want to see the mountains and not just instagram content. the real baguio is in the early morning fog, the smell of pine, and the way the city curls around hills like it's trying to hug them.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: Depends on your definition. accommodation can be cheap if you book the right hostels (we found one for 400 pesos a night), but food and transpo add up fast. budget around 1500-2000 pesos daily if you want to eat well and move around comfortably.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: People who need perfect wifi, hate walking uphill, or expect beach vibes. also anyone allergic to vegetable rolls (they're everywhere and honestly incredible).

Q: Best time to visit?
A: march-may for cleaner weather, but december has that christmas vibe with the灯火 and cold. just avoid holy week unless you enjoy traffic nightmares.

The Messy Details (In No Particular Order)

we arrived at around 2am because our bus broke down somewhere in pangasinan and honestly that story deserves its own post. the driver kept apologizing while our google maps showed us slowly creeping across the map like some sad digital snail.

our first real morning, i woke up to that weird fog that makes everything feel slightly haunted in a beautiful way. the temperature outside was sitting at 18.45 degrees but it felt like 18.73 because of the humidity - yeah the weather data told us it was gonna feel slightly warmer than it looked and honestly i didn't believe it until i stepped outside. that 91% humidity didn't feel like manila's soul-crushing wet blanket though, it was more like the mountains were breathing.

i found this tiny coffee shop near session road (because of course it's called session road, this city loves its obvious naming) where the barista told me he'd been working there for six years and was saving up to finally visit cebu. we talked about how tourism had basically died in 2020 and how everyone was just trying to survive. he gave me extra shots in my latte because "you look like you need it, bro." accurate.

the pressure was at 1014 hpa that day which apparently is pretty standard here but to me it meant my ears popped twice during a short walk to burnham park. the sea level reference at 1014 was interesting because we're literally in the mountains and i couldn't stop thinking about how weird气压 is. science stuff. not my strong suit but i tried.

local tip: skip the overly touristy restaurants near the main road. walk three blocks inland and you'll find the real food. the linga market area has this auntie selling pinikpikan that's basically emotional comfort in a bowl and costs like 60 pesos.

day two we rented a motorcycle (well, my friend rented it, i was too scared) and drove to tam-awan village. the road was literally carved into the mountain and at one point i was convinced we were going to die but we didn't so that's fine. the views up there? yeah, they hit different when you're not behind a window.

i met this artist up there who told me she'd moved from manila during the lockdowns because she couldn't handle the noise anymore. she said baguio accepts people who are broken in a certain way - not like healing, more like reassembling. that stuck with me for some reason.

the humidity at 91% made my hair do things i couldn't control but i decided to stop caring about appearances around day two. there's something freeing about being so far from anyone who knows you that you could literally scream on the street and no one would know your name.

we tried to go to mines view but the parking was full so we ended up at good shepherd instead which turned out to be better because i got ube jam and ube ice cream and honestly that's all i needed from life at that moment.

Things I Learned That Actually Matter

the altitude here affects more than just your breathing. i got headaches for the first two days and my instant noodles cooked weird because water boils at a lower temperature up here. small things that remind you you're somewhere different.

a local warned us that the weather can change in literally twenty minutes so always carry a jacket even when the sun is out. she wasn't wrong - we got caught in this weird rain-shine-rain situation near camp john hay that made no meteorological sense but was kind of beautiful.

someone told me the city gets quieter after 9pm now because of the pandemic restrictions and honestly that was the selling point for me. no crowded bars, no traffic, just us and the mountains and whatever ghost stories the hostel owner wanted to tell us at 2am (he had many).

i heard that baguio has been dealing with overtourism for years and 2020 was like a forced reset that some locals actually appreciated. not that they wanted people to suffer, but the mountains were getting a break. you could see it in how green everything looked - like the city was finally able to breathe.

Food Things (Important)

okay real talk - the strawberry farm visits are touristy but the strawberry taho is worth it. i don't care what anyone says. also, the pizza at olive restaurant hits different with mountain air.

we found this late-night silvanas place near university of baguio and i dream about them sometimes. the lady there said she's been making them for thirty years and her hands literally move faster than my brain can process.

and yes, i ate at strawberry cafe. no regrets. the strawberry burger is weird but weird in a good way, like pineapple on pizza but actually good.

The Practical Stuff Nobody Talks About

grab works here but sometimes drivers cancel when they hear where you're going because of the traffic. we learned to just walk to main roads instead of waiting.

the jeepney system is chaotic in the best way but you need to know which route goes where and honestly i never figured it out fully. we just got on and hoped.

our hostel had hot showers which i didn't expect and honestly that was more important to me than wifi. call me basic but after a day of walking hills, hot water is a spiritual experience.

we spent around 3000 pesos each for three days including accommodation, food, transport, and entrance fees. that's like 60 usd. in pre-pandemic times this probably would've been more but 2020 had its weird discounts.

Random Observations That Don't Need a Section

the dogs here are weirdly chill. like, they just exist on sidewalks like they own the place. which they probably do, honestly.

i saw more ukay ukay shops here than expected and honestly i spent way too much money on a vintage denim jacket that i still wear.

there's this specific smell in baguio that i can't describe but it's like wet earth and pine and something slightly sweet. i looked for it in candles when i got back to manila and couldn't find it.

the artists here are different. more serious, if that makes sense. like they actually care about what they're making rather than just making content for the 'gram.

honest moment: i cried a little at the view near the mansion. not because it was beautiful (it was) but because i realized i'd been so stuck in my head for months that i'd forgotten places like this existed. the mountains didn't care about my problems. they just sat there being old and tall and unbothered.

Would I Go Back?

yeah, obviously. but next time i want to go to sagbayan and actually see the rice terraces because we ran out of time. also want to try the trail near mt kabunian which a hiker we met at the hostel wouldn't shut up about.

the thing about baguio is that it doesn't try to impress you. it just exists, fog and all, and if you're lucky you catch it on a good day when the clouds part and you see everything clearly for like five minutes before it gets misty again.

those five minutes are worth the trip.

Links If You Actually Want to Plan This

here's the tripadvisor page for baguio attractions - some of the reviews are helpful, some are dramatic, but that's travel advice for you: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g298445-Benguet_Cordillera_Region_Luzon-Vacations.html

for hostel reviews i found this useful: https://www.hostelworld.com/search?search_terms=baguio

reddit has some good threads about cheap eats: https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/baguio_food_guide/

and this yelp list helped us find non-touristy restaurants: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Restaurants&find_loc=Baguio+City

if you're into the historical stuff, there's more info here: https://www.baguio.gov.ph/

for current weather updates (because it changes fast), check: https://www.weather.com

Final Thoughts That Nobody Asked For

i don't know what i was running from when i went to baguio but i think i found something anyway. maybe that's the point of travel - not the destinations but the space between your regular life where you can actually hear yourself think.

the mountains don't care about your problems. they just sit there. and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

also, next time i'm bringing better jackets. the 91% humidity hoodie combo was not the move. learn from my mistakes.

go to baguio. just not when i want to go because i'd like to actually get a hostel room next time.

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tags: travel, baguio, philippines, budget travel, pandemic travel, mountains, messy travel blog