5 days to go before our trip to Iloilo… Yipee! 
It would be our first time to see and experience Iloilo’s well-known festival – the Dinagyang Festival… Thanks to Cebu Pacific’s piso fare last year we were able to buy really cheap plane tickets, I think our total airfare for 2 was only around 2,300php and roundtrip already…
Well, I would like to share with you our itinerary for 3days and 2 nights as well as budget/expenses breakdown and foodies…. Amounts are estimated and with allowances already so we would still enjoy our Iloilo stay even if we are on a budget…
| Per Person (Php) | Total for 2 pax (Php) | |
| Airport Fees | ||
| Airport Terminal Fee (NAIA) |
200 |
400 |
| Iloilo Airport Fee |
200 |
400 |
| Transportation | ||
| Taxi From Iloilo Airport |
400 1-way |
800 2-way |
| Jeep Fares (est.) |
300 |
600 |
| Hotel | ||
| Ong Bun – Superior Suite room |
1,100php/night |
2,200php/2 nights |
| Food (est.) |
2500 |
5000 |
| Media Pass for Dinagyang Festival |
500 |
1,000 |
| Pasalubong |
600 |
1,200 |
| Total |
5,800Php – 6,000Php |
11,600Php – 12,000Php |
Good thing there’s Ong Bun Pension House they have new Suite rooms and reasonably priced; to make our stay even better; strategically located and with the right amenities.. Will blog after our trip on our real feedback… 
Another important thing in our trip is to take very good pictures of the performances/activities part of the Dinagyang Festival program. So it is really a must to have Media passes to get better spot on taking pictures… We now learned our lesson from our Panagbenga experience… 
Transportations are by taxis or jeepneys. No tour guide needed as they say Iloilo is just a small city but still wish us good luck in this adventure…
You can also see in my blog the restaurants/coffee shops that I have chosen from different websites; I highlighted in blue the ones we will visit!!! So excited….
| Day 1 | |||
| Lunch | Ramboy’s Molo branch | ||
| Merienda | Deco’s batchoy | Pat-pat’s Kansi | |
| Dinner (Optional meal) | Perri Todds All-American Burger | The Mango Tree Restaurant | |
| Coffee/Drinks | Coffee Break | Bluejay | |
| Day 2 | |||
| Breakfast | Green Mango | ||
| Lunch | Tatoy’s Manokan | Jo’s Inato | |
| Merienda | Green Mango | Roberto’s siopao | JD Bakeshop |
| Dinner | Tib’s Rock’s beef tapa | Buto’t Balat | |
| Coffee/Drinks | Dulgies Desserts and Cafe | Bluejay | |
Also, I have prepared a detailed itinerary of our activities and places to visit basically; we want to have a tour of all the Churches in Iloilo and to participate in the Dinagyang Festival. Boring?! Haha! But I think this would really be a challenge for us because we have a very tight schedule like leaving on Sunday morning while the Dinagyang parade will start at 8am…Whooo…oh well, this blog is just to show you the things we have prepared for our Iloilo Dinagyang Trip and will just blog later what really happened and the challenges/adventures we had…
| Day 1 – 22 Jan 2012 (Sunday) | Dinagyang Festival and Church Visits |
|
4.10 AM |
ETD from MNL; NAIA Terminal 3 |
|
5.15 AM |
ETA in ILO |
|
7.00 AM |
Arrival in Ong Bun Pension House (near corner Quezon-Ledesma Street) |
|
8.00 AM |
Start of Dinagyang Festival Parade |
|
12.00 NN |
Lunch at Ramboy’s Molo branch |
|
1.00 PM |
Visit Molo Church |
|
2.00 PM |
Visit Jaro Cathedral |
|
3.00 PM |
Buy Pasalubong at Old Biscocho Haus |
|
4.00 PM |
Merienda at Pat-pat’s Kansi or Perri Todds All-American Burger |
|
5.00 PM – 7.00PM |
Back to Hotel; Rest time |
|
8.00 PM |
Coffee night out at Bluejay |
|
10.00 PM |
Snooze Time |
| Day 2 – 23 Jan 2012 (Monday) | Trip to Southern Iloilo Attractions |
|
6.30 AM |
Breakfast |
|
7.00 AM |
Travel to San Joaquin Church (2 to 3 hours est.; going to the farthest church) |
|
9.30AM |
Visit San Joaquin Church |
|
10.00 AM |
Visit Miagao Church – a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Iloilo |
|
11.00 AM |
Visit Guimbal Church: One of the oldest in the Philippines |
|
12.00 NN |
Lunch at Tatoy’s Manukan |
|
1.30 PM |
Trip to Museo Iloilo |
|
2.00 PM |
Calle Real de Iloilo |
|
3.00 PM |
Merienda at Roberto’s siopao |
|
4.00 PM |
Back to Hotel |
|
7.00 PM |
Dinner and Tambay- Buto’t Balat Restaurant- Smallville - Iloilo’s Nightlife Central- Coffebreak- Dulgies Desserts and Cafe |
| Day 3 – 24 Jan 2012 (Tuesday) | Going back to Manila |
|
3.30 AM |
Wake-up Time |
|
4.30 AM |
Travel to Airport |
|
5.45 AM |
ETD from ILO |
|
6.45 AM |
ETA in MNL |
Well, I really hope we can do all these activities and also to stay on our budget… Good luck to us! Aja!
By the way here’s our contact person for the following:
Ong Bun Pension House – Gerard Ong –ongbun@gmaildotcom
Dinagyang Festival Media Pass – Perla Lena –pearl376@yahoodotcom
They were both easy to contact; helpful and responsive. Thanks po!
there is a fx shuttle van from the airport to sm city which will cost you only 50 pesos then jeepney ride to Ong bun pension house for only 8.50… going back to the airport from sm city is 70 pesos. that would save you money for food and pasalubongs…
hi Winnie! Ooohh, will check this… yeah, it would really save us money…
thanks for sharing.. 
nice itinerary, mas naexcite ako sa food trip!
we’ll be staying in ong bun too. hope ok ang superior suite nila. see you there!
and btw, jan24 is tues, not monday
Coming from San Joaquin going back to the city, you will pass by Miag-ao first, so it is only logical that you visit Miag-ao Church before Guimbal’s.
Hi Neil, Ohhh thanks cge baligtad pala… hehe!
hi Chyng,
Thanks… me too excited for the food trip hope we can visit all the foodies in my list…
oh, same pala tayo, did you also get their superior suite? 
hehe thanks, already updated the day… 
wow…kainggit naman..sana next year makapunta ko dito sa event nato…thanks po for sharing…