Boracay of the North: Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Dubbed as the Boracay of the North, Saud Beach is one of the popular destination in Pagudpud. We chose to stay in the Saud beach area because it's not crowded and commercialized.

Although dubbed as Boracay, its sand is not powdery white. The sand in Saud beach is creamy. 

We enjoyed walking along the beach lined with coconut trees. You can also see the windmills in Saud.

We still took our swim despite the huge waves and waited for the sun to set. It was picturesque. 

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Where to Stay in Pagudpud: Polaris Beach House

We chose to stay in Saud beach area rather than in Blue Lagoon to avoid the big crowd. After searching and scouting for accommodation that will fit the 21 of us, we finally settled at Polaris Beach House.

Back in 2007, we also stayed here. Good thing I still have Ms. Meann's number and contacted her. 

Their rooms are basic, with TV and private toilet and bath. Since we were the "youngsters" we occupied the attic room with balcony facing the beach. Our room was big for the 5 of us but the TV was so small and old school. The room was quite small but decent and clean. No hot water in the CR and the shower was not working. You can hang your wet clothes at the balcony.

What I like most at Polaris is it's only a few meters near the beach.

We strolled the beach as early as 5am and saw some fishermen selling their catch.

We also love their dining area were guest can stay as long as they like. You can even bring your own food without any corkage fee.

Our accommodation comes with a plated breakfast. Just choose among their selection of "silog" meals. We also ordered their version of pinakbet which tasted different from the usual pinakbet I know. They use sweet potato instead of squash. I love it.

We enjoyed our stay at Polaris and we recommend this place to others.

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Roadtrip to the Northern Philippines: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur

We were planning this Ilocos trip for almost two years now. Finally...we were heading north!

As usual, I am the tour coordinator. I have been to Ilocos Norte back in 2007 together with my friends. W just took the public transportation back then. This trip was different. We were so many (21pax) and I had a hard time looking for accommodation. Because it's summer vacation, almost all of the inn/hotel in Pugudpud were already fully booked. But I managed to find one that will accommodate all of us.

We left San Fernando Pampanga at around 11pm. Here are the towns that we passed by on our way to our first destination, Padudpud, Ilocos Norte.

The expressway connecting NLEX-SCTEX-TPLEX is  a big help for travelers going north. It cut backs our travel time. From Rosales exit, we took the Magilas trail that bypass the town of Villasis, Urdaneta up to Binalonan. Then we passed by the town of Pozzorubio, Sison and Rosario in Pangasinan.

When we reach Rosario, we stopped at the gasoline station to fill up and took our coffee.

There is a major fork on the road ahead and take the left side going to Ilocos Region. The right side is leading to Baguio. Follow the road signs that will take you to Laoag City passing by these towns:

• Rosario, Pangasinan
• Sto Tomas
• Agoo
• Bauang
• San Fernando City
• Candon
• Narvacan
• Vigan
• Cabugao
• Batac
• Laoag City

We ate our breakfast at Jollibee in Laoag City and we continued our journey towards Pagudpud. 

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