Last Updated on February 10, 2022 by Tina
Even before the pandemic, La Union has been a favorite weekend getaway of millennials because of its accessibility. With the completion of TPLEX, driving from Manila to La Union takes less than 4 hours. And though this post is four years late, I thought of writing this less than 36 hours in La Union guide, because today is my best friend’s birthday. I thought of writing about one of our trips, but I’ve written about everything already except their trip to La Union.
In 2017, two days before new year’s day, they came to visit me in La Union. They were only in La Union for less than 36 hours. I am sharing here the things that we did in La Union when they came to visit so you’ll have an idea of what you can do if you have very limited time in the province.
Less Than 36 Hours in La Union: A Travel Guide
Day 1
Lunch at LU River River Farm Seafood Restaurant
They arrived in La Union around 1:00 PM already, and they haven’t eaten lunch yet. After checking in at The Little Surfmaid Resort, we went to LU River Farm Seafood Restaurant to have lunch. Back then, I don’t stay long when I’m in La Union because I was working in Manila. When I’m home, I don’t really go out to try the restaurants. So I didn’t have any idea what restaurants are a must-try. But I know that Hanna would love LU River Farm Seafood Restaurant because she loves taking photos for her Instagram.
And I was right. Hanna loved the place. The problem though is that because it was already almost 3:00 PM, there was no food available anymore. They said that they only use fresh ingredients, and they don’t have any stock left to cook for us. Hanna really wanted to stay in the place, and the restaurant is in Bacnotan already. I had no idea where the nearest restaurant is and we were already starving. So we asked them if they could catch a fish for us. We were actually willing to just eat egg if they have it. And then they told us they have Tilapia.
While waiting for our food, we started taking photos, everywhere. Here are some of those:
Photo op at the Almeida Man Made Forest
After having lunch, we went to Kamay na Bato Art Gallery. Along the way, we passed by Almeida Mand Made Forest in Balaoan. We stopped there to take some pictures. We attempted to take a picture in the middle of the road, but it was too risky.
Visited Kamay na Bato Art Gallery
From Almeida Man Made Forest, our next stop was the Kamay na Bato Gallery in Luna. If you’ve been reading my previous posts, last month I wrote about Bato de Luna Art Gallery. I mentioned there that the art gallery used to be Kamay na Bato Art Gallery. The overall look of the art gallery has changed, but there are plenty of artworks from Kamay na Bato Art Gallery that you can still see in Bato de Luna. Here are some of our pictures from the art gallery.
Sunset at Luna Watchtower
From Kamay na Bato, we went to Luna pebble beach to catch the sunset. The art gallery is just a few minutes drive to Luna pebble beach. You can also find the Luna Watchtower there. I think when we reached the place the sun has already set. But we stayed there anyway to take some more pictures.
Dinner at Great Northwest
From Luna, we went back to San Juan to have dinner. I asked my sister where is a good place to eat and she told me there is a food park near Kahuna. I didn’t know that she was referring to Beach Bum Food Park. When we saw the Great Northwest, we decided to check it out. I don’t remember anymore the food stall where we ordered our dinner, but I think they are closed now. Because that spot is now where Sabong Fried Chicken is.
Beach Bum Food Park
After having dinner, we decided to go for a short walk. That’s when we saw Beach Bum Food Park. We decided to check out the food stalls there and we saw a stall selling Mexican food. We weren’t very happy with our dinner so we decided to order Chicken Quesadilla.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Hanna wanted to check out Flotsam and Jetsam too. It is a very popular place among millennials who love to party. When we got there it was full of people. That’s how popular the place is. We ordered drinks and stayed for a while, but we’re not really the partying type so we didn’t stay long.
Day 2
Swimming at Urbiztondo Beach
The following day, we woke up not so early and after having breakfast, we decided to hang out at the beach for a while. Liza and I went swimming, while Hanna watched us under her umbrella.
Visited Ma-Cho Temple
After hanging out at the beach, Hanna and Liza checked out of the hotel then we went to visit Ma-Cho Temple. It is a Taoist temple. The temple is located on a hill in the City of San Fernando overlooking the West Philippine Sea.
Lunch at Thunderbird Resort
We were supposed to have lunch at Halo-halo de Iloko. However, my brother who was with his friends at that time texted me that they went there and the restaurant is full. So I decided to take Hanna and Liza to Thunderbird Resort. Thunderbird Resort is a Mediterranean-inspired resort in La Union. It is nestled on a scenic cliff that overlooks San Fernando Bay and the West Philippine Sea. We went to the resort to have lunch at their restaurant. The resort is nice, but the food we ate in their restaurant, not so much.
Grape Picking at Gapuz Grape Farm
Our last stop was the Gapuz Grape Farm in Bauang. Grape picking is the primary activity here, but when we got there we were told that all the fruits were already reserved so we can’t do grape picking. The only thing we could do is to look around and take pictures.
Before I end this post, just wanted to share some funny pictures we took during the trip. Though we are much older now, whenever we are together, we still do crazy and childish things. See the pictures below to understand what I mean.
Hope you liked this less than 36 hours in La Union travel guide. If you need more information about traveling to La Union, you can check out San Juan, La Union Travel Guide During the Pandemic. Also, I want to greet Hanna a very happy birthday. Hope to see you and to travel together again soon. Miss you and Liza so much already!
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