Villa Escudero

Experience the allure of Philippine country life at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort.

A self-contained working coconut plantation, It was founded in the 1880s by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan. Originally planted to sugarcane, the crop was converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneering agro-industrialist, he built the country's first working hydroelectric plant to supply his dessicated coconut factory and Villa Escudero, where he and his wife Dona Rosario Adap built in 1929.

Their children opened the estate to the public in 1981. From its humble beginnings, the resort has become a prime tourist destination for locals, overseas Filipinos and a wide array of foreign visitors to the country. It has a worldwide reputation as a showcase for the Philippines' rich cultural heritage, offering a beguiling glimpse of its history, cuisine, dress, customs and natural beauty a mere two hours away from Manila.

Location:

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort San Pablo City, Philippines Manila Office 1059 Estrada Street, Malate 1004 Metro Manila Telephone Nos. (632) 521-0830 (632) 523-0392 (632) 523-2944 Fax Number: (632) 521-869 E-mail: info@villaescudero.com Provincial Mailing Address P.O. Box 4 San Pablo City 400, Philippines

Tacsiyapo

It is a floating restaurant with huts all around. The overall ambiance is exciting, charming, and unique. Once you arrive, they would give you free fish food so that you can feed the coi fishes. You'll be lucky if you can reserve a single detached huts as seen above.

This is actually a Barrio Fiesta sister company so expect the Filipino food to be great since it is already tried and tested through the years. They serve the sinigang soup in Bamboo containers. You can order refreshing coconuts which is very good after a long drive.

This would be a traditional Filipino feast with dishes served in Banana leaves and rice served in a small kaldero. If you are lucky with the San Kilo challenge, you can have one kilo of fish for free :)

Tagaytay

Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay (Filipino: Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a component city in the province of Cavite, in the Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations because of outstanding scenery and cooler climate provided by its high altitude. Tagaytay overlooks Taal Lake in Batangas and provides one of the iconic views of the Philippines, the view of Taal Volcano Island in the middle of the lake, viewable from several vantage points in the city.

Tagaytay is relatively close to the capital city of Manila, only 55 km (34 mi) away via Aguinaldo Highway, providing an easy escape for the locals from the heat of the big city.