Travel Advisory:
How to Get to Baguio City
Baguio City is about 240 kilometers from Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The entry point to the natural and cultural wonders of the Cordillera Region, and situated in the midst of mountains, hills and valleys, it is accessible by land and by air.
Four major highways lead to Baguio City:
• Kennon Road from Rosario, La Union
• Marcos Highway, from Rosario and Agoo, La Union
• Quirino Highway (more familiarly known as Naguilian
Road, from Bauang, La Union
• Halsema Road (passing through La Trinidad Valley),
connecting Benguet to Mountain Province (Sagada)
and Ifugao (Banaue)
Click here for more information on
Manila to Baguio: Easy as 1-2-3
From Manila take the North Luzon Expressway. Enter at Balintawak, passing through Bulacan Province and Exit at Sta. Ines, Pampanga. +/-80km.
Turn right to Mabalacat, right again to McArthur Highway. Go straight, passing thru the length of Tarlac & Pangasinan provinces, till Rosario, La Union. +/-130km
Turn right to Kennon Road or go a little further & turn right to Marcos Highway. +/-30km/60 km
Arriving by Public Transportation?
Please proceed to the Transportation Guide To & From Baguio City
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Detours
Pampanga Detours
Upon exiting the North Luzon Expressway, you may also turn left to the Magalang-Concepcion Road, which is a longer route but has less traffic and will also end at the Concepcion-Capas Junction.
Pangasinan Detours
In both the towns of Carmen and Villasis, Pangasinan you may see detour signs that indicate that Baguio is to the east. These detours are designed for you to bypass Urdaneta City, because there's a public clamor for a flyover to be built to address bottleneck caused by their traffic enforcement.
DO NOT TURN RIGHT. Baguio City is straight ahead to the north and definitelty not to the east.
"Kennon or Marcos?"
Here folks, finally, is the answer to that million dollar question. Personally, I prefer to pass Kennon Road because it is shorter and my Nissan Patrol can take the rough patches but. . .
Historic Kennon Road is the shortest access route to Baguio City, with a minimal toll fee (Php15 or USD.30) for cars. As it snakes through Bued River Canyon, one will see many waterfalls, pine trees and mountainsides dotted
with wild sunflowers. The road is narrow but easy to use because of gentle bends. However, a century's worth of extensive mining has depleted some of the surrounding mountains of ground cover and pine trees, leading to land and rock slides, which make Kennon Road unreliable during the rainy season.
Marcos Highway
Beautiful Marcos Highway has a scenic view of South China Sea. The roads are wider and its recent redesign has given it short cut entrance just a few meters further north from that of Kennon's in Rosario, La Union. Although longer than Kennon, Marcos is wider, smoother and "all-weather." Expect heavy fog late afternoons.
I recommend that you take Marcos Highway because it is more reliable.
By private transport, the trip to Baguio usually takes just 4 to 6 hours during the day, and
sometimes less at night.
Because there is less vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and fewer slow-moving public utility
tricycles in the lowland provinces plying their routes at night. Plus it is easier to overtake
when you can see the headlights of oncoming vehicles.
(But that's just me. I prefer night travel.)
A d v e r t s & L i n k s
R e l a t e d A r t i c l e s
by Ernesto Zarate
@ Baguio Insider
You may avoid the traffic caused by heavy congestion of vehicles and pedestrians, and because local traffic management gives priority to those crossing the main highway from east to west from Asingan to Dagupan.
Should you pass this detour, you could get lost for hours (and because road signs are small and scarce you might end up in Nueva Ecija) before you can get back to McArthur Highway. And you exit this detour only in Binalonan, the town after Urdaneta.
Pass through this detour only of you are not in a hurry to get to Baguio City and want to see some rice fields during the day. Or should you choose to use this route, keep an eye out for road signs that will lead you back to the main highway.
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