Go Baguio! Your Complete Guide to Baguio City, Philippines

Baguio for FREE!

Explore Camp John Hay
You have just reached one of the most popular pages of this site, the one that gets printed out a lot (I have actually met a lot of people who have shown me a hard copy of this page saying, "There's this travel site on the web that lists the things we can do in Baguio for free!")

This is actually one of the first pages that I wrote back in 2003 or 2004, when I first decided to create this site. I thought folks might find it refreshing to find a site on the web that is not "selling" them something. It is also the one that I update a lot, just like Best of Baguio, or Best Ways to Relax in Baguio with fresh ideas as I discover more and more interesting things to in the place that occupies most of my heart.

I have also signed up for a service that will allow folks to place comments on a static site (yup, Go Baguio! is not a blog, but sometimes folks can't tell the difference because it is a travel website that constantly updated, written in the first and second persons, and folks know there's a certain Lisa behind it) --so that readers can also add the things they have discovered that visitors can enjoy for free in the Summer Capital of the Philippines for the benefit of others. This feature is coming very soon!

So without further ado, here's this list of ---
Things to do in Baguio City
that will not cost you a single cent(avo)
  • Explore the caves & WWII tunnels on South Drive

  • Collect fallen pine cones to make your own Christmas Tree. The best time to do this is from July onwards

  • Go "window" shopping at the Baguio City Market dry goods section and Maharlika Livelihood Center

  • Try on some bargain designer clothing and live out your ukay-ukay diva dreams

  • Take long walks on the beautiful East Side: Leonard Wood, Brent Road, Navy C M Recto) Road, Mines View, Outlook Drive, Gibraltar. South Drive can be romantic by day (but spooky at night)

  • Visit as many parks and gardens as you can. To name a few: Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, Sunshine Park, Peoples Park, Japanese Garden, Igorot Garden, Mines View Park

  • Gather twigs, fallen leaves and have a bonfire

  • Check out art galleries at the Baguio Arts Guild at Botanical Garden and the Woodcarvers Village at Asin


  • Count the number of volkwagen beetles moving around in the (those little things climb mountains really well and are very popular among residents)


  • Try a few Ilocano words on the locals

  • Lay a blanket out on Burnham Park and read a good book

  • Go birdwatching. We have a lot of different species flying around. I just can't tell you their names, but they're pretty!)


  • Hike up Mt. Sto. Tomas (Baguio's highest point and get 360˚ view of Baguio City, La Union and South China Sea. It's one of my favorite places for a picnic

  • Visit churches and temples

  • Count the number of steps of the following stairs (if the sign posts tell you how many steps there are, verify). Examples: stairs to the Baguio Cathedral from the middle of Session Road, stairs to the Lourdes Grotto, stairs leading up from the Wright Park Riding Circle (pony rides) to Wright Park (gazebo, Pool of the Pines), stairs at the Botanical Garden

  • Have a digital photo contest of interesting names and signages  such as "Napulyun" taxi cab, "Why look?/Crush me? mud guards, or "(Name of Parlor) Men & She Salon"

  • Wash your car using free mountain spring water. Look around, you'll find quite a few

  • Engage someone in a game of chess at the Igorot Garden in Burnham Park


  • Gather river stones of different shapes at the Bued river (Kennon Road) or Nangalisan river in Asin -- and who knows, you may get lucky and find a gold nugget!

  • Interview the natives in ethnic dress (Wright Park, Botanical Garden, Session Road) -- in English, of course!
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HERE IS A LIST OF
CHEAP THINGS TO DO

Visit Tam-awan Village, an authentic and thriving artist's community with native huts, gallery, workshops and more! Entrance: P20/person

Take a "Cosmic Journey" at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary and tour 14 stations on the origins of the universe, featuring a pine forest, hanging bridge plus picnic tables.
Entrance: P25/person

Get your portrait done by a
member of the Baguio Arts Guild at the Botanical Garden.
Donations Accepted

Visit the Butterfly Sanctuary at Camp John Hay and learn more about how to take care of them. Entrance P20/person

Go Flower Picking
Baguio parks are off limits to the picking of flowers but you may want to visit the flower farms of La Trinidad Valley where you can pick all the flowering plants to your heart's content at just P10/plant

Get Dressed in a Bahag!
This is so my favorite of all -- at Mines View Park, there are two areas where one may rent a bahag (for men, complete with spear, vest and headdress and for women, tapis, vest and headdress) for a photo for just P10/person
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