Our road trip to Bataan during the recent Lenten Season was truly interesting since it was our first time to visit the said province thus; we opted to follow the main highways rather than brave the national road that passes several Pampanga towns. Instead of exiting at San Fernando tollgate along NLEX we decided to drive until Dinalupihan Exit along SCTEX since the two super highways have been seamlessly connected a few months back.
We booked our hotel at "The Plaza Hotel" right in the middle of Balanga City plaza. Unfortunately, some of the restaurants we intended to visit such as Wan-Nam Restaurant and Stregato Gelateria were closed due to Lenten season. However, we found an awesome Japanese cafe right in our hotel. More so, Fortune Hong Kong Restaurant remained open during Good Friday. At any rate, our food expenses were around 400 pesos per person per meal; kids can't survive on water (to drink) alone. Breakfast is excluded.
Read: Road Trip to Bataan
My Montero Sport registered 510 kms for the entire trip. Though our vehicle can easily burn a liter of diesel for at least 12 kms of highway driving I need to consider the slow moving traffic along the entire NLEX on our way to Bataan. Hence, I would average my diesel consumption at 10 km per liter. In short, I had consumed 51 liters of diesel for our road trip. At that time, premium diesel costs 27 pesos a liter so my total fuel expense was around 1,377 pesos. I got huge saving on fuel cost compared with my previous gas fed Grand Livina.
Another part of our travel expenses are the toll fees. On our way to Bataan, I paid 45 pesos upon entering NLEX at Mindanao Ave; exiting at Dinalupihan along SCTEX another toll fee worth 305 pesos was collected from us, quite expensive isn't it? Returning back to Manila, I decided to take the national road from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. I entered NLEX and paid 157 pesos at Balintawak toll plaza. I was able to save a couple of hundred of pesos worth of toll fees aside from consuming less fuel. Luckily, it was a breeze traveling the national road due to lack of traffic at that time.
The first place we visited in Bataan was Dambana ng Kagitingan. We shelled out a staggering 190 pesos as entrance fee for 5 persons plus parking fee; entrance to museum was included. Another place we visited was Pawikan Conservation Center where we paid 20 pesos each as viewing fee; so 100 pesos for five of us.
On our last day, we paid a visit at Balanga Public Market where we bought a gallon of locally produced Geno's ice cream for 485 pesos and assorted "pasalubongs" worth 521 pesos.
Read: Geno's Ice Cream of Bataan
For the chow, on the average, we spend 400 pesos per meal multiply by 5 persons for 5 meals; almost 10,000 pesos has been consumed for our 3 days and 2 nights stay Bataan.
I won't include our hotel or accommodation expenses in the calculation below since you can always choose which place you can stay. In our case, our hotel bill reached almost 14,000 pesos for two room for two nights with extra bed, just for your information.
The breakdown of our expenses is as follows:
Diesel: 1,377 pesos
Toll Fees: 507 pesos
Dambana: 190 pesos
Pawikan: 100 pesos
Geno's: 485 pesos
Pasalubong: 521 pesos
Foods: 10,000 pesos
--------------------------------------------------
Total: 13,180 pesos
The total amount is only a guide because you have to allocate emergency funds also in case some untoward incidences happen.
And more important, a can of red horse at 7-eleven will cost you 43 pesos, 6 pesos higher than in Manila. You have been forewarned.
Read: Road Trip to Bataan
Another part of our travel expenses are the toll fees. On our way to Bataan, I paid 45 pesos upon entering NLEX at Mindanao Ave; exiting at Dinalupihan along SCTEX another toll fee worth 305 pesos was collected from us, quite expensive isn't it? Returning back to Manila, I decided to take the national road from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. I entered NLEX and paid 157 pesos at Balintawak toll plaza. I was able to save a couple of hundred of pesos worth of toll fees aside from consuming less fuel. Luckily, it was a breeze traveling the national road due to lack of traffic at that time.
The first place we visited in Bataan was Dambana ng Kagitingan. We shelled out a staggering 190 pesos as entrance fee for 5 persons plus parking fee; entrance to museum was included. Another place we visited was Pawikan Conservation Center where we paid 20 pesos each as viewing fee; so 100 pesos for five of us.
On our last day, we paid a visit at Balanga Public Market where we bought a gallon of locally produced Geno's ice cream for 485 pesos and assorted "pasalubongs" worth 521 pesos.
Read: Geno's Ice Cream of Bataan
For the chow, on the average, we spend 400 pesos per meal multiply by 5 persons for 5 meals; almost 10,000 pesos has been consumed for our 3 days and 2 nights stay Bataan.
I won't include our hotel or accommodation expenses in the calculation below since you can always choose which place you can stay. In our case, our hotel bill reached almost 14,000 pesos for two room for two nights with extra bed, just for your information.
The breakdown of our expenses is as follows:
Diesel: 1,377 pesos
Toll Fees: 507 pesos
Dambana: 190 pesos
Pawikan: 100 pesos
Geno's: 485 pesos
Pasalubong: 521 pesos
Foods: 10,000 pesos
--------------------------------------------------
Total: 13,180 pesos
The total amount is only a guide because you have to allocate emergency funds also in case some untoward incidences happen.
And more important, a can of red horse at 7-eleven will cost you 43 pesos, 6 pesos higher than in Manila. You have been forewarned.
Nice blog and thank you for the information.
ReplyDeleteIs Plaza Hotel strict with number of guests inside the room? Thank you
I don't think so. They didn't ask how many guests would occupy the two rooms we have reserved. We simply requested an extra bed.
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