Laoag

Introduction

St. Augustine Parish Church Bell Tower

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Sights and Activities

• Bacarra Bell Tower. Dates back to the 15th century, it is dubbed as the bowing acrobat tower of Southeast Asia
• Sinking Bell Tower. The notable bell tower of the St. Williams Cathedral that sinks to the ground about an inch a year.
• Tobacco Monopoly Monument. A monument built for tribute to King Alfonso XIII of Spain who terminated the Tobacco Monopoly in the 19th century. To date, tobacco is still the major industry in the province.
• Paoay Church. Formally the St. Augustine Church, it is among the four baroque churches in the Philippines that has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. Located north of Laoag, this is one of the oldest and tallest lighthouses in the country.
• Bangui Wind Farm. Also located north of Laoag, it features 15 wind turbines, each more than 200 feet that line up the shores of the town of Bangui.
• Pagudpod. Located near Bangui, this boasts beautiful white sand beaches fronting the South China Sea. It is being packaged as the Boracay of the north.
• La Paz Sand Dunes. Located near Fort Ilocandia, this is a vast track of sand dune that is desert like but meets the sea.

Events and Festivals

Like any other cities and town in the Philippines, Laoag has its own share of festivals in celebration on the feast of their patron saint.

• Pamulinawen Festival. Held yearly between February 4 to 10 in celebration for their patron saint, Saint William whom was believed to have helped in sparing the city from calamities. Pamulinawen came from the name of a legendary bird that once found in the province.

Other major Philippine festivals are listed in the Events and Festivals in the Philippines section.

Getting There

By Plane

Laoag is accessible through the Laoag International Airport, though only Mandarin Airlines serve direct flights to the city from Kaohsiung. While, Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines serve domestic flights into the city connecting it to other major cities in the Philippines.

By Bus

The city may also be reached by a 10 hour bus ride from Manila through the following Bus companies:

• Auto Bus
• Fariñas Transit
• F. Franco Transit Co.
• Partas Transit
• Philippine Rabbit
• RCJ Transit

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Like any other cities and towns across the Philippine islands, Laoag has a range of public transport to get you from one point to another and even to neighboring towns. The most common would be the jeepneys that ply on a route that is commonly traversed by commuters. Tricycles also provide transport to smaller communities that are not usually traversed by jeepneys.

Horse drawn carriages, called calesa are also a mode of transport that has still remained in the city even with the arrival of motorized modes of transport.

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Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

The Philippine Postal Corporation, or PhilPost, is the provides the postal service throughout the Philippines. PhilPost is pretty reliable, but one can hardly call it fast services. It is fine for sending postcards and letters though, both domestically as well as internationally. Prices for sending postcards or letters within the country start at around P7, while most international post costs at least P20. For sending parcels to and from the Philippines it might be wise to use companies like FedEx or UPS. The opening hours of post offices in the Philippines differ from one place to another. Usually, post offices are open from 8:00am to 12 noon and from 1:00pm to 5:00pm on weekdays. And for those that operate on Saturdays, the business hours are from 8:00am to 1:00pm.