Surf at SAN JUAN, LA UNION

Where: San Juan, La Union
Who: Mr, Mrs & Little Miss Wanderlust
When: : Little Miss Wanderlust's Birthday
​WhatL Birthday Surfday

Region I - San Juan, La Union

Only a few hours (5-6 hours to be precise) from Manila, is one of the closer surf spots from the capital. Barangay Urbiztondo is the entry point to the surf spots of the Ilocos region.  Beginners love this area known for its peeling waves and short rides. There are plenty of accommodations you can choose from, and many of them are beachfront.  You can do pricey villas or budget-friendly home-stays.

How To Get There:

From Manila there are several bus companies but the most reliable to San Juan, La Union is PARTAS bus which has lots of schedule back and forth. Trip is around 6-7 hours.

 Then  there's always the private vehicle which cuts the trip to 5-6 hours from Manila to NLEX - SCTEX - then just following the national road to La Union province, just a few kilometers away from Poro Point, you would reach San Juan, La Union.

Where to Stay:

 As mentioned above, there are a lot of places to stay for you to choose from, depending on your budget and preferences when looking for accommodation.

Mr & Mrs Wanderlust's Reviews

Kahuna Beach Resort

• Upon arriving early we had no room yet and had to wait out at hot noon sun since check-in time was not until 2:pm, so we had our bags and bag of my birthday girl (little miss wanderlust's birthday by the way) outside and can't do nothing yet but chill. This was the only problem had to encountered, then everything went smoothly from there. So no big deal.
  

• Food was great and I even see cooks wearing Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) uniforms (reputable culinary school in Manila) and i guess i just have one suggestion... More bacon for breakfast please :)
  
•  They have an infinity pool with nice view of beach and waves. 
  

***Rating:

Price:  $$$ (around 5,000php)
Service: 4 star
Facilities & Amenities: 4 star
Restaurant (foods): 4 star
Bar: 4 star
________________________________
Overall: 4.5 / 5

What to do:

Surf - that's what  we came there for. Nice small waves for beginners and also bigger waves on the western part of beach but is rocky and has lots of reefs so only for seasoned surfers. It is also good to know that the surf turf is run by locals so even though it is a bit commercialized, you know money is going to the locals which is good.

Beach bum and chill out. Just watch them surfers catch waves

Have a picnic

Pricing:

• Accommodation from 1,000PHP hostels, to small resort without pool - to family villas that has its own  private pool for 26,000PHP. Depending on the range of budget, people and other factors, there are wide choices for accommodation.  
• Surfing / board rentals - price is 400PHP per hour with instructor or only board for 200PHP.
• Food - 200PHP - 500PHP per order depending on food and its serving size.
  

BONUS: Video of our surf trip in San Juan, La Union. For more travel videos check out the Sights & Sounds page!