Another option for Manila based tourist bound to Sagada is to take the Manila-Banaue-Bontoc-Sagada route. The entire trip takes more or less twelve (12) hours. Manila to Banaue is a nine (9) hour bus ride that passes through Central Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya all the way to this town in the province of Ifugao . From Banaue bus terminal, a short tricycle ride will lead you to the town proper where the buses to Bontoc pass. Banaue to Bontoc is a two hour ride along Halsema highway, and Bontoc to Sagada is 45 minutes on a jeepney.
The journey is quite exhausting as it involves four transfers, not to mention that the busses are not as comfortable as those going to Baguio. If you are unlucky (like me), you will spend the entire travel time in the aisle seat. But it is advisable for those planning to go in the world renowned rice terraces of Banaue and Batad.
Autobus and Florida Bus offer Manila-Banaue route. The Autobus leaves Manila at 10 pm everyday, estimated time of arrival is 7 am the next day. The same bus leaves for Manila at 5 pm. Since only one bus is deployed for Manila-Banaue route everyday both for Autobus and Florida, it would be best to reserve a seat, days prior to your departure. Autobus terminal in Manila is at España corner Cataluna in Sampaloc. The fare is P462.00 (~12 USD).
From Banaue, catch Immanuel Bus Line to Bontoc for P100.00 (~2.5 USD) that will drop you off near the Bontoc Municipal Hall. From there, ride a jeepney to Sagada for P35.00 (<1 USD). You may opt to ride on the jeepney rooftop to enjoy the view and the sea of clouds of Sagada.
Here is the summary of the entire travel.
MANILA-BANAUE (9 hours)
Bus: Autobus Line (España corner Cataluna, Sampaloc, Manila) ETD: 10PM Daily
Contact No: 7358096
Fare: P462.00
Bus: Florida Bus Line (Sampaloc, Manila) ETD: 1045PM Daily
Contact No: 7433809/7315358/4933667
Fare: P450.00
AUTOBUS TERMINAL-BANAUE TOWN PROPER
Tricycle
Fare: P20.00
BANAUE-BONTOC (2 hours)
Bus: Immanuel Bus
Fare: P100.00
BONTOC-SAGADA (45 minutes)
Jeepney
Fare: P35.00
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Hi Benj and Angel! Its me again. My friends would want to visit Banaue after Sagada.. Can you give me some places to visit in Banaue? Thank you..
Comment by jen
— March 28, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
Hi Jen, Banaue is all about rice terraces. Are they planning to sleep over in Banaue, coz if they have ample time, they can visit the Batad Village, where the most dramatic rice terraces they called amphitheater and equally enchanting waterfalls with natural cold pool can be found. It is all hiking though, two hours to Batad from the junction and another two hours to the falls, but all worth it.
Comment by Angel
— March 28, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
Hi Angel, it will only be a day visit, daan lang talaga, so its all about banaue rice terraces, Batad Village and the falls? How about going to Manaoag?
Comment by jen
— March 28, 2008 @ 10:33 pm
Manaoag in Pangasinan?! That’s the other way. That town is closer to the Baguio route - about 7-8 hours away from Banaue, I reckon.
Comment by Benj
— March 28, 2008 @ 10:58 pm
Yeah, Benj is right, Manaoag is out of the way.
If it is only a day visit, drop Batad and its waterfalls as hiking alone will consume half of the day. I would recommend going to Bangaan Rice Terraces and Village, it is another UNESCO Heritage Site and you can also visit Gui-Hob Cold Spring on the way to Bangaan.
Comment by Angel
— March 28, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
Ok.. Thank you so much.. Ill just inform them of the info.. I just have this confusion about the Sumaguing Cave guide fee, was it for a group of 1-4 persons, each person should pay the guide P400.00 or 1 guide for a group of 1-4 persons needs to pay P400.00? Because we will be like 10 persons and as per guide rate: 10 persons: P1,000.00 (2 guides) so it means each of us will need to give the guide P1,000.00 and the guides will get like P10,000 from all of us? Thanks again.
Comment by jen
— March 28, 2008 @ 11:40 pm
Jen, no.
You pay 100 each.
That’s for the regular spelunking.
If you want to go for the cave connection, you’ll pay 400 each.
Comment by Benj
— March 28, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
So if we all decided to go for the cave connection, irregardless of our number, each of us will pay the guide P400.00?
Comment by jen
— March 28, 2008 @ 11:49 pm
Yes, for the cave connection, it is P400.00 per person. Cave connection is actually a three to four hours venture into the cave that starts in Lumiang Cave and ends in Sumaguing Cave. But if you will just go for the regular spelunking in Sumaguing, it will cost you P100.00 per person for a group of 10.
Comment by Angel
— March 28, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
Ok.. So if we are up to the cave connection we should start from Lumiang Cave all the way to Sumaguing Cave? How long a trek would be from Residential Lodge to Lumiang cave?
How about the schedule they have? We are planning to do the caving in the afternoon… Can they still accomodate us if we start like around 4:30 - 5:00 pm?
Comment by jen
— March 29, 2008 @ 12:06 am
No. All Spelunking should be done by 5 pm.
Comment by Benj
— March 29, 2008 @ 12:08 am
http://www.visitsagada.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/mapofsagada.jpg
Here’s the map. I hope you can figure it out from here. The entrance to Lumiang is roughly 20-30 minutes away from Residential lodge.
Comment by Benj
— March 29, 2008 @ 12:10 am
Salamat po…
Comment by jen
— March 29, 2008 @ 12:34 am
Do you have an idea on the last hour trip from Bontoc to Banaue?
Comment by jen
— March 29, 2008 @ 5:02 am
The last trip to Banaue leaves Bontoc by 3PM.
Comment by Angel
— March 29, 2008 @ 9:15 am
thanks for sharing all these information. very helpful.
especially the costs. 
Comment by Laryh
— April 1, 2008 @ 10:58 am
How long a trek will take from The Residential Lodge to The Big Falls?
Comment by jen
— April 3, 2008 @ 1:09 am
Coz as per Angel’s itinerary, it only took her an hour trekking to The Big Falls. So will it be an hour trek as wekk if we will be comming from The Residential Lodge?
Comment by jen
— April 3, 2008 @ 1:17 am
First and foremost, Angel is a he. LOL
Angel took a van to Big Falls. A trek to the Big Falls from Residential Lodge would take 3-4 hours.
Take a van and it’ll be about 90 minutes.
Comment by Benj
— April 3, 2008 @ 1:39 am
I’m sorry… Thank you for the info… Peace…
Comment by jen
— April 3, 2008 @ 1:53 am
How much it will be?
Comment by jen
— April 3, 2008 @ 1:55 am
Balikan na po ba yung P600.00 rent?
Comment by jen
— April 3, 2008 @ 2:04 am
Yup, that will cover for the return trip as well.
Comment by Benj
— April 3, 2008 @ 2:32 am
Haha, I am He! The one hour I am talking about is from the Bangaan jump off point to the Big Falls, one way. Sorry for the confusion.
Comment by Angel
— April 3, 2008 @ 8:45 am
Hi! We’re leaving for Sagada today via Banaue. Your site has been very educational - my head is swimming with the info
Re: clothes - will shorts be ok thru out the trip? A friend told us not to wear jeans because it’s going to be a pain when we get them wet… Thanks!
Comment by syg
— April 30, 2008 @ 5:20 am
Hi Syg,
Yeah, shorts would be great. You may want to wear pants for the trip to the falls - you might need protection for your shins.
Comment by Benj
— April 30, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
Thanks for the tip! You’ll hear from me again here after we get back next week…
Comment by syg
— April 30, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
[...] Via Banawe [...]
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— May 2, 2008 @ 1:38 am
Hi! We would like to take the Florida bus instead going to Banaue… (better buses hehe). Assuming that we leave 1045 from Manila, we get to Banaue 845am, do you have any idea what are the schedules of the transportations from Banaue-Bontoc and Bontoc-Sagada? We do not intend to stay overnight in Banaue. Thanks!
Comment by TheDreamer
— May 2, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
A jeepney to Bontoc located near the Banaue Market leaves 8 in the morning. If you miss the jepney, the option would be to catch the buses to Bontoc at 10:00 AM, (Bonbon Bus) and 12PM (Emmanuel Trans).
From Bontoc there are jeepneys to Sagada every hour up to 5PM.
Comment by Angel
— May 3, 2008 @ 11:26 pm
Gud pm ser.. We are a group of 8-10 pax, all first timers, going to sagada on May 16-18. Based on our own research, we’ve developed our own tentative IT. Can you help if this is doable? Also can you suggest a place/tourist guide so everything will be convenient once we’re there.. Also, would you suggest that instead of Bus, we’ll just rent a van?
Day 0 To Bontoc/Sagada (Friday)
08:00 PM ETD Manila to Bontoc
Day 1 Reach Sagada (Saturday)
07:00 AM ETA Bontoc
08:00 AM Sagada
09:00 AM Check-in
10:00 AM Brunch
11:00 AM Tours
- Bangaan rice terraces
- Bomo-ok Big Falls
- Packed Lunch/Snack
07:00 PM Dinner
08:00 PM Free Time
Day 2 Trekking (Sunday)
05:00 AM Wake-up Call
05:30 AM Breakfast
06:30 AM Start of Tours (trekking)
- Sumaguing Cave/Lumiang
- Hanging Coffins
- Echo Valley
- St. Mary’s Church/Calvary
01:00 PM Rest
02:00 PM Leave Sagada for Bontoc
03:00 PM ETD Bontoc
01:00 AM ETA Manila
Comment by Bongoloid
— May 5, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
replied. check your email Bongoloid
Comment by Benj
— May 5, 2008 @ 7:52 pm
I tried to open this Sagada website and I was amazed about the information how to reach this superb place in the Philippines. Sagada is my hallucination entirely and looking forward by end of this year 2008, I will visit and discover this striking place of Sagada.
Comment by Nilo
— May 16, 2008 @ 10:09 pm
Greetings, Sirs!!
We (20 pax) want to go back to Manila via Sagada (Sumaguing Cave) and Banaue(Bangaan Rice Terraces) in October, 2008 after our conference in Baguio. Please give us some advice on what buses and routes to take, travel time and possible expenses.
Thank you.
Comment by Lolita D. Ungui
— June 3, 2008 @ 9:53 am
hi!
we are going to sagada on july11-13 and i just want to ask some questions about our plans. we are going to visit and see the rice terraces and the sumaging cave. and on the last day we will go to chico river in kalinga for the white river rafting experience. ask ko lang kung possible ba ung plans namin? magkano kaya aabot ung gas? and kung maayos ba ung roads on those places?
Thank you.
Comment by jay
— June 15, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
We are taking the Cable Tours Bus (Trinity College) to Bontoc on our way to Sagada.
1. Bontoc to Sagada is a 45 min jeepney ride correct? Is there an available jeepney every hour?
2. Are there any interesting things to see or do in Bontoc? We may opt to stay there for a few hours before going to Sagada.
Comment by Brenda
— August 1, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
1. For the most part, yes.
The jeepney terminal is near the Shell gasoline station.
2. There’s a Bontoc Museum inside the town’s public school. Not too shabby.
There’s a hot springs town about an hour away but I don’t really recommend it. Try going to Sagada as fast as possible. 
Comment by Benj
— August 1, 2008 @ 7:42 pm