A Weekend in Tagaytay

The City of Tagaytay is one of the Philippines’ most popular tourist destinations. One, because of the cool climate and scenic views. And two, because of its proximity from Manila.

Last Friday, the family and I decided to go on a weekend trip. We packed our bags and drove to — no other than — Tagaytay. We chose Tagaytay because it’s just an hour away and we wanted to try the new activities the city offers.

Because we arrived late in the evening, we agreed to delay our planned activities the next day and just rested on our first night.

Early the next morning, we took off and started with our tour. Our first stop was The Puzzle Mansion, home of the record-breaking puzzle collection of Gina Gil Lacuna. It is also a bed and breakfast with a function hall and infinity pool — so if you are looking for a place to stay or a location for your next event, try this out!

Aside from animals and paintings, Daddy A also likes collecting all sorts of puzzles. Unfortunately, we keep missing pieces because we have a little rascal by the name of Kelly that likes hiding some of the puzzle pieces. Hopefully when we finally buy a house of our own, we can dedicate a room for Daddy A’s collection.

We took a few more shots before leaving because we just can’t miss capturing the joy on The Princess’ face while playing in the garden. Don’t worry, little one. There are plenty of green fields in our new home!

After lots of running and photos, we finally decided to head to our next destination: Residence Inn. Part of the Zoomanity Group, which also manages Paradizoo and Zoobic Safari, the zoo houses animals of all sorts — birds, monkeys, crocs, tigers, lions and many more. They also have animal shows where kids can interact with the animals as well as activities like the zip line and cable car ride.

The Princess screamed with joy when we entered the aviary and birds flocked towards us. She especially enjoyed feeding the Umbrella Cockatoo, who shook her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The Little Man, on the other hand, was crying throughout the animal show. I think he got scared because everyone kept screaming every time the zoo keepers take out an exotic animal. He only stopped crying when we brought him to the zoo’s restaurant, which was overlooking Taal Lake.

The sun was already setting when we drove to the last place on our list. We’ve already been to Sky Ranch before, but we can’t miss it. Besides, the last time we were there, it was already late and we weren’t able to try all the rides.

The highlight of The Princess’ night at Sky Ranch was her first try at the zorb ball. While all the kids were running and jumping around in their zorb balls, Kelly chose to just lie down and relax. Everyone were laughing at how chill the little girl was!

We called it a night when our stomachs began grumble. We had dinner at Bag of Beans then headed back to our hotel. Everyone was knocked out soon after.

The next day, we had brunch at Pamana — I swear they serve some of the best Filipino dishes! — then ended our trip with a visit to the Little Souls Convent.

Breakdown of Expenses
The Puzzle Mansion: P100/person (Kids below 3 ft. are free of charge)
Residence Inn: P249/person (Kids below 3 ft. are free of charge)
Sky Ranch Entrance: P150/person (Kids below 3 ft. are free of charge)
Sky Ranch Rides: P50-P150

Kimberley Reyes

Kimberley Reyes is an Online Business Manager for entrepreneurs who are ready to get off the hamster wheel and step into their CEO shoes. On top of helping her clients get organized and scale their businesses, she is also happily busy raising her five kids with her firefighter husband.

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