Tagaytay City - Boat Ride to Taal Volcano

Ever wondered these Boat Rides take you?  This will take you to Talisay, Batangas actually.  It is a boat ride going to Taal Volcano.  Not to the volcano per se, but the place where you will do some trekking in going up to the crater of the famous Taal Volcano.

These people are agents of restaurants in Talisay.  So, it really depends on the person you made the deal with where you will end up, which restaurant you will stop at.  But, they are virtually the same.  Restaurants that offer boat rides are practically sitting beside each other, so no worries.  Same excitement, same experience.  The only difference is how you negotiate the package.

To get an idea of how much the boat ride .  Here you can find pricing of their boat rides and many more about what they are offering.  But, if you are in a tight budget and just want to simply experience what is this, then making a deal from an agent there would suffice.  The asking price from these agents costs around P1,500 to P2,000 and it also depends on the season.  But using your inborn-negotiating skills, you can close it down to P1,000.
is to visit Taal Lake Yacht Club

If you happen to make a deal with these fellows, and if you would allow, they will hop in to your vehicle and take you to Talisay.  But if you are jam packed or you are just not comfortable having a different person hitch a ride with you, they can take a tricycle and just follow where the tricycle go.  Of course, you will shoulder the P100 payment for the tricycle rented.  They will lead you to a pathway just beside the over-looking scenic view in Tagaytay crossing.  It is a 20-minute downward slope drive and the width of the path is just enough for two cars or two vans.  There are plenty of blind curves along the way.  You have a steep road with a width of two cars and with blind curves everywhere.  Dangerous?  Well, not really… just be careful with your driving there. ;-)

When you reach your destination, which is the restaurant, why not take a 5-minute rest before your journey to Taal?  You can order food or just simply drinks just to quench your thirst.  Of course, pricing is tourist price.  And, because of that, eating at Max’s is quite cheaper.

The boat is waiting for you in the beach shore with its driver and his assistant.  Life vests are given to passengers before riding the boat and the assistant helps the passengers aboard the boat safely.  It is a 10-minute ride from the restaurant to the point of destination.  The payment you made for the boat ride is exactly what it is.  You paid just for the boat ride going there and back.  Aside from the boat ride,

As you reach the shore of Taal, you will be charged P25 each head for you to explore the vicinity.  After paying the Taal Management, vendors will practically come at you in a very aggressive manner.  They will show what they are selling as in putting it in front of your face, which is like very insulting.  My advice is you got to have a lot of patience.  Always remember that you are in their territory.  If you are not interested in what they are selling, just smile and say no.  Just keep your patience up!

Renting a horse comes in two parts:  You can rent a horse costing P800 with insurance meaning if you accidentally fell off the horse, the Taal management will shoulder the cost for your hospitalization if need be.  But, you can also have the horse for P500 or less.  Again, it depends upon your negotiating skills.  But, keep in mind that negotiated deals of horses does not have coverage.  So, it is your decision whether you want the insurance or not.  But for me, renting a horse to help you go up to the crater beats the purpose of trekking.  And, it is more rewarding when you reach the top without anyone to help you.

Trekking up to the Taal crater took us 2 hours.  You will walk on a rough-road trail going up.  It is very hard for city fellows to go up as we are not used to walk on these kinds of terrain.  Changed your mind about renting a horse?  Don’t worry as the owners of these horses will still follow you.  They are very persistent on having you rent their horse.  This is like their marketing scheme because they know that city folks are not used to this kind of torture.  As you go along, they will kind of tease you because you can see them riding their horses.  They are showing you how easy life can be with the help of their horses.  So, anytime you want to give up climbing and still want to reach the top, the horse is right beside you, which is kind of disturbing for people who are determined to walk all the way up as the gasping for air is also a hassle because you can actually smell the horse’s butt.  But again, just keep your patience up and tell the owner to stop following you or just keep their distance.  This will work after you said it like ten times.

As you go along the trail, you will see steam coming out from holes on the ground.  These are the steam that comes from Taal volcano.  You can actually cook an egg from those holes in just 5 minutes.  That is how hot the steam is.  As you go up, the view is fantastic!  It gives you the feeling how high you are from sea level.  It is simply awesome.

A final climb waits for you as you near the crater.  This is the last obstacle that you will face.  This is very steep as it requires the help of your hands to go up.  I tell you, this is very challenging.

After conquering that last obstacle, you will be amazed on what awaits you on the top – top view of Taal’s crater, a very astonishing sight.  It simply makes you feel happy!  After hours of uphill climb, your exhaustion is swept away by the breathtaking beauty of Taal.  If you are thirsty and forgot to bring some drinks with you, natives are very prepared for that.  You can buy soda or buko juice if you prefer but of course, price is tourist price.  But never mind that, the feeling up there is priceless.