Mountain Biking the Philippines

The more than 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines are full of natural gems that range from coral-fringed islands, palm lined white-sand beaches to hot springs and majestic volcanoes. For this mountain biking adventure on the main island of Luzon we start in Manila, head down to Carmines Sur and then on to Bicol where we end by swimming with the whale sharks off Donsol. Ride trails that are favorites with locals, starting with the Santa Rosa trail that will take us to the Tagaytay Highlands. The next day there's a fun descent to Taal Lake and a ride around the island. Then it's off to some more technical trails around San Pablo, with the advantage of soaking in hot springs at the end of the ride. Next we head to the historical town of Lucban and for a scenic ride. In Carmines Sur we'll hit two very popular trails that will test your off road skills before heading to the trails along the base of Mt. Mayon.

Tour Cost	US$ 2,200	Single Supplement	US$525
Bike Hire	US$200 Hardtail/US$210 Full Suspension (Full Suspension available on request)	Total Cycling Distance	385 km
Tour Grade	out of 5	Number of Days	11 days / 10 nights
Number of Cycling Days	8 full days/ 1 half day	Tour Meets	Manila
Tour Ends	Manila	Group Size	Minimum 2. Maximum 16.
Minimum age on scheduled departures	18 years old

Day 1

After an afternoon walking tour of the historic old quarter of Intramuros we'll have a trip meeting at dinner.

Day 2

Today we hit the Santa Rosa trail where we ride on single track, fire roads and have some gentle climbs and work our way up to more challenging hills. Overnight at an eco lodge located at the top of a ridge that will give us views of the next day's ride.

Day 3

We ride down from our lofty heights to Taal Lake, on farm roads and for those who want some challenging single track we'll ride a section of a race course. We catch a boat to the active Taal Volcano that is an island in the center of the lake which we'll ride around.

Day 4

Today we'll have an exhilarating day of riding the Golden Triangle Trails at the base of Mount Banahaw and Mount San Cristobal. On single track, fire roads and farming tracks this will be a more technical ride, with some abrupt climbs and drops.

Day 5

We ride to Majayjay and check out the 16th Century church before arriving in Lucban.Today we again ride under the shadow of Mount Banahaw, but the other side. We'll ride to a waterfall and have time for a swim before heading back to the festive town of Lucban.

Day 6

We ride along the trails around Lucban and in the foothills of Mt. Banahaw, enjoying the simple rural life as we cycle by farms and small villages. Our trail will take us over hanging bridges and river crossings.

Day 7

We have a long drive to Naga our next destination. Here we'll ride at the base of Mt. Isarog and part of the riding will be on rolling terrain and part on a downhill course, so expect some fun single track. Afternoon at Cam Sur Water Sports Complex to take advantage of the wake board park or the swimming pool.

Day 8

Today we hit the trails in and around the Consocep mountain resort that consists of several natural waterfalls. We'll take a downhill single track section back to the trail head. In the afternoon it's a short boat ride to Atulayan Island to a fishing village for a swim and to enjoy the beach.

Day 9

Today we ride at the base of the picturesque but still active Mt. Mayon. We'll ride through coconut plantations, lava flows and dried stream beds and take a break at the foot of a lava flow and have the opportunity to take a zip line back to solid ground.

Day 10

We switch to snorkeling today. We drive down to Donsol to snorkel with the famous whale sharks that gather from November to February. Farewell dinner in Legazpi.

Day 11

Time to say good bye to Mt. Mayon as we fly by the volcano on our flight to Manila in the morning.

• The use of local guides was outstanding and added to the enjoyment of the trip. Both our drivers, Jess and Eric were excellent. April did a great job of logistics and although Allan is obviously learning his trade, we really appreciated his extra efforts to ensure our trip was a good one.

  The Boutique Hotel, the Hidden Valley Springs Resort, and the Oriental Hotel were excellent accomodations.

  We enjoyed the food and the choices of restaurants made by our guides.

  We really enjoyed our guide in Lucbon, "Funk" who not only showed us some great biking trails but also took the effort to give us a walking tour of his town and tell us about its history and traditions.

  Clay Wertheimer - April 2012

• Philippines roads are very crowded. So the fact that we rode on single track and on dirt roads was excellent choice.

  Whale shark swimming was great extra curricular activity.

  Doug Johnson - February 2012

• Our trip was a great success! The Philippines is an absolute wonderful place for mountain biking. We were all very pleasantly surprised to see how clean and well maintained the villages were. We will definitely come back to Philipines again!

  Søren Mouritsen - November 2011

• Die Tour war wirklich fantastisch die Organisation, alles bestens, wir können SpiceRoads jedem empfehlen.

  The tour was really fantastic -- the organization, everything was the best, we can recommend SpiceRoads to everyone.

  Werner and Heidi Kunzler - March 2011