top of page
Nov 26 min read

North Luzon by Motorcycle <>

Philippines | Sept 2024 |


Here's details on my solo moto adventure doing the North Luzon Loop on a rental Honda XR 150.


Duration & Distances

  • 8 days / 7 stops / 39 hrs riding / 1500 km

  • Details of rides and stops are at the bottom of the page in the Maps and Trip Reports sections



Why North Luzon?

I'd been to the Philippines many times, mainly famous beach island or business centers (Manila, Clark). I was aware that the north of Luzon is mountainous, and that Baguio and Vigan, amongst other places, were new destinations I wanted to see. After the trip I can say that it's a world-class riding destination with epic roads and sights, good value, and great experiences


Planning & Route

  • Research: Google "North Luzon Loop" and you will find tons of info about riding north of Manila.

  • Solo or tour? I like to travel in a fairly unorganized, independent manner, so there was no question for me - solo. But that said, you can join organized tours. I had no issues riding solo.

  • Start point: This is an important consideration if you're riding >400cc bike. I initially arranged a rental in Manila. But then I learned bikes under 400cc cannot ride on the expressway - so the 85 km journey from Manila to Anglese was going to take 4 hours on secondary roads, instead of 90 minutes on the freeway. So I canceled that booking and took a bus to Angeles (2 hours on a Sunday). BUT, I then suffered a similar fate from Angelese to Baguio - backroads. In the end I wished I started my trip with a rental in Baguio.

  • Rental: I booked with Nice Bike Rental in Angeles, based on a post by Warren at Motorcycle Paradise. And likewise, I also recommend Nice. My only nit was that they insisted I leave my passport, which I don't usually do (but I have more than one - lucky me - and can risk leaving the one I didn't stamp in on).

  • License: I carried the usual: passport, motorcycle DL & IDP (both Singapore) and bike registration.

  • Route: Aside from Angeles to Baguio, I didn't have a pre-set route, only a general idea of where I would go. I just worked it out along the way. One major change was Baguio to Sagada, rather than Baguio to Vigan - and I was very happy to have gone that route. See bottom of page for detailed maps of my route.

Bike & Gear

  • Bike: I was looking at a Yamaha NMax scooter, as I wasn't expecting any off-roading. But Nice doesn't rent scooters for trips outside of the Clark area. So I took a Honda XR150, the same bike I had ridden in May 2024 in Vietnam. Cost was about $12/day. The bike was solid and ran well. The only issue was its notched seat - my 183cm tall frame is better on a flat seat that I can slide back on while riding.

  • Riding gear:

  • Luggage:

    • Karrimor 70L duffel from Sports Direct - it's ok, a good size for the trip and water-resistant.

    • Pacsafe Anti-Theft Waterproof Safe - carried in my Karrimor bag, used as a portable safe.

    • Patagonia Black Hole Waist Pack - "man purse" for daily use on/off the bike, carries wallet, phone, glasses, charger, hat, documents, etc.

    • Apple Airtags are in each bag, and another is stashed on the Honda.

    • Givi magnetic tankbag - really useful for holding charging brick for phone, wallet, GoPro batteries, etc. (I scavenged it off an abandoned bike in no-mans-land at the Thailand-Cambodia border between Koh Chang and Koh Kong).

    • ZeePro dry bag - I mostly use this to clip my GoPro to the shoulder strap, and also as an emergency dry bag.

  • Straps: my trusty Rok straps secured my bags on the back of the bike. These things are great, a step up from bungee cords (and have an interesting origin story, look it up).

  • Camera: I take a lot of photos, some videos. My current rig is a GoPro 12 and iPhone 15. As mentioned above, I use the Go Pro on a clip mount that I attach to my backpack shoulder strap. It's set to voice activation and I keep the beep sound turned on, that way I know the camera is taking a photo or video while I am riding. I use the iPhone for major photo opportunities that require a stop and keep it in my tank bag for easy access.


Cost

  • The Philippines is mostly great value. The only weak point is accommodation, which for reasons that are not clear, is generally over-priced, about 2x what you pay in Vietnam, for example. Otherwise, food, drink, gas and other essentials are all cheap. I was spending about $60/day, not living large, but also not cutting corners.

Insurance

  • Motorcycle: I asked Nice about it and was told "you just work it out in the Philippines". And, fortunately, I didn't need to work anything out!

  • Travel/Medical: I use World Nomads travel insurance which covers motorcycle riding and other action-oriented activities, US$675 for 6 months.


Roads & Driving



Weather

  • I think I got very lucky. My trip in late Sept. was at the tail-end of the rainy season. When I arrived in Manila it was pouring rain, and the weather report did not look good. But I managed to avoid rain for almost the entire trip, including an incoming typhoon.


People, Communication & Safety

  • A well-known fact is that Filipinos are amongst the friendliest and most fun-loving people on the planet. And I experienced it well on this trip.

  • English is spoken fluently everywhere, you never have communication challenges as a native speaker.

  • Overall it is very safe (I have had one security issue in the Philippines in 30 years of visiting the place). As with anywhere, it's always a good idea to manage your stuff (ex: in a Pacsafe portable safe), and don't put yourself in any compromising situation(s).


Mobile & Wifi

  • I bought a 30-day unlimited data Smart SIM on arrival NAIA, $35. Service was decent in Luzon (and Mindoro later), though I couldn't stream with it.

  • Due to the decent and cheap mobile data, I didn't bother with wi-fi.


Accommodation

  • As mentioned earlier, accommodation can be a weak-point of travel in the Philippines (compared to, say, Thailand and Vietnam). In general, accom is more expensive, the quality can be so-so. No idea why this is the case - but it can be aggravating 9I like cheap price, great quality!).

  • I used Agoda for almost all of my bookings, as in all my travels.



F&B

  • The Philippines is not renowned for it's cuisine - quite the opposite, frankly. It's largely a combo of blase local cuisine (largely deep fried), and western fast food.

  • That said, there are some great local dishes such as Inasal (chicken?), Kinilaw (ceviche), and Calamares (you guessed it) that I ate daily when I could find it.

  • You can find good American food, a legacy of US military days and tourism. Tequila Sunrise in Angeles, The Filling Station in Manila, Big Apple in Puerto Galera are good examples. There are also tons of great Korean, Arab, Chinese, Italian places in Manila.

  • Chain convenience stores like 7-11 and Circle K are everywhere.

  • Alcohol is fully available, beer is cheap.

  • Weed seems to be non-existent (a legacy of Dueterte - understandable its not easy to find....). The only other drugs I was regularly pitched were Cialis and Viagra.



Sights

  • North Luzon has great scenery, ranging from mountains, to rice paddies, to historic cities, to scenic coastline. It's not as awesome as Vietnam or Indonesia, but it has its moments.

  • Wildlife: Sadly, I saw none; there must be many reasons for this, but I won't speculate here as I am uninformed.



Activities

Amongst many things to do in North Luzon, here are some I did or considered:

  • Caves: Sagada has some world-class spelunking; tried to go but the caves there were closed for the month of Sept.

  • War sites: there is a memorial to the USS Stingray at Pagudpud; Fields Avenue in Angeles feels like 1968.

Trip reports

Sharing detailed descriptions of my rides from/to and stays at the latter.


Maps

The maps below provide a good view of the road routes I followed. Click on the "window" top left for ride-to-from details.



Questions?

Drop me a line at terraxplor1@gmail.com, happy to help.

Comments

bottom of page