Tagaytay

Located at a mountain ridge on southern Cavite, the city of Tagaytay provides a mildly cool refuge from Manila's gritty side. It is the unofficial "Second Summer Capital" of the Philippines (the first is Baguio), and its proximity to Metro Manila draws local and foreign tourists alike. Despite the city's association with scenic Taal Volcano and the lake surrounding it, being in neighboring Batangas province, Tagaytay has many hidden things beyond the first impressions. Once a sleepy mountain town, Tagaytay has been a home to many things worth visiting: scenic viewpoints, religious sites, dining, and a new arrival, shopping malls.

Understand
Rising at about, Tagaytay is cooler than the lowlands of Cavite, and some rich residents, both Filipino and foreigner, have set up mansions near to the scenic views of mountains and the dominating Taal volcano and lake. It is a city of 85,000 people (2020), scattered in 38 barangays. Due to its altitude, there are also some pine trees – similar to those in Baguio — growing here.

Tagaytay is unofficially called the "Second Summer Capital of the Philippines" by locals and tourists in comparison to Baguio; official statistics as of 2015 record 500,000 tourist arrivals. Tagaytay becomes crowded during Christmas and Holy Week, and the main highways to the city become jammed.

Name
Tagaytay's name is derived from the Tagalog word for "mountain ridge", but there is an urban legend circulating by word of mouth to describe the origin of the city's name. The tale describes the origin of the name "Tagaytay" as coming from the yells of a boy who was hunting with his father on the location of the current city. The boy shouted "Taga, itay" after his father hunted and caught one, and this words echoed at the mountain, that led to the name.

Orientation
Tagaytay, despite its city status, looks more of a aggregation of villages and towns, with subdivisions — gated or not — and farmland in between, however, large urban developments like high-rise condominiums and shopping malls have arrived in Tagaytay, and traffic jams have become a problem during peak season.

Important to local orientation are the main roads and the major junctions, which form the commercial centers. Aguinaldo Highway is the east-west artery and main commercial street, becoming Tagaytay-Calamba Road to Picnic Grove and People's Park east of the central roundabout, Tagaytay Rotonda. Tagaytay Rotonda, aka Olivarez Junction (after the eponymous college and mall complex), has two large malls and the roundabout where Aguinaldo Highway turns to the west. Mahogany Junction, and the Kaybagal area, rather two barangays with directional disambiguation on their names, has the casino, city hall complex, public market, the Sky Ranch theme park, the Summit Ridge mall, and the Taal Vista Hotel. Between the Mahogany and Olivarez areas are the strip of cliffside restaurants with views of Taal volcano and lake (and Batangas province), and a row of retreat houses. Western Tagaytay, which blurs into the adjacent municipality of Alfonso, has Crossing Mendez, another junction with a commercial strip, some accommodations, the Puzzle Mansion, and Zoori (Zoo and Residence Inn).

Climate
Tagaytay has a mild climate and dramatic scenery, which makes it popular with residents of Manila. Average temperatures range from to. There are three seasons, a cool dry season, hot dry season (summer) and the wet season. Peak seasons are the cool dry season, which includes the Christmas and New Year period, and the hot dry season, which includes the Holy Week peak period.

The cool dry season from December to March is the most pleasant season to visit, with daytime highs below the 30s and nighttime lows from and below, and not much rainfall, except in December.

The hot dry season is characterized by daytime highs at, but is short, only lasting between April and May, and the weather becomes variable by May. While the humidity can make the heat unbearable, Tagaytay generally does have cooler temperatures, so many tourists flock the city during Holy Week.

Rainy season covers much of the year, from June to November, but the weather can be changeable. July and August has the most rainfall, and it's best to avoid those months.

Local information

 * Tagaytay Coty Government website

Get in
Tagaytay is south of Manila, and is easy to reach than the more popular Baguio. While it's possible to reach the city by bus, many travelers bring a car.

By car


Most tourists to Tagaytay bring a car, making all major road entry points packed during times. Tagaytay is a hour from Manila under proper traffic conditions, but expect travel to be 1½-2 hours due to traffic jams or an occasional rainstorm.

From Manila
From Manila, the main highways to Tagaytay are the moderately congested Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road (Route 420), the most traveled route with an interchange with the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) on the Santa Rosa end, and the perennially snarled Aguinaldo Highway (Route 62 in Bacoor, Route 419 between Bacoor and Silang, Route 410 from Silang to Tagaytay).

Many travelers from Manila drive to Tagaytay via SLEX. Most leave at Santa Rosa Exit, which directly connects to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road (Route 420), but it gets snarled during weekdays or peak season, so there are alternatives:


 * Via CALAX Leave SLEX at Mamplasan, and take the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) to Santa Rosa, where you turn right to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road.
 * Via Eton City Exit: Exit SLEX at Eton City, then follow partially divided Greenfield Park, and turn left to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road. The roads from Eton City exit are lightly traveled, so it is being promoted as an alternate route to Tagaytay from SLEX.
 * Via Carmona Exit: Exit SLEX at Carmona, then follow Governor's Drive through Carmona, then turn left at Carmona-Silang Road. It bypasses Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road to the north and useful if you are making side trips to Silang, but leads you through barangays in the middle of nowhere and local processions during the middle of the year can slow traffic down.

For the two options mentioned, 1 hour and 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb, if accounting for traffic.


 * Via MCX and Daang Hari: Exit into Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) in Muntinlupa, which ends at a circular junction with Daang Hari at the southern tip of Las Piñas. Afterwards, follow Daang Hari with an option of traveling up to Aguinaldo Highway in Imus, or turning into Molino-Paliparan Road into Dasmariñas, where you turn right to Governor's Drive to Palapala Junction. Approximate travel times are 1 hour, 50 minutes to 2 hours, if accounting for traffic conditions.
 * Via CAVITEX: Take the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx, or Coastal Road), exit at Bacoor, and follow Aguinaldo Highway all the way to Tagaytay. This is no longer a recommended option due to traffic jams along stretches of Aguinaldo Highway, and a trip can take about 2 hours or more.

For those taking Aguinaldo Highway or Governor's Drive on their road trip, beware of a travel restriction in force from December 2018, where vehicles cannot travel through those mentioned roads based on the final digit of their license plate number during weekdays.

By bus
Tagaytay is well served by buses from Metro Manila, but delays from traffic jams remain. Most buses to Tagaytay depart from Parañaque and head for other towns further inland within southern Cavite or to Western Batangas via Aguinaldo Highway. Buses going to Tagaytay can be found where they show "via Tagaytay" on their signboards. For a complete list, see Parañaque.

There are two bus companies which have trips terminating at Tagaytay.



Tagaytay does not have any bus stations; instead, buses stop at major road junctions: Tagaytay Rotonda (aka. Olivarez, the junction of Aguinaldo Highway and Tagaytay-Calamba Road), Mahogany Junction (the intersection of Mahogany Avenue and Crisanto M. delos Reyes Avenue), and Crossing Mendez (junction between Aguinaldo Highway and Tagaytay-Mendez Road). Buses terminating at Tagaytay generally turn around past Mendez or at the roundabout.

Regardless of carrier, the bus fare to Tagaytay from Parañaque is approximately as of 2019. A trip from Nasugbu costs around, and Balayan from.

Alternative routes from Manila
If you don't bother taking a bus plying Aguinaldo Highway through congested suburban Cavite, you may consider taking the DLTB bus from Pasay and headed for Nasugbu via Carmona for, or take a bus to Santa Rosa, then transfer to a jeepney. The DLTB bus fare may cost as twice as the usual fare from Parañaque, but it saves time otherwise wasted on a traffic jam.

Bus travel via Santa Rosa, coupled with a jeepney trip to Tagaytay is a possible option, especially if you are coming from the airport or from Metro Manila's financial centers. There are many possible combinations, based on your starting point.


 * From NAIA: UBE Express operates premium buses to Nuvali (with a transfer to a jeepney from there) or Robinsons Santa Rosa Market. If you took the bus to the Robinsons mall, you must transfer to a jeepney plying the National Highway and get down at Balibago, where the jeepneys to Tagaytay depart. The fare is about.
 * From Pasay or Cubao: Jam and Jac Liner has buses to Balibago Complex from either point, with departures every 30 minutes. Fares start from . to . They provide a more direct connection with the jeepney terminal, which is within walking distance.
 * From Makati: Tas Trans operates another premium bus from The Circuit to Nuvali via Santa Rosa Exit.

By van
UV Express (formerly known as FX and GTExpress) also provide service to Tagaytay from Manila, especially EDSA Rotonda, Shaw Crossing, Buendia and Alabang. Fares range from to.

By boat
The nearest ports are in Batangas City and Manila, both with connections to local public transport.

From Batangas port
From Batangas port, there is one local jeepney route out of the port, which unfortunately does not serve the central bus station, but it's easy to find a connection as you enter downtown Batangas. Tricycles are the only direct option to reach the bus station, but there is a risk of rip-offs (a charge for a long-distance tricycle ride is not uncommon within Batangas City).

At the bus station, options are:


 * Provincial buses: BSC (Batman Starexpress) has hourly departures to Nasugbu from Batangas. Get down at the Palico roundabout, where you can catch another bus on the direction of Tagaytay. A trip from Batangas to Palico takes about 2 hours with traffic in account, and about a hour to Tagaytay from Palico. The fare is about to Palico, and  to Tagaytay from Palico.
 * Minivans: There are UV Express to Calamba or Dasmariñas. From Calamba, transfer to another van are available. From Dasmariñas, buses are available outside the bus terminal. They are often not a comfortable and affordable option; vans tend to be cramped, and the fares are twice as the bus. Beware of unlicensed ones though.

Get around
Tagaytay does not have any taxis, and they are not available from the malls either; the few taxis are generally those who pay thousands of pesos to get to the city from Manila. There are jeepneys across town, but almost all run to nearby towns and municipalities. Within Tagaytay, you'll either get around by car or if you don't drive, by tricycle or jeepney.

By jeepney
Jeepneys are common. Fares are usually around, sometimes a little more depending on the distance.

On foot
At the Tagaytay visitor's center and near the zip line is quite easy to walk and explore.

See
Most tourists visit Tagaytay to view Taal Volcano, an active volcano with a large crater lake with a small cone rising in the middle. Though part of nearby Batangas province, tours to the area are mostly organized from here (see ). You can just view the volcano from the slopes of the city; trips to the volcano are expensive though by local standards, but reasonable by foreign standards, especially if you bargain. Due to an eruption that is ongoing since 2020, it has been prohibited to visit the volcano.



Buy
Small shops line the roadway as you come into the area, the vegetables and fruits are fresh and good quality.

The area is also famous for its Buko Pie.

There is also the Good Shepherd Convent (like the one in Baguio) and you can get your favorite Ube jam, pili, etc. In addition to that you can also get their buko pie for which Laguna/Cavite is known.

Drink
Coffee - Coffee shops are abundant in the city proper, some of the noted ones are Starbucks Coffee and Bag of Beans.

Stay safe
Tagaytay is a safe place to visit, and the locals are very nice, just beware of the usual things in Tagaytay such as scammers and pickpockets; in short exercise the usual level of common sense when travelling.

Beware of the obvious scams and ensure that if you are visiting Taal volcano or any other attractions with guides that they have the proper identification usually administered by the Philippine Tourist Board.

As with all tourist destinations, they like to "plus plus" everything, that is add the taxes and the tourist fee on later, so make sure that you ask for the complete price inclusive of tourist fee. It is recommended that if you visit Taal Volcano and you go horseback riding, that you demand to pay your guide a tip and forego paying as a tour guide fee at the ticket office as this ensures that your working guide actually gets paid as they get undercut from the ticket office; a tip of  usually suffices.

Connect
Police, Medical and Fire: 911. 911 may also be texted from cellphones. Tourist hotline: +63 2-5241728, +63 2-5241660 Immigration hotline: 527 Directory assistance: 187 (fee applies)

Mobile phone reception is good in the area.

Go next
Indang, a quiet, off-the-beaten-track municipality with some historical sights and some resorts, can be reached within 15 to 30 minutes.

Western Batangas can be reachable by a 30-minute or 1-hour road trip. Nearest places are:
 * Nasugbu — The touristic and commercial center of the region, with luxury beach resorts, mountain hiking, and a few sights.
 * Lemery and Taal — Two contrasting towns, separated by a river that once connected Taal Lake and volcano with the sea. Lemery is mostly commercial, with some sights and a few beaches, while Taal has heritage homes, a very old basilica, and butterfly knife (balisong) producers and shops.

Taal Volcano can be visited without having to book a tour in Tagaytay, but tend to be expensive if a tout approaches you on the Batangas side. Talisay is the main entry point, within the designated park boundaries, and has luxurious lakeside resorts, but its town center has little to nothing to see.