Taal Lake is the third-largest lake in the Philippines. Within the lake, you can find Taal Volcano, one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world. Most people admire panoramic views of the lake from Tagaytay City in Cavite, the most popular (and usually crowded) weekend tourist destination near Manila. Those who want to enjoy a more peaceful and serene trip can visit the towns of Batangas surrounding the lake.

Though I’ve been to Tagaytay loads of times, I’ve been wanting to explore more of the lakeside towns on two wheels. The Taal Lake Loop involves riding around the towns of Batangas surrounding Taal Lake. This can be challenging for cyclists because getting there and back involves a lot of uphill climbs and fun (but sometimes dangerous) downhills, but it’s a relatively easy route if you’re on a motorcycle.

Where exactly is Taal Lake?

Though visible from Tagaytay City in Cavite, which has greatly benefited from tourism because of it, Taal Lake and Taal Volcano are actually located in the neighboring province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Taal used to be a much larger volcano, rising to 5800 meters, before volcanic activity reduced it to a lake. Present-day Tagaytay and surrounding mountains were part of the original rim. The lake now fills Taal Caldera, a large volcanic caldera formed by very large eruptions between 500,000 and 100,000 years ago.

Route Map

Depending on where you’re coming from, you can start your ride in any of the lakeside towns: Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Sta. Teresita, Alitagytag, Cuenca, Lipa, Mataas ba Kahoy, Balete or Tanauan. I read that there was a Taal Circumferential Road, but apparently that’s still in the planning phase. Coming from Tagaytay, Talisay is the nearest jump-off point. As of September 2019, not all towns are linked around the coastline yet. Here’s my suggested route.

Why it’s great for riders

For riders based in Manila looking for a destination for day trips and weekend rides, this is relatively near. In a way, riding around Taal Lake feels a bit like looping a small island because of the coastal feel of the roads, scenic views and provincial vibe. There are a lot of interesting historical sites to visit in the area. The roads are all paved. Because of the mountainous terrain of the area, you have to pass some challenging portions and twisties which always appeals to riders. Trips to the lake can also be combined with staycations in lakeside resorts, visits to Tagaytay or other top tourist activities like hiking to the crater lake.

In terms of distance, the Taal Lake loop is just roughly over 100 km. By motorcycle, you can circle the lake in about 3-4 hours depending on your route, detours, length of stopovers and traffic. However, that doesn’t include the travel time getting to and from the area from Manila yet, which is a whole different story (see last section below).

The Ride

Our start and endpoint for the Taal Lake loop was The Lake Park / Wakim Lake Resort in Talisay, Batangas. After driving from Manila with a stopover in Laguna for lunch, we arrived in Talisay around 2 pm.

We just checked-in and left our bags, then started the loop ride at around 3 pm. I suggest you leave earlier or do this ride in the morning to maximize time and good light.

From Talisay, we took a counter-clockwise route towards Laurel and Agoncillo, where I found the roads to be very nice and scenic. We stopped at a newly built fishport in Laurel. There was a helipad and small docking area with unobstructed views of the lake where we parked the bikes.

It was a very pleasant and scenic drive through parts of the Taal Circumferential Road with a peaceful view of fishing boats and fish pens. I didn’t notice a lot of restaurants or eateries by the lake though, there’s still not yet a lot of development on this side as the road here is fairly new (about 2 years old).

From the Circumferential Road, we could have bypassed the main Taal town proper and gone straight on to San Nicolas and Sta. Teresita through a diversion road, but I wanted to pass by the Taal Church, which is a major landmark of the town, so we had to deal with some light traffic getting in and out. We got to Taal town at around 4:30 pm.

The Basilica de San Martin de Tours, or Taal Basilica, is said to be the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia, standing 88.6 meters long and 48 meters wide. The facade of the church was undergoing renovation during our visit as part of the church was damaged during an earthquake in 2017.

There’s a landmark spelling out name in town in front of the church by a small plaza area. Some helpful vendors selling tawilis told us we could bring our motorcycles up just for photo ops and offered to take our picture, so we did just that.

Taal Heritage Town has that old-world charm similar to Vigan and Intramuros. The church is right across the Hall of the Municipal Government of Taal. There’s a row of ancestral houses, cafes and restaurants. Even the 7-Eleven convenience store near the plaza fits the vibe of the old houses.

There are lots of places to museums and heritage houses to visit around the Taal Heritage Town that will appeal to history buffs. This includes the Galeria Taal Camera Museum, Apacible Museum, Casa Villavicencio, Wedding Gift House, Marcella Agoncillo Museum, White House and more.

Taal is known as the “Balisong and Barong Tagalog Capital of the Philippines.” You can spot roadside shops selling balisong (Filipino butterfly knife) in Barangay Balisong.

From the Taal town proper, Googlemaps suggested we pass through Alitagtag, Cuenca and straight to high-traffic cities like Lipa, Malvar and Tanauan, but to be honest, there’s not much to see there in terms of scenery. It’s much better if you pass Mataas na Kahoy and Balete and then loop back to Talisay via Tanauan.

If you have more time, you can visit the Pusod Taal Lake Conservation Center near the shore of Taal Lake in Mataas Na Kahoy, which offers activities like kayaking and has a treehouse for overnight stays. We decided to skip it because it was getting dark and we’d been to these towns before and have biked around the towns of Balete from Malvar.

We got back to Talisay around 7:30 pm right in time for dinner. Restaurants in the area close relatively early (around 9:00 pm).

Hike to Taal Crater Lake

One of the reasons I wanted to base overnight in Talisay was the accessibility to the jump-off point for boat tours to the Taal Crater Lake. Hiking up to the crater lake on Volcano island in the middle of Taal Lake is one of the most popular/touristy things to do coming from Tagaytay. It’s been bugging me for ages that I’ve never been there. It’s a nice easy hike with rewarding views.

TRIVIA: Most people confuse Binintiang Malaki for Taal Volcano, because that’s what’s most visible from various vantage points. The picture above is what you usually see in postcards, history textbooks, and Philippine currency. But according to local tour guides who offer boat tours, the real Taal Volcano actually looks something like this. The dormant Binintiang Malaki cone was the center of the 1707 and 1715 eruptions.

The whole island that lies near the center of the lake is called Volcano Island. There are actually several different peaks and hiking trails on the island, including Mt. Taal, Mt. Balantoc and Binitiang Malaki.

The trail to the crater lake via Talisay is very established, easy to hike and family-friendly. The hike is just 4km and takes most people about 45 mins. Seniors & children can even ride horses going all the way up to view deck if they get tired.

The actual crater lake on Volcano Island contains its own tiny island called Vulcan Point. This makes it an island in the middle of a lake, in the middle of a volcano, in the middle of a bigger lake, in the middle of a bigger island (Luzon), in an archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean.

Volcano Island is inhabited, with most of the tour guides and their families settling there. Our assigned guide Charie said she’d been living there for 14 years. Apparently, when there’s a volcano warning, all the residents evacuate. I just hope they take the horses with them.

We were told people could hike to the base of the crater lake itself from jump-off points in other lakeside towns. Those who want a challenge can hike via Balete (8km) or Alitagtag (18km). Those trails usually attract students or mountaineers. But for casual weekend travelers (especially those coming from Tagaytay) who just want to enjoy the view, the Talisay trail is the most convenient option.

Overall, it’s a scenic 30 min boat ride + 45-minute hike + 30 min boat ride back for a total of 2-3 hours. It’s a good half-day trip if you have the time to spare. It’s best to start early (around 7:00 -8:00 am) so it won’t be so hot during the hike up. Boat trips may be canceled if the waves are too strong (usually afternoons) if there’s a typhoon and if there are gale warnings.

We availed of this tour from Precious Boat Station (The Gateway to Taal Volcano) in Talisay. There’s a barangay ordinance with fixed rates for the boats, which can be a bit expensive if there’s just two of you. It’s better if you go in a group to share costs.

• Roundtrip boat ride – P2,000.00 (good for 2-7 pax)
• Horseback riding fee – P500.00/person
• Tourism entrance fee – P100.00/person
• Local tour guide’s fee – P500.00 per group
• Docking fee – P50.00/boat

Contact: Bryan Malvataan. 0917-2032792 / Leolyn Malvataan. 09173631251.

Precious Boat Station offers complimentary items like bottled water, buri hats, face masks (because there are sulfuric fumes), raincoats (you can return it if you don’t use it), free parking and fresh buko juice when you return.

Where to Stay

For this ride, we stayed at The Lake Park, Wakim Lake Resort in Santa Maria, Talisay, Batangas (8 km from Tagaytay). There are several lakeside resorts in the area, but I got attracted to the place because of the secure lakeside parking and price range. It’s good for those with private vehicles including motorcycles and bicycles who want lakeside parking with scenic views.

The rooms are basic but decent and it’s a nice and quiet area. Check-in and check-out time is flexible. The data signal is a bit weak in the area (Smart was just Edge), but the resort has WiFi.

They don’t have a restaurant, but there’s a common kitchenette where you can cook food, making it a good option for families and barkadas. You can buy water, sofdrinks and beer there by just getting these from their ref in the lounge area and listing it down (honesty system). Beer na beer!

Their published rate for a room with private CR is P1,350 for 2, but they charge extra for use of electricity, so it came out to about P1,400+. They have bigger rooms for groups and families and you can rent out a whole weekend apartment.

Other options in the area include Balai Isabel or Oyo Balai Sofia across a gas station and near the junction to Tagaytay. You could also opt to stay along the lake in Mataas na Kahoy in Balete. If you want a quiet and unique place to stay, Taal Pusod Heritage Center has a treehouse by the lake. But it’s much quieter there and there are not a lot of places to eat nearby, so you may have to bring your own food.

Where to Eat

From Talisay, Tagaytay is just pretty near via the Ligaya Road. Tagaytay is a popular food trip destination for weekend travelers and families. Specialties include bulalo, tawilis, farm fresh food. Restaurants there can be more expensive and there are a lot of fast-food chains and big-name cafes like Starbucks that you regularly see in the city.

If you just want to enjoy local eats and simpler fare, I’d say skip Tagaytay and sample the homegrown restos or smaller eatiers instead. There are several small eateries along the main road in Talisay serving bulalo, seafood, kambing, etc. Leonidas along the road is good for those on a budget.

Cafe Diem is a pleasant cafe that serves rice meals, pasta, breakfast dishes, artisanal breads, vegetarian options and homemade ice cream. It’s across the road from a gas station. Good for couples and families.

Terrraza Filipino Dining at Club Balai Isabel is a good choice for families and groups. Their servings are generous, but a bit on the expensive side. You can eat here even if you aren’t checked in.

How to get to Taal Lake from Manila (small displacement bikes)

Word of warning, the main deterrent for making this ride really enjoyable is having to go through the traffic-choked towns in and out of Manila to Talisay. While you can do this as a day ride, the traffic going there and back through the most direct route is the pits. Since small bikes aren’t allowed on Expressways, these are your options.

The “shortest” & most direct route

There are several suggested routes on Googlemaps when you click the “avoid highways and tolls” option. The most direct route involves passing through either Manila or C5 and Taguig to get to Imus, Dasmarinas and Silang going to Tagaytay, then go down to Talisay on Ligaya Road from there. Small bikes can also pass the service roads of Alabang, Muntinlupa, Sta. Rosa and Calamba to get to Talisay. If you’re coming from towns in the South like Paranaque, this is nearer. There are some alternative routes like C6 from Taytay and Daang Hari that can make the ride slightly better.

Based just on Googlemaps, that’s just between 80-100 kms. It sounds near, but the estimated travel time is over 4 hours. What the map does not show you is the horrendous traffic and terrible road conditions in highly urbanized areas like Manila, Las Pinas, Bacoor, Imus, Dasmarinas and all the service roads. Seriously, the majority of your ride will be weaving in between trucks and buses, which sucks out the joy of road-tripping. We took this route going back to Manila and I regretted most of it. The only interesting part was going up Ligaya Drive. Tagaytay and Silang were ok but it got worse and worse the nearer to Manila we got.

Ligaya Drive

From Talisay, we passed Ligaya Drive going up to Tagaytay. This is an 11.7 km long mountain road that’s listed as one of the most Dangerous Roads in the Philipines. It’s pretty narrow, with some very steep sections and about 15 hairpin turns.

I wish I could have stopped to take photos here, but I didn’t want to lose momentum. Please be careful if you’re riding here during the rainy season. There’s a view deck at the halfway point.

The longer but more scenic route

Going there, we took a longer but much more scenic route through Marilaque, Pagsanjan, Tanauan, Bay and Laguna. This adds +1 hour of travel time, but I did not feel tired at all. If you’re after a nice long ride with scenic views, this route is much better. Since I live in the North area (Quezon City), I prefer passing this route just so I can avoid passing Edsa, C5 and Manila.

If I were to do this again. I would pass the backroads going back. Yeah, I know it’s longer, but at least you enjoy the ride instead of being stuck in mind-numbing traffic with buses, slow-moving jeepney, swerving cars, and having to navigate through gutters and sidewalks. We had a nice lunchstop in Pagsanjan, and I thought the Makiling-Banahaw Geothermal Power Plant in Bay was just bizarre with all the pipes lining the road.

While I know most riders would probably be satisfied with the loop ride itself, I highly recommend you stay overnight in Talisay, so you have more time for other activities and have more time for sightseeing.

Trip Summary

The distance according to Googlemaps estimate is lower, but based on my odometer reading, we traveled 429 km during this ride because we took the “long cut” / scenic route via Pagsanjan and Tanauan to get to Talisay and the shorter Tagaytay, Silang and Imus route back to Manila. Here’s the map route. It doesn’t seem right, but when I calculated distances, this is actually longer than Manila to Naga City (390 km).

• STARTING ODOMETER: 7,164  km
• END ODOMETER: 7,593 km
• TOTAL: 429 kilometers

Some lessons learned during the ride: shorter travel time on the map doesn’t mean it’s the best or most enjoyable. If you can take detours through barangay or diversion roads, take them. Getting to Taal from Manila and back takes a lot more effort than the actual Taal Lake loop itself. Traffic and bad road conditions can make driving in Manila feel like a battlefield. Ride safe!

P.S. Thank you to Motoworld for the IXON Cool Air Ladies Riding Jacket and EVO Assault riding shoes. It’s nice to have proper gear made for women that fits me! Will review items separately soon. 😀