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An All Terrain Vehicle(ATV) Drive Experience at the Foot of Mount Mayon

Location: Daraga, 4501 Albay, Philippines

After more than 5 years without a get-together, my first bestest college freshmen classmates and I finally made a fun reunion. I had some great memories experiencing what our own neighbor town has to offer – the ATV ride at Cagsawa, Daraga, Albay.

Travelling from Legazpi City, we took a jeep going to Camalig/Oas/Polangui then dropped off at Cagsawa marker. There’s a tricycle queue that provides service to go straight to Bicol Adventure Tours or to the church ruins. Since we wanted to save some money, we took a walk and we got  to see the house ruins along the road. (Update: A lot of ruined houses exist at time of visit but are now rare along this road.)

For today’s activity, we skipped visiting Cagsawa ruins since we’re only signed up for the ATV ride. The rides offered by Bicol Adventure Tours are available in two trails– 1hr and 3hrs drive. The one-hour trail is estimated to be a 6KM drive and costs 599 pesos (at time of travel 2013). The three-hour trail is estimated to be a 18KM drive and cost 1,800 pesos (just multiply the 1hr trail by 3 and add 3 pesos LOL!) 

We went there at 2 in the afternoon(hot afternoon!). Choosing between the two trails? The pricey one would be the best since they say it'd reach to the lava bed and a really nearer view of Mt. Mayon. Since we're jobless and ATV driver newbies, we chose the 1hr trail.

Before hitting the rough terrain, a drive test is performed at the Bicol Adventure Tours garage. Then, we're ready to go with the Trail Master leading the way. Vrrrooommm.

What I learned as a newbie ATV rider:
> Be careful of the rocky streams, slow down. 
> Don't fight with the boulders, they ain't gonna give way.

My friend got into a small accident with the vehicle. Thankfully, she only suffered from a small bruise from rolling around to save her camera. 

There's definitely a next time for the 3hr-trail! Oh, gotta make sure it's not a cloudy day to get a better view of Mayon.


2024 Update: I have taken again the 1-hr trail for 2 sets of colleague-friends and they really enjoy this activity. The prices have changed since then. 2013 was still the best when the vehicle was still far from wear and tear and the trail was rougher. It was worth spending the last jobless cash I have that time. 😀

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