La Union Travel Guide: How to Go and Places to Visit

For the past years, La Union continuously rising as one of the must-visited province of Northern Luzon. I noticed that it is becoming popular to tourists especially to the young folks due to its beach-food-party scenes. Popularly called as “Elyu”, this province is popular for their waves good for surfing and will definitely give you a weekend worth spending.

So here is travel guide you can check and be ready for that Elyu vibe!

Knowing La Union:

La Union is a province of Ilocos Region and its capital city San Fernando serves as the Regional Center of the whole region. It has Ilocos Sur on the north, Pangasinan province on its south, Benguet on the east and West Philippines Sea on the west. It is now being tagged as the “Surfing Capital of the North”. It is said that the best time to go to La Union is from November to March.

How to go to La Union?

Tourists usually have their accommodation booked at San Fernando, which is the capital city, or San Juan where beach activities can be seen. So depending on your chosen hotel, you can drop off either to San Fernando or San Juan. However, if I will be asked, I preferred to have my stay booked in San Juan since this is where cheap hostels and chic food places can be found.

Manila to San Juan, La Union

You can ride a bus from Pasay or Cubao (Partas, Viron, Dominion) bound to San Juan, La Union. Fare may ranges from Php 500 to Php 650 depending on the bus type (deluxe, regular aircon bus etc.) that you will be taking and travel time may take 5-7 hours. Just ask the driver to just drop you off in San Juan Beach.

*Partas bus fare from Cubao to San Juan, La Union costs us Php 648 (As of November 2023)

Manila to San Fernando, La Union

Ride a bus from Pasay or Cubao (Partas, Viron, Dominion) bound to San Fernando, La Union. Fare my ranges from Php 500 to Php 650 depending on the bus (deluxe, regular aircon bus etc.) that you will be taking and travel time may take 5-7 hours. Once arrived in San Fernando, ride a jeepney or tricycle bound to San Juan and travel time may take another 20 minutes.

Bus Terminals and Contact Details:

Partas

Cubao, Bus Terminal
816 Aurora Boulevard, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone Number:
+63 (2) 7278278

Pasay City, Bus Terminal
Aurora Boulevard (Tramo) Corner Edang St. San Roque,
Pasay City, Philippines
Telephone Number:
+63 (2) 8528194

Viron

Cubao, Bus Terminal
Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone Number:
+63 2 7410405

Dominion

Cubao, Bus Terminal Telephone Number:
(02) 727 2350

Places to visit in La Union:

Urbiztondo beach

La Union is famous for surfing and this is where the entire surfing thing happens. Surfing lesson will cost you P600 per hour (instructor fee + board rental).

Pebble Beach

La Union is well known as well for its pebble beaches. We ride a Luna bound jeepney and the driver dropped as on the Pebble Beach near Balay na Bato and it was crazy! I never thought how beautiful a real Pebble Beach could be. It looks like infinite numbers of smooth pebbles that varies in sizes and colors flocks the area. However, what bothered me is that there are many workers on the beach doing pebble picking for a living. It became a source of income on its townspeople but I would not be surprised if one day, the pebble beach will not be as amazing as it is today.

Kamay na Bato (Stone-hand gallery)

It is an art gallery highlighting different kinds of handcrafted stone arts by Mr. Kim.

Namacpacan Church

It is located in Luna town proper and declared as National Cultural Treasure.

Ma-Cho Temple

It is Taoist temple located in San Fernando dedicated to the sea goddess, Mazu.

Immuki Island

One of the newest attractions of the province of La Union tagged as the “Hidden Paradise of the North”. It is an island with crystal clear water lagoons surrounded by mangroves located in the town of Balaoan.