We went for a day tour from Makati, Manila to Tagaytay. Ding, the driver from Tourist Driver is an excellent driver, really relaxed and he knows the roads to avoid the heavy traffic. He also knows the Tagaytay area very well, so he knew how we could get the most out of our trip. We asked him for a detour to the lake and he immediately told us yes. Thank you so much!
Over the years I have used the services of the excellent Arnold Sanchez (Tourist Driver Manila) many times for visiting places such as Pagsanjan Falls, Tagaytay and more. I've been so happy with his services that I keep booking his services when visiting Manila.
Most recently I asked Arnold to organise a short tour of the Banaue Rice Terraces region. This has been on my bucket list for some time
This tour was 5D 4N in a comfortable and roomy Toyota Innova. As there was only two of us we had plenty of room to stretch out. Although the drive was around 10 hours, we were very comfortable and the time flew as we had regular sightseeing stops to keep us interested as well as regular toilet and meal breaks.
I liked that Arnold is friendly and a good safe driver which at times can be a lottery in the Philippines with some speeding and driving recklessly and overtaking on blind corners.
Our 5D 4N tour started in Banaue for 2N then on to Sagada for 1N and then Baguio for 1N. What I liked is that the return to Manila via Baguio encompasses a different route with different scenery and allowed us to visit Baguio a place we haven't visited for over 30 years.
Arnold found us excellent accomodation in each location.
The Banaue Hotel was where we stayed in Banaue. It was the best on offer and had cultural dancing in the lobby. Don't expect any luxury accomodation in Banaue however the accomodation was basic but it was totally acceptable.
The Sagada Log Cabin was our excellent accomodation in Sagada and only had one room . We were only able to secure this room as Arnold had an excellent relationship with them.
In Baguio as we arrived late and were there only to sleep and sightsee on the way home in the morning I asked Arnold to recommend budget accomodation. He chose Holiday Park which was a gem for budget accomodation and was under 2000Php per night including breakfast.
All our dinner options chosen by Arnold were excellent with the standouts were Sagada Log Cabin, Yoghurt House and Hill Station in Baguio where I had an amazing "tender" steak which is a rarity in the Philippines.
We also visited the amazing Batad Rice Terraces and spent time in Bontoc.
I see from Tourist Driver's website he has now expanded his services to Palawan and Cebu/Bohol regions.
He is extremely knowledgeable and honest and you really can't go wrong with his services. Most importantly he always has his customers interests at heart.
I have used Tourist Driver Manila (Arnold Sanchez) on a few occasions, although the last time was a year ago.
Arnold is an extremely safe driver. He is especially good on roads with many curves, and patient at overtaking annoying tricycles (sometimes pedal powered) that clog the outskirts of towns.
He also knows the major, most populous Filipino island (Luzon) very well. I have used him to take me all the way up to Pagudpud. He found good accommodation in La Union for instance, and also excels at finding good value lunch stops.
His vehicles are well maintained, and he only ever uses basic accommodation for himself at night, for which the hirer must pay.
While Arnold smokes, he does this only occasionally and discreetly, and never near the vehicle.
He's a very reliable person, and has one's personal safety in mind, although I have always found Philippines very safe.
I even had him come down by plane to the wonderful central islands - Visayas - a couple of times to drive me around to places like Naval from Tacloban.
Come and see the wonderful 'real Philippines' with Arnold or his staff outside of Metro Manila.
