San Juan

Local Facts San Juan

• Location: 16°40′8″N 120°20′28″E
• Population: 35,098 (2010)
• Economy:Tourism, Cottage Industries, Agriculture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan,_La_Union
• http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Juan_(La_Union)

Getting There

(International) Airports in the Philippines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_the_Philippines

From Manila in direction Dagupan (~5,5h) and then to La Union (~7h), or if possible direct bus to La Union, costs ~400PHP = ~8€ = ~9$. From La Union by taxi/bus to San Juan (0,5h). Here is a list of bus operators for the Manila/La Union route: http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/travel-to-la-union.html.

Todos

Surfing

San Juan is the heart and primary surf beach in La Union. Large good quality waves are brought in on good swells. On the beachfront are many affordable surf resorts and hotels, bars, restaurants, surf shops and surf schools where board rental is also available. http://surfingphilippines.com/surf-spots/la-union-surfing/

• Break Type: Beach
• Break Direction: Left – Right
• Best Season: October – April (North Swell)
• Consistency: Surfing all year round but most consistent during season
• Wave Quality: Good – Barreling on occasion
• Suitable for: Beginner – Intermediate – Advanced
• Length of ride
• Crowds: Regular Line Up
• Surf Schools: Yes
• Board Rentals:Yes

Diving in La Union

La Union is a beautiful province on Luzon Island; about 5 hours drive north of Manila. It has lots of diving opportunities to offer. It's said to be a perfect place to have scuba diving lessons as it has a number of shallow dive sites with slow current and protected water. Also you can enjoy some wreck diving around its sunken tanks. http://www.gooddive.com/philippines-diving/la-union-map.htm

• Average annual temperature: 24°C to 33°C (75° F to 91°F).
• Average Water surface temperature: From 26°C to 30°C (78°F to 86 °F).
• Average visibility: 65 to 164 feet (20 to 50 meters) March through May have the best visibility.
• Best time to dive from November to May. Possible to dive all year round.

Food & Drinks

Filipino Kitchen

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_cuisine
• https://www.gapyear.com/countries/philippines/food-and-drink
• http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/what-is-filipino-food-cuisine.html

Local restaurants La Union area

• http://www.traveling-up.com/food-trip-la-union/
• http://www.thepoortraveler.net/2016/05/san-juan-la-union-top-restaurants-urbiztondo-beach/

Drinks

• http://www.philippinecountry.com/filipino_recipe/filipino_drinks.html
• http://tagaloglang.com/food/drinks/

Accommodations

From https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Juan_(La_Union):

• Sunset German Beach Resort (Montemar), ☎ 072-720-2698. Check-out: 12am. One of the best value choices around San Juan. Rents out surfboards for Php 120/h Php 800 -2100.
• Final Option (Montemar). Clean basic rooms and a decent restaurant if you are not in a hurry. Has German beers and European wines on offer. Rents surfboards and subcontracts lessons.
• San Juan Surf Resort (Urbiztondo), www.sanjuansurfresort.com (Urbiztondo San Juan), ☎ 7200340. dorm beds. surfboard hire. p250.
• Sebay (Urbiztondo).
• Little Surfmaid Resort (Urbiztondo).
• Hazienda Peter (Urbiztondo).
• Circle Hostel., Urbizondo San Juan, ☎ 6073796 or 09178326253. Hammock. fan dorm beds. p350/450. edit
• Hacienda peters beach resort (sebay along main highway), ☎ 09184415475. Fan dorm beds. fan double rooms. common washroom. p150/500. edit
• And some more: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g656268-San_Juan_La_Union_Province_Ilocos_Region_Luzon-Hotels.html

Internet

3G coverage along the coast strip and LTE is supposed to be available at the lower part of the La Union Area. Unfortunately :(, the Philippines are ranked 105th in terms of average connection speeds and the slowest LTE broadband access and coverage in the world (2014). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_the_Philippines

Network Coverage

• http://www.pinoyamazing.com/2016/02/4g-lte-network-coverage-areas-in.html
• https://opensignal.com
• http://www.sensorly.com/map#%7Ccoverage

Carriers & Pricing

• Globe: 10GB= 1799PHP/monthly = 35€ = 38$ | http://www.globe.com.ph/surf/plan/gosurf#GoSURFPostpaidOffers
• Smart: 1GB max per day = 995 PHP//monthly | http://smart.com.ph/Pages/surfmaxguidelines
• Sun: http://suncellular.com.ph/Personal/broadband/plans-and-devices/non-stop-surf-plan-faq

Money

NO ATMs in San Juan! Here is a list with ATMs in the area of La Union http://www.listph.com/2015/04/list-of-bancnet-atm-locators-la-union.html

• Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP)
• Exchange Rate: 1 Euro = 51.94 Philippine Peso | 1 Philippine Peso = 0.019 Euro (02.09.2016)
• Banks, ATMs & Charges: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294245-s601/Philippines:Banks.And.Money.html