Hi Mimoun,
I've rented a scooter in Puerto Galera, Mindoro and it was pretty fun. I was only able to go as far as a nearby town called San Teodoro. The road was small and some parts were just rocky/gravel (since you're in to 4x4ing I guess you'll find this more enjoyable than a hassle
) . But the scenery was great. If I had a car I would have kept going. But I would have taken a rental car from the manila area via the car ferry as I'm not familiar of any major car rental companies on Mindoro. From PG, you'll be able to cut across to the other side where Apo Reef is (not sure how long it'll take or how the road conditions are). Along the coastal sections make sure to stop for 10 mins to take some pics and enjpy the breathtaking view.
One nice place to go just outside the manila area is Tagaytay/Taal volcano. The area is basically a huge volcanic crater with a lake in the middle. There are a lot of restaurants at the mountain edge where you can eat and enjoy the brisk breeze and view. You can also go to the lake edge and take a boat to the volcano island in the middle of the lake. There you can horseback up the peak to the inner crater. Fantastic scenery and very calm & peaceful.
If you love 4x4ing, you'll enjoy driving up to the Rice Terraces. Here are some places you might like to stop at: Sagada (Burial caves, hanging coffins) Baguio (Nice scenery), La Union (Tried surfing here, caught 1 wave in 4 hours), 100 islands/Bolinao (nice beaches), Subic Bay (lots of attractions you can do - eg swim with whales, survival course, wreck diving), Angeles City (they have a Mt. Pinatubo trek you may be interested in). If you wanna go further up there's Vigan (old spanish town) and pagudpud (northern white sand beach town getaway).
The pagsanjan rafting was alright. I was more impressed with the scenery than the "rafting" itself. Make sure they take you all the way up to pagsanjan falls, sometimes if the raft man is tired he'll only go up halfway (to the halway rest stop) and just go back down. Once at the top you can be pulled on raft to underneath the falls into the cave (can't do this at the halfway point).
And ya, Hidden Valley has some nice natural springs resorts you can visit. Great place to go with your wife.
Correigidor is a day tour you can look up. Very educational. Nice scenery. I digress, on the tour I met this internet dating couple who were meeting for the first time after 3 years of "dating". They were good looking people which totally changed my perspective of internet dating (Not trying to hint anything here!).
Last, if you are willing to ditch the car, I would really recommend the travelling around the Visayas. I've got an awesome itinerary that I have planned for when my brother comes to visit.
Happy adventures.
mimoun:
Hi
Arriving in manila in october and planning on diving in Manado. Would like some info on other things to do on the island...is there anything else???? Thinking of heading over to Pandan island and take day trip to Apo reef. ....
But was wondering if it was possible or worth hiring a car for a few days to look around mindoro..anyone??? If not then....
Also wondering about areas around manila..if we hired a car for a few days what would be a good itinery, we are interested in beautiful scenery, getting away from it all and adventure. .... Heard about rafting on the Pagsanjan river which sounds like fun anyone been there/done that????
Does anyone have any advice and /or info on car hire.
Also is it possible to a medical for OW in Manado???
Thanks