5 Outdoor Adventures in Mayon | See Bicol Volcano on ATV in Philippines

5 Outdoor Adventures in Bicol – Mayon Volcano and More

Beyond the stunning beaches of Cebu/ Palawan and Boracay, lies a region in the Philippines made up of lush rainforest, waterfalls, lakes and a perfectly symmetrical Mayon volcano – Welcome to the Land of Bicol.

Welcome to Bicol, the land of the Pili Nut
Welcome to Bicol, the land of the Pili Nut

Bicol is a good 45 -60 minutes flight away from the city of Manila. We arrived in the cosy little airport of Legazpi and were comfortably packed  into our minivan to get a little tour around the city of Legazpi before headed to our eco low carbon footprint hotel in the evening – Siama Hotel.

5 Outdoor Adventure in Bicol Region

1. Action Experience on ATV Mayon Volcano

We embarked on a 3 hours adventure ride on the ATV towards the Mayon summit, even though it was a cloudy day and the weather seemed dangerously threatening. All equipped with our helmets, powerful ATVs and action cameras, we were ready to go on our adventure ATV Mayon Volcano tour.

Group Shot before we speed off on our ATV mayon volcano. Ready to start our Adventure ATV Tour! outdoor adventure in bicol region
Group Shot before we speed off towards the Mayon Volcano. Ready to start our Adventure ATV Tour!

On board our adventure powersports vehicles, going through swamps, lakes, long grass, mud and more…The wind is coming and our excitement rose.

The Bicol Volcano called Mayon Volcano is 8,189 foot tall, and we rode along the lava trail. I could do with more such adrenaline atv tours in my holidays.

Read more about trekking in Philippines – The Grand Corderilla Twin Peaks

2. Churches in Bicol – The Spanish Influence

The city of Bicol is rich in Spanish heritage and influence. We took a walkabout some of the most iconic churches in Bicol, with some of these churches still conducting services every Sunday. Our guide himself attends the Daraga Church.

Cagsawa Church Ruins

One of the most known Bicol Church is the Cagsawa Church. It was inspired by Greek architecture during its construction stage. It used to be one of the most iconic Catholic church in Bicol but was unfortunately destroyed during the volcanic eruption. The building was uniquely constructed with egg white, limestone and volcanic rock.

The Cagsawa Church Ruins overseeing the beautiful Mayon Volcano. Its a pity its a cloudy day that day hence the volcano is hidden  | Churches in Bicol
The Cagsawa Church Ruins overseeing the beautiful Mayon Volcano. Its a pity it’s a cloudy day that day hence the volcano is hidden

Daraga Church

Even though the building seems quite unmaintained, it is still very grand and majestic inside. One good thing is that it is still an operating church with ongoing services even up till date.

Daraga Church still in service up till this date. outdoor adventure in bicol region | Churches in Bicol
Daraga Church still in service up till this date

Old Barcelona Church

Moving on from exploring these beautiful ruins and churches, we moved on to some mother nature immersion.

3. Hiking and Kayaking around Bulusan Lake

At the foot of Mount Bulusan sits a lovely surreal lake surrounded by lush greenery, some may even call it the ‘Switzerland of the Orient’. Bulusan attracts many volunteers and researchers to its grounds to experience and understand the unique rich eco-system of a volcano/ rainforest lake and waterfalls all in one premise. No wonder this place is deemed one of the top eco-tourism destination in Philippines.

Rainbow colour kayaks calling out to us to start our adventure. outdoor adventure in bicol region
Rainbow colour kayaks calling out to us to start our adventure

The Bulusan Volcano Natural Park houses the top 5 active volcanoes in the Philippines. When we were there, it was at Alert 1, so we couldn’t go within 5 km radius of it. There is a nice 2.8 km walking trail around the lake and you can spot the wide variety of wildlife here, from kingfishers to other extinct bird species. Apparently 26%  of the bird species here in Luzon are on the extinction list in the world.

Bulusan means ‘Where water flows’‘, which is the perfect name for it given it houses a wide mix of volcanoes/ lakes/ waterfalls/ limestone formations, rivers and more.

A house on the Bulusan lake that collapsed the day before our arrival due to the typhoon that came. We were suppose to be in there having a massage treatment
A house on the Bulusan lake that collapsed the day before our arrival due to the typhoon that came. We were supposed to be in there having a massage treatment

If you would like to understand about the lives of the people in the slums in Philippines, discover Happyland.

4. Indulge in some of the amazing delicacies of Bicol

One would have thought that Philippines food consists of mostly a heavy meat diet and rice, but Bicol presents itself having a rich variety of food – from the creamy coconut milk and spicy Bicol express, to the mussles and shellfish soup unique to Bicol.

One of my favourite most appetizing dishes has to be the Sinigang, where it consists of a lot of tamarind to give the sour kick. Very much like the thai tomyam soup, but without chilli padi and lemongrass.

The infamous Sili Ice-cream from Bicol
The infamous Sili Ice-cream from Bicol – Chili flavour ice-cream anyone?

For those with a sweeter tooth, the Sili Ice-Cream is a must-try in this region. The rich creamy taste with the use of coconut milk and the lingering aftertaste spiciness of the ice-cream is really something interesting to experience.

5. Bicol Philippines Resorts – Relax and indulge

Bicol has some really beautiful and relaxing resorts and villas to chill and unwind in, and comes with great restaurants, and facilities. I visited the Siama Hotel, The Oriental Legazpi and Misibis Bay Resort in my 1 week in Bicol.

Find out more about each of these 3 Bicol Philippines Resorts:

360 shot of the pool at Siama Hotel | Bicol Philippines Resorts
360 shot of the pool at Siama Hotel

Click here for a 360 view of the Misibis Bay Resort room I stayed in – with a full pool view.

Doing yoga moves at The Oriental Legazpi, can you see the volcano at the back?
Doing yoga moves at The Oriental Legazpi, can you see the volcano at the back?
Stunning infinity pool at The Oriental Legazpi

360 view at the pool of Siama Resort. Stunning blue sky that day!

Moving on from the resorts in Bicol region Philippines …

How to get to Bicol

You can take a domestic flight from Manila Airport to the nearest airport to Bicol which is Legaspi Airport. The average cost of the flight is around US$117 to get to Bicol from Manila, but look out for last minute deals popping up once a while.


Hence concludes my post about my outdoor adventure in Bicol volcano region. This trip was done in October, which was just at the tail end of the monsoon season. Do drop by in the months of Feb – May to stand a chance to see the whale sharks.

Before going on your next travel adventure, consider booking Affordable Travel Insurance from US$14 onwards for that peace of mind! 🙂

5 Outdoor Adventures in Mayon | See Bicol Volcano on ATV in Philippines
Discover the outdoor adventure in Bicol Volcano in Philippines
Explore & experience - take an ATV Mayon Volcano ride or do a relaxing kayak at Bulusan lake.

Read more about my hiking adventure at Mount Ugo and Mount Pulag or at Coron.

You Might Also Like

4 Comments

  • Avatar of Wandering Ella
    Reply
    Wandering Ella
    June 5, 2018 at 6:47 am

    OMG ang ganda ng adventure experience dyan! And the Siama resort looks so beautiful!

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      June 5, 2018 at 7:29 am

      The resort has left me speechless, Ella! 🙂 Thanks for the comment.

  • Avatar of Christine
    Reply
    Christine
    June 29, 2019 at 9:40 pm

    I’d love to go to the Philippines one day! My cousins lived there for a long time, and I’ve heard so many good things. I haven’t heard of this area before but am adding it to my list!

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      June 30, 2019 at 3:13 pm

      Yes Christine, Bicol is so much more unheard that the likes of Boracay and Cebu. But its nonetheless a very interesting region that has a different rugged touch from the beachy vibe that we are all familiar with.

Leave a Reply to Lydia Yang Cancel Reply

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from a link you click on the site that lead to a qualifying purchase. It will not cost you anything additional, but it does help us in supporting this site to keep creating great content for you. All our recommendations and reviews included in the site are purely unbiased.