Here’s the best things to do in La Union to make the most of your trip in Luzon, Philippines.
I suggest staying in La Union for at least two days. With more time, you can also hike the nearby mountains of Mount Ulap and Mount Pulag. You can check out my article on the best hikes to do in Luzon here.
Luzon is the main island located in the north of The Philippines, and La Union is a coastal province in the Philippines situated in the Ilocos Region on the island of Luzon, around 5 hours north of Manila.
Below you’ll find all the top things to do in La Union – from the surfing lessons to the best massage in town, including the best coffee and dinner spots.
The easiest way to reach La Union is by taking either a car or a bus from Manila. The drive is around 5 hours, but try to avoid a departure during rush hours as it will easily add an hour to your journey.
One of the main reasons to visit La Union is for surfing. You can either rent a board and head to the main beach to get some really nice waves or book a few hours with an instructor. We chose this option as we were learning how to surf and it was an amazing experience. Each one of us had an instructor and we got to learn the basics and take some small waves away from the main crowd.
If you’re looking for an instructor, I can recommend Elyu Classic Surf School. Cost is around 600php for an hour with an instructor, or you can rent the board only for around 200php.
For an additional fee (we paid around 250php per person and were a group of 4), you can get pictures and videos of your surfing, that way you get to have great memories to look back over. The shots were very nice and definitely worth the extra fee.
The main beach is San Juan (Urbiztondo Beach), but you can walk all along the sea until Clean Beach. This beach restaurant has some really nice seating areas and beach umbrellas. Plus, the food is really good, I’ll detail it a bit more down below.
To enjoy the sunset right until the end, head south of the beach, after the plane, near the rocks, you won’t be disappointed :
To enjoy a well-deserved massage in La Union, you can book at Detox Wellness. Their massages are the best I ever got here in the Philippines. It’s located on Manila Road.
There are a lot of good places to enjoy good breakfast, lunch or even drinks. I’ll list here my favorite ones among the ones we tried during our stay.
For breakfast, I would recommend Karruba Cafe and Bakery, they have amazing breakfast options, and a nice setting:
For great coffee and drinks, I’d suggest El Union Coffee, especially for their horchata drinks.
For lunch or dinner, I would recommend Clean Beach that I mentioned earlier. They have a really nice setting on the beach and all the food is amazing. Definitely order the fried chicken salad, be pancakes and kaya toasts, I went twice and it was as excellent both times (see picture 1 below).
If you’re in the mood for some Mexican food, you can head to Onlypans taqueria (picture 2 below).
For a really good Italian restaurant, try Kermit La Union. Whether it is their pizza, steak or caprese salad, every item we tried was really tasty (picture 3 below).
For drinks and party, Flotsam & Jetsam is the place to be. It has a huge surface, half of it is feet in the sand, and honestly it’s the perfect place to dance and meet locals.
That’s it for my La union recommendations!
I hope this article gave you a better idea of what to expect from a trip in La union, it’s definitely a place worth discovering and staying for a while.
If you plan on coming to Luzon or The Philippines anytime soon you can check out my article regarding what to know before going to The Philippines here.
If you need a custom itinerary, you can fill this form and I’ll make your own personalised itinerary.
