Tagaytay is a common place to go for many to have a quick getaway whether for just a day-tour or stay for the night. Since we're on a 3 days 2 nights road trip, we looked for some other nearby places to go and since Nasugbu is just the same route as Tagaytay, we included it to our destination.
A cold weather in Tagaytay and a warm beach in Nasugbu sounds great. One night in Tagaytay and one night in Nasugbu.

How to get there?

We went there by car. From SLEX we took Eton exit (to avoid Sta.Rosa traffic) to get to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road (Nuvali is also here by the way) that will take us to Tagaytay City. Upon reaching the rotanda, we just continued Nasugbu - Tagaytay Highway to reach Nasugbu.

If you are taking the bus, there are bus terminals in Pasay. Take a bus bound for Nasugbu and ask to drop you off in Tagaytay. Just ride the same route of bus when going to Nasugbu. When you reached Nasugbu town proper, you can ask some tricycle drivers to drive you to your resort. They will probably overcharge you so try to haggle. I didn't see any jeepney along the way so tricycle must be the main mode of transport.

Where to Stay?

At Tagaytay, there are many accommodations you can choose. Depending on your preference and budget, here's my suggestions:

Accomodation	Price	Comments
Taas Vista Hotel	5,500	5-star Hotel, Near Sky Ranch, Great view of Taal Volcano
One Tagaytay Place Hotel Suites	2,900	Near Picnic Grove, No view of Taal volcano, Pool on the pent house
Lee Boutique Hotel	2500+	Great rooms, They upgrade your room to superior
Sonya's Garden	5000+	Romantic place and quiet, Far from the main road
Keni Po	1500+	Cheap and clean, Small pool, Near picnic grove

The prices are just range during this time of year (off-peak), Some hotels also cut down their prices if not a weekend stay. By the way if you book a hotel, try not directly to their website compare prices first in Agoda or AsiaTravel
Also, you can check if there are some ongoing deals in Ensogo, Metrodeal or CashCashPinoy cause many of these resorts post their promo rates at these sites.

Our original plan was to stay in Tagaytay in the first day, but since the hotels in Tagaytay are cheaper at Sundays (not weekend rate), we booked a room in Agoda at Lee Boutique Hotel. We got the room with breakfast for PhP 2,100 with from 3,400 (weekend rate). For our stay in Nasugbu, we wanted to try Punta Fuego so I checked those group buying sites to see if there's a promo but unfortunately, there was none. So we just go with Canyon Cove. We got the room for PhP 3,800 without breakfast also in Agoda.

DAY 1: TAGAYTAY-NASUGBU

Bag of Beans
We left Manila around 10 am and got in Tagaytay past 11 am. Our supposed to be breakfast at Bag of Beans turned to brunch. (breakfast at Bag of Beans then drop by Picnic Grove was our plan)

Bag of Beans Tagaytay

The place is quite big and have a great ambiance. They got a lot of parking space too. We tried the brunch buffet for PhP 575 each which is from 11 am to 3pm.

Buffet Area

You may also look at my post: FOOD TRIP: Bag of Beans Tagaytay.

After filling up our tummies, we continued on the road. Looking at the clouds, the weather was not looking good. Cloudy gray skies and along the way, it rained.

Dark clouds as we approach Nasugbu

However when we're almost near the resort, the gray skies was gone and the sun appeared, it's sunny again.

Blue skies!

Canyon Cove Hotel & Spa
We arrived in Nasubu town proper before 2 pm. From there, just a 5-10 minute drive to Canyon Cove. Its at the left side of the road and has a sign so you can't miss it. At the gates of the resort you can see some unfinished structures. I think this was the residential part of the resort.

Unfinished structures in the resort gates

We waited for around 20 minutes to be checked-in. Their standard check-in time is 3 pm but we got checked-in around 2:30. This was my second time in Canyon Cove by the way. I first got here during a Company Event last 2012, it seems the place didn't changed.

Hotel lobby

Our room was clean and got a minty smell (like an massage oil or something) but the bed was squeaking even just a little move. The air conditioner didn't seems to be cold as well. We got a 2nd floor room so we didn't have a full view of the beach but it's still good anyway.

I wish this is what I see every time I look at my window

Though the rooms are not very well maintained, the beach area is very nice. I think their beach is one of the nicest beach I've seen in Batangas. It's very well maintained and clean, the sand a beige in color and is fine but a little rocky when moving forward to the water. They have some water activities like snorkeling, kayaking, jet-skiing, riding the banana boat and I think they also have a dive center.

Left view of the beach area

We don't want to take selfies

A cliff at the left side of the beach (Dunno if you can climb there)

Lanterns

Besides the beach, their another attraction is the pool. The pool was very big. There are small island of coconut trees in the middle. It's not also deep, probably 5 feet is the deepest. It also have a kiddie pool.

View of the lobby building in the pool

Pool Area

The beach is open till 6 pm while the pool is around 9 pm. There are lifeguards on duty. We went for a swim at the beach but the skies got dark transfered in the pool.

Here comes the clouds again

And it rained

Chasing the sunset, and this is all I got

Pool area at night

They don't allow bringing of foods inside the resort(but you can just hide it haha, they won't be searching your stuffs anyway). They have a restaurant inside but we didn't eat there since I read in some other blogs that the food was just expensive and it's not even good. I don't even remember what I had here when I first went here, All I remember was we also went out since their beer got sold out. There are fast-food chains in the town proper if you opt to eat outside like we did.

The town is just near, but the road going to the town is very dark at night. I suggest that if you were to eat dinner in the town area, leave early since there are no tricycles at the gate of the resort. You will need to wait for them in the road.

DAY 2: NASUGBU-TAGAYTAY

It started raining when we are about to check-out so we waited for it to stop.

Not looking good out there

Kainan sa Dalampasigan
We had our lunch at "Kainan sa Dalampasigan". A famous restaurant in Nasugbu which is about 15-20 minutes away from Canyon Cove. If you're coming from Tagaytay, take a left to R.Martinez street then straight ahead, you'll see an entrance that looks like a garden. They have parking inside but the driveway is just enough for one car so entry and exit is one at a time.

Still raining

The place has a great ambiance of nature. A lot of plants on the outside and a garden. The entrance have a small waterfall fountain, a fish aquarium and displays of some framed newspaper article that featured the restaurant.

A fountain near the parking area, all you can see is plants and trees

At the entrance

Waterfall fountain

Inside the restaurant

Flowers on dining tables

Fishes in the aquarium at the entrance

We ordered drinks first, Calamansi juice for PhP 45. We had "Balot sa Dahon" (PhP 220) and "Daing na Bangus" (PhP 350). I was wondering why their Daing na Bangus was so expensive, but then when they served it, It was big. I think its good for 2-3 people.

Daing na Bangus + Balot sa Dahon + Calamansi Juice

The Balot sa Dahon was rice with chicken and pork adobo, garlic fried shrimps and fresh tomatoes with bagoong. I think its also good for sharing. But if you are a big group, I suggest to try "Bilao sa Dalampasigan" for PhP 800 (baked mussel, grilled pork, fried shrimps, "daing na bangus" and green mango salad). They doesn't accept credit cards but also does not have service charge.

Balot sa Dahon (rice with chicken & pork adobo, garlic fried shrimp)

The food is good with a reasonable price. They should just improve a little in service since the water we asked never came (we reminded them a couple of times) and its no waiter is around sometimes. Anyways, it's a good restaurant and you should try whenever you're in Nasugbu.

SEE NEXT PART HERE!