Bacolod Travel Guide
27 Things to do in Negros Occidental
Bacolod City – Negros Occidental is a wonderful place to travel and explore because it has a lot of hidden spots or places that will surely surprise or captivate you, be it a small and cozy cafe to a picnic spot or a hidden spring or water falls deep in the mountains, anyone will definitely find a place here they will either miss or love. We have gathered a list of the things, places and food we tried and visited that we personally liked and recommend to help visitors navigate their way around and give them a feel of what it’s like to be a local.
1. Hike Malatan-og Falls
Don Salvador Benedicto (DSB) is a municipality located at the center of the northern mountains in Negros Occidental and is about an hour and a half drive away from Bacolod City. Due to its high altitude, the route towards the place provides a scenic view for travellers and the increase of tourism has paved the way for several cafes and resorts to be opened in the area.
2. Swim in the clear waters of Lakawon
Lakawon Island is a 13 hectare (32 acre) island off the coast of Cadiz which consists of pristine white sand, turquoise waters and a family-owned resort. It is a popular destination for locals and tourists because of its location and beauty of the place.
3. Spend an afternoon at The Ruins
This is one of the most popular instagram worthy backgrounds for travellers due to its magnificent architecture also known as the “Taj Mahal of Negros”.
4. Go on an adventure at Sipalay Sugar Beach
There are 3 main areas in Sipalay for travellers and guests. The Sipalay City Center, the Southern Coast and lastly, the Sugar Beach which is the most popular beach in Sipalay for its kilometer-long sugary brown-colored sand strip where several affordable resorts and restaurants are also lined up.
5. Have a staycation or glamp at Ilaya Highland Resort
Located in the deep mountains of Patag, a 40 minute drive away from Bacolod North Bus Terminal. The place provides hotel-like amenities and services featuring their villa rooms with balinese inspired interiors, an A/C, a heater shower as well as a receiving and lounge area.
6. Have a fun day with family and friends in Campuestohan
Situated at about 800-meters above sea level, the place is surrounded by the forest of Mt. Makawili and gives you a panoramic view of the cities of Negros Occidental below including the Panay island across the ocean. The resort offers a variety of recreational activities like zipline, sky bicycle, hanging hamster wheel and rope course.
7. Enjoy the rides at Magikland themed in Negros folklore
The first outdoor theme park concept of its kind in the region, built in a 5-hectare site in a Barangay in Silay. The theme of Magikland is based on Negros folklore and legend, adapting the legend of Bakunawa (the moon-eating dragon) to make it modern and fun, while still bearing respect to local culture.
8. Try the famous chicken inasal at Manokan Country
Chicken Inasal (grilled chicken) is Bacolod’s most famous local delicacy known for its smoky taste and yellowish look. There are a lot of restaurants across Bacolod that offers this delicacy but Manokan Country is most famous for the different “inasalan” shops that are lined side by side in this particular area in Bacolod.
9. Grab a bite of Bacolod's best desserts
Satisfy your sweet tooth cravings with our list of PREcommended pastries and desserts from popular bake shops and pastry cafes in Bacolod and the neighboring cities.
- Bascon cafe
It’s vintage- like interior with a background music of acoustic songs are what people like the most about Bascon Cafe. Aside from that, they have the best Baba and Oreo cake in town. They also serve Filipino cuisine with a touch of Spanish taste.
- Quino's
A cafe and pastry shop popular for their rainbow cake and puffyani. They offer a variety of menu from pasta, sandwiches, nachos, cakes, breakfast menu and drinks.
- Ann Co Cakes
A family heritage famous for Tita Maguit’s Mocha Sans Rival, the family heirloom was continued by her daughter Ann Legaspi-Co who made her own specialty – the frozen Brazos which is a better version of Brazo de Mercedes and made available in smaller servings.
10. Experience horse back riding at Bantug Lake Ranch
An Eco Farm with full-grown fruit trees and organic garden where they cultivate herbs and vegetables using organic fertilizers with the aim of supplying for the main ingredients in their restaurant that serves delicious Filipino cuisine also located inside the ranch.
11. Experience adrenaline rush at Iron Elk Adventure Park
A mountain bike trail Adventure Park beside Bantug Lake Ranch where you can experience adrenaline rush riding a bike, buggy or an ATV ride.
12. Enjoy good food and serenity of the place at Punong Gary's
An inconspicuous restaurant that offers a 5-course meal for lunch or dinner, situated beside the main road of E.B. Magalona Silay City but you will need to travel through a narrow off-road path lined with trees and sugarcane fields before reaching the place.
13. Feast on seafood menu
Thinking of feasting on seafood like sinigang, tinola or grilled milkfish (bangus), blue marlin, tanguige and tuna? How about adobong pusit (squid) or calamares, talaba (oysters), buttered shrimp, crabs and fish sauteed in a savory and spicy sauce? These places are a great place to go and satisfy your seafood cravings.
- Diotay's
One of our personal favorite when it comes to “paihaw/paluto”. The concept is the same with Dampa in Manila where you choose from the fresh seafood displayed at their counter and request the staff on how you want it cooked, either kinilaw, sinigang, grilled, buttered or sauteed in savory sauce.
- Balaring
Choose from one of the floating seafood restaurants along the coast of Balaring, a small barangay in Silay. They serve affordable and fresh seafood dishes in ample servings. You can enjoy your food with the view of the seaside.
- Bacolod 18th Street Pala pala Seafood Grill & Restaurant
14. Ride your bike or motorcycle to Rooster Cafe & Resto
15. Go for a jog
If you are health conscious or merely loving your usual early morning jog or walk, these are favorite places among locals to do these physical activities before they start or end the day. Often these places offer space and accessibility which makes it perfect to do exercise with trees to provide shade and cool breeze in the early morning or late afternoon.
- Capitol Lagoon
Located at the heart of Bacolod and is accessible to most of the well-established cafes, hotels and restaurants in the city. The park features large trees which provide shade and cool breeze for joggers and anyone who just wants to unwind or have a family picnic.
- New government Center (NGC)
It is one of the new landmarks in Bacolod City, inaugurated in July 2010 and built to replace the old City Hall at Araneta-Luzuriaga Streets. From a vast sugarcane field, the place has transformed into a commercial development center due to several business establishments, cafes & restaurants, banks, hotels, bpo centers and jeepney routes that opened in the surrounding area.
- Silay City Plaza
A simple but cozy and charming park that reflects the laid back atmosphere of the city. It features age-old trees with benches and/or sitting areas where people can just take a moment to sit down and pass the time. This is also a place for street vendors selling street foods such as kwek2x, fish balls, etc.. to students and employees who visit the park after school or working hours.
16. Try authentic Paella at Azucarera
Azucarera serves an extensive menu of Spanish food in the city and they are famous for their “Paella”. Their store is a two-story building in a modern and artistic design surrounded by glass windows that makes it look like the diners inside are part of the framed paintings to the world outside.
17. Take a roadtrip in one of the most scenic routes in Negros
- Patag
- DSB
18. Travel back in time visiting the ancestral houses at Cinco de Noviembre St.
The “Balay Negrense” for example is one of the few ancestral houses situated along the streets of Cinco De Noviembre, Silay City. The house was built in the 1890s and completed in 1901, commissioned by Victor Fernandez Gaston who was a sugar magnate in the 19th century. Balay Negrense is one of the several Heritage Houses recognized by the National Historical Institute in Negros Occidental.
19. Buy native delicacies for your pasalubong
Going to a new place or city not only inspires us to visit the popular tourist spots but also encourages us to try out the delicacies and food of the locals for a more holistic experience. If you want to look for local delicacies or popular “kakanins” in Negros Occidental, be sure to visit these place/shops to complete your “lagaw” experience or find something for your pasalubong.
- Quan Delicacies
Quan is famous for their native delicacies and has become an institution in the city of Bacolod. The owners started with a single delicacy, the soft and tasty rice puto, and has grown into a wider menu of kakanins (native delicacies) and local food like the Dinuguan which is a flavorful stew of pork and chicken meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar.
- El Ideal Bakery
El Ideal, more than a bakery and a restaurant, has also been considered a landmark and a heritage site in Silay. Their store has been in existence for a century now and they are located in the exact same spot eversince with the original facade of the old house as part of their feature design.
- Silay Public Market
20. Join the festivity of fruits at Maradula Festival
The MARADULA festival is a celebration of fruitful harvest every year and to thank god for the abundant blessings. MARADULA is an abbreviation for the abundant fruit produce in Brgy. Concepcion, which are MAngosteen and MArang, RAmbutan, DUrian and LAnzones, respectively. Although there are other fruit varieties that grows in Brgy. Concepcion, the maradula fruits seem to be the most prolific fruit bearing trees especially in the area.
21. Find street foods
- Silay City Plaza
A simple but cozy and charming park that reflects the laid back atmosphere of the city. It features age-old trees with benches and/or sitting areas where people can just take a moment to sit down and pass the time. This is also a place for street vendors selling street foods such as kwek2x, fish balls, etc.. to students and employees who visit the park after school/working hours. It was originally designed by an Italian architect but was demolished at the height of Marcos’ Martial Law Era. It was called the Plaza Olympia Severino, Olympia is the one who led the making of the Philippine flag that was raised at Silay plaza for the first time in November 5, 1898 after a bloodless revolution which brought about the city’s freedom. There have been talks to revive the Plaza Olympia to promote tourism in Silay.
22. Visit Farmville de Bago
23. Support Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation efforts in Danjugan
This is a 43-hectare (110-acre) island under the jurisdiction of Cauayan, Negros Occidental, Philippines. The island is under the care of The Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PRRCFI) which aims to promote awareness on biodiversity protection by means of ecotourism. Home to more than 500 species of fish and more than 200 species of hard and soft corals.
The island is a known nesting ground of Philippine megapod or scrubfowl, sea turtles, and fruit bats. Other animals that can be observed during snorkeling and diving are giant clams and seasonal visitors like reef sharks, rays, dolphins and on occasion the migrating whale sharks.
24. Enjoy a cup of hot local coffee
- Larga Cafe
- Cafe 1925
- Balay Kapihan
A laidback coffee experience in the mountains of Patag where you can enjoy native coffee and a good and palatable serving of food and snacks in an outback setting and cool atmosphere.
- Coffee Culture
Roasting the coffee beans is one of the most important factors that affects the taste of a cup of coffee as the right temperature turns raw beans into a distinctively aromatic, flavorful and dark brown coffee beans that we recognize. In Coffee Culture Roastery, they put emphasis in customized roasting to achieve the desired flavor of coffee.
25. Visit Negros Museum
The Negros Museum is unique in the country because it doesn’t focus on curating artifacts, instead, it features contemporary artworks and reproductions that narrates the history of Negros. Its focus is to show through art (paintings) what the people and the province was before and how it evolved through time.
26. unwind and relax at Punta Bulata Resort & Spa
27. What do you think?
Nominate your favorite local attraction, local business or your favorite thing to do in Negros…