The number of visitors in Sagada is often at its peak during Holy Week. Rooms in inns are either already occupied or have been reserved for on-the-way occupants. With that said, if you don't already have a reservation, it's recommended that you reschedule your visit to the town for another day.
Alma Louise Bagano, a resident of Sagada warned tourists going to Sagada this Holy Week without reservations. In a social media site, she wrote, "Please be advised that all rooms in the registered inns and some home-stays are fully booked. So that you will enjoy your long weekend with no or less frustrations, plan your vacation somewhere else and come to Sagada next time by making reservations as early as two months before your vacation."
The two months thing? That's not a typo. To ensure that you have a place to stay during peak seasons, you need to make your reservations weeks before your stay in the town. Making reservations is not that difficult considering the fact that majority of the inns in Sagada have online web pages or accounts in social media sites where you can contact them and reserve a room or two.
Of course, no one is forcing you to forego your vacation if you don't have reservations. If you insist on going, there are always loopholes. Maybe you know of someone in the town who can lend you his or her couch for a night or two. Or you can do it guerrilla-style by finding a place to sleep in a nearby town like Bontoc, Besao, or Sabangan. For this to fully work, you must have a car with you. Passenger vehicles in Mt. Province don't exactly operate 24/7.
However, our main advice remains. If you don't have a reservation for a Holy Week stay in the town, think about going there some other time when inns are not operating beyond capacity.
A place to stay is not the only problem for both tourists and locals during peak seasons. There's the problem of overcrowding in tourist destinations like the caves, restos, etc. There are also reports that the town's water supply will likewise suffer.
Now that you know the situation there, the ball is now on your court. To go or not to go, that's the question. But before you decide, do consider what you've just read.
Image credit: Gino Mempin via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) |