--- title: "Solo Surfing Adventure in San Juan" description: "Solo surfing trip diary to San Juan, La Union in the Philippines, covering bus transportation from Baguio, hiring a surf instructor, beach tips, and practical travel phrases." canonical_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/san-juan-surfing-adventure" author: "Mark Ku" author_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku" site: "Mark Ku's Tech Notes" date_published: "2025-03-24 01:01:02 +0800" category: "Travel" tags: ["travel", "surfing", "philippines", "san juan", "baguio", "english"] language: "en" license: "CC BY 4.0" license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" attribution: "when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original" --- # Solo Surfing Adventure in San Juan ## Purpose This weekend, I'm planning to go surfing in San Juan. I've taken the Partas bus before, so riding it again feels easy for me. The trip from Baguio to San Juan takes about two hours. In addition, it's a great chance for me to practice my English! ## About Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan, La Union Urbiztondo Street is located in San Juan, La Union, Philippines. It's famous for surfing, drawing many visitors to enjoy the beach and sunset. The area has many resorts, restaurants, and cafés, creating a laid-back vibe. ## Transportation The main bus line to San Juan is Partas. You didn't need to buy tickets in advance, so you could just buy them about an hour before departure. There were many schedules available, and buses heading to Vigan and Laoag also pass through San Juan. ### Departure I mainly took the Partas bus to San Juan. ![Partas bus schedule board showing Baguio-Laoag and Vigan departure times](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/departure-bus-schedule.jpg) ### Return I took a tricycle to the Partas station for my return trip, and Partas bus has a lot of bus schedule around 2 pm to 7 pm. ![try-cycle](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/try-cycle.jpg) ## D-Day On the first day, I set off from Baguio at 7 a.m. , and arrived at the San Juan 7-11 around 9 a.m. ![7-11 in San Juan ](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/convenient-store-in-san-juan.jpg) Since there weren't any coin lockers, I had to rent a room to store my stuff. I highly recommend the burger shop and berry drink in font of the 7-11. They were very tasty! ![hambuger and berry](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/hambuger-and-berry.jpg) When I got to the beach, the ocean was so clean, and I didn't see any sea trash. ![beach](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/beach-2.jpg) Then, I hired a surfing instructor for Php 600 /hour. It was my first time trying surfing. Even though the waves were big and fast, I felt really excited. ![surfing instructor](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/surfing-instructor.jpg) After surfing, I went back to the hotel to take a nap. Around 5 pm, I returned to the beach to watch the sunset. it's was mesmerizing ![sunset](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/sunset-4.jpg) ![sunset](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/sunset-3.jpg) ![sunset](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/sunset-2.jpg) ![sunset](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/sunset-5.jpg) On the second day, the instructor said the best time to surf was around 7 am Even though my muscles were sore all over, I still went surfing again and it was totally worth it. ![Woman surfing on a pink board in the ocean with onlookers](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/surfing.jpg) Then I went to a popular restaurant Kabsat La Union for breakfast. The view was terrific and made me feel very relaxed, but the food was just ok. ![have breakfast at Kabsat La Union](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/breakfast-2.jpg) ![Hhave breakfast at Kabsat La Union](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/breakfast-1.jpg) When I got back to school, I found out my roommate had moved to the IELTS campus,but academy even replaced my name on the dorm list with my roommate's name. ![door of the domitory](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/san-juan-surfing-adventure/images/door-of-the-domitory.jpg) I thought, "Maybe I should move to the IELTS campus too that would be funny." Overall, I had a great weekend to relax to recharge. Next time,I will go there again. ## Common Phrases - I want a ticket to go to San Juan. - I think this price is unreasonable. Can you give me a discount? - How much does it usually cost to get there? - How much do people usually pay to get there? - What's the average cost to get there? - Excuse me, could I ask you, how can I get there? --- ## About this article and its author Originally published on [Mark Ku's Tech Notes](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/san-juan-surfing-adventure) License: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original ### About the author **[Mark Ku](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku)** — Software Solution Provider - 10+ years senior software engineer, now an AI Builder - Focused on large-platform architecture — North-American e-commerce, AI SaaS subscription billing - Combining AI Agents and automation to build evolvable product foundations ### Free tools built by the author All of these are free to use: - [Free PDF Sign Tool](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/pdf-sign): Online PDF sign tool — draw, type, or upload a signature, then drag, resize, and download. 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