JoyBus Premier Class : Fast and Comfortable Way to Travel to Baguio

Three weeks ago, I planned a Baguio trip for 5 persons (my family of 3 plus my mom and sister). The first time I went to the City of Pines was I think 2001 with my ex-boyfriend (now husband), followed by 2004 (business trip). I decided to bring along my mom this time because she mentioned that she was just in high school when she went there (she’s now 67 years old,
imagine how long was that).

The month of January I think is the best time to go here to feel the cold breeze even more (the temperature can drop below 10 degrees Celsius). Plus it’s not that crowded in the tourist spots because it’s not yet Panagbenga Festival. Therefore the price of the accomodations are not that high yet.

We commuted going to Baguio via Genesis JoyBus. I chose to book the 3:30 AM schedule. I’m so happy that there’s an option like this, because my husband is not comfortable with long drives plus he likes a spacious leg area. It has a CR inside that my mom can use too. It is faster too because there is no stopover plus it uses the TPLEX route.

To book and to check the schedule, visit https://www.pinoytravel.com.ph/. From Metro Manila, there are 3 areas that you can choose from: Pasay, Cubao and Avenida Manila. Since we are coming from Alabang and Bacoor, I chose the nearest area which is Pasay.

You can choose between Premier P760.00 and Executive P730.00. The only difference of these two is that the latter doesn’t have a monitor in front of you that’s why it’s cheaper by P30.00. Premier also has a USB port for charging phones. Movies (my son said some are not in English), Music, and Games. Unfortunately, the Internet is not functioning.

Upon booking confirmation, you have at least 24hours to pay for it. It is best to choose Credit/Debit cards, GCash and Paypal as your payment option because they are real time. If it’s over the counter it will take at least 6-24 hours before the payment appears in their system. If you have a companion with a senior citizen or PWD ID, you can reimburse their discount at the bus station before boarding.

They have a 2×1 seating arrangement too. I was seated separately from them.

There is a service charge of P85 per head upon online booking. I paid a total of P4,222.95 for 5 people.

They have an attendant that gives out a biscuit, a bottle of water and a blanket (take note you need to leave the blanket before going down the bus).

As per the website, you can only book trips with Genesis that are 4 business days from the day of booking. I did not see this “warning” before that’s why I was not able to book our return trip. I planned to book our return trip at the Genesis bus station on our boarding date last Friday (to save for the online service fee amounting to P423), but I was informed that the Sunday schedule (our return date) was fully booked already.

Don’t do the same mistake that I did, reserve your slot to and from Baguio in advance because they have a limited seats.

It is advisable to be at the bus station at least an hour before the scheduled departure area. The travel time is exactly 6 hours. We arrived at Baguio before 10 in the morning.

If ever we will go back to Baguio in the future, I will definitely book Joybus again and make sure to have both to and from tickets.

NOTE:
We were supposed to book a Victory Liner going home, but when we arrived at the bus terminal, we have to wait for 3 hours for the next bus schedule. So we decided to take a regular Genesis bus (P485.00). It took us at least 9 hours travel time from Baguio to Makati because they used the old route (not TPLEX). It was tiring and not worth the cheaper fare……. so again please book a trip going home in advance either via Joybus or Victory Liner that will use the TPLEX route.