A Guide for a Memorable Day Tour at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

I personally have visited Las Casas many times over the years, with my most recent visit in 2022, having to tour some Balikbayan friends and relatives. And in each visit, our guests are always impressed by the beauty of this resort. 

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a 400 hectares wide historic resort located in Bagac, Bataan, a town 2-3 hours away located north of Manila. It showcases Filipino heritage and culture through its collection of over 60 different historic colonial houses and buildings. These structures were transported to Bagac from different provinces in the Philippines. And for years, it has been consistently nominated and awarded in different categories for Top 25 Historic Hotels Worldwide. 

How to Get in Las Casas

There are two ways to get to Las Casas: first is to book for stay and second is to do a day tour.

I personally have experienced both options but we often choose to visit for a Day Tour as it is more affordable and it is easier to fit in our Balikbayan guests’ tight schedules. Because of this, I will focus more on sharing our experiences in doing a Day Tour in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. 

How to Get to Las Casas

We always take a private car going to Las Casas which I highly recommend as the resort is located along the bay of Bagac, quite far coming from the highway. Driving to it is the most reasonable and convenient way to reach its gate considering the hot weather.

We usually leave Manila at around 6 in the morning and usually reach the resort at about 8 to 9 in the morning. It is about 2-3 hours away from Manila by drive, depending on the flow of traffic.

Day Tour in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

Day Tour at Las Casas includes a guided heritage walking tour, viewing of Hotel De Oriente, a Balsa ride, beach access, and food (either a Php 500 worth of dining credits or a set lunch). The price has increased over the years from Php1,800 to now Php2,500 to Php 2,900 per person, depending on the day of your visit. It is of course more expensive to visit on weekends and holidays.

Be Prepared

The resort itself is beautiful and romantic but coming in prepared for the Day Tour will make the experience enjoyable. So aside from your phones, cameras, and selfie sticks, do bring and keep in mind some of these things…

The Day Tour involves a lot of walking on Las Casas’ cobblestone streets, so I highly recommend putting on sunblock and sunglasses, and wearing light and comfortable clothes and shoes.

Bring bottled water to stay hydrated throughout the Day Tour. Pack some extra clothes so you can change if you become too sweaty from extensive walking or wet from swimming in the beach. 

Day Tour Activities

The Guided Heritage Walking Tour

This is the most important activity of the Day Tour. It is going around the resort walking from one house to another with an English or Tagalog speaking guide wearing traditional Filipino clothing. They will show and explain the creative and unique architectural features and histories of each colonial house. The stories that they share are about the lives of its previous owners, painting a picture of how life was back in the Spanish and American colonial periods to the years of Japanese occupation in the different provinces of the country. I won’t give the details of the stories as it will spoil the fun but just to give an idea and stir curiosity: the stories vary from family dramas to stories of different forms of forbidden love and even to more tragic stories of prostitution, executions, and massacres. The stories that they share give life to the beautiful historic houses collected in Las Casas. And despite the many times I’ve heard the same stories shared in this guided heritage walking tour, it never fails to amuse and amaze me of how these houses have been witnesses to so many lives of the old days.

Viewing Hotel De Oriente

Hotel de Oriente may appear as a plain and typical 19th century colonial building on the outside, but once you step inside, you will be amazed at the intricate wood carving designs that decorate the interior from its floors to its walls and up to its ceiling. Most of its carvers and artists are women who had meticulous eyes and hands for beauty of wood carvings. The grandness of its interior will make you wish you had an event to set at Hotel de Oriente. 

Balsa Ride

Like riding a gondola in Venice, you will be going around the resort’s estero on a balsa or boat. This tour will let you see other different houses and buildings and parts of the resort that are exclusively accessible through the estero. And much like the Heritage walking tour, the English or Tagalog speaking guide will explain the unique architectural designs of the houses and share the stories of its previous owners.  

Other Recommended Activities for the Day Tour 

Kalesa Ride

I highly recommend that you experience riding a kalesa, a horse driven carriage, the main form of transportation during the Spanish to American colonial period. Aside from the ride itself, the cochero (kalesa driver) will give you a brief tour around the resort. They will describe and share stories of a few other houses and structures in the resort, different from the ones you will hear from the walking tour and from the balsa ride. This tour is more brief and they will give less details and stories about the houses. 

Biking around the Resort

You can go around the resort on your own using restored Japanese bicycles that are for rent. I suggest biking to Las Casas’ port and their beach in the late afternoon towards the end of your Day Tour to enjoy the afternoon sun and breeze by the sea. 

Try the Gabi Ice Cream

The sorbetero, the man who sells ice cream, usually stays around the plaza of the resort and sells different flavored ice cream. The one flavor I recommend is their Gabi ice cream. It is flavored with gabi, a local taro plant usually included as an ingredient in some Filipino dishes. It’s unusual to use gabi as an ice cream flavor so I would say this is the most unique ice cream flavor in the resort. It is lightly sweet, creamy, and filling. I highly encourage you to try this if you want to try something new and different.  And if you’re looking for other unique ice cream flavors around the Philippines, you can also read the post about trying Bicol’s Sili Ice cream.

To summarize, a Day Tour in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar may be pricey but the resort’s historical and romantic beauty and their unique set of activities makes it all worth-it. This place is one of my favorite tourist places near Manila that I love revisiting. This is definitely a highly recommended place for tourists who can spare a day or two outside Metro Manila.