Calabarzon Region Best Places To Visit in 2020 [Updated]

Written and updated by Dezza, 13 January 2020.

Has anyone heard of the Calabarzon region in Luzon? A lot of people know the places within this region, but not many people have heard of the actual Calabarzon region.

Therefore, I will give you a brief explanation of what the Calabarzon region is in just a moment. First of all, I need to explain what the administrative regions in the Philippines actually are.

The Philippines is divided into 17 regions (16 administrative and one autonomous). In Australia for example, the equivalent of a region is a state or in the UK, a county.

The 17 regions of the Philippines are then organised geographically into three main groups comprising of the islands Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The names of some of these regions are actually acronyms which signifies their component provinces and cities. One of these regions is the region of Calabarzon.

As far as Calabarzon goes, there are 5 provinces that make up this region which are Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. Therefore, the acronym for these provinces is Calabarzon which is located in south-central Luzon.

This map shows the Calabarzon Region and the five provinces that make it up.

Best Places To Visit On The Doorstep Of Manila

These 5 provinces are virtually on the doorstep of Manila. So if you’re looking for places to visit in South Luzon, then Calabarzon is the answer. This means that you can just do day trips to these places.

Or if you wish to have a weekend getaway and partake of a simple overnight stay, you can also do that.

Therefore, this makes the Calabarzon region very attractive for those people who are pressed for time but want to get out of Manila and experience some of the beauty of the Philippines.

The great thing about the Calabarzon region is that you don’t need to go to any great lengths to plan your trips there. You don’t need to organize flights or boats to get there.

You can basically wake up on a Saturday morning and spontaneously go and visit one of the hundreds of places in this region. This is particularly convenient during the wet season.

You do not need to worry about flight cancellations due to inclement weather or risking life and limb on a boat in stormy seas.

You can visit all of the best places in the Calabarzon region via a road trip. This is particularly convenient during the wet season which we are in the middle of right now.

Therefore, now is a very good time for me to write a feature on each of the 5 provinces in the Calabarzon region if you are looking for places to go in South Luzon.

As mentioned in my introduction these 5 provinces are Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. Each one of these provinces has something unique and special about it and are among the top Philippines destinations.

Each Province in the Calabarzon Region Is Unique

Cavite province is considered the “Historical Capital of the Philippines” as it played a crucial role in the Philippine Revolution in 1898.

Laguna province is blessed with some of the best waterfalls in the country while Batangas province has some of the country’s best beaches that are only a couple of hours drive from Manila.

Rizal province is named after Filipino national hero Jose Rizal and has historical roots that go back to the 1500’s. Then there is Quezon province which is home to the mystical Banahaw volcano and also some sensational beaches.

This is Paniman beach in Cavite and is only about 50kms from Manila. This is one of the best beaches I have seen this close to Manila but believe it or not, it is totally abandoned and run down.

So if you’re thinking about where to go in South Luzon, you can see from this summary that the Calabarzon region offers so much.

The best part about it is you can reach all of the best places in this region just by driving a couple of hours from Manila.

It doesn’t matter if you are looking for a romantic getaway, some time away with the family, somewhere to take your dog for an adventure, or whether you just want a day trip or a simple overnight stay to get away from the hustle and bustle of Manila. Calabarzon has it all.

So over the coming couple of months with my bi-weekly blog, I will cover the best places to visit in 2019 for each of the 5 provinces that make up the Calabarzon region.

So stay tuned for my next article starting with Rizal, as we look at some of the best places in the Philippines around the Calabarzon region in 2019.