The Paoay sand dunes have long been a mainstay of both my own and YPT’s trips to the Philippines. Why is this? Well despite the fact that it might not be seen as classic YPT, it does make a great break from a regular tour, as well as push the adrenaline junkies among us.

What the Paoay?

Paoay is a relatively small town that is surrounded by a bunch of cool stuff, as well as having its own personality. It is home to the oldest church within the Philippines, as well as being famous for its Halo Halo (a Filipino shaves ice-cream type thing).

And around it there is a brunch of cool stuff too, such as Batac home of the Marcos Museum, not to mention Currimao, which in fairness just has a nice beach. There is also Pagpapud, which I like, but alas we do not visit on tour.

Paoay also leads down to La Union and Williams Bar a place I rather like.

The Paoay Sand dunes

The real reason to come here though is the Paoay Sand Dunes. Said dunes are apparently of geological interest, but you come here not for that, but for the adventure.

Said adventure comes in a few forms, with you either going in a 4X4, or an ATV (Quad Bike). Our groups and me indeed have done both, with both again involving going truly off-road and into some high adrenaline stiff. Previously we have gad to have two cars going – just to keep people happy. The quad bikes, which I did last are much the same, with you getting a spotter to follow, although you can tell him how hard you want it.

The journey his frankly amazing with you being offered plenty of chances to stop for your new Tinder profile picture. And once it is all over you can go sand boarding, which is similar to snowboarding. The main difference though is snow melts and does not stay in every crack of your body….

Having 4 people in a 4X4 here will set you back about $15 a person, while an hour on an ATV will go for about $30.

You can try the Laoag Sand Dunes on our Extreme Philippines trip we run every Easter.