Picnic Grove, Tagaytay
December 4, 2008 by bong
Filed under Places To Go, Tagaytay
Picnic Grove is nestled at the slopes of Tagaytay Ridge with a magnificent view of the Taal volcano. The place is made much more special with the mild temperature due to its high altitude. It is a popular destination for tourists, local and foreign visitors, students on field trips, couples, and other groups. The facility provides cottages and rooms, camp areas, playgrounds, restaurants, pavilions, function halls for conferences or big parties. Several tables and picnic sheds are scattered all over the place.
Photo by Robin Lim
My take:
This travel experience is easy on the pocketbook - good for the mainstream Filipino families, excurtionists, students, barkadas and the like. If you are a tourist who has been to a lot of places, you have to temper your expectations as to the quality of the facilities and the cleanliness of the park. The good news is you get the vantage view of the Taal volcano - it will take your breath away.
The Eco-trail is a long boardwalk that serves as an alternative view deck for tourists. It is highlighted by a miniature forest complete with a hanging bridge. (Photo by Maruf Hasan)
If you plan to cookout on the barbecue grill, bring a foil to cover the grills or better yet, bring your portable barbecue grill. Or you can also be creative and find your spot in the grass, rollout the picnic table cloth, bring out your wine and baguette, then the prosciutto, the cheese and the olives and voila!… you got the mood! Or you could also have inihaw na talong, bagoong, daing and san miguel beer… they’re not bad either. It just means that you have a discriminating taste that doesn’t favor mediterranean feast! 
Address
Barangay Sungay East-End, Tagaytay City
Now Operated by Tagaytay City Government
New Contact Nos.
(046) 413-4206
(046) 413-0346
http://www.philtourism.gov.ph
The best time to go is in December, January and February.
picnic grove is sooooooooo over rated… if your going to tagaytay, try to visit bag of beans, bounjourno, rsm, taal vista
Picnics are cool and exciting. On the current economic status, saving money is a thing every family would like to do. A good old fashion picnic is a superb way to save and have fun.. What�s so great about a picnic is that children typically like them just as much as adults. Get your picnic baskets and enjoy.
Magandang pasyalan, pang pamilya, kung nagtitipid ka puwede kang magdala ng pagkain. Ang hindi ko lang nagustohan, ginasgas ang sasakyan ko, ang haba, sana yong mga tao diyan sa loob ng park maging mabait kayo,
Noong nagbakasyon ako dito sa atin nagulat na lang ako sa malaking pagbabago ng picnic groove . Marami ng mga turista ang namamasyal local man o duyuhan. Nutuwa talaga ako dahil masaya na ang paligid sa lugar na ito.
Noong mga 70s sabado at linggo namang ang may namamasyal minsan , wala pang turista, pero ngayon araw -araw na may mga bisita na sa park na ito.
Napakalinis na at matuwa ka talaga pagtingin mo sa paligin. At lahat ng mga nagbantay ( guide ) ay mababait tinuturo kung saan ka pupunta at mga magalang pa .na may kasamang (po at ho ) bawat sagot.
Dayuhin naman y’no ang Tagaytay Picnic Groove. at huminga ng mabango at malinis na hagin.
It’s nice to hear about your positive observation about this place Benjamin. It tells us that Philippine Tourism is paying attention to this important contributor to the economy. It’s also interesting to know na may mga guides pa sila at magalang pa.
What inspired me to create butikilyo was when i was in Santorini, Greece - probably the best place i’ve seen in the world. It’s really breathtaking. It then reminded me about Tagaytay ridge overlooking the caldera. It may not be as mind blowing or breattaking, but it’s also nature’s creation and it touched me in a way about loving and taking pride in our own. Plus, even if i have lived in the US for more than 10 years, being in the Philippines - in my home and with loved ones, it will always be special. So instead of blogging about other places, i’d write more about Philippine tourist destinations which personally for me is a lot inspiring.
sana maalagaan at ma-improve pa nga nila kahit yung mga affordable tourist areas gaya ng picnic grove sa atin. dahil gaya ko na isang balikbayan, i will always come back and visit the beautiful islands. i’m hoping to see more, explore and share more information about the beautiful experiences the country has to offer.
it is beautiful place to the couples because it is sereen place and you can find happiness in picnic grove in tagaytay…
Tagaytay Picnic Groove sucks! When I went there, I was dismayed by it’s current state. Most of the facilities inside the park are dilapidated, graffiti and vandals everywhere even on tables, and the bathrooms are flooded and smells very very bad. I believe the P50.00 entrance fee just went to pockets of corrupt government officials. That kind of park doesn’t even deserve a centavo entrance fee from a tourist.
My family just went to Picnic Grove last Saturday, Dec 26 2009 and we were really disappointed and dismayed. While the view was always breathtaking and the weather, wonderfully cool, the facilities were so shabby and neglected that I felt the P50 amount of entrance for each person is way, way expensive for the pitiful place. I only found one bathroom in the whole park with only 4 cubicles which were all run-down. The place where one has to pay for the entrance, was located in an undeniably decayed wooden shelter. I am not exaggerating. The roofs were broken, the garden surrounding it was unkempt with tall weeds among the garden plants and flowers. The cashiers don’t even have a decent cash register! They were all using calculators for goodness’ sakes! All of us in the line were talking about how the place sucks! Surely, some government official is a getting big money from it. I’m sure there were thousands of people when we went there. It took us an hour fifteen minutes just to leave the park due to heavy traffic. This is sad. I really think some powerful politician is behind all this. It is sad and pathetic. I felt ashamed showing our balikbayan relatives the place. The people who manages the place need not even invest on it because the beauty of the scenery is enough for people but to come back. But come on, the least they could do is clean up the place and really take care of it.
i won’t recommend Picnic Grove to those who are a bit critical about amenities — cleanliness, etc.; the view will always be breathtaking; but it’s somthing you can see everywhere as long as you’re in Tagaytay — even at the side of the road; i’d rather recommend going to Talisay (to the actual volcano spot) and hike up the actual volcano; that is pretty fun and you can finish that in half a day and move on to more adventures..
Hey zoofreak, Talisay is a nice idea which i might try this March when i go home. I did try to go to the volcano spot last Feb 09 but unfortunately didn’t make it. We took the route from Tagaytay and drove down the hill and took the boat to cross the lake. but then we got stuck on the lake side. for some reason i’m not sure, maybe it was the timing, the small horses, the stinking smell in the air or what. we didn’t continue. I think it was more because of the small horses. they told me it’s kabayong pinoy or whatever but i just feel sorry for these small horses. it’s weird. it’s one of those trips that went wrong for me. i’ll explore Talisay. and i will appreciate if you can give me more information what to see and what to do. thanks. bong@butikilyo.com
i want to ask how much is the entrance fee at the picnic groove. thanks!!!!
i don’t remember Carmela. angeline on this post said it’s P50. but you can try to reach them thru here to verify:
Barangay Sungay East-End, Tagaytay City
Now Operated by Tagaytay City Government
New Contact Nos.
(046) 413-4206
(046) 413-0346
http://www.philtourism.gov.ph