Clark Wine Center offers tips on how to get to the Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival from Manila

Best way to travel to Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival is by special shuttle bus service from Manila.

2012 Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Philippines – Getting there from Manila may not be nearly as easy as many might think. In fact, the old saying “getting there is half the fun” may not hold true when we are talking about ways to get to 2012 Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark which starts on the 9th February.

The popular Philippines Hot Air Balloon Festival returns to Clark, Pampanga in 2012. Fun filled programs start on 9th February and last through the evening of Sunday 12th February, 2012. Thousands of people will travel out of town from Manila to watch these colorful hot air balloons during the 17th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark. Manila residents will bring their families with children along. Some who are lucky, or clever enough to reserve hotel accommodation in advance will also take this opportunity to savor the laidback and peaceful lifestyle that some of Clark’s better hotels such as Clearwater Resort has to offer.

One of the biggest problems plaguing this popular event in Clark Philippines is transportation to the Hot Air Balloon site in Clark. Even those who drive to Clark Pampanga have trouble finding a convenient place to park. Aggravations and frustrations with transportation problems have been the bane of previous Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiestas in Clark Pampanga.

BUS FROM MANILA TO DAU, ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA

Visitors from Manila can take the commuter bus to get to Dau bus terminal in Angeles City. From there, jeepneys will take them to the main gate of Clark where they can alight and board a jeepney that will take them from the main gate to the Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival site. Normally, this three-ride connection should bring visitors into Clark from the bus terminal in Cubao Manila in a little over two hours. (Information on costs and schedules can be found on the web site listed above also.)

In previous events, visitors experienced problems catching the connecting rides after the bus arrived in Angeles city, especially during Saturday and Sunday of the Hot Air Balloon Festival weekend. These problems are no comparison to the difficulties in getting a jeepney ride leaving the Clark Hot Air Balloon Fiesta site to get back to the bus terminal in Angeles City for the ride back to Manila. Many visitors were stranded for literally hours waiting to get out of Clark.

For the 2012 Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival, visitors, especially families with children planning to travel by bus to Angeles City, Pampanga are well advised to plan their trips carefully.

HOT AIR BALLOON SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE

This year a special Hot Air Balloon bus service is available. Participants board the special bus in a designated pickup location in Manila and travel to Clark in comfort, resting up during the 90-minute journey arriving refreshed and ready to enjoy the festivities of the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark. Visitors arrive at the entrance of the 2012 Hot Air Balloon Fiesta site in Clark and board the shuttle service at the Clark Wine Center near to the site to return to Manila.

Tickets to this special Hot Air Balloon Fiesta bus service must be purchased in advance. Round-trip ticket price is p750 inclusive of an admission ticket to attend the 17th Philippines Hot Air Balloon festival in Clark (no one-way ticket available). Only a small number of seats are available and once tickets are sold out, no more will be made available.

click here to order your Hot Air Balloon Bus Tickets now.

click here to order your Hot Air Balloon Bus Tickets now.

Ticket holders will board the bus between 6:45 to 7am in Ortigas Metro Manila, opposite the Philippines Stock Exchange Center (Tektite) where there is plenty of public parking. The Hot Air Balloon Festival shuttle will depart promptly so please arrive on time. Those who miss the departure may still board the bus for the return trip from Clark back to Manila. The bus will depart from Clark at 5:30pm expecting to arrive in Manila by 7 to 7:30pm. (Any last-minute schedule adjustments will be communicated to ticket holders via email and/or phone.)

Clark Wine Center, Philippines’ largest wine shop is located in Clark Freeport, at a location that is very near the place where the balloons are parked. This is considered the best vantage point to watch the hot air balloon take off and return to earth. Pre-dawn breakfast is served to the lucky few who got tickets in advance to a ring-side seat at this venue, on Saturday and Sunday morning at 5am to 8am.

Clark Wine Center
MA Roxas Ave corner A Bonifacio Ave, Clark Freeport
(045) 841-4006 0922-870-5173 0916-542-6602 Ana Fe

www.ClarkWineCenter.com

STAYING OVERNIGHT IN CLARK

Surely the best way to enjoy the 2012 Philippines Hot Air Balloon Festival is to spend a night or two in a nice hotel or resort in Clark. These visitors should then be able to enjoy the hot air balloon programs in the early hours of dawn.

Overnight accommodation options include hotels in Angeles City and inside Clark Freeport itself. Angeles City offers glamorous and exciting nightlife entertainment that represents an attractive proposition for are well known among frequent travelers and tourists that visit the Philippines frequently. In sharp contrast, the resorts and hotels in Clark offer a serene ambience conducive to a more laidback lifestyle that many stressed-out residents of Manila come to enjoy when they travel out of town from Manila to the north.

Smart tourists would probably choose to avoid the weekend and check in on Wednesday or Thursday to avoid the crowds. Rooms may still be available but many tourists and local residents travelling north from Manila are booking them fast.

Clearwater Resort is one of the most sought after hotel accommodations for visitors attending the 2012 Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark. Many visitors hope to savor the laidback suburban lifestyle of this city which not so long ago was the largest US airbase outside of America. Guests of this resort hotel in Clark get to relax and unwind around the beautiful lake of Clark. Some enjoy one of several swim spots including a white-sand beach with adjoining swimming lagoons. Families with children particularly enjoy the vast picnic grounds laced with century-old Acacia trees.

Clearwater Resort and Country Club
Creekside Road near Centennial Expo, Clark Freeport
(045)599-5949 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177 Joanne, Jeremy or Marilou

To make inquiries and bookings with this hotel in Clark Pampanga, click here to contact Clearwater Resort now

concierge@ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Don’t let problems put a damper on the thrills and excitement of the 2012 Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark, Pampanga. Set up the trip well in advance and enjoy this famous annual festival in style and comfort.

Yats International Leisure Philippines
3003C East Tower, Philippines Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Road, Ortigas, Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 633-1566 0917-540-3626 0917-530-6242 ask for Rea or Joann

More details, news and other articles pertaining to the 2012 Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival can be found on this web site:

click here for More information about these new packages now

click here for More information about these new packages now

(click on the Hot Air Balloon banner to navigate straight to the section concerning the 17th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark)

Hot Line for what’s happening in Clark: 045 889-5151.

HotAirBalloon@ClarkPhilippines.com

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