Bacolod City is one of the best destinations in the Philippines. Great food, peaceful and serene community, easy access to basic needs, hospitable people – Bacolod is all these and more. Known for being a relatively friendly city, it bears the nickname “City of Smiles.”
Bacolod City Location Map
Bacolod City is the capital and largest highly urbanized mid-size Philippine city of the province of Negros Occidental. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. Bacolod City serves as the entrance of the sugar-rich cities and towns of the Province.
Ferry plying the Iloilo-Bacolod Route
Bacolod City is 45 minutes by air from Ninoy Aquino International Airport and 30 minutes by air from Mactan-Cebu International Airport plus approximately 20 minutes of travel by land since the new airport is now located in Silay City. The Port of Bacolod is a major seaport and has daily ferry trips to Iloilo City. By boat, Bacolod City is 18 hours from the Port of Manila and 45 minutes from the Port of Iloilo. By land, Bacolod City is approximately 3 hours from Iloilo City via Dumangas route.
Bacolod is home to several malls such as SM City
Bacolod has an upbeat local economy and unlimited opportunities for trade and investments because the city is home to a high percentage of the country’s top 20 corporations. Bacolod City is the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) hub of the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines. Among the notable BPO companies operating in the city are Convergys, Teleperformance and TeleTech.
Convergy’s Bacolod
Bacolod City is known for its MassKara Festival held every third weekend of Octover. The festival is highlighted with the famous MassKara streetdance competition, where people from all walks of life triip to the streets to see colorful masked dancers gyrate to the infectious rhytm of Latin-inspired dance music, accompanied with a dazzling display of mastery, coordination, and stamina.
Oreo Cheesecake of Calea, Bacolod’s most known cakeshop
Food is the main attraction of Bacolod City. There are a plethora of restaurants in Bacolod that serve delicious local dishes such as Bacolod Chicken Inasal (Grilled Chicken) or a wide range of international cuisines.
Planta Hotel, one of the new hotels in Bacolod City
Bacolod will charm you with the genuine warmth and hospitality of her people in harmony with their lilting melodious accent. The Bacolenos will delight you with food and cuisine that is as vigorous yet as subtle as the legendary Ilonggo gentility and taste for the good life.
Source: Wikipedia, Bacolod City Tourism Office
I will be visiting Bacolod for 2 day in Early May. I am 36 retired American and I live in La Union. I am just taking this trip to explore part of the country I have not seen yet. Would love if someone could tell me the best things to do in a 2 day visit. I will be taking the ferry from manila to make things more interesting. Ingat
Brian.mason6@gmail.com
Comments moderated for messages that could potentially spur yet another never ending city vs city debate.
I hope I can go to Bacolod sooner or later…. I am excited to see its wonderful scenery, well-molded culture and rich heritage. Furthermore, I want to experience the reason behind the anchored lines as the City of Smiles. Lastly I want to know what Bacolod is because in this way i could tell the person that I love the most, JHAY JALBUENA that I am serious and I’ll be serious.
God Bless and more powers to Bacolod City….. The home of my Beloved..
Hi! I will stay in Bacolod for a while. Could someone tell me if some of the citybanks do whitedrawl by the counter? (Bigger amount then the limit from the AMT machines).
Thanks.
Have read many comments and Bacolod seems an interesting and nice place.
I am planning to move to the Phils in July/August of 2011 and am looking for a suitable city in which to live. Had been considering Cebu City mostly but am becoming interested in Bacolod also.
I am 69, single (divorced) and certainly not a rich American !! Would want to rent a furnished house for not more than P20,000………15,000 would be better of course.
Would appreciate opinions as to whether this city would be suitable for a single foreign man such as myself ??
is there anybody in bacolod knows were to buy candle supply in there place? Please let me know… thanks
Hi guys! i encourage you to visit Bacolod. indeed its beautiful, as it has new exciting places, hotels & resorts to explore, especially this coming (october) “Masskara festival” alot of people will be coming from other places locally and international. you will surely meet lots of tourist and pretty ilonggas all over the place. and its a clean and safe place to go and unwind.
I was looking for some place new to go to in the Philippines.
I believe I have found it !!! :)
Can anyone tell me what else there is to do there ??
I’m planning for next year Oct for the Masskara Festival
I would like to see the Ruins also
Last I would like to get a hotel with a pool if possible
I’m leaning to Check Inn Pension
I just dont like the location for Palmas Del Mar :(
It dose look nice tho !!
Thanks for the pictures. They were taken beautifully, it eases up my longing to go home. I miss Bacolod…
We’re visiting Iloilo this summer but would like to take a trip to Bacolod City and spend a day or two. Where would be a good place to stay and places to go?
may byahe po bang diretso ng bacolod to guimaras?at guimaras to iloilo?
hmmmmmmmmmmmm i think meron from bacolod 2 guimaras
Hi, we’re planning to visit Bacolod this October 9-11, 2009. I’d like to know the must-see places of the province. It is very much appreciated if someone could email me travel guides within the province.
Thanks,
Jenny
roswelldyen@yahoo.com
There’s no place like home, thats why i never miss going back to Bacolod every year…Everything seems so cozy..the place..the food..the people sooo warm..This is where my heart is wherever I maybe….
miss bong2 piyaya,INASAL NA MANOK which is our famous food in bacolod wow ilove bacolod in all places i really love bacolod im proud to be bacolonians miss maskara everything
wow that’s amazing lots of improvement in bacolod now we have sm now and planta hotel my gosh never heard about that wow im so excited to take vacation and explore in bacolod again i miss inasal na manok really and sea foods and sinigang my gosh wish i can eat that stuff now hehhehe but hopefully nxt year see yah bacolod
it’s my first time to see bacolod city in the internet, many people told me that bacolod is the most wonderful place they’ve been through… so, i’m very much interested to go to bacolod someday and i really wish that what they told me are true………………..i hope to enjoy going to bacolod someday…………….
Hi, this is a very interesting site, except there are no information regarding ferry costs and schedules to & from Bacolod to Iloilo. Are you able to post the fares & schedules on this site, if not, can you please direct me to a site that has these information?
Thank you
I don’t have the exact rates/schedules but there’s an Iloilo-Bacolod fastcraft ferry leaving the Bacolod BREDCO port every hour, the cost is approximately P200-300 one way. You can also opt to ride a Bacolod-Dumangas(Iloilo) RO-RO vessel, which leaves the port every 1-2 hours. The cost is P40-P100 and the ride lasts 1.5-2hours.