Lucena Travel Guide

Blocked between two rivers, the Iyam River to the west and the Dumacaa River to the east, the highly urbanized, medium-sized city of Lucena is the provincial capital of Quezon, Philippines.

Worth It?: Not unless you wish to visit a typically developed city in the Philippines.
What to Do: go fishing at Tayabas Bay.
Best Time to Go: there is no dry season in Lucena, with lesser rainfalls occurring between February and September.
How Long?: A day or less is sufficient to see Lucena.
Trivia: the city was the site of bloody fights at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1899.

This business hub of the Southern Tagalog region has joined the rankings among the country's 25 most competitive cities. Located close to the outstanding fishing grounds of Tayabas Bay, Lucena is host to various boat and ferry lines serving the sea lanes as far as the Visayas. It is also a key fishing port and a local wholesale distribution point and features several food-processing plants, especially for coconuts.

Lucena compensates for having no wooded areas by its Botanical Garden at Enverga University, a three-hectare man-made forest, together with a one and a half-hectare Ecology Park in Barangay Isabang. Not far from the city is Banahaw and San Cristobal Mountains National Park.

Travel to Lucena - Getting There

Lucena lies about 140kms southeast of Manila via the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway. The city is connected to its neighboring provinces, cities and towns through roads and railways as well as air and sea routes. Located in Barangay Ilayang Dupay, the Grand Central Terminal is a central transportation hub that serves Manila-bound buses and buses heading toward the upland and distant regions of Quezon Province, above all Bondoc Peninsula towns. Furthermore, there is a broad network ofjeepney routes starting from the city center. An airport exists in Lucena, but there are no commercial flights to the city, though light aircraft can make use of the air facility.

Lucena Things to Do

Lucena Attractions

● Tayabas Bay
excellent fishing grounds for angling enthusiasts.

● Lucena Botanical Garden
a three-hectare man-made wooded area.

Side trips from Lucena

Banahaw and San Cristobal Mountains National Park: home to the active Mounts Banahaw, a 2,000-plus foot volcano.
Ecology Park: this nature park in Barangay Isabang isn't far from the city.