I NEVER realized it was possible to drive to Vigan in just six hours. Typically, the journey to this northern heritage city takes at least 10 hours for me. However, with a combination of well-maintained highways, a dependable vehicle, and the right departure time from Manila, reaching Vigan in six hours, even with stopovers, is now achievable.

This revelation was confirmed during the recent NLEX Lakbay Norte event organized by NLEX Corp. I joined a group of writers, vloggers, and content creators for a five-day discovery tour of the new destinations in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. Assembling at NLEX Corp. headquarters in Balintawak, we boarded five brand-new Chevrolet vehicles driven by NLEX staff, heading north through NLEx, SCTEx, TPLEx, and the national highway. Departing at midnight, the well-lit NLEx expressways covered more than half of the distance to Vigan, allowing us to arrive at our first destination six hours later, feeling safe and well-rested.