Manila Road Trip Cost: Toll Fees and Gas to Baguio, La Union and Bicol

Here is what a one-way drive costs a Class 1 vehicle (cars, SUVs, vans and pickups) once tolls and fuel are added together. The toll column starts at the expressway gate: NLEX Balintawak for trips north, SLEX Alabang for trips south. Fuel uses the Department of Energy's Metro Manila common prices for the week of October 6 to 12, 2026: ₱88.30 per liter for RON 91 gasoline and ₱93.70 for diesel.

Double the total for the round trip. The table leaves out the Skyway, parking, food and driving around once you arrive. If you take Skyway Stage 3 to reach NLEX, or the elevated Skyway to reach Alabang, add that toll from the route sections below.

The fuel figures assume a small gasoline car averaging 15 km per liter, a gasoline 7-seater MPV or SUV at 11 km/L, and a diesel MPV or SUV at 12 km/L. These are example highway averages for a loaded car with the aircon on, not manufacturer ratings. Your own trip computer gives a better number, and the fuel section shows how to rerun the math with it.

The usual route north is NLEX from Balintawak, SCTEX from Mabalacat, then TPLEX from La Paz in Tarlac to its last exit at Rosario, La Union. NLEX and SCTEX bill as one Easytrip trip. NLEX Corporation's consolidated toll matrix, effective January 20, 2026, charges a Class 1 car ₱670 from Balintawak to the SCTEX Tarlac exit: ₱440 for the NLEX run to Mabalacat plus ₱230 on SCTEX. TPLEX is a separate Autosweep road, and the Toll Regulatory Board's TPLEX matrix lists ₱311 from La Paz to Rosario.

That makes the toll fee Manila to Baguio ₱981 one way for a Class 1 car, counted from Balintawak. Baguio-bound drivers often leave TPLEX earlier, at Pozorrubio or Sison, before climbing via Marcos Highway or Kennon Road. Published rate tables list La Paz to Pozorrubio at ₱270 and La Paz to Sison at ₱290, which brings the total to ₱940 or ₱960. Kennon Road closes from time to time for repairs or bad weather, so check its status before you choose it.

For La Union, Rosario is the end of TPLEX. San Juan's surf beaches and San Fernando are further north on MacArthur Highway, which has no toll, so the Manila to La Union toll fee is the same ₱981.

If you start in Makati or further south, Skyway Stage 3 runs from Buendia to NLEX Balintawak. Its Class 1 rate for the full run was set at ₱264 when tolling began in July 2021, and 2026 rate listings still show ₱264, but confirm the posted rate before you go.

When tolls last changed: NLEX went up on January 20, 2026, when the Balintawak to Sta. Ines fare rose ₱24 to ₱440. SCTEX's last increase was its final tranche on September 9, 2025. We found no TPLEX adjustment announced in 2026.

Bicol is the cheaper trip in tolls and the pricier one in fuel. The only expressway on the way is SLEX. From Alabang, a Class 1 car pays ₱137 to Calamba and ₱37 more from Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas, for ₱174 in all, on Autosweep. Those rates took effect on July 1, 2026, when the second tranche of the SLEX increase added ₱14 to the Class 1 Alabang to Sto. Tomas trip.

Past Sto. Tomas there are no more tolls. You continue on the Maharlika Highway through San Pablo in Laguna and the length of Quezon province into Camarines Sur. Naga is about 370 to 390 km from the Magallanes interchange in Makati, depending on the route Google Maps picks, and Legazpi is about 460 to 480 km, so fuel is most of your Bicol budget.

The slow part is the highway through Quezon. SLEX Toll Road 4 (TR4) is meant to fix that, but as of October 2026 it is not open. The Department of Transportation is targeting the first 31.6 km, from Sto. Tomas to Tiaong, Quezon, to open by December 2026, out of a planned 66.7 km to Lucena. We found no approved TR4 toll rate yet. If it opens before your trip, expect a new toll on top of the ₱174 and check the Toll Regulatory Board's announcement.

Coming from Makati, the elevated Skyway from Buendia to Alabang is listed at ₱164 for Class 1 in 2026 rate listings, but we could not confirm that figure with the operator or the Toll Regulatory Board. The at-grade lanes below it are tolled separately. Go by the rate posted at the plaza.

Fuel is the bigger cost on all three routes, and the math is simple. Liters needed = distance ÷ your car's km per liter. Fuel cost = liters × the pump price. Take a small car doing 15 km/L to Baguio: 239 km ÷ 15 = 15.9 liters, and 15.9 × ₱88.30 = about ₱1,410 one way.

The table runs the same formula for each route using the Department of Energy's Metro Manila common prices for October 6 to 12, 2026. Distances are Google Maps driving distances checked on October 12, 2026: 239 km from NLEX Balintawak to Burnham Park in Baguio, 265 km from Balintawak to Urbiztondo in San Juan, La Union, and, from the Magallanes interchange in Makati, about 380 km to Naga and about 470 km to Legazpi.

Pump prices move every week. For October 13, oil companies announced a ₱1.56 per liter increase for gasoline and a ₱3.01 cut for diesel, so swap in the price you see at the pump. Prices outside Metro Manila can also differ from the DOE's figures for the capital.

Then pad the estimate. Holiday crawls on NLEX or the Maharlika Highway, the climb to Baguio, and a full load of passengers and luggage all push consumption up; adding 10 to 15 percent covers most trips. Our gas-saving tips guide covers the habits that help, such as steady highway speeds, correct tire pressure and not idling at stopovers.

Plan to pay every toll by RFID, and on the Baguio and La Union route you need two accounts. Easytrip is used on the Metro Pacific roads: NLEX, SCTEX, CALAX, CAVITEX, C5 Southlink and the NLEX Connector. Autosweep is used on the San Miguel roads: Skyway, SLEX, STAR, TPLEX, NAIAX and MCX. A Baguio run pays ₱670 on Easytrip and ₱311 on Autosweep, while a Bicol run uses Autosweep only.

Since October 21, 2025, the optional One RFID, All Tollways program lets you pick Autosweep or Easytrip and use that one sticker and account on every Luzon tollway. Enrollment is voluntary, and you have to visit a service center to have the other sticker removed, so sort it out weeks before the trip, not the day before.

Load for the round trip plus a buffer. For Baguio or La Union, that is at least ₱1,340 on Easytrip and ₱622 on Autosweep, plus ₱528 more on Autosweep if you use Skyway Stage 3 both ways. For Bicol, load at least ₱348 on Autosweep, plus any Skyway tolls. Reload online a day or two ahead and check both balances before you leave; topping up at a plaza during the holiday rush costs time.

Don't plan around cash. The Toll Regulatory Board's plan to make every expressway cashless from March 15, 2025 was suspended by the Department of Transportation in February 2025 for review, and we found no official notice that it has resumed. Some plazas may still take cash, but RFID lanes move faster and holiday cash lines are long.

The cheapest trip is the one that doesn't burn fuel standing still. Leave Metro Manila before dawn, or travel on a day most people avoid. In past holiday seasons, NLEX Corporation has flagged the days just before Christmas and New Year, and the return days after them, as the heaviest at plazas such as Balintawak, Bocaue and Tarlac. In 2025, it reported light traffic on Christmas morning itself.

Watch for toll-free hours. In 2025, Metro Pacific Tollways waived tolls on NLEX, SCTEX, the NLEX Connector, CAVITEX and CALAX from 10 p.m. on December 24 to 6 a.m. on Christmas Day, and again from 10 p.m. on December 31 to 6 a.m. on New Year's Day. It has offered similar late-night waivers in earlier years, but wait for the 2026 announcement before you plan around it. That waiver covered Metro Pacific roads; SLEX, Skyway and TPLEX are run separately, so check their own holiday announcements too.

Plan fuel stops, and check traffic before you set off; NLEX's hotline is 1-35000. For Bicol, budget extra time through Quezon, the slowest stretch until TR4 opens. For Baguio, the climb is where an overworked engine shows it, so keep an eye on the temperature gauge.

This guide covers cost only. To get the car itself ready, use our long drive checklist for the week-before checks, documents and tire pressure for a full load, and keep our expressway breakdown guide handy in case the car quits on NLEX, SLEX or TPLEX.