After I uploaded my first GoPro video to YouTube, I told Ren: “You know this is going to change how we travel, right?”

It’s true. Giving myself a GoPro for Christmas last year, I quickly learned that I couldn’t be satisfied with just any old vacation anymore. With the ability to mount this amazing little device virtually anywhere – on my head, on a handlebar, on a stripper pole – our trips from now on had to be action-packed. They had to be GoPro-worthy, which is why I immediately started looking for a hotel (and the perfect soundtrack) the moment I learned about this Mayon ATV tour in Legazpi.

An 18-km adrenaline-rush featuring ATVs, a zipline, and one of the world’s most beautiful volcanoes, here’s the first of many GoPro adventures* we’ll be documenting in the Philippines this year. 😉

*Video at bottom of post.

Your Brother Travel & Tours

Pioneered by Your Brother Travel & Tours, would you believe that these guys started off with just one ATV not too long ago in 2008? For three years, the owner and his father would personally take their guests out to Mt. Mayon themselves, up to ten times a day without any employees. Today, a mere six years later, that one ATV has grown into a fleet of over eighty, including three Can-Ams worth over PHP 1 million pesos each. I guess you can say that business is good. 😉

If I’m not mistaken, this is one of their 350 CC ATVs that can seat up to two people.

The aforementioned Can-Ams, the pride and joy of their fleet. Each of these puppies sports an 800 CC monster engine. 😈

As you can see on that tarp, Zac Efron is one of the many celebrities who’s done the ATV tour. Others are Manny Pacquiao, Venus Raj, Aga Mulach, and Reneelicious.

You look hot and all Reneelicious, but we’re not taking that one. That Can-AM rents out for an adrenaline-pumping PHP 4,000 an hour! 😯

That’s more like it! Our single-seater 350 CC ATVs ready to rip. These bad boys have no gears – just a thumb accelerator and hand brakes – making them very easy to operate. We chose the 18-km Mayon to base camp tour which went for PHP 2,500 a pop. This includes transfer to and from your hotel. More tour details below.

There’s Mt. Mayon in the background. She was a little shy today. 😉

Vroom vroom! Let’s go baby!

Reneelicious crossing a river. What was cool about Your Brother too was that their guides are so accustomed to taking photos of the guests. They know exactly where to stop to take the best pictures. Our awesome guide Regine hung on to my camera practically the entire time, telling us where to stop, when to go fast, to slow down, turn around, stand up, flex our biceps, and make waves while she deftly handled my DSLR like a pro.

With no DSLR to worry about, I could put all my energy into NOT flipping over. 😆

Instagram that shit.

Ripping through these shallow streams was fucking awesome. So much fun!

Crossing the stream like a boss.

Crossing the stream like a little girl afraid to get her shoesies wet.

Where’s my ride yo?! Going ahead then turning around to take our picture, Regine asked us to go as fast as we safely could to create the biggest splashes possible. Happy to oblige. 😈

Instagram that shit again.

Base camp with the lava front just a few meters away. This is as far as you’ll go for the Mayon to base camp tour. You park your ATVs here and pay the PHP 50 environmental fee before climbing up the lava front. They sell refreshments here too.

With loose lava rocks all over, there’s our badass guide Mang Jerry helping Reneelicious every step of the way.

Walk this way.

The summit!

Helipad built right on top of the lava flow from the 2006 eruption. This was where cutie boy Zac Efron was helicoptered in to go ATVing with his pops a few years ago. Woohoo!

He may be dreamy, but can Zac Efron do this?!

Or this?

Eat your heart out Davd Blaine!

Art imitating life… *sigh* 😆

Thank you Mang Jerry for taking these wicked cool trick shots! What’s up with all these Mayon Volcano guides anyway? They all know how to use my camera better than me! 👿

For an additional PHP 300 per head, you have the option of taking this zipline back to base camp. Sure beats the hell out of climbing down eh? From there you hop back onto your ATVs and drive back to the main site to conclude your tour.

If you enjoy this sort of thing, then I highly highly HIGHLY recommend booking an ATV tour with Your Brother. You can find all their contact details at the bottom of this post. It was an amazingly fun adventure, one that I definitely wouldn’t mind doing again. What an awesome day!! 😀

Having ATV’ed our way to Mayon Volcano and back, I’m even more appreciative now of how amazing this GoPro really is. I love it. It isn’t just a camera. It’s a reminder that life is short.

I consider myself a pretty adventurous guy, but because of an obsessive-compulsive need to store acorns for the winter, I don’t allow Ren and myself the luxury of enough trips. Made anxious by the future’s uncertainty, we go on holiday once a year, twice at best. I understand how lucky we are to be allowed even that, but considering how big this world is, that just isn’t enough. After all, travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer, and this GoPro gives me all the motivation I need to live my life with more adventure.

You only live once. That should be GoPro’s tagline. GoPro. YOLO. 🙂

I had my GoPro strapped to my helmet from the main site to base camp. As you can see below, the headstrap mount works well for this. I did notice that the strap would slide up the helmet a bit during the ride, so be sure to check it once in a while to make sure it’s secure. If you don’t have a headstrap mount, then a standard curved mount will do. Good luck prying it off your helmet after the tour though. 😉

On the ride back to the main site, I attached my GoPro to the back of our guide’s ATV. The Jaws clamp mount was perfect for this.

Your Brother Travel & Tours ATV Amusement Center

Your Brother ATV Site, Barangay Pawa, Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines
Tel: +6352-742-9871
Mobile: +63-917-595-8859 | +63-915-938-6451 | +63-922-898-7071 | +63-905-455-7594 | +63-905-363-6330 | +63-915-525-7467
Facebook: mayonatvtour
Website: mayonatvtour.com
Email: [email protected]

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