Bataan Death March memorial tour
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Manila, Philippines
- 10 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Pay your respects to the people who suffered during the Bataan Death March while learning more about Filipino history on a private full-day tour. Your guide will share their personal family stories from World War II in the Philippines as you tour several war-related sites, including the Bataan World War II Museum, the Bamban Museum of History, and various memorials.
- A must-do tour for travelers interested in history
- This private tour can be customized to suit your needs
- Includes transfers from hotels in the Manila area
- Learn more from your guide than you would touring alone
What's Included
- All Fees and Taxes
- Bottled water
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
From different hotels in or near Manila
Operating hours.7:00 am
Itinerary
1
Mount Samat National Shrine - Dambana ng Kagitingan
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Bataan World War II Museum
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Capas National Shrine
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Bamban Museum of History
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 41 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
KAREN_M, Jul 2026
JB and our driver, Vincent, took us on tour of the Bataan peninsula which focused on the Death March but it was so much more. We visited three World War II museums and learned more about the Japanese treatment of the POW’s and the local population. The courage of the Filipinos was amazing and we cannot be more grateful for all they did for the American service men left behind to fight overwhelming Japanese forces. The soldiers and civilians were brave and generous and never stopped fighting for their freedom.
JB was extremely knowledgeable and had first hand experience because his grandfather survived the Death March and taught JB many things as a child. He was willing to share this personal knowledge and the pain and suffering of the war. We will never forget this tour and we thank JB and Vincent for teaching us and sharing a profound experience with us.
Steve_R, May 2026
It is a long day with a number of stops but quite informative. Plan for some walking at Mount Samat.
Trisha_H, Apr 2026
What a fantastic most important tour. This tour went above and beyond showing how important it is for today's generation to know this history and to learn from it. It was an honor to have JB as my guide. His grandfather was a hero and survivor of the war and Death March. So it is personal for him which was the highlight of the tour. Thanks for the education on such an important topic.
Max_H, Feb 2026
Our guide Carlo, and his driver Marcel, did an outstanding job in showing us a number of significant sites on the Bataan peninsula pertaining to the Death March. As the itinerary suggests, we traveled in reverse order of the march, first visiting the memorials at Capas and the railroad station through which the survivors of the March and the horrible rail car trip passed, before their final march to Camp O’Donnell at the end of the ordeal. Then on to several WWII museums and the April 9, 1942 surrender site, and the beautiful memorial and cross at Mt. Samat. Although Carlo was young, he was extremely knowledgeable about all the events that took place in his country more than 80 years ago. At our special request, he took us all the way to the bottom of the Bataan peninsula to the 0 km Death March marker (the start of the march) at Mariveles. This writer’s father survived the Death March and the following 40 months as a POW, and visiting the location where the march began was very meaningful and moving. Carlo made it happen. I give this Bataan Death March Tour and Carlo my highest recommendation! Salamat po!
Kerry_A, Feb 2026
Get the bad part first — it’s a long drive from Manila. There - I said it. Everything else is amazing. The combo of sombre history, plus friendly people, and our incredible guide JB -/ it was a great day!!
Kurt_O, Nov 2024
Travel time was a little long for one day but well worth the trip, very friendly and knowledgeable guide.
Douglas_D, Nov 2024
There were four problems with this tour. 1) it was poorly planned; 2) it was incomplete; 3) highlights and key locations were not pointed out; 4) detailed questions could not be answered.
Planning: The tour was backwards. It actually started at the end of the Death March rather than at the logical beginning in Mariveles/Bagac. We drove from the pickup point in Quezon City to Capas, and there got out of the car to look at the end of the railway portion of the March. On the way to Capas we drove straight through San Fernando without any stop at the significant location where the March ended and prisoners were loaded into railway cars. From Capas, we drove to Camp O'Donnell and the memorial. Our next stop was the Bamban WWII Museum run by Rhonie Dela Cruz. This museum is extremely good and it is well worth spending much time there. Mr. Dela Cruz knows the history of the March extremely well, and he is very knowledgeable about artefacts and details relating to the Japanese, American and Filipino forces.
Incomplete: From Bamban we drove to Balanga and the Elementary School where the Japanese surrender took place in 1945. An interesting and worthwhile stop - but not actually part of the Bataan Death March. From there, we drove to Mt Samat to look at the memorial ... and then the tour was over. The memorial was actually closed for renovation, but I was not informed of this before the tour began or at the time of booking. We did not go anywhere near either point where the March began (Bagac & Mariveles) and we did not drive down the coastal road south from Orion where the March actually took place.
Highlights not pointed out: The guide failed to tell me that there were memorial markers at every km along the March route(s) from Bagac-Orion and from Orion-San Fernando. I noticed these by accident as we were driving past, and had to specially request that we stop so I could look at one in detail. There are also many key points on the March route from Orion to San Fernando (for example, as documented in the book "Ghost Soldiers") where significant events took place - for example the town of Pilar where the Bagac and Mariveles marches joined to continue to San Fernando - unfortunately, however, these locations were not pointed out. Whether this was because the guide was unaware of them, or because he didn't bother to point them out is unknown. As we did not drive further south from Orion there was also no opportunity to see any of the many locations of significance between Mariveles and Orion.
Unanswered Questions: The guide was extremely knowledgeable about the basics - so dates, places, names etc. However, he was unable to answer any questions relating to the command structure of the Japanese forces, the details of operational coordination of Filipino guerrilla units with US forces, or any specifics about the numerous actions that were taken against Japanese forces in Bataan.
On this tour I never actually got to see the Death March route in it's entirety. There were no written/printed handout materials provided such as a map of the route with key points and timings marked, and no brochures or supporting documentation were made available. Given the amount of time spent driving from point to point, it would have been possible to have a series of informative videos to view in the car while in transit - but nothing was provided and no indications were given as to where one could link to such materials online.
The guide and driver were very nice, polite and customer-oriented people. I have nothing negative to say about them at all. The problem lays with a very poorly conceived tour design, and a total failure to link the actual tour experience with the historical details of that horrendous 12-day march in April, 1942.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Deeply apologize for the experience. As per talking with Vincent the guide, he asked if you still want to go to other areas like 0 km but you answered in the negative. Also this tour is really in reverse as listed on the proposal and it will start in Camp O Donnel as the travel time to Mariveles or Bagac will take 4 hours. The San Fernando station is not included as a stop since IT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION since December 2022.
Thank you for your feedback!
John_S, Aug 2024
Really enjoyed this tour. Vincent and the driver were great - so communicative and knowledgeable and catered to our every need. One of the best day tours I’ve done with Viator - highly recommend!
Steve_Y, Apr 2024
The best part of the trip aside from the actual trip visiting key locations and museums from the March was JB’s knowledge and his connection to the March. He shared insight from growing up with a Grandfather who was a participant in the march and POW experience.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Thank you for doing the tour and hearing about the experiences of my grandfather.
Melissa_S, Feb 2024
The Bataan Death March memorial tour was memorable and heartfelt. Our tour guide Ferdinand Contereras was excellent and provided so much overview and history of the Bataan Death March. One of the highlights of the tour was also visiting the Bamban WWII Museum curated by historian Rhonie Dela Cruz. He is doing an amazing job to preserve and share the history of the Philippine, American and Japanese soliders who served in WWII in the Pacific. Also, Ferdinand mentioned to us about the American Cemetery in Manila which we didn't know about. The day we visited the cemetery, we met Vicente Lim IV who is the director of the American Cemetery. He is the great-grandson of the Philippines Brigadier General Vicente Lim who was killed in WWII. Thanks to Ferdinand we learned a lot about the sacrifices the Philippine and American soldiers to preserve freedom and democracy in the Pacific.
Olufemi_A, Jan 2024
Seeing a replica cart used to transport American WWII prisoners during the death March. Quite touching to see that.
Victoria_A, Oct 2023
We can’t thank JB enough for this incredible tour. It was an amazing day and we are so grateful for the experience. I would recommend any tour by JB.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Thank you for the kind words :)
Hope to see you again.
Patricia_O, Sep 2023
The guide (JB Quemado) was very knowledgeable and was able to share his knowledge through the lens of his grandfather, a survivor of the death March.
SA_T, Jul 2023
There is a lot of history in this tour. There is also a lot of driving too. The private museum of the battles of Bamban is out of this world.
Worth every bit of time.
The guide is fun and informative.
The Philippino government needs to step up the quality of museums that testify to such important events.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Thank you
Charlie_C, Jul 2023
The Bataan Death March Tour was very interesting. It’s a must do if in Manila. JB our tour guide was very informative. He was knowledgeable of the different locations of the war. I would recommend this tour if you like military history or WW2 like I do.
Alan_H, Jun 2023
Guide was truly inspiring; his grandfather was in the Bataan death march and he shared his story through his grandfather to both me and my grandson
Peter_K, Jan 2023
All stops in the tour were integral to appreciating the heroism of Filipino and American soldiers who endured Japanese brutality and atrocities during the march and imprisonment.
ERLINDA_D, Jan 2023
The most memorable part is being knowledgeable of the sacrifices of brave heroes who fought for our freedom. Its educational and we enjoyed every stop at the museum and an amazing scenic view of Mt Samat Shrine. It was a great experience!
From $375.00
per group (up to 2)up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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