Villa Escudero, about 20km south of San Pablo near Tiaong, is a working coconut plantation that has been in the Escudero family for generations and now operates as a day resort open to visitors. The estate covers several hundred hectares of coconut trees, and plantation tours give a clear picture of how coconut is harvested, processed, and turned into the dozens of products — oil, vinegar, wine, charcoal — that made this crop the backbone of the Laguna economy.
The hacienda-style museum building contains a remarkable private collection: pre-colonial gold jewellery and artefacts, religious icons, colonial-era furniture, carriages, and a substantial section on the Philippine struggle for independence. Traditional carabao-drawn carts carry guests around the grounds. The waterfall restaurant, where lunch is served at tables set in the river below a small cascade, is the most theatrical dining experience in southern Luzon. Book ahead for weekends, when domestic tour groups fill the estate.