• 18.563120.9911 Santa Praxedes, a small town of over 4,000.
• 18.605121.0812 Claveria (km post 611) - A rural municipality of 3,000 people, has a town with beachfront and a boat terminal to Calayan Islands. AH26's northernmost point is around this municipality, and there is a viewing deck at barangay Camalaggoan (between km posts 613 and 614)
• 18.56121.2343 Sanchez Mira
• 18.464121.344 Pamplona (km 649). AH26 crosses the Pamplona River on the 0.49 km (0.30 mi) Pamplona Bridge,
• 18.226121.5565 Allacapan (km 694), a municipality of 34,000 with a small town.
• 18.123121.6721 Magapit Suspension Bridge AH26 crosses the mighty Cagayan river at this 0.43 km (0.27 mi) long bridge, the longest in the Philippines.
• 18.2121.6616 Lal-lo A rural municipality of 44,506. The town, used to be the capital of Cagayan during Spanish times and historically Nueva Segovia is 10 km (6.2 mi) from Magapit Interchange connecting with Magapit Suspension Bridge.
• 17.61121.7237 Tuguegarao - The provincial capital of Cagayan and the center of Cagayan Valley. It is known for its hot summer weather; some of the city's sights are the Tuguegarao Cathedral, the Afi Festival and Buntun Bridge.

AH26 passes by the northeast of downtown Tuguegarao before veering northeast into 17.625121.7858 Peñablanca, a rural municipality beside Tuguegarao, where the first fossil of the first inhabitants in the Philippines are found, inside Callao Cave. From there, AH26 parallels the east bank of the Cagayan River and crosses the Cagayan-Isabela boundary southeast of Tuguegarao.

• 17.149121.8899 Ilagan City of 146,000, houses the world's largest lounge chair and the oldest church in Isabela Province.
• 16.934121.77410 Cauayan a city of 130,000 economic center of Isabela is little known, but it has a single Baroque church, malls, and hotels.
• 16.692121.54811 Santiago City A city of 135,000.

Section length: 100 km (62 mi). Paved road, winding at the Caraballos and Dalton Pass, and mostly flat within the province. Driving time: 2 hr.

AH26 enters Nueva Vizcaya from Isabela Province at the municipality of Diadi, and meanders across the terrain of the Caraballos and the Magat River valley.

• Bagabag - a town of 35,000, the junction to Banaue. AH26 does not enter Bagabag town proper, but the highway to Banaue (Bagabag-Ifugao Rd, Rte 109) do.
• 16.518333121.18111112 Solano - a larger town, with a population of 60,000. It serves as a major stopover for many buses to Cagayan Valley and Ifugao.
• 16.483333121.1513 Bayombong - the provincial capital of Nueva Vizcaya, with population of 62,000. A larger town, Bayombong has multiple attractions, the St. Dominic Cathedral (Bayombong Cathedral), the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Capitol, and Bangan Hill. AH26 bypasses the town to the north

From Bayombong up to the Dalton Pass, AH26 crosses again Magat River and passes through rural southern Nueva Vizcaya, through these municipalities:

• Bambang A town of 53,000. Main attraction is the 18th-century St. Catherine of Sienna Parish Church and the Salinas Natural Monument 14 km (8.7 mi) west of town along the provincial road connecting to the highway to Baguio.
• Aritao - A town of 37,000 which has the junction to Baguio and the twin municipalities of Dupax del Norte and Dupax del Sur.
• Santa Fe - A rural municipality with 16,000. AH26 exits Nueva Vizcaya here, at the Dalton (Balete) Pass which rises above 910 m (2,990 ft) above sea level.

Section length: 122 km (76 mi). Paved road, mix of concrete and asphalt segments. Speed varying between 30 km/h (19 mph) at certain segments, and 50–80 km/h (31–50 mph) at remainder. Driving time: over 2½ hr.

Section length: 63 km (39 mi). Paved road, with expressway segment from Guiguinto to Valenzuela boundary through North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). Speed varying between 40–80 km/h (25–50 mph) (including through NLEX). Driving time: appr. 1 hr 15 min.

If you want to avoid EDSA, AH26 has also an unsigned western alternate route which passes directly through Manila city proper. The road is less congested, but watch for large trucks as it passes by Manila's seaport and its northern industrial suburbs.

AH26, which follows South Luzon Expressway, enters Laguna at the suburban city of San Pedro. The expressway is mostly straight and flat, and there are exits to Biñan, Santa Rosa, and Cabuyao. AH26 enters the suburban town of Carmona in Cavite for a few meters before entering Laguna again. The expressway section ends at Calamba (exit 50); to continue following AH26, from SLEX southbound, exit at the first ramp with directions pointing to Batangas and Lucena, and from Maharlika Highway northbound, take the second ramp past the overpass. To Calamba city proper, take the second ramp from SLEX or continue straight if from Maharlika Highway

The highway then follows Maharlika Highway again from Calamba, passing through a suburban area with industrial parks and some residential communities. AH26 passes around Turbina, which is a major stop for buses headed south from Manila, and to Calamba city proper, you can get onto a jeepney or a bus.

A toll-free but slower alternate route to the expressway segment is the older National Highway (Route 1), a four to six lane highway which passes close to the downtowns of the cities along the route. At Calamba Crossing, National Highway forks into two routes, one headed for eastern Laguna and another to Batangas and the rest of Southern Luzon. The Crossing is not much of a fork as in a road map, but rather a roundabout-like junction created by one-way streets through a congested shopping and commercial district.

AH26 enters the province of Batangas for 12 km (7.5 mi), becoming a four to six-lane urban highway passing through the city of Santo Tomas, a suburb of the city of Calamba in Laguna and a major stopover for trips down to Quezon Province and Bicol. Some of Santo Tomas's few sights are the Padre Pio Shrine, a Roman Catholic religious site which has buildings containing elements of traditional Tagalog architecture, and a shrine to Filipino revolutionary general Miguel Malvar, who led the Tagalog people in Batangas and Quezon provinces on their fight against the Spaniards during the Philippine Revolution.

From Santo Tomas, you can also make a side trip to most of Batangas.

• STAR Tollway, a toll expressway, provides direct access to the rest of Batangas, and to the cities of Lipa and Batangas; most buses headed for destinations in Batangas that stop at Calamba enter the expressway at Santo Tomas.
• The parallel Route 4, called President Jose P. Laurel Highway (or simply J.P. Laurel Highway) for most of its length also serves the same cities and municipalities, but is a slower route, yet it has undergone major upgrades and is now a four-lane road with a six-lane section at Lipa called the Ayala Highway.

STAR and J.P. Laurel also connect with other highways leading to other parts of Batangas.

Section length: 23 km (14 mi). Paved road, with up to 4 lanes, and gently rolling topography. Fast urbanizing area. Travel time: ~25-30 min.

After a short pass through Batangas, AH26 enters again Laguna, at the town of Alaminos. It heads eastward to San Pablo, a city known for its seven lakes and is the commercial center of central and southern Laguna. AH26, still carrying the Maharlika Highway name, turns south shortly before entering Quezon Province.

AH26 enters Quezon Province at Tiaong, where the road width narrows as it passes through its town center; a bypass is provided to avoid that segment. It then heads east through the towns of Candelaria and Sariaya; both towns also have bypasses to avoid their congested town centers. While not serving its center, AH26 then enters Tayabas, turning then southeast to enter Lucena, where it bypasses its downtown to the north. After a pass through Lucena, AH26 then passes through the town of Pagbilao, where it narrows to two lanes.

AH26 enters the rainy province of Camarines Norte at the municipality of Santa Elena, where it. Past it, there are no towns for about 64 km (40 mi), the next being. Labo. AH26 soon enters Daet, which it bypasses to the southwest, then turns south to head for Bicol Natural Park, where it winds again until it crosses the boundary with Camarines Sur.

Across the province, much of AH26 is mostly two-lane, with some 4-lane segments around Daet.

• Sipocot
• Naga
• Pili
• Baao
• Nabua
• Bato

• Polangui
• Ligao
• Legazpi

• Pilar
• Castilla
• Sorsogon City
• Bulan
• Matnog

The Andaya Hwy (Hwy 68) serves as a common bypass of AH26 in Camarines Norte, which follow a more direct path and has been widened for most of its length. Andaya Highway begins at the junction with AH26 at the village of Tabugon in Santa Elena, Camarines Norte, passing by Quezon to serve the town of Tagkawayan, and enters Camarines Sur, passing through Del Gallego, Ragay and Lupi before rejoining AH26 at Sipocot. Most buses between Manila and Bicol take this highway instead of AH26 through Camarines Norte.

Between Camarines Sur and Albay, there is a scenic alternate route, which follows Rte 630 which partly runs through the scenic Pacific coast in the Partido region. It begins at the town of Pili, following the Fuentebella or Partido Highway, then turns south to Tabaco where it hugs the Pacific coast on a winding two-lane road providing views of the Pacific coast. It descends to Albay at Tiwi, going through Tabaco, towns at the foot of Mayon, and eventually meeting with AH26 again at Legazpi.