Tagudin is located along the coast in the southernmost part of the province of Ilocos Sur, and it is classified as a first-class municipality in the Philippines. The town is approximately seven hours by bus or by car from Manila, and about an hour or so south of the city of Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur. As in many other towns in the archipelago, it is a quiet provincial town where visitors are welcomed wholeheartedly by the warm and friendly people. Tagudin is known for its sundials believed to be the earliest sundials built in the Philippines by the Spaniards during the colonial times.

The town is considered as one of the gateways to the Cordillera Mountains in Northern Luzon. The road going up to the mountains commences in Tagudin from the junction in Barangay Bitalag passing through the town of Cervantes. This scenic highway is a good alternate route to tourist destinations such places as Bessang Pass, the Banaue Rice Terraces, Baguio City, Sagada, Mt. Data, and many other places in the Cordilleras.