My latest Bohol trip: itinerary and budget! :)

In Bohol, the highest influx of tourists is said to be during Fiesta Month, which is May. Starts off at May1st which is the Fiesta of St. Joseph the Worker in Tagbilaran City, followed by May 3 in Panglao, and so forth.

With my grandmother based in Tagbilaran, we appropriately scheduled our annual vacation in time for the Fiesta! We were there April 27 to May 2. We decided to do the main tours during weekdays because weekends at the tourist spots can become congested!

Three of us flew via PAL which cost P3833/pax and three of us flew via Cebu Pacific which cost P5200/pax. It really is important to book earlier because we booked only 2 weeks in advance. My cousins who flew via CebPac merely booked a day after I booked with PAL, and see the difference in the fares. I'd also like to mention that the CebPac flights to and from were both delayed by over an hour. So when planning, always take in to account delays in flights! :)

BTW, EF = Entrance Fee

Monday April 27, 2009
We arrived in the afternoon so we just went to Bohol Quality Mall for some toiletries and had dinner at home. We went to bed early. :)

Tuesday April 28, 2009 - COUNTRYSIDE TOUR, THE EXTENDED VERSION!
7 am - Left Tagbilaran City, picked up by van c/o Ramil (cheapest rates in Tagbilaran, Ramil is a former DENR inspector, and is actually from Laguna but now as Boholano as can be!)
8 am - Punta Cruz Watch Tower in Maribojoc EF P5/pax P25/van
10 am - Chocolate Hills in Sagbayan Peak (newer, closer, privately owned) EF P20/pax
11 am - Chocolate Hills in Carmen (the more popular viewing deck, govt owned) EF P50/pax
1130am - Man-Made Forest of Bilar, free of course
1145am - Butterfly Sanctuary of Bilar EF P20/pax and must try home made ice cream P20/bar
12nn - Hanging Bridge of Sevilla EF P10/pax
1pm - Loboc River Cruise EF P300/pax
230pm - Tarsier Sighting EF by donation
3pm - World's Largest Python in Captivity EF P10/pax
4pm - Baclayon Church and Museum EF P25/pax, will not allow sleeveless tops in the church
430pm - Blood Compact Site no EF
5pm - Hinagdanan Cave EF P10/pax
530pm - Panglao Island Nature Resort P450/pax consumable so dinner was included here
8pm - headed back to Tagbilaran, which is 20 minutes away :)
Van rental was P3000. Originally at P2300 but since we decided to go for Punta Cruz, Sagbayan, and Panglao, we had to pay more. And trust me, super cheap yan. Others would rate it at at least P3500. :)

Wednesday April 29, 2009 -DOLPHIN WATCHING AND ISLAND HOPPING DAY!
515am - Left Tagbilaran and headed for Alona Beach
6 am - Out at sea! Dolphin Watching!!!
8 am - Balicasag Marine Sanctuary EF P150/pax. Bring bread, snorkeling gear, and aqua shoes. Rental of snorkeling gear and aqua shoes is P150. This part of the itinerary is definitely a MUST-DO!
10am - Brunch at Balicasag, we had eggs and fresh tuna and drinks etc, for 7pax we paid P400.
11am - we decided to go back to Panglao because the waters were a bit choppy, but we were really slated to go to Puntod Island aka Virgin Island
12nn - Bohol Beach Club EF P250 consumable...we had heavy merienda!:)
4pm - we visited our lot in Panglao Island, and we even went to the munisipyo to check on our taxes for it, and wow their system's computerized! :)
6 pm - dinner at Bojol Grill in Tagbilaran...love the inasal (P85) and balbacua! Shakes (P30) are awesome too!
Boat rental: P2000
Van rental: P1000

Thursday April 30, 2009 - RELAXATION DAY!
715am - Mass at Tagbilaran Cathedral...drop by the park after
9am - Dauis Church (really beautiful) and Museum aka Hinandumanan, developed by the Zobel family
10 am - Bohol Bee Farm!!!!! Your BEST bet talaga is to go for the BUFFET which they REFILL! For 6pax, it is P420/pax plus 10% SC. Consists of...seafood soup, fresh garden salad, organic rice with camote, bread and squash muffins, seafood lasagna, honey glazed chicken, baked pork ribs, and grilled marlin, bottomless lemongrass iced tea, 2 scoops of homemade ice cream! Grabe!!! :)
Farm tour is a must-do as well, which is P20/pax. I had the massage which was so relaxing because it was on a cliff...the best ambiance! P500 whole body 1 hour massage with 1 cup of tea. :) You can also go swimming but we just decided to chill by the deck/massage area.:)
6 pm - bisperas ng Fiesta...we were at home and my lola prepared a FEAST complete with LECHON!!! :)

Friday May 1, 2009 - Tagbilaran City Fiesta!
715 am - Mass, played some games at the Park afterwards
Morning - shopping at Island City Mall
Afternoon - shopping at Bohol Quality Mall
Evening - just at home :)

Saturday May 2, 2009 - Returned to Manila

Photos to follow! :)

Welcome to Bohol, Island Paradise :)

The Island Paradise of Bohol is located in the Central Visayas Region in the Philippines. It is one of the current top tourist destinations and Panglao Island, a small island part of Bohol, has always been one of the world's best divespots.

First off, how do we get to Bohol?

1. By plane - from Manila (Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific) to the Tagbilaran Airport
2. By boat - from Cebu (OceanJet) to the Tagbilaran pier. Another alternate route is through the Tubigon pier.

How much are the fares?

1. Plane fares from Manila cost approximately P6000-7000 roundtrip for peak season (December to June I think), and half those prices for off-peak.
2. From Cebu, it's P500 one-way via the OceanJet.

Who should go to Bohol?

1. Families
2. Barkadas
3. Honeymooners and lovers
4. Photographers
5. Foodies
6. Really stressed people
7. Nature-lovers and trekkers
8. Divers
9. Beach-lovers
10. Anyone who wants to get value for money on a trip =)

How long should we stay in Bohol?

Personally for tourists I think the optimum time would be 4D/3N. =)

What dialect/s do they speak there?

Boholano or Bol-anon is essentially Cebuano, save for the J-dominated words. Since it is a tourist hotspot Boholanos are very fluent in English and Filipino-Tagalog.

Why should we go to Bohol?

1) quiet, pristine white sand beaches and resorts
2) cheap food and accommodation
3) Loboc river cruise
4) old original churches that date back to the Spanish era, esp. in Baclayon
5) the national tarsier sanctuary
6) a wonderful man-made forest in Bilar
7) Chocolate Hills
8) Hinagdanan Cave
9) Sikatuna-Legazpi compact site
10) dolphin and whale watching
11) places like Panglao and Balicasag which are one of the best diving spots in the world
12) Bohol Bee Farm

Where can we stay in Bohol?

For a comprehensive list of resorts and transient places, visit the official website of Bohol.

Great forums on Bohol:
Bohol 1
Bohol 2

I believe there are a lot of YouTube videos on Bohol too. :)


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Yay, I finally started this blog. I've been meaning to start one for Bohol for the longest time. I plan to include write-ups on the different tourist sites in Bohol for interested tourists. I'm not an official tour guide nor do I own any travel agencies or resorts. This is just for fun. I am based in Metro Manila but I fly to Bohol at least once a year (and my mom, almost monthly!) because my grandmom lives there. I have been helping friends and people online plan their trips to Bohol for several years now. The same questions keep coming up and so I thought of starting a blog.

- Ivy