Travel Journal | Panglao, Bohol and Island Hopping
Thursday, April 26, 2018
It’s been a while since my last air trip. As far as I could remember, the last time was when Jason and I celebrated his birthday and went to Cebu and that was two years ago! Last year, my College BFFs found a promo fare of Cebu Pacific going to Bohol. We booked it right away, of course and in the blink of an eye, it happened last April 13.
Before getting to this beautiful paradise, here’s how we started the trip – Pearly and I met at Gaisano Mall to ride a shuttle van going to the Laguindingan Airport for P105/person and yeah, I guess it is really cheaper than any other shuttle vans because when Jason and I rode a Magnum Express van two years ago, it costs P199/person and you can definitely tell the huge difference between the two.
Before getting to this beautiful paradise, here’s how we started the trip – Pearly and I met at Gaisano Mall to ride a shuttle van going to the Laguindingan Airport for P105/person and yeah, I guess it is really cheaper than any other shuttle vans because when Jason and I rode a Magnum Express van two years ago, it costs P199/person and you can definitely tell the huge difference between the two.
We checked in right away and
waited for Ate Kameko at the lobby and of course, when the three of us were
finally together, we spend so much time taking photos of each other~
Yay! Matching sunglasses from Sunnies 😎
Here it is! Here it is! It’s been two years and it felt like it’s my
first time once again!
Turista-mode on!
Pearly and I have an unwritten
pact since College that after she takes a photo of me, I’ll take a photo of
her. But this time, we’re using different cameras, mga feeling RK man gud, jk! Hahaha!
Pearly and I waited for all the
passengers to leave first for us to have this photo and please do excuse my
awkwardness since the captain was looking at us. LOL!
Welcome to Tagbilaran, Bohol, fellas!
We got a pedicab/tricycle ride
going to our homestay in Baclayon for P200/ride and yeah I think it’s a bit
pricey but we still have to go there to leave our things, duh.
In case you were looking for her, Pearly sat behind the driver.
We left our stuff at the
Homestay de Bai which is just a walking distance to the Baclayon Church. We got a
room for three for only P3,100 good for three days and two nights with free
breakfast for two days. It’s a good deal, isn’t it?
After we left our things, we
hired another pedicab that would take us to Lite Port Center Mall for us to buy
our tickets going back home (I really can’t remember how much that was since we
took two routes to get there). However, even though the ticketing booth was
still open, they already cut off giving out priority numbers since there were
still lots of customers ahead of us. I was a bit in a panic when they told me
about it because I really have to go back home for my work by Monday. We
decided to try again the next day and I believed that all things will turn out
great with this vacation.
We went to Panglao right
after our failed attempt to buy tickets and it turned out that it was too far
from Tagbilaran and Baclayon even though it was just so close according to the
Google Maps. But still, we have to go there. I came for the beach!
We went to the Island City Mall
in Tagbilaran with another pedicab for P15/person as there are jeepneys near
the mall that are going to Panglao and it was a long ride even though Google
Maps said it’ll just take 17-minutes. LOL! Luckily, the people are really
approachable and friendly and we just asked a stranger how much the fare would
be and it was P25/person. Yeah, I know it’s not right to talk to strangers but
how would we know if we won’t, right?
When we arrived in Panglao, we
decided to stop at the highway of Alona Tropical Beach Resort and from there we
saw signs from different travel agencies that could cater island hopping
starting in Panglao. We approached one and luckily they also sell tickets for
Lite Ferries from Jagna to Cagayan de Oro for P740/person. Needless to say, we
grabbed the opportunity to buy tickets right away and we also booked for an
island hopping on our third day which was P400/person.
After buying tickets, we went
back to Alona Tropical Beach Resort and paid P300/person for the entrance fee
and it’s not really a bad deal since it was consumable.
Tada! I really love the beach 💙
© Pearly
My pretty photographer 😍
Yeah, the sun was already setting
when we arrived but it was still a great view. I’m in love with the place.
Well, I’m in love with the beach.
Aren’t they lovely?
The dinner we had was all thanks to
the entrance fee and their food was exquisite and worth the price. It was
around 8 in the evening when we left the resort however when we reached the
highway, we couldn’t even find a single jeep. We asked a pedicab driver and he
said there won’t be any jeepneys found in Panglao at night but he offered us a
ride to Baclayon for P350/ride. We accepted the offer since we didn’t brought our
things with us and left it all in our homestay and yeah, that was probably the
downside of having a cheap stay in Baclayon. It was too far from Panglao. If
ever I’d have a chance to visit Bohol again, I think I’d prefer to stay in
Panglao (because again, I’d come for the beach). I’m done with the countryside tour with Jason’s family last year anyway which the three of us will have the
next day (next blog post).
I’m gonna skip the second day of our trip since it’s going to be a long one, we went to different spots after all.
For our third day, we woke up so early
for our island hopping. A driver from the agency fetch us at 5:30 in the
morning and dropped us at Alona, Panglao. From there, lots and I really mean
lots of foreigners were there but we didn’t mind it that much since we're turistas as well. Ha! Ha!
The
boats used for the island hopping
Here
we go!
A part of the itinerary was the
Dolphin Watching, we just didn’t get close to them and I think they were a bit
shy since there were so many boats chasing after them. After that, we went to
the Balicasag Island for swimming and snorkeling. We just paid another
P250/person for the fish sanctuary.
We transferred to a small boat to reach the fish sanctuary
We used Pearly’s GoPro but I wished
that I brought mine however, Jason had a trip of his own and borrowed it, I
could’ve take photos of the fishes but I bet Pearly did and I’m sure she’ll
share it on her blog soon!
Our next stop was the Virgin Island, we didn’t get a chance to see a beautiful sandbar but it’s still one of my favorites.
We
took this photo after all
That ended our island hopping. We just
had a problem on where to change since there’s no public baths open and I
really wished we stayed in Panglao instead. But we have to move on, I have to
go to work and save up for another trip. Ha! Ha!
We went to Bohol Bee Farm to change and both Pearly and I definitely wanted to go there for their ice cream. Yeah we paid another pedicab driver for P200/ride.
New
fave 🍦
That partially ends our Bohol trip. We went back to the Island City Mall for our shuttle van that would take us to the Jagna Port for P100/person. When we arrived, we bought souvenirs like Calamay and Peanut Kisses, they may be a bit heavy but we’re sure that our friends and family back home will love them!
0 comments