It’s summertime! And for most us, it means time to treat ourselves a cozy trip vacation. What’s an ideal destination for a trip? Bohol! You’ll have the sun, the sand, the sea and the scenery all in one place. And do you know that you can find all these in a day or two? That’s right! If you have a tight budget or just sneak out a weekend from your busy lifestyle, you can still enjoy a little piece of heaven.
You can reach Bohol conveniently by boat or plane. You’ll probably want to take the plane ride for around 70 minutes travel if you come from Manila. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Zest Air and Air Philippines are among the airlines that you can choose from which lots of flights have. If you come via Cebu, you can take a boat ride (Oceanjet, Weesam or Supercat) which will take you a couple of hours to get to the city proper of Bohol, Tagbilaran City.
There are lots of vans and cars that can offer you a deal for a Day Tour. But for your convenience, visit http://www.jmj-transport.com/, they offer great packages. If you don’t want a package, you can just avail their affordable and reasonable transportation services for the Bohol Day Tour which pretty much covers every tourist destination.
For backpackers, this is a perfect itinerary.
Let’s say, around 7am, your ride will pick you up from your hotel or port. This is a long ride so you better pack food just enough before lunch.
First stop, Blood Compact Site. It’s a historical site when the Spaniard conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and the local native chieftain Rajah Sikatuna pledged peace and strengthened their treaty of friendship in a historic Blood Compact on 1565. A bronze statue lies exactly where this historical event happened.
Next stop is Baclayon Church. Not too far from the city. A structure of heritage built during the Spanish colonial era. This is the oldest church in the Philippines with its original coralline limestone still preserved. They are strict with the dress code inside the church so be prepared to have a bandanna or piece of cloth to cover yourself if you are wearing sleeveless and shorts. You can find old church relics in their small museum.
Say hello to Bohol’s biggest and longest python Prony in Alburquerque. This 23-foot 300-kg python is the star of Albur. Entrance fee is 30 pesos.
Now, off to the town of Loboc. Also known for their Floating restaurants that cruise along Loboc River. The hour long cruise includes all-you-can-eat buffet meal, live music and a stop to the locals dancing Filipino folk dances by the bank (you actually have to give donation).
While feasting and enjoying the surreal green landscape, it travels upstream and ends at Busay Falls, a small waterfall then make its way back to the dock. Some tourists take a dip here (that is if they will take the motorized banca). All of these for 300 pesos but on top of that is a hundred pesos government tax. I don’t know why it’s charged separately but that’s how they do it.
Now in the same town, you can see the tarsier. You can actually take pictures to this cute creature. It has enormous eyes but a teeny tiny eyeball and can twist their head 180 degrees. It’s the smallest living primate in the world and considered endangered. It’s a nocturnal animal and eats insects. And do you know that tarsiers are sometimes suicidal? They bang their heads onto a tree when they get upset. There is no entrance fee here but I guess donating any amount is encouraged.
Now, who wants to race at the hanging bridge? A few kilometers from Loboc is Sevilla wherein you can experience crossing over a river through a bamboo hanging bridge. It’s actually scary to cross especially when it sways and bounce with every little step you make. But you’re already there; why not just make the most of your trip! You may ask if there’s a fee for making sure you have conquered your fear of heights? Yes, there is a fee of 10 pesos.
The road you will take is the “tinai’g manok” (chicken intestine) as what locals call them because of the winding curves of the road. It will take you through Bilar Manmade Forest with thick, tall mahogany trees lining up like stiff soldiers. It is said that Boy Scouts during early years painstakingly planted it and grew mightily over the years creating a lush canopy that allows less sunlight to penetrate through the road underneath.
And for the provincial pride, the infamous Chocolate Hills at Carmen. Two of the highest hills have been developed and provided with facilities such as a restaurant and a deck. Climb at the highest hill through the cemented stairs where you can conveniently see the lower surrounding hills. These dome-shaped hills are spread all over the towns of Carmen, Sagbayan and Batuan. Approximately, 1,268 haycock hills are formed centuries ago by tidal movements. During summer, these hills turn brown, transforming the area into seemingly endless rows of chocolate kisses. Entrance fee is around 50 pesos.
On your way back, you can stop by at the Butterfly Sanctuary in Bilar and relive your grade school lesson about metamorphosis. The butterflies here are not afraid of people. It perches on your hair on a daily basis. Well, not for long coz we all know they have a very short life span. Entrance fee is around 20 pesos.
Now for your last stop is your resort accommodation in Panglao. You can enjoy pristine beaches with powdery white sand. Relax all you want with the clear waters and the friendly sun. Resorts also have kayaks and jet skis that you can rent. For most resorts, check-in time is around 1pm and check out time is 12 noon.
Nice. I gotta visit Bohol on my next trip.
You should! You’ll love the beaches….
bohol is on my list of places to go this summer… as soon as im done with bora, bohol is definitely next… i’ll drop by here soon enough… thnx 4 sharing!!! xD
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