Bohol 2016 Trip - Days 3 & 4 (Island Hopping)

As others would often say: save the best for last! Yes, I placed the Island Hopping on our last full day in Bohol and it surely did not disappoint!

We booked our boat via Kuya Tatsky's tour services since I did not know our hotel offers the same at a lower price. Plus, no need to travel to Alona Beach as the hotel has its own mini docking port. Well, charge to experience nalang!

Our boat left the Alona Beach at exactly 6:00AM in our attempt to see the Dolphins!

And the lovely fishes gave a nice show that morning! We're lucky bees!

Since we left the hotel so early that day, we weren't able to eat breakfast at all. So we were hoping to eat at Balicasag Beach to no avail. There was a small stall there but the food was crazy expensive - Php 300 (USD 6) for tocilog? Nevermind!

They also have snorkeling and fish feeding activities at separate (additional) fees so my Boyfriend and I just decided to walk around the island.

The sand is white but a little bit rocky. You'll need to wear slippers / aqua shoes to protect your feet.

Nevertheless, the view is pretty!

Next Stop: Virgin Island

This is our personal favorite! The water is so clear and the sand bar looks amazing! We don't mind sitting and walking around despite the killing rays of the sun!

There were small stalls in the island selling fresh buko juice, banana cue and sea urchins. They were a bit expensive than if you are in land, but so much affordable than those Php 300 tocilog :-P Some will also try to sell pearl jewelries, and can get a bit pushy and aggressive at times. Just politely say no and walk away! Island Hopping only lasted until noon time and then we saw ourselves heading back to Alona Beach just in time for lunch.

Lunch at Jazz Restaurant, Alona Beach

While my Mom and Brother walked around to buy some souvenir items, my Boyfriend and I stayed at Bohol Bee Farm-Alona for some quiet time!

My Mom and I ordered this sticky rice with chocolate batirol syrup for merienda. Nothing spectacular though, you may opt to order something else instead.

Couple's Favourite again! I can eat this forever!

We asked our driver to pick us up at Guiseppe Pizzeria. Brought home these take out goodies for our last dinner in Bohol!

On our last day, the power all over Bohol went down but the hotel's generator kept the aircon and water heater functional. We had breakfast and some pool dipping before we prepare to leave this mini haven of ours for the past 4 days. 

See you next time, Bohol! 😀

Bohol 2016 Trip - Day 2 (Panglao Island Tour)

One good thing about Kuya Tatsky's car rental service is that you can  pick any time to start your tour. Before dropping us off at Villa de Gloria, the driver asked us what time we wanted to be picked up the following day. Since the trip should be slow-paced and relaxed as planned, I suggested 10:00AM would be good for all of us. So on our 2nd day in Bohol, we were able to have a nice breakfast c/o the hotel and an early morning dip in the pool. I just love how we managed to do a lot of things without waking up so early and worrying about time! 😍

First stop: Bohol Museum! Php 50/head (USD 1/head)

Next Stop: Shell Amazing Toilet! Free of Charge

Next Stop: Dauis Church! Free of Charge (but donations are welcome)

A pretty outdoor venue right outside the Dauis Church!

Next Stop: Bohol Bee Farm! Php 30/head (USD 0.6/head)

We had a nice tour around the farm c/o one of their resident tour guides. The guy introduced us to their bees and how they take good care of them! He was our favorite guide in Bohol! You can see and hear his passion for his job. :-)

After the tour, we went to their restaurant to grab some organic lunch. Too bad the veranda was already full when we get there.

Complimentary squash bread and yummy spreads (mango and pesto)! I think the other one was cassava chips and dip.

Lemongrass Juice! Very nice thirst quencher!

Garden Salad - yes, the flowers are edible!

Organic Pasta

Couple's Favourite: Salted Caramel Ice Cream in Cassava Cone! Soooo Gooooood! 😍

After that filling lunch, we went to the Shell Museum. Php 30/head (USD 0.6/head) - nothing spectacular, though. You can skip this one, unless you are a shell enthusiast.

Next Stop: Hinagdanan Cave! Php 15/head (USD 0.3/head)

There were boys outside the cave who will guide you around. They were very good in taking photos (they know how to use my phone more than I do haha!) and even tell you what pose you should do. The water in the cave is clean (and deep!) and tourists may swim around. In our case, since we do not know how to swim, we just dipped our feet on the water, lol!

We passed by Panglao Church for our last stop but upon knowing that the church was also under repair, we told the driver not to bother anymore. So we just headed back to our hotel to nap and chill for the rest of the afternoon. Thank You, Lord, for this another lovely day with my family!

Hotel Review: Villa de Gloria

Whenever I do domestic travels, I always make sure that I would stay in a hotel where I can relax and temporarily escape from the city's hustle and bustle. For those like me who work in a busy place like Makati, you can pretty much imagine my need for a peaceful vacation, lol. 

So when I was planning for our Bohol Trip last 2016, I know exactly what I wanted. A place with a good view without compromising comfort and budget - that's exactly what Villa de Gloria has to offer!

Villa de Gloria is located in Dauis, Panglao Island near the connecting bridge between the island and Tagbilaran City. The exact area was quite far from the main road and restaurants, and it sure made me a little bit worried since we will be literally staying in one of the most secluded places in Bohol. But since you can only go around the city via rented cars, the daily commute to this place is not a problem at all. Plus, the hotel offers to prepare home-cooked meals for you at a very minimal fee. The menu, however, is very limited and if you are traveling with kids who are picky eaters - I highly suggest you bring your own snacks or take out meals before heading back to the hotel.

We booked an executive villa good for a family of 4 (2 double beds and 1 folding bed with mattress), breakfast included, and we only paid Php 3,375/night (USD 67.3/night) all in! The room is clean with towels and other toiletries included. It also has a refrigerator, water kettle, mini dining table and utensils should you decide to eat in your villa. And the nicest treat for all guests? They have an amazing view to enjoy at no additional cost! 

We arrived at Villa de Gloria at around 4pm after our Countryside Tour, just in time for sunset! 😃

Sorry, got too tired from the tour that I forgot to take a photo of the room for the blog. Here's one photo from the hotel's Agoda page, what you see is what you get!

The hotel's nicely prepared home-cooked meals! Yummy!

For breakfast, you may choose between tocino, corned beef silog or american breakast. All with milo/coffee and fruits for dessert!

The hotel has its own pool, too!

My Mom being so touristy, lol. The hotel also has its docking "port" for small boats. If you will go for an island tour, you can arrange boat pick up at the hotel for Php 2,000 (USD 40). It'll save you a few hundred pesos since you don't need to commute to Alona Beach anymore.

The building at the back also has rooms that you can rent during your stay. We're also lucky to meet the husband of "Gloria" in Villa de Gloria, who was having a short vacation in the Philippines that time, the day before we left Bohol! He was so warm and pleasant, greeting his guests and making sure everybody is having a pleasant stay at his hotel/home.

Overall, my family and I had an awesome 4 days at Villa de Gloria. If given a chance to go back to Bohol for a quick quiet getaway, will definitely stay again at this hotel. 'Til next time! :-)

Bohol 2016 Trip - Day 1 (Countryside Tour)

My Mom's been telling me she wants to go somewhere with the entire family so as soon as receiving Air Asia's seat sale announcement last August 2015, I immediately searched for our family's chosen (late) Summer 2016 destination - Bohol!

It's my first time to travel with my Mom, Brother and Boyfriend via airplane (my Dad was not able to join since as a dog breeder he cannot - and could not - leave his dogs at home for a long period of time 😐) and I must say it was quite exciting! We were a little bit anxious that it might rain a lot since it was already June but thank God the weather cooperated with us - the sun was pretty much out for the entire duration of our much-needed vacation!

We left Manila at exactly 7:30AM (no flight delays, yay!) and arrived Tagbilaran Airport (Bohol) few minutes before 9:00AM.

Touchdown, Bohol!

Our car rental (and driver) is waiting right outside the airport, holding a board with my name on it. Kuya Tatsky's Car Rental and Tour Services was referred to me by my officemate. It was a hassle-free trip for me and my family since they already have fixed the itinerary for both Countryside and Panglao Island tours. All you have to do is to hop on to their clean and comfy ride and enjoy Bohol!

Kuya Tatsky Car Rental and Tour Services

Mobile No.: 09223671051 (Tip: Call/text him at least 2-3 months before your trip to get your slot!)

Fees as of March 2016 (Vios car with driver; up to 4 pax):

Countryside Tour - Php 2,100

Panglao Island Tour - Php 1,700

Island Tour (Balicasag and Virgin Island round trip boat ride) - Php 1,600

Note: These exclude entrance fees, but do not fret as each destination only costs roughly Php 10-50/head 

(USD 0.2 - 1/head)

Since we arrived early, our driver recommended to proceed immediately with the Countryside Tour. Here you will experience what Tagbilaran, Bohol has to offer.

Our first stop: Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary! Php 50/head (USD 1/head)

According to our driver/tour guide, there are two (2) existing tarsier sanctuaries in Bohol and this is the less crowded one. The other site is where most travel agencies bring their guests as it follows the conventional route to the different tourist spots in Bohol. Our driver took the "unconventional" route so as to avoid the crowd, love it!

Upon entering the facility, we were welcomed by the ushers who gave us a few instructions/rules before entering the area where the tarsiers are located. The first and most important rule would be to keep your voice low as possible since the tiny creatures easily get stressed in a noisy environment. Also, flash photography is prohibited.

There's a trail where tourists can walk around, silently, but the tarsiers are too small to find. Good thing the ushers are all around the area pointing you at the exact location where they are currently resting. I think we're able to see around 3-4 tarsiers before we were guided back to the exit. We felt the travel time to the sanctuary was longer than the time we stayed inside to watch the tarsiers - or maybe the "be quiet" rule just made the trip very limiting?

Next Stop: Man-Made Forest! Free of charge

This is where we discovered that our driver/tour guide can also be our photographer! The place is so nice for some instagram-worthy pictures with some thrills added since you have to run to the side of the road when you hear a vehicle approaching! Talk about buwis-buhay!

Our driver was kind enough to shoot us individually, even asking us to sit down on the road! Too bad I was wearing a skirt that time!

Next Stop: Chocolate Hills! Php 50/head (USD 1/head)

I have to warn you though, it's a long climb to the viewing deck! Make sure to bring your own bottled water!

Other side of the deck, the hills are not that visible though.

Oh, did I mention that it was our anniversary trip too? Happy 2nd, my love! 💕💕💕

It was so hot that when we passed by the Shiphaus we just asked our driver for some photo ops instead! I think you may tour around the house for a fee.

Next Stop: Butterfly Conservation Center. Php 30/head (USD 0.6/head)

There are ushers inside that will guide you around, and take some nice pictures with the butterflies!

Next Stop: Hanging Bridge! Php 10/head (USD 0.2/head)

My Mom and Brother decided to stay in the car so it's just me and my love this time!

And finally, buffet lunch at Loboc River Cruise! Php 550/head (USD 11/head)

Performance by the locals

Next Stop: Baclayon Church! Php 50/head (USD 1/head)

After the big earthquake struck Bohol last 2013, most of the historical churches (over a few centuries old) were severely damaged. Three years later, the local government is still trying to repair and rehabilitate these churches.

 

Last Stop: Blood Compact Shrine! Free of charge

After the tour, our driver dropped us off to our hotel - Villa de Gloria - in Panglao. We headed towards our villa, had an early dinner and good night rest for our next adventure in Bohol!

Sunset watching with my love to cap off our amazing 2nd year anniversary in Bohol! 💑