DIY Bohol Tour for Php5,000.00

This is probably one of the cheapest trips I've had. One factor that helped us save on this trip was renting a motorcycle instead of hiring a car for just 2 people.

Here is a summary of our itinerary for 3d/2n:

We arrived in Bohol around 1pm and were picked up by the hotel's shuttle service. Upon arrival, we immediately asked them to look for a dependable and trustworthy motorcycle rental. This is very important since there are a lot of scammers there. They were able to contact a renter who gave us the bike for Php600.00 for 24 hrs. We just had to fill it up with gasoline before heading to Panglao. 

DIY Panglao is easy since the tourist spots are along the main roads. We started with Dauis Church (this was destroyed by the earthquake) then Hinagdanan cave where we also bought some souvenirs. Then we headed to the Panglao church and went straight to the Nova Shell museum just near the gasoline station in town.

After the museum, we looked for Bohol Cocofarm for the skywalk. However, when we got there, it was closed for repair in preparation for summer. We had some snacks there to try out there organic meals before heading to the Bohol Bee farm where we has a free taste of almost all their ice cream before dexiding to buy some scoops. We could have peeked at Alona beach but we didn't have much time.

We ended the day with a delicious meal at Gerarda's.

One of their unique dishes.

Here's a summary of our expenses for the day (less the snacks):

On our second day, we had the DIY Bohol country side tour. Just like the usual agency-led tour, we started with the tarsier sanctuary then took some pictures at the man-made forest before heading staright to the Chocolate hills since this is the farthest amongst the spots. Though some of the hills were destroyed by the earthquake, it is still a great place to see.

We then went to see the butterfly sanctuary. Along the way is the ship house where the staff are dressed like ship crews. By this time, it was already lunch time. So we headed to Loboc River for the cruise and buffet lunch. This takes about an hour. 

Then off we went to see the python. However, when we got there, we learned that the original python already died. However, the staff kept his skin and had a real-life "statue" in his memory. A few meters from the python is the Baclayon church where tourists can see a figure of Father Pio at the side of the church. Not far from there is the blood compact.

Here are most of the expenses for this day:

On our third day, we wanted to go dolphin watching. So we got up early and took a tricycle to Baclayon port where we were picked up by our boatman. The trip from the port to the play area of the dolphins was less than an hour. At first, we were expecting to see one or two dolphins. But we were so surprised to see lots of them playing around. It was such a great memory. (Pictures are good but since the dolphins are playing, it is best to take videos of them).

Here is our expenses for the day:

To sum it up, the tours and some meals only costs around Php5,000.00 each. This would have been cheaper if there were more who divided the cost of the boat. Overall, the trip was cheap but was very memorable.

DIY Virgin Islands, Bantayan (Cebu)

Bantayan Island has always been part of my "To-Go" List. However, with a 3d/2n schedule, we had to make sure that we enjoy Bantayan and also get to visit the Marian Hills in Simala. So when we got to Cebu early in the morning, we immediately went to Bantayan. The ride took close to 3 hours because we chose to ride the Ceres Aircon Bus. If we didn't know any better, we would have been convinced to ride the ordinary bus because the people there insist that the bus bound to Bantayan is already leaving. Don't rush. Walk past them and go at the back part of the terminal. The Ceres bus is colored yellow. You won't miss this because they are everywhere. We chose this kind of bus because these aircon buses won't have the usual X number of stops which saves us time. 

 

We were lucky when we got to the port. We only waited a few minutes before the ferry left.

Here is a list of our expenses for this vacation: (based on 2 people sharing the expenses)

*Some resorts offer free pick up to and from the port

**There are resorts that offer as low as Php650.00 for aircon rooms. However, these are not beach front rooms. Expense on the gas would depend on how long the motor will be used.

Just a tip, for those who would like to have a bountiful seafood lunch, its best to wake up early and go to Bantayan town where the freshly caught fishes are sold. Don't forget the cooked rice and some sauce to go along with thr seafoods. Oh, and some paper plates as well as drinks and cups. Rentals of these in the island can be a bit expensive if you're in a budget.

I also recommend to be as early as possible. When we got to the Virgin island around 8am, we were the first visitors so we had the island all to ourselves. The beauty of this island made us feel that the 3-4 hours bus ride plus 1.5 hour ferry trip and the added 30-45 minutes boat ride from Bantayan to the island was all worth it. 

The entrance fee was on a per boat basis. Php500.00 is charged to the first two persons and Php100.00 each to succeeding persons.

There are cottages for rent in the island but they allow the visitors to eat at the grilling area for free. Here are some of their services:

We enjoyed snorkling here though the big sea urchins did give us a scare. Haha.

For island hopping and motor bike rentals, you may contact JP at (0929) 647 0185. He can give the motorcycle for as low as Php200.00 and even help look for a cheap accomodation.

After enjoying the island, it's time to go back to Cebu. Here is a schedule of the ferry  back to the port: