bohol Archives | Meghy Was Here https://meghywashere.com/tag/bohol/ It's a beautiful life! Sat, 04 Feb 2023 04:10:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://meghywashere.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Meghy_Was_Here-removebg-preview-150x147.png bohol Archives | Meghy Was Here https://meghywashere.com/tag/bohol/ 32 32 155390985 Panglao, Bohol Travel Guide: Places to Visit in Panglao Island https://meghywashere.com/travel/panglao-bohol-travel-guide-places-to-visit-in-panglao-island/ https://meghywashere.com/travel/panglao-bohol-travel-guide-places-to-visit-in-panglao-island/#respond Sat, 04 Feb 2023 04:08:07 +0000 https://meghywashere.com/?p=2650 Like what I said on my previous blog, Bohol is a dream island. This paradise island is truly a jewel of the Philippines. For this article, let’s explore Panglao Island that can be found in the southwest most part of the province. Panglao Island consists of two towns named Panglao and Dauis. It is now …

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Like what I said on my previous blog, Bohol is a dream island. This paradise island is truly a jewel of the Philippines. For this article, let’s explore Panglao Island that can be found in the southwest most part of the province. Panglao Island consists of two towns named Panglao and Dauis. It is now the gateway of the province for most of its international and local visitors as it now houses the Bohol-Panglao International airport. It is known for its beautiful beaches, rich marine biodiversity perfect for diving and a lot of exceptional resorts perfect for leisure.

Places to Visit in Panglao Island

If you’re visiting Bohol for few days, I suggest to book your accommodation in Panglao Island. Aside from its accessibility from the airport, it is a good point of pick up in any attractions you wish to take. It has a lot of resorts you can choose from budget hotels up to those luxury ones and a lot of good places to eat and chill the night out. So here are the places you may visit and activities you can do in Panglao:

  • Bohol Bee Farm

After dropping our things in the hotel, we went straight to Bohol Bee Farm. We discovered this place through Sandara Park who featured it to the Korean show “Battle Trip”. Basically, it is a hotel/farm/souvenir place/restaurant located in Dauis known for serving and selling organic foods and goodies. We had a great experience on their outdoor dining while being mesmerized by the view of the sea. Their menu offers a lot of choices making you hard to choose. We ended up having Seafood Soup (Tinolang isda) and Seafood lasagna. They also served us cassava chips, bread and spreads as complimentary. The servings are big, you can say that ingredients used are fresh and the overall taste and quality is superb! In terms of food taste and overall dining experience, I would say that this is the best I had in the island.

Don’t forget to try their homemade ice cream! It’s flavorful and served with their very own unique cone too. They also sell pasalubong items such as honey, malunggay spread, cassava chips and many more.

Alfresco dining of their restaurant
They serve this first as complimentary food

  • Hinagdanan Cave

Probably one of the known and unmatched site to visit in Panglao. The cave Hinagdanan which means “Laddered” in Cebuano is also located in the town of Dauis that used to be a hideout of the locals in the area to hide from the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. You have to carefully step down on a stair to go inside and reach its lagoon. The cave has its own lagoon where you can swim with large stalagmites and stalactites. It’s kinda hot inside the cave so better be prepared to bring extra clothes because it is better to experience swimming in its waters. Entrance fee for sightseeing is Php 50 and Php 125 if you wish to swim.

  • South Palms Resort

We didn’t book our stay in this resort but we didn’t miss the chance of visiting it. South Palms Resort has one of the best beachfront I’ve seen so far! It has a long stretch of clean shore with white sand. It also highlights a beachfront spanned with number of palm trees. You may chill whole day on their beach chairs while hearing the sound of the waves and trees. They also have a pool bar and a restaurant that serves also good food. We just went on the resort to dine in and was able to enjoy the place after eating.

  • Alona Beach

I would say that Alona Beach is the heart of Panglao. This is where a lot of resorts and restaurants can be found. If you wish to party and chill the night out, I suggest you stay on this area. It is a tropical beach with white sand and rocky cliffs as attractions. It is a public beach with no entrance fee needed so its perfect for family outings and day swimming. A perfect place to watch the sunset by the beach while eating and drinking a glass of smoothie or a beer.

  • Island Hopping (Balicasag Island and Virgin island)

To complete your Bohol trip, you can’t miss visiting this two island. There’s a lot of organized tour you may purchase to get on one of this trip. You may opt to have a private tour or avail a joiner package. There’s a lot of tours being offered online (facebook pages) but if you were not able to avail one ahead of time, don’t worry as a lot of these are being offered in the shore of Alona beach which is the common pick up point for this tours. You’ll see people with laminated cards offering island hopping tours, the price differs so be up for negotiations. In our case, we were able to score a Php 750/pax joiner fee.

Balicasag Island

Balicasag island is an island off coast of Panglao perfect for snorkeling and diving. With its rich marine sanctuary, it is an island you can’t missed on your list. Upon arrival in the island, visitors will be asked to ride a smaller boat maneuvered by a local guide to bring you on the best spot for diving. Under its clear deep blue waters are sea turtles, corals and colorful varieties of fish.

Virgin Island

Virgin island also known as Pungtud island is probably the most popular island in Bohol. Mainly, it is a naked sandbar with white sands and clear turquoise waters perfect for swimming and to unwind. Lies on its bare island is a sign “Welcome to Virgin island” where tourists line up to get photos with it. Also, it just happened that it was high tide when we reached the island so we were not able to see the sandbar itself. So better check the high tide and low tide schedule if you wish to see the sandbar.

Other attractions you can visit are Dauis Church and Shell Museum.

Tip: Usual rate of tricycle per ride in Panglao is Php 150 (good for 3pax), so if you wish to visit multiple places in a day, it is better to rent a tricycle. Price may vary from 500 to 1000 depends on how many stop you’ll make.

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]]> https://meghywashere.com/travel/panglao-bohol-travel-guide-places-to-visit-in-panglao-island/feed/ 0 2650 Bohol Travel Guide: Places to Visit in Bohol, Philippines (Countryside Tour) https://meghywashere.com/travel/bohol/bohol-travel-guide-places-to-visit-in-bohol-philippines-countryside-tour/ https://meghywashere.com/travel/bohol/bohol-travel-guide-places-to-visit-in-bohol-philippines-countryside-tour/#respond Mon, 12 Dec 2022 09:28:13 +0000 https://meghywashere.com/?p=2615 For my birthday trip this year, I finally decided to visit the beautiful Island of Bohol. I’ve been eyeing to visit this island for quite sometime and I am truly happy that I was able to catch a discounted ticket during Cebu Pacific’s promo fare. Bohol is the 10th largest island of the Philippines located …

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For my birthday trip this year, I finally decided to visit the beautiful Island of Bohol. I’ve been eyeing to visit this island for quite sometime and I am truly happy that I was able to catch a discounted ticket during Cebu Pacific’s promo fare. Bohol is the 10th largest island of the Philippines located in Central Visayas across the province of Cebu. For this trip, I spent a total of 4 days and 3 nights in Bohol and a 2 days and 1 night side trip to Cebu since it’s just a 2 hour boat ride from Tagbilaran. Let me show you the beauty of Bohol that will make you want to visit anytime soon.

Knowing Bohol

Since childhood, I would always see Bohol in our Sibika’t Kultura books, as its very own Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers are two of the most known attraction in the Philippines. Since it’s printed in our grade school books, I bet that almost every Filipino child knows about it. That’s when I started to wish of visiting it someday. Bohol is a dream island, you can see beautiful landscapes and heritage churches on its main island and at the same time, you can visit and dive in its pristine beaches in the nearby Panglao Island. Read this blog or see it yourself when you visit the island province, to know why it’s being dubbed as the “Jewel of the Philippines”. A place that will bring you bliss and happiness.

Countryside tour

Countryside tour is a tour that visits Bohol’s main attractions on its main island. From Tagbilaran up to Carmen, you’ll find yourself in awe visiting its known sites. This tour usually takes 6-8 hours depending on how you wish to complete your itinerary. For this trip, how much I wanted to make it a DIY/commute trip, we opted to book a tricycle/tuktuk tour for our country side trip for a less hassle trip. There are bus trips in the province but it will be hard for you to visit many attractions in 1 day. Don’t worry as many people offers affordable tour packages once you arrived in the island. You can choose from SUVs or tricycle, depends on what your group needs.

In our case, we book our tuktuk tour in Panglao Tricycle Online Booking. (Just click the link to visit their fb page) Here’s how much their countryside tour costs:

  • Tricycle/Tuktuk – Php 1,600
  • Car – Php 2,500
  • SUV – Php 2,800

Additional cost will be added if you wish to visit Mirror of the World in Sikatuna:

  • Tricycle – 300
  • Car – Php 500

They also offer Panglao tour and island-hopping tours.

*note that prices may change without prior notice

Just in case you were not able to book a tour in advance, don’t worry as there’s a lot of people offering tours once you arrived in the province. All tricycle drivers we talked and ride with, offers tour packages just look for the best deals and what fits for you.

Places to Visit in Bohol (Countryside Tour):

  • Chocolate Hills ATV Rental

First on my list are the ATV rentals around Chocolate Hills as this was one of my favorite activity during this trip. There are few ATV rental place in Carmen, Bohol that offers guided tour using ATV or Buggy car. On this experience, you’ll get a chance to ride an ATV or a Buggy up until the foot of a chocolate hill and even climb on one of its view deck. It’s such an experience to see the hill up close and ride through a bumpy road.

ATV costs us Php 1000/pax for an hour of ride. Buggy car on the other hand costs Php 2000/2 pax for 1 hour

  • Chocolate Hills

After riding an ATV going into the foot of the chocolate hills, of course you can’t miss the chance of seeing this iconic Bohol destination from its observation view deck. Chocolate Hills are geological formation in the province of Bohol composed of as many as 1,776 hills roll out on its vast area of 50 square kilometer. Hills are covered with green grass during the wet season and turns brown during dry season resembling chocolates as its name suggests.

Entrance fee is Php 100/pax

  • Bilar Man-made Forest

Bilar Man-made forest is a 2 kilometer stretch of Mahogany trees along the road between the towns of Bilar and Loboc. These trees were planted as part of a reforestation project in the province many years ago. It’s refreshing to the eyes to see these green trees standing side by side along the road and you’ll also feel the sudden change in temperature once entering this 2 kilometer stretch as the road is merely covered from the heat of the sun. it’s a popular stop over among tourists and requires caution in taking photos along its road as vehicles pass through from time to time.

No entrance fee

  • Tarsier Conservation Area

What’s a Bohol trip without seeing the tarsiers? Of course, you have to see them up close! It was my first time seeing this primate with my bare eyes that I only saw them when I used to browse my Sibika’t Kultura books way back grade school. The name “tarsier” was taken from its extremely long tarsus bone. They are considered as the world’s second smallest primate but feared to be endangered as their numbers are declining, that’s why it is being protected here in our country. Tarsier Conservation area is a woodland where few tarsiers are available for viewing. Please be reminded that tarsiers tend to be suicidal when they get stressed out so if you are inside the conservatory, please observe silence and take off the flash of your cameras when taking photos.

Entrance fee is Php 100/pax for regular adult, Php 90 for students, Php 80 for senior citizens and free of charge for 5 years old and below

  • Loboc River Cruise

Another personal favorite adventure on this trip is experiencing the Loboc River Cruise. Basically, you’ll be roving around the Loboc river while riding a huge floating restaurant while enjoying their buffet. You’ll definitely enjoy their good local food while being serenaded by their in-house singer as you float around the majestic jade green colored river and be mesmerized by its allure. Towards the end of the river, the vast boat will stop by a performance area where you’ll be welcomed and entertained by the local community with their sing and dance performance. It’s so engaging that they will allow guests to join them on their festivity of dance. Honestly, I really enjoyed their performance and you can see how talented the Boholanos are. It’s such a unique encounter that I’ll definitely recommend to everyone not to miss out.

Entrance fee is Php 850/pax (this already includes the buffet meal)

  • Xzootic Animal Park

Located in Agape, Loay, Bohol is this animal park that showcases a butterfly garden and python snakes. Probably the highlight of this place is their pythons that happens to be the biggest I seen my entire life. What surprised me the most is that these pythons were just all over the place without a cage! I even thought they were just a display structure then eventually realized they were real. You are free to touch them and you’ll literally just passed by the snakes. You’ll be accompanied by a guide which is already included in your entrance fee. As per him, the snakes in this park are all harmless as they took care of them ever since but I still didn’t dare to touch them or even came near them as I have fear of snakes.

Entrance fee is Php 100/pax

  • Baclayon Church

Baclayon Church is one of the oldest and known church in the country declared as National Cultural Treasure and National Historic Landmark. It was initially constructed year 1717 and completed in the year 1727 made of coral stones and egg white. It came to the limelight when it was hugely devasted by a strong earthquake that hit Central Visayas way back 2013 and was then restored and finally opened to the public again last 2018.

Entrance fee is free

  • Sikatuna Mirror of the World

Sikatuna Mirror of the World is one of the newest attraction that can be found in Bohol. Located in Sikatuna, Bohol you’ll get a chance to see the world’s famous landmarks in one place! No need for a passport, visa, plane tickets and immigration approval. You’ll see here scaled-down forms of world’s attractions such as Merlion of Singapore, Golden gate bridge of USA, Christ the Redeemer of Brazil, Eiffel Tower of France, Leaning tower of Pisa and many more! It’s an optional trip that requires additional fee during the tour. Since we are already in Bohol, we opt to avail this additional itinerary just for the experience of seeing it.

Entrance fee is Php 150/pax

  • Aproniana Gift Shop

A souvenir shop located in Baclayon, Bohol considered to be a one stop shop of Bohol’s known pasalubongs. From t-shirts, bags, keychains, ref magnets and Bohol’s famous delicacies such as peanut kisses and kalamay. Don’t forget to buy souvenirs for your friends, loved ones and even for yourself.

Other places you can visit during countryside tour are Blood Compact, Ship House and Loboc Zipline. You may customized your tour by skipping other attractions you’re not interested with or if your time won’t permit.

Overall, Bohol is such a paradise with its unusual attractions that one would truly admire. This countryside tour is definitely something that should be added on your travel bucket list.

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