We took advantage of PAL's promo fare last October 2010 and booked a March 2011 flight to Bohol. And as time came closer to March 28th, I just can't hide my excitement. Weee!!!
After an hour and a half travel time, We finally reached Tagbilaran's Airport. Upon exiting the door towards the city proper, locals welcomed us with their countryside tour offers, prices of which ranged from PHP2,000 to 3,000. So better use your haggling skills. We were able to get a Starex Van for our tour for PHP2,400 that included the drop off to our lodge for that day.
LOBOC RIVER CRUISE: FLOATING RESTO
Our tour started at about quarter to Lunch, so it was just perfect that our first stop be at Loboc River. Our driver referred us to Busai Monark. They served palatable Filipino dishes with fresh fruits. Yehey! An added attraction to the cruise was the 10 minute stop over to watch the young and old locals dancers and musicians, they will be very happy to receive any donation the guest can give:)
CHOCOLATE HILLS
Of course the trip to Chocolate Hills was a must. This is where Bohol is known for. You have to pass 140 steps to reach the top area so you will have a beautiful and wide sight of the many Chocolate Hills.It was sunny, but we neverminded because we enjoyed the place with our goofy shots. We just lent our camera to the photographers in the area and they directed us of what we needed to do, whether jump, raise hand and etc. What was good about that was you really are not to pay anything, it should just be a courtesy on your end give any amount.PHP 50 for the entrance fee and another 50 for the photoshoot was not bad at all.
MAN MADE FOREST
Big and tall mahogany trees are what man made forest is all about. It's amazing to know that we can actually help Mother Nature by coming up with a man made forest.Two thumbs up to BOHOL for this.
TARSIER KINGDOM
Tiny creatures with big eyes and creepy feet. I didn't seem at ease with these primates. They are truly one of a kind. We had pictures taken with them for free, but if you want to touch them you have to pay PHP150.00, as for me it was no thanks. There was no entrance fee just put something in the donation box to help maintain these animals.
BACLAYON CHURCH
"Oneof the oldest coral stone church in the region.One of the oldest in Asia and foremost among the best preservered Jesuit built church in the Philippines"
As we entered the church proper, you would really feel the solemnity of the place because of the music being played by the pianist for the visitors. Beautiful architecture indeed!
LOBOC -ECO TOURISM ADVENTURE PARK
They all said Danao is the place for all the extreme adventures in Bohol, But since we didnt really had the time to go there it was a good thing that Loboc has a new place and activity to offer their tourisst. My friends Charlie and Cherry took the Combo ride for PHP350, Zipline and Cable Ride, while I just opted to capture their moment up and above.
Last Stop:
We really did not have a place to stay yet for our 1st night in Bohol. It was not a peak season so it was not that hard to find one. Cherry who had been here before requested that we check Alona Beach and there we found a place to stay...perfect! Cherry's@Home too! It was a 5 minute walk from the beach but it was still all good because it was just a new place with its own resto, swimming pool and free internet for their guest.
ALONA WHITE BEACH
Alona White Beach is an open beach with nice white sand and clear blue waters as well. They said it's like Boracay in the sense that resto's are all lined up in the beachfront and it becomes alive at night. We had our dinner at the beach front at Oops Cafe and we liked the food as well as the cold breezy ambiance. It was really good that we were here on a weekday because the area didn't seem crowded yet.
There were other adventures being offered to us, which as day passed by the rate becomes cheaper, perhaps less customer during these times. Island hopping to Balicasag and Virgin Island, snorkeling, dolphin watching but we opted not to try this as we were really very excited to go to our next destination. It's BOHOL BEACH CLUB! Yahoo!:)