Bantayan Island 2013

Me and two of my high school classmates decided to go to Bantayan Island last May 4-5. It was our first time to go to Bantayan.

To reach Bantayan, you need to ride a bus bound to Hagnaya Port at North Bus Terminal. It would cost you 132 pesos for non-airconditioned bus and around 150 pesos for airconditioned bus. Travel time is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Upon reaching the port, you would need to ride a barge and it would cost you 170 pesos. Travel time from Hagnaya Port to Sta Fe Port is 1 hour. Upon reaching Sta Fe Port, there are vans owned by some of the resorts in Sta Fe. We were really amazed because the people there were very accomodating. We were fetched by the van from the resort we stayed - Kota Beach.

 

Kota Beach

Kota Beach has very good and friendly staff. Their rooms were okay. The exterior design of the resort  is better compared with the resorts beside it.

Basically, Bantayan Island really has fine white sand beaches.

The next day, we had our island hopping and went to Bantayan Island Nature Park and Resort. Entrance fee is 150 pesos inclusive of use of swimming pool, access to the cave and mini zoo. It was really a nice place to relax especially the cave. Their staff were really friendly.

 

Island Hopping

Bantayan Island Nature Park and Resort

Bantayan is really a must-see and must-visit place.

I swear I really want to go back to that place. :)

Whale Shark Watching and Swimming @ Oslob

Since our Team Building at Sumilon was only good for one whole day, me and some of my officemate decided to have an overnight at Oslob and watch and swim with the whale sharks there.

Honestly, I enjoyed more on our Butanding encounter than our Team Building at Oslob.

We rented a house at Oslob for 4000/night good for 12 persons. We were 11 that time.

We arrived at BCD resort at aroung 7am and we were able to swim with the whale sharks around 9am since we were in a queue. It would cost you 500 pesos if you choose to swim with the whale sharks and 300 pesos if you choose to just stay on the boat and watch the whale sharks. There were approximately 10-15 whale sharks at the sea.

We were scared at first to go and swim with them since the whale sharks were very big. Literally.

The "gang"

Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort

Last April 27, 2013, my project team had our team building at Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort. We were excited just yet.

To reach to Sumilon, you need to ride a bus bound for Oslob, Bato. It would cost you 143php for non-airconditioned bus. For airconditioned buses, it may have a slight difference of 10-20 pesos.

We rented a Ceres bus heading to Sumilon since we were a large group.

Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort at Oslob has very welcoming tenants.

When you reach Oslob, you would need to ride a boat to reach the island. It would take you around 20 minutes to reach the island.

Upon reaching the resort, I noticed that the water was clear and most of the guests were foreigners. Later then I realized that the day use rate of the resort is 2000 pesos. Inclusive of snorkling, fish feeding, use of kayak, use of swimming pool, lunch buffet, free towel, use of sandbar. Personally, I really think that the resort is over rated. I did not enjoy much with the snorkling activity since the waves were very big and the sea is full of big rocks. The fishes under the sea are not as colorful as the ones in the marine sanctuary at Moalboal.

Moalboal 2013

We all know that Cebu is bound with lots of fine white sand beaches in either of the tips of Cebu.

Last April 6-7, me and my officemates decided to have a batch summer outing in Moalboal, Cebu. Moalboal is located in the Southern part of Cebu.

To get to Moalboal, you need to ride a bus at the South Bus Terminal bound for Moalboal. Non-aircon buses cost around 110. Aircon buses cost around 120-130. Once you get to Moalboal Market, there are lots of beaches in the vicinity. We went to Basdaku Resort, Moalboal. It was a public beach resort so you won't really expect a fine class quality. Some guests would rather put up a tent around the sand beside the beach. For us, we stayed on a room that costed 1500php.

Basdaku, Moalboal, Cebu

The beach at Basdaku, Moalboal is very clear. The sand is not as fine as the sands in Bantayan Island.


After reaching the resort, me and my colleagues decided to go on island hopping since Moalboal is famous for having extraordinary marine sanctuaries. Basically, we visited two marine sanctuaries and one island - Pescador Island. The marine sanctuaries we visited were really amazing. There were various school of fishes under the sea. Those sanctuaries are a must-see and a must-visit when you head to Moalboal beaches. BUT, watch out for the jellyfish when snorkling around Pescador Island. I had really lots of jellyfish stings right after we had the island hopping.

Pescador Island

Swimming at a Marine Sanctuary

Tents at Basdaku