Coron, Palawan 2013

Last June 15-20, 2013, me and two of my officemates had a blast at Coron, Palawan. It was definitely one of the most memorable trips we had so far. Not to mention, we got stranded at Coron Airport as we waited for our flight back to Cebu on the 20th due to very bad weather. Since the next flight from Coron to Cebu was still on the 22nd, we decided to accept their offer to take the connecting flights from Coron to Manila to Cebu the next day.

Anyway, we didn't approach any travel agency since we all know, they would ask a very high price, so we rather arranged our tours and mind you, we spent a very reasonable amount of money. We booked our accomodation at Coron Reef Pension House. The location is good since it is situated near the town. We only spent 1.3k each on our accomodation. Very good and reasonable for a 6D/5N tour, right? :p

One should not worry in arranging a Coron Tour because when you reach the town, there are a LOT of agencies that offers boat tours for Coron tours and Coron - Puerto Princesa tours daily.

Below is our itinerary.

Day 1: Maquinit VERY hot spring. Coron Town Tour. Dinner at Everly Garden Bar and Restaurant.

Maquinit Hot Spring

Day 2: Calauit Safari. Dibutayan Island. Kalumbuyan Island. Lusong Gun Boat. Dinner at Kaison Kaison. (costs 2,400 pesos @ Cheap Travel and Tours)

Calauit Safari

Day 3: Malcapuya Island. Banana Island. Bulog Dos Island. Dinner at Centro Coron. (costs 1,000 pesos at Cheap Travel and Tours)

Banana Island

Day 4: Siete Pecados. Smith Coral Garden. Skeleton Wreck. Atwayan Beach. Sunset Lagoon. CYC Coral Reef. Dinner at Kawayanan Grill. (costs 750 pesos at Nice Travel and Tours)

Siete Pecados (a must-visit fish and coral sanctuary :D)

Day 5: Kayangan Lake. Twin Peak Lagoon. Banol Beach. Barracuda Lake. Balinsasayaw Beach. Dinner at Kookie Restaurant. (costs 650 pesos at Travel and tours)

Kayangan Lake

Day 6: Mount Tapyas. Supposedly departure to Cebu.

Mount Tapyas

Day 7: Coron - Manila - Cebu

To Cebu :)

Camotes Island 2013

Last June 8-9, 2013, my teammates in Manila visited Cebu and we (Cebu Team) got the chance to organize their weekend vacation here. We decided to have our vacation at Camotes Island. Camotes Island is located at the North East part of Cebu.

To get to Camotes Island, one should take a bus/jeepney going to Danao Port. From North Bus Terminal, it would cost you 60-75 pesos going to Danao Port. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. At Danao Port, one could get cargo ship tickets for a price of 180 pesos for non-airconditioned seats and 200 pesos for airconditioned seats. Personally, I would advise one to take the airconditioned seats because it's way toooo comfortable than the non-airconditioned ones. Not to mention, the travel time is 2 hours.


Upon reaching Camotes Port at around 8am, we were fetched by a multicab owned by the resort we stayed, Santiago Bay Garden and Resort. Since we travelled on a large group, I decided that we should take the buffet set offered by the resort. As the organizer of the trip, I asked the resort to arrange our lunch at Lake Danao Park.

Group picture at Lake Danao Park

At Lake Danao, there are some activities like horseback riding, riding the sakanaw and some boats. Also, entrance fee at Lake Danao costs 12 pesos. We decided to ride the Sakanaw which costs 500 pesos good for 10 persons, excess person would cost 50/head.

We came across the little island in the middle of the island. Oops, I think I would rather call it an islet. I can say that that islet is good for pre-nuptial pictures. The scenery at the island really is amazing. Group picture and solo picture below. :)

Group picture at an islet at Lake Danao Park

After Lake Danao, we decided to go to Timubo Cave. Entrance fee is 15 pesos. We really had fun inside the cave since the water there is kinda deep. 5-8 feet deep. :)

Group picture inside the cave

After the fun at Timubo Cave, we decided to go to Mangodlong Rock Beach Resort. There was no entrance fee upon entering the resort since we were customers from Santiago Bay. If you prefer to stay on a resort with a wide and white sand on it, Mangodlong would be best for you. At the resort, we played beach and sand games since it was very spacious.

Group picture at Mangodlong Rock Beach Resort

After playing games, we went back to Santiago Bay for our dinner. After dinner, we played some pool games and had some drinks til dawn. The next day, we took the time enjoying the beach while some decided to sleep. lol.

Since the resort only catered us until our breakfast buffet, we decided to take our lunch at the neighboring restaurant, Pito's Sutukil. The foods there are very sumptuous since the crew cooks the fish and seafoods fresh.

After lunch, we headed back to Danao and arrived Danao Port at around 5-6pm. When travelling on a large group like us, (we were 21 that time) I would suggest NOT to rent jeepneys ("pakyaw" in Bisaya) but rather ride the big jeepneys at the terminal which is located at the back of the church. The church is just across the Port. From Danao to SM Cebu, the fare is around 50-70 pesos.

Upon reaching the city, our Manila teammates bought their pasalubong at Tabo-an Market. Afterwhich, we had our dinner at Larsian and had some kinect sessions at Songhits, Crown Regency.

OTC Team

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