Malapascua Island 2013

Malapascua is known for its white sand beaches and a good place for snorkeling. It is located in the northernmost tip of Cebu Island. Me and six other friends went there last September 28-29, 2013.

To reach Malapascua, you would need to ride on a bus bound toMaya from North Bus Terminal. It would cost you around 150php. Upon reaching Maya port, you would need to go on a boat ride for 30 minutes. This would cost you 80 php. Upon reaching Malapascua island, you would need to ride another mini boat to reach the shoreline which costs 20php. We really did not like the way passengers/tourists can reach the island. For only around five minutes, you already need to pay for 20php. The worse thing we encountered is that when we went back to Maya port the next day, we rode again on that mini boat since it was low tide. Pretty sure, tourists won't come and go to Malapascua in the future because of the poor transportation strategies.


We stayed at Mr. Kwiiz over the weekend. This resort is very affordable though it is not beachfront. You would need to walk for about 3-5 minutes to reach the beach. The room rate(aircon rooms was 2200 php good for four people, additional head would cost 250 php. Not bad for a group of seven. We were really able to save! Most of the resorts here have room rates(fan rooms) that would only cost 500-600 php good for two persons. Aircon rooms, in general, on this island would cost a bit higher since electricity there is expensive. Well, this is what they told me while I was canvassing for resorts few days before we went there. There was an eatery beside Mr. Kwiiz and we only had our meals there for us to save. However, the only restaurant that we were able to try was Exotic Bar and Restaurant. There pizza is good. But there ube shake is <3!!! It really tastes like ube ice cream and we loved it!

Pizza at Exotic Bar and Restaurant (i forgot the name. lol.)

Ube Shaaaake <3

When we had our beachin' on the afternoon, I was really amazed on the clear blue waters in Malapascua. However, as I looked under the water, I saw a jellyfish and that freaked me out. I was not sure if it was alive or not! lol. What I did not like on their beach is that there are a lot of "sea leaves" or whatever you call that. The leaves are present even if the water is still shallow. Thus, it was not really a good beach to swim with. :( Me and my friends did not get to try snorkeling or diving. But, I guess those activities would be worth it in Malapascua since there are a lot of resorts around the island that offers those activities at a reasonable rate.

White sands and crystal clear waters

Basically, Malapascua is good, but I won't bother to go there for the second time.

El Nido and Puerto Princesa, Palawan 2013

Last September 6-11, 2013, me and other ten of my officemates went to Palawan. Our flight was at 1pm of Septemer 6, 2013. When we arrived at the town, most of us were hungry so we had to fill our stomachs at Chaolong Restaurant. The reason why we had a heavy meal is that we would still need to travel to El Nido for approximately five hours. It was really a tiring trip! We arrived at El Nido town around 8pm. Upon reaching the place, we decided to take our dinner at El Nido Corner Restaurant. The prices are reasonable. It would cost you around 150-300 per dish. But mind you, one dish is good for 2-3 persons. After dinner, we didn't bother to roam around the town since we were very tired already. We stayed at Hadefe Cottages. It is one of the good places to stay in El Nido though you need to walk for 15 minutes to be able to reach El Nido town. And the most exciting part is that you would need to pass by a cemetery in order to reach the hotel. Basically, Hadefe is a good place to stay. We did not regret our stay there.

Puerto Princesa Airport

Our trip was arranged by Hadefe Travel and Tours. This is owned by Mr. Hanny Enor. The tour costed us 6, 500 pesos exclusive of dinner for the rest of the tour.

Here are the contact details of the said agency:
Mr Hanny Enor
Manager/Owner
Hadefe Travel and Tours
09209523280

09178496877

Here is our itinerary of the rest of our trip.

El Nido Day 2: Small Lagoon. Big Lagoon. Miniloc Island. Simizu Beach. Seven Commando.

Big Lagoon.

Miniloc Island.

 Simizu Beach.

                        

Seven Commando.

Pristine waters of El Nido.

We had our dinner at Atmosphere Restaurant. The food was good but the prices were so overpriced since the serving is very small. I would not recommend this restaurant to travellers especially those who are on a tight budget. :(

El Nido Day 3: Hidden Beach. Matinloc Shrine. Talisay Beach. Secret Beach. Helicopter Island.

Hidden Beach.

Awesome view at Matinloc Shrine. A very mysterious place because of its untold history, yet very amazing.

Helicopter Island. The island where Survivor Philippines had their shooting. A great island to relax. The island is named such because of its shape. 

After the island hopping, we had our dinner at Sea Slug Restaurant. The food is good, prices are reasonable, BUT, the service is slow. Don't follow the hype.

The next day, we had to leave El Nido and travel to Puerto Princesa. It was another five long hour trip. We had our lunch at Paneo Restaurant. Food there is not that great. :P Then afterwards, went to the Puerto Princesa Underground River.

Puerto Princesa Day 4: Lunch at Paneo Restaurant. Puerto Princesa Underground River. Ugong Rock Adventures.

World's Famous Puerto Princesa Underground River. A must-travel site when you go to Puerto Princesa.

Amazing rock formations inside the underground river.

Ugong Rock Adventures. Spelunking is a must-try activity here. We were able to conquer the tiring activity up to the top of the mountain.

We had our dinner at K'na Boyet sa Baywalk. The food was good and the prices were affordable. After we had our dinner, we had an hour of strolling at Baywalk. Bicycles are for rent for 50-75 pesos per hour.

After which, we went back to the hotel, Ysabelle Mansion. A very great and clean place to stay. :D

Puerto Princesa Day 5: Isla Pandan. Starfish Island. Cowrie Island.                                                                    

Our Honda Bay Tour was arranged by La Tiara Travel and Tours. The whole day island hopping was 1, 140 pesos per head, and honestly, it was not worth it. Island hopping in El Nido is way better than in Honda Bay. If in case, you would want to rent booties and snorkels, there are a number of stores that offers renting of booties and snorkels for 100 pesos each in Honda Bay Port. DO NOT rent if it is 150 pesos each. We got scammed because our tour guide brought us to a store meters away from the port. 

Isla Pandan. We had snorkeling here since there are lots of fishes on this island.

Starfish Island. Nothing but starfish, fishes are hard to find. Water was kinda itchy.

Cowrie Island. The most developed island we went. There is a restaurant on this island, though I was not able to take a look at the prices of their menu.

Since we still had ample time to stroll before having dinner, we decided to buy souvenirs instead. We rode on tricycles going to the shops. Our driver was Mr. Catalino Vitug. You can contact him thru Facebook if in case you would want a private driver when having a city tour at Puerto Princesa.

We had our dinner at JA Restaurant near Baywalk. Food and prices were good. :)

Day 6: City Tour. Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral. Binuatan Creation's Factory. Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Preservation Institute. Rancho Sta. Monica. Baker's Hill. Lunch at Dampa Restaurant.

Binuatan Creation's Factory. We were able to try weaving. Souvenirs are also sold here at a reasonable price.

Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Preservation Institute. Lots of crocodiles here.

Rancho Sta. Monica. Overlooking view of Honda Bay.

Baker's Hill. Their products are sold at a reasonable price. Also a good place to buy pasalubong.

Basically, I really had a fun vacation at El Nido and Puerto Princesa. But, I would still prefer Coron, Palawan over El Nido/Puerto Princesa. Why? Coron seas are richer in marine life that the El Nido seas.

Bohol 2013

It was a very special day last August 10, 2013 for my former team lead. It was the day that he shared vows with the woman he loved for a decade. Since the bride's hometown is at Baclayon, Bohol, the guests from other places have to travel all the way to Bohol. We arrived at Tagbilaran Port at around 12 noon. We rode a fast craft going to Tagbilaran that costs 450 round trip. We had lunch at my colleague's canteen located at the town of Tagbilaran. Some of us did not have to check in on a hotel since my colleague, Teresa lives at Bohol. Fortunately, we just stayed at their house for 3 days. We were really able to save money. :D We went to Island City Mall that afternoon to prepare and buy stuffs for the next day’s big event. We also had our dinner at the mall.

The next day, we were so excited for the big event! The wedding was held at Baclayon Church at 2pm. It is one of the oldest churches in the country. The reception was held at Panglao Nature Resort and Spa. The setting was very beautiful and unique! Indeed, I would really consider it a fairytale wedding.

                                          at Baclayon Church

Reception at Panglao Nature Resort and Spa 

So, the day after the wedding, my team lead decided to go to the beach, instead. So we went beaching at Dumaluan Beach Resort at Panglao. Since the weather that time was not that good, we weren’t able to witness the clear waters of Panglao. We went back to Cebu around 6pm that day.

                                                                at Dumaluan Beach Resort

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