Inithing

The nature has summoned us, and our itchy feet complied.

Philippines is comprised of 7641 islands with Cebu being the second largest metropolitan area after Metro Manila. Thus, even in my third visit, I still have not been able to explore its beauty.

A few years ago, I have written a short post about my travel in the Southern part of Cebu. This time, I traveled with my siblings to the Northern part and enjoyed the beauty of Bantayan island which is surrounded by a number of wonderful beaches and island.

1st Day:

We arrived in Cebu a few minutes after 5 AM. Sir Jackie, a good friend and our tour guide, was already outside of the Mactan airport waiting for us. We hopped in to his car and went straight to our first destination: Bantayan island. Travel time from the airport to San Remigio port without traffic is 3 hours. As such, I suggest to start as early as possible. From San Remigio port, you will need to ride a RORO which costs 325 PHP and pay a 20 PHP terminal fee in Bantayan island. Travel time from San Remigio port to Bantayan island is an hour and a half so make sure to choose a good spot to sit and relax when you are on the RORO.

Upon arrival, there will be a lot of locals that will offer a tricycle ride or a motorcycle rental. If your destination is near, the tricycle fare is just 80 PHP. As for the motorcycle rental, you can get one for as low as 300 PHP per day.

We then went to Adelaida Pensionne Hotel to check in and leave our stuff. We booked a bedroom good for 4 pax for only 1500 PHP per day. The hotel is cheap and clean with towels and toiletries included.

We then ate lunch at Santa Fe (there are a lot of carinderias there) and then went to our first beach stop: Virgin Island.

In order to reach Virgin Island, you will need to hire a boat which costs 1500 PHP and pay an entrance fee in the island of 200 PHP per person (100 PHP for kids and 150 PHP for Senior Citizen/PWD). In this island, you can play volleyball, rent a cottage so you can relax and eat food, and of course, swim! You can also snorkle as there are plenty of beautiful fishes to see in this island.

We stayed for an hour and then decided to return as we still have other places to visit. Our next stop was the Mangrove Eco Park with 20 PHP entrance fee.

This place is so relaxing with all the greeneries.

Third stop was the town of Madridejos where we were brought to a small kubo that cooks and serves delicious seafood and banana cake! I’ll never forget their scallops, it’s the best!

2nd Day:

We started out early and went to Kota Beach to eat breakfast. The place is so wonderful that you might also consider staying there.

There is an entrance fee if your main purpose is just to swim, unless you’ll eat in their restaurant.

Second stop was the Ogtong Cave with an entrance fee of 200 PHP. You’ll also have access to their swimming pool and beach.

Since we were planning to visit Malapascua, we left Bantayan island during lunch time. The fare of RORO going back to San Remigio port is 300 PHP and you’ll also be asked to pay a 10 PHP terminal fee.

Our third stop was the Bamboo Forest which is in Medellin (30 to 40 minutes away from San Remigio port).

Our fourth stop was supposed to be in Malapascua but when we arrived at New Maya Port at around 5 PM to get a boat ride going to Malapascua, we were told that the last trip was at 3 PM. 😦 Sadly, the coast guard did not allow a special trip to take us to the island.

So we decided to find a hotel beach and resort where we could spend the night and found Skips Beach Resort which is an hour away from New Maya port. The room good for 3 pax + an additional mattress for the 4th person is at 2375 PHP (breakfast included).

Third Day:

The first and second days of our tour were all filled with beaches and nature. Third day, on the other hand, was a land tour.

The trip from Daanbantayan where Skips Beach Resort is located back to Cebu city was 4 hours. Our first stop was Sirao Garden which is a very nice place to take photos. Entrance fee is 50 PHP.

The air is so cool and fresh that it gives you a feeling like you are in Baguio. Our second stop was Temple of Leah which has a very nice back story, so be sure to read the inscriptions on the statue. Entrance fee is 100 PHP.

Whether you visit the temple in the morning or evening, you’d still get its picturesque view!

Our third and last stop before going back to Manila was the 10,000 Roses. Entrance fee is only 25 PHP.

For 3 pax, you could actually spend less than 10,000 PHP per head which already includes food and pasalubong. Using our itinerary, you can rent a car for 1800 PHP or less per day at http://www.book2wheel.com . In case you decide to hire a tour guide (try Quek Travel and Tours) which will prepare everything for you, you might need 14 to 15,000 PHP budget for 3D2N in Cebu (airfare included).