Bohol Travel Forum

hi!

Im cookie from dumaguete and my gal friends are planning to explore Bohol this June 2008.Ive been researching in the net all possible destinations we could possibly visit. If you could please help me, or direct us to destinations in order, mode of transportation to get there or if there are cheaper alternatives,so we can maximize our 2-day visit and goes with our budget. If you could please suggest some inns or pensions house with cheaper accomodations. Thank you very much!God bless

Bohol (and Tagb) are a lot cheaper than Dumaguete. I don't know what your budget is. I stayed in Buenbella Pension in Miguel Parras which is one road higher than the main road.

http://www.buenbella.com/ - but the website online booking doesn't work.

Organise a taxi to take you round - I paid 2000 but I'm sure you can talk it down. That's for a whole day to see the Chocolate Hills, man-made forest, tarsiers etc. A really nice thing to do is take a river lunch cruise from ?Loay. That was 280 and it was excellent food and lots of it.

I agree. if you plan to see all the sights of Bohol, might as well hire a tour guide. I still have the number of the one we hired plus another one that is abit cheaper if you want. He is really informative about Bohol and will take you wherever just tell it to him. Lunch on the river boat not included but he will take you to the place.

But its only worth if your a group of 6-10. the guide costs about Php3000 for the entire day. so if your about 10, you pay only 300 each.

There are ferries that could take you from dumaguete to bohol. I havent checked if the travel ban on Ocean jet has been lifted already. You can try other vessels like weesam or supercat. visit their website for the schedule of trips, chances are they have an office in your local port. best to book and buy tickets there than online.

There are 3 options for you:
1. Stay in tagbilaran pension houses. Hire a van that could take in around bohol and then back to your hotel again. I usually stay at Sun Avenue Pension house in Gallares. If you and your friends want a good massage, its near thai massage centers and just beside Body and Sole. With free breakfast, a twin accomoodation cost around 1300.

Then you can hire a van which costs around 3000 for a day's tour. You could see Chocolate hills, have lunch at the Loboc River Cruise...and visit the tarsier. Although the DOT of Bohol do not recommend the longest phyton, you should see it in Alburquerque. I promise you a good laugh esp with badong, the caretaker.

If youre going to eat lunch at Loboc, try Riverwatch --09173060010.
for 280 pesos only. So far, they have the best tasting food of all the cruises. book early so that you could be mixed with a happier group.

This could take you the whole day esp if you plan on taking pictures along the way. So your next day could be Beach day.

If you want to spend the night on the beach partying... try the Alona Beach side... Its in Panglao municipality. A bit crowded with tourist though. the beach is occupied by bancas for rent if you want to go snorkeling or diving in Balicasag or whale dolphin watching in Pamilacan island. Book early so that you can get the best prices. Esp now, that its peak season, prices could go up really crazy. If you are in Alona beach side, you dont have to worry about food, there are somewhat "sutokil" carinderias along the left most side of the beach.

But if you want a quiet time with your friends, relax and enjoy nature, try dumaluan beach side. Its in Dauis Municipality. but also in Panglao island.
Theres not much to see yet but a chance to walk the fine sands of Bohol Beach Club which is beside Dumaluan BEach resort where you can get your friendster ready pictures.

Snorkeling is a fun experience for a group. If you know how to dive, its okey too. a boat could cost from 1thousand - 4thousand depends on the size of the boat and the number of people. What we did, since we are only 3, we joined a bigger group. hehehe

Option 2 is:
Find a house for rent. or a townhouse. They already have this sort of thing in tagbilaran. Ask my cousin ian, a tour guide there-- 09103680572.
Then follow what i said above.

Option 3 is:
Book in Panglao Island. Bohol Divers have cheaper rooms. There are houses at the back but you have to walk a few big steps to get to the beach. Ofcourse, beachfront rooms are expensive. Dumaluan beach resort is also a cheaper deal than bohol beach club and surrounding resorts.

okey. I hope i did something good for you and your friends. Enjoy bohol!

If you're on Dumaguete you probably know all about the ferries. I travelled there from Bohol with
https://www.superferry.com.ph/eticket/search.asp#plan
fare was around 200 PHP

When I was in Panglao, I stayed in Dumaluan beach resort. great beach but their resto is expensive. So we walked a few meters to neighboring houses who sell grilled sea food at reasonable prices.

see my travel page for dumaluan.

Hi cookie!

My husband & I stayed at Dao Diamond Bed & Breakfast at Tagbilaran City (near Island City Mall & bus/jeep terminal). It’s run by the Deaf Foundation, and all their staff are deaf-mute, except for the front desk officers, drivers & guards. I highly recommend this – its new, so clean, & peaceful. The cook is sooo good. If you’ll consider staying there, contact details are found here: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/d69f7/157a79/3/. Give them you’re trip details & they’ll pick you up & drop you off at the pier/airport for free. A room for 2 as of Aug 2007 cost P975. you’ll also find photos of the room in my page.

We hired a car for P1,500 to do the countryside tour (blood compact, Baclayon church & museum, hanging bridge, tarsier, choco hills at Carmen, loboc river cruise, butterfly farm, python, Albuquerque church, Dauis church & Hinagdanan cave) from 8 AM – 5 PM. I hope I can still find our driver’s # so you have more drivers/cars/rates to choose from. He has a car for a max of 4 pax & a van for a bigger group.

We also visited Alona kew at Panglao Island but we didn’t stay there. We just went there early morning to go dolphin watching & island hopping until noon. We then visited the St. Augustine church, had lunch at Alona kew & went back to Tagbilaran.

Grab an EZ map, it will surely help. If you’d still need help, leave a message at my YM clarice_ldr. enjoy your trip!


clarice

a DOT tour guide's service is only P845. it's advisable you hire a car/van to take you there. there are stopovers on the way to the Chocolate Hills. here's the usual itinerary.

Blood Compact Site
Baclayon Church and Museum
Loay bolo-making and nipa-weaving industry
Loboc River Cruise and buffet lunch
Tarsier Watching
Bilar man-made mahogany forest (drive-thru)
Chocolate Hills
souvenir shopping (Baclayon)

if you take the Weesam 1:30pm trip from Dumaguete, it's much better if you stay in Tagbilaran City, probably at Vest Pension House. then the next day go on the tour i listed above. this time, check-in at a resort in Panglao island. on the third day, you can go on island hopping half day and panglao island tour on the other half. on the fourth day, take the 9:15am weesam trip from Tag to Dgte.

if you want to know our contact, just pm me. =) hope this helps!

Hi Cookie,

More info :). For Car rentals, you can try calling Connie 0920 9273025 or Mr Rod Balba 0918 591 4969. Connie is with a company that rents cars and vans. Rates nila before 1500 for car, 2500 for van. Thats for the whole day. Not sure how much they charge nowadays. Mr Balba i think rents his car for 1800. Private car lang.

Bohol can be toured in 1 day. Your 2 day visit is just enough to visit the place (day 1) and enjoy the beach (day 2).

Remember to visit Bee Farm and ask if you can take a look at the toilet on the 2nd floor of the main house. They have a bathroom that is to die for! :)

Have fun!!

u can visit this website www.l2k-tours.com u can inquire there are their packages for lowest rates.