thebackpackdiaries

I’ve been figuring out quite sometime when will I reached Bohol and see the famous Chocolate Hills and the every cute world’s smallest primate found only in Southeast Asia.Luckily, my friends got interested too to go backpacking with me. So we decided to do this DIY trip in Bohol.

Since no more seat sale price in any airlines, we decided to do the entry and exit point to Cebu then go to Bohol by ferry. We arrived late at night in Cebu from Clark so we just stayed for a dormitory/hotel for a night in Cebu and an early morning ride of ferry to Tagbilaran. Mostly as early as 6am Cebu Ferry Terminal are already busy selling out tickets going to Tagbilaran. Different kinds of ferries are there but mostly in Pier 1 are the busiest. We took the Wessam Express Ferry for an 8 am board and we arrived by 10 am in Tagbilaran port. We took the seats with an Aircon as we want to get more sleep in the ferry. It cost around 400php/pax one way trip only. Other ferry like Ocean Jet have a bit higher price but its up to you what ferry you would like to try. Check out this site: http://www.bohollifetours.com for different schedules and prices. (Some says that it is more cheaper when you go Cebu-Tubigon then en route to Tagbilaran, but we decided not to do that because prior to our trip some news was spreading that terrorists who attacked Bohol is near Tubigon. We want to be safe for practical reasons.)

It was a 1hour and 45 minutes ride to Tagbilaran…Well we didn’t feel that because what we did inside was to sleep and wait for the captain to tell that we just arrived in Tagbilaran port.

Arriving at Tagbilaran Port, we immediately look for Kuya Juvan Edano, our van driver/ tour guide for that day… I saw his number from some random blogger and tried to contact him 2 days before our arrival. You can also contact him with these numbers 09124068224 just tell him you were recommended by Rhudy…Well, if you are on a less budget and cannot afford to hire a van and you’re only one or two person contact this trike driver Kuya Ronald 09102686348…

Actually, once you arrived at Tagbilaran Port many van and car or trike for hire will accomodate you.Its up to you how to ask for a discount hehehe…

Beforehand, I asked Kuya Juvan what will be our itinerary that day. He said that we will do the Countryside tour and because we arrived an hour before lunch time we decided to go immediately to Loboc River Cruising… He said that there were two river cruising place.One is in Loboc and the other one was in Loay.I asked what was the difference and he said that Abatan River cruising in Loay is more appealing during night because it is mainly the place for firefly watching. We opt to do the Loboc River Cruise.

The only thing that I’ve noticed is that there are only limited foods per boat ride…Im recommending to take only the river cruising minus the food hehehe

While eating lunch, river cruising will start by serenading guests by one of the performers in the cruise and once you reached the Go Tozon Balsa Performers Association they will entertain you with Visayan Song and dance number known as Kuradang in which people usually dance during special occasions, parties and reunion.

After feeding our hungry tummy, we headed to Bilar Man Made Forest! Believe me as we are approaching to this area I felt goosebumps ..I don’t know why but maybe because an eerie feeling of being alone or the chilly vibes of the place. But good to know that they conserve it for how many years and remain as how it was constructed.

Next stop! Butterfly Garden!!!What amaze me during our trip here is that you can have the close encounter with the different species of butterfly plus understanding the difference of a butterfly and a moth..how they grow…And especially the photo op place!

After the butterfly encounter, we headed to Bohol Tarsier Conservation. Thrilled to see this smallest primate that is endangered in Southeast Asia, These small fluffy gray colored fur with a very long naked tail and with a weight of 113-142 gms.Its size is not larger than the adult’s men hand.The distinct thing about them is their eyes is larger than their stomach. They are also nocturnal in which they hunt food at night.

Heading off to Chocolate Hills in Carmen, Bohol, Kuya Juvan asked us if we want to have a closer look of Chocolate Hills. So to achieve it, we have to ride to ATV in which we will do the ATV Eco Adventure tour! This was new to me so we decided to do it. We rent a bug car for 2 persons and voila! We will be riding and bumping into the rocky road!

Look how happy we are as we do the ATV Ride and that Jumpshot!It was an awesome experience to me and I love how I manage to bump into boulders of rock while riding on it!!

Last stop before heading to our hotel was the famous Chocolate Hills in Carmen, Bohol with a 360 degree view of 1,776 hills or more as long as what your eyes can see! This cone or domed shaped apperance is filled with green grass and become brown when dry season comes most likely during May that became like “chocolate kisses”.

Wrapping up our first day in Bohol, Countryside tour was going to Sipatan Hanging bridge….Long bridge to cross to reach the best prices of Souvenir shops! You can buy here some T-shirts ranging from 90-120php each and the famous peanut kisses that is only 155 php in 16 pcs. The famous calamay serving hot for 3 for 100 or calamay sa bao worth 50php each.

We didn’t try to go to Phyton Sanctuary because all of us don’t want to see big phytons and we just passed by Baclayon Church that is still under renovation because of the Typhoon Yolanda but its glorious and historical story remains in our minds. Heading off to our hotel in Panglao Island!

Indeed! Bohol have a rich culture and place to see!

Summary expenses:

Wessam Express Ferry going to Bohol : 350php Aircon (one way)

Ocean Jet Ferry going to Cebu:400 php Non AirCon (one way)

Loboc River Cruising: 450php with lunch

Van Rental: 3,000

Tarsier Sanctuary: 60php

Chocolate Hills: 50php

Man Made Forest: FREE

Butterfly Sanctuary: 45php

Sipatan Hanging Bridge: 20php

Baclayon Church: 25php

ATV Bug Car ride: 1,700 good for 2 persons for 2 hours ride

850php for solo ATV Ride depending on the place you want to reach