Hello Bohol! Day 1 and 2

My blog about our Bohol tour is seven (7) months old and as usual I was busy running some errands for the business and time doesn't permit me to do my edits.

Bohol is one of the top destinations here in the Philippines, that’s why I want to visit this beautiful place. And so, my boyfriend and I decided to spend our 10th year anniversary in Bohol. I excitedly and carefully planned the trip, from plane tickets, accommodation and places to visit. I have already read some of the Bohol blogs before and so I already have an idea of the things to do in Bohol. In every trip that I have, I personally want to plan things on my own and so I don't bother to take tour packages. I'd like to customized my trip as much as possible and to where I can possibly save money and it only took me a couple of days to plan for our Bohol trip.

THE PLANNING:

After an hour of searching for agencies who offers day tour in Bohol, I finally found that definitely matched my budget and will also suit yours too. It's Bohol Life Travel and Tour that offers great deal and affordable tours in Bohol.

For our flight, I bought a round-trip ticket via Air Asia which is much cheaper than any other airline. (take note that prices vary and changes from time to time, so you must check it more often and compare to other airlines) There are two ways to reach the beautiful Bohol, you can take a plane from Manila to Tagbilaran City of Bohol or go via Cebu and ride a fast ferry to Bohol that will take you for at least two (2) hours.

 

For our accommodation, we stayed at Bohol Bee Farm since all the accommodation at Panglao's beachfront resort were fully booked. Don't worry I'll be blogging about Bohol Bee Farm and why you must stay there when you're in Bohol.

THE TRIP:

On the first day of our trip, we immediately went for the Countryside Day Tour which you can actually finish a day. Our so kind and nice driver tour guide ushered us safely on that day to see different wonderful spots in Bohol. He's so nice and I can easily communicate with him since I can also understand a bit of their dialect, Bisaya and he can speak English and Tagalog so well.

Our first stop for the Countryside Tour is the Blood Compact which is considered as the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniards and Filipinos. That happened 1565 between the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol.

 

 

Second stop is the famous Baclayon Church which is the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol and was formerly included for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of the Philippines since 1993 but was damage when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other parts of Central Visayas in 2013.

 

 

We also passed by the Bilar Man Made Mahogany Forest where all trees are planted by hand in the 1960's and we also dropped by at Bilar Eco Park. 

 

Our tour also includes going to Butterfly Garden (Simply Butterflies), which is the first butterfly livelihood breeding and conservation program in Bohol. Their main goal is to protect and strengthen the natural environment of the butterflies through plant research, breeding and releasing. 

Next stop is Tarsier Conservation Area where we saw the Smallest primate which is the tarsier and learn about them how they lived and that they can turn suicidal from Too much noise and sunlight which stress them.

We had our lunch in Loay Floating Restaurant but unfortunately we didn't experience the river cruise because that time the water current was so strong because of the heavy rain (sad to say that Loboc Floating resto also don't allow tourist to take the cruise that time) and so they don't want to take the chance and risk the guests lives.

And so after our lunch, we just decided to immediately go and see the famous Chocolate Hills. The beautiful view literally took my breath away. The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown (like chocolate) during the dry season. The place is indeed so beautiful.

Next is Walking across the Bamboo Hanging Bridge at Sevilla (there’s nothing so special in that hanging bridge except of conquering your fear of heights if you have one and cross to the other side for a souvenir shop and ease you shopaholic hungry souls for Bohol memoirs).

On our way to Bohol Bee Farm which was our last stop for our Countryside Day Tour we dropped by at Aproniana Souvenir Shop (just a tip items here are a bit pricey compared to the one in hanging bridge).

For our second day, we went around the Bohol Bee Farm where we actually stayed. In the afternoon, we went to the Alona Beach, the most developed beach in Panglao, many beachfront resorts and restaurant stand on this beach. But sad to say, Alona is a bit far from where we're staying. It costs P250.00 per head when you ride a tricycle for a one way trip. They told us that jeepneys passed by the Bee Farm but it will take ages to for a jeepney to arrive and so we didn't had a choice but to take a tricycle. Transportations in Bohol are a little bit pricey though so I suggest that you book your hotel or resort near the beach area if you plan to stay near the beach. It took us 15-20 mins.

When we arrived at the beach, I was a little bit disappointed of it. Although the sand was white and fine theres so many boats near the beach and it was on a low tide. Well, probably we went there on the wrong season because it was kinda rainy that time. We took a little walk and looked for a restaurant for our dinner and went back to Bohol Bee Farm.