We continue our journey through the Philippines. After an overnight stay on the island of Cebu, we arrived on Bohol, one of the most famous islands in the Philippines. And right upon arrival, the classic – a band of self-proclaimed taxi drivers trying to catch you as soon as you come out of the port. It works the same as with us, when you come out of the airport, for example. If you don’t want to pay 2-3 times the normal price, download the Grab app. We also bought return boat tickets while waiting, because we had a flight to Puerto Princesa ahead of us and in Asia you never know what the weather will come up with. But I’ll get to that later.
What to (not) do on the island of Bohol?
We chose our accommodation on Panglao Island – for the proximity to the port and the nice beaches. And at the same time, it was a good starting point for our itinerary. We put it together with Terka and AI – we’ve been using it since Albania. If you want to use it too, but don’t know how, take a look at the AI skills course which I recommend (and you can also use the 50,000 CZK grant from the Labor Office). Don’t forget to enter the promo code ANDRE.
Back to traveling. Check out our itinerary of activities to do and see on Bohol:
✅ Our top experiences:
– Chocolate Hills – iconic hills, entrance 50 PHP, the view is worth it. (Caution: don’t rely on the name on the maps – the whole area is called that. Enter the exact point or follow the signs, otherwise you’ll end up in the mud like us. Literally.)
– Mahogany Forest (Man-Made Forest) – a beautiful photogenic avenue on the way from Loboc.
– Baclayon Church and Dauis – historic churches, a bit of culture won’t hurt.
– Blood Compact Shrine – a monument to the first treaty between the Filipinos and the Spanish.
– Hinagdanan Cave – a cave with a lake and bats overhead. Entrance 50 PHP (or 125 PHP with swimming).
– Mag-Aso Waterfalls – turquoise water in the middle of the jungle. No entrance, just a bit of wandering.
– Tarsier Sanctuary – 150 PHP for an encounter with these smallest and cutest primates in the world.
– Alona Beach – an 800-meter long beach, clean water, lots of boats.
– Snorkeling with whale sharks (Oslob, Cebu) – a full-day trip, but definitely an experience worth it.
❌ What we missed or didn’t feel like:
– Quad bikes, zipline and adventure parks – we’re not total adrenaline junkies.
– Loboc River Cruise – it looked nice, but didn’t fit our schedule.
– Diving, island hopping and dolphins – maybe next time, this time we stayed on our feet (and fins).
– Local markets – honestly, more of a disappointment, nothing special.
We always find more things that interest us, then we arrange them so that they follow each other, and finally we look for and arrange the individual things according to the sequence. It doesn’t always work out 100%, but traveling needs a bit of freedom.
Without a scooter in Asia, you’re nowhere
On Bohol, it doesn’t really work without a scooter. After we checked in, we rented one for 400 PHP/day and headed straight for Alona Beach – one of the nicest beaches here, almost 800 meters long and although there are a lot of boats anchored there, the water is nice and relatively clean.
First swim (finally!), watching the fish and enjoying the sea. On the way back, we ran into a local BBQ stall – so we decided to give it a try. Best BBQ we tried in all 5 days. And we ate it for dinner every day – the food situation here is quite complicated, you basically have only a few options: street food from the locals (BBQ or food from pots, which is practically always cold – they cook it, put it out and sell it – they don’t reheat it) or tourist restaurants (yuck, really expensive), or fast food (they absolutely love it here – it’s understandable given the prices, at McDonald’s we paid 400 PHP for 2 menus, more in the vlog on my YouTube, which will be out soon).
Unpredictable weather you have to get used to
On Wednesday it rained all morning and was overcast, so we went to Hinagdanan Cave, where you can also swim and bats fly over your head. After getting back home, completely soaked, we decided we didn’t want to get wet anymore. Terka went to get her nails done and I worked, after all, Meet&Deal vol5 in Prague’s Manifest is coming up.
On Thursday we went to check out the local markets and again quite a disappointment, no big hit parade. Actually, I realized they weren’t even on the itinerary… From the markets we drove around and found we were just a bit from the Dauis Church. Then we went to the Baclayon Church and finally to the Blood Compact Shrine – a bit of Filipino history doesn’t hurt. From the churches and monuments we went to the beach, where we arrived around 1pm. Unfortunately, I only for a moment, because from 3 to 8:30pm I had work calls. The 7-hour time difference is really tough on working with people in the Czech Republic.
At the beach, we decided to find a tour for snorkeling with whale sharks, so I went around the whole beach to see who would give me the best price. And from 3,500 PHP per person, I got it down to 2,500 PHP, which is a reasonable price from Bohol to Oslob. The price included the entrance fee for snorkeling, which is 1,000 PHP.
Unfortunately, on Friday at 5:05, when we were already at the pickup point, they canceled it due to the waves. Okay, we’re moving it to Saturday, we’ll try it one more time, when we have our last chance. Terka goes back to sleep for a bit and I finish the vlog from Bratislava.
Are the Chocolate Hills really made of chocolate?
On the way to the Chocolate Hills, we also stop at the Mag-Aso Waterfalls, where it looks like someone canceled it upon arrival. So we at least saved on the entrance fee and then continued on our way. But beware, the whole area is called that, so you can’t just drive to the Chocolate Hills, because you’ll end up somewhere completely in the boonies and you’ll be covered in mud like us… Put the Chocolate Hills Viewpoint and follow the signs.
Btw, the Chocolate Hills are not actually made of chocolate (unfortunately 😄), but the name is really related to chocolate. The name Chocolate Hills came from the color of the hills during the dry season, when the grass on them dries up and takes on a dark brown hue – they resemble chocolate bonbons (something like Toblerone). Otherwise, in the rainy season, these hills are completely green, so they look quite different from most of the photos on Google.
And just in passing – there are more than 1,200 of these hills and the whole formation is a natural geological phenomenon formed by the erosion of limestone rocks. So it’s a natural curiosity and probably the most iconic thing in the whole of Bohol.
The cutest animals in the world
From here we wanted to go to Pangas Falls, but it was about a half-hour detour, which we didn’t want, and we especially wanted to go to the Tarsier Sanctuary, which closes at 3:30pm, with a bit of a faster ride we were there at 3pm and for 150 PHP per person we went with a group of a few people and a guide to discover 5 tarsiers, the cute little critters snoring in the same spots all the time – absolutely cute creatures!
From the sanctuary we drive home and finally want some food. But on the way we still can’t find anything, and since we’ve ridden over 150 km on the scooter and I’m really done (my legs, butt, back… everything hurt), 10 km from home I decide we’ll try McDonald’s. Terka had a menu with a chicken breast, sauce and rice, I tried a double cheeseburger, which I was supposed to drizzle with chili con carne, fries and a Coca-Cola with ice cream – a very interesting combination. But actually quite good. Then just a massage, a bit of work and chill!
Whale sharks tu tu du tu tu du
On Saturday another wake up call at 4:20am and attempt #2 for a whale shark trip. Okay, today we’re going, the waves are supposedly not that bad – well, not as many people threw up as on the way to Ko Tao, but still quite a few. After a few hours we finally get to the place and sit in a canoe that takes us to the place where the fishermen are feeding the whale sharks. Wow! Huge creatures and a great experience. Then food and back on the boat to Bohol. At 3:30pm we’re finally home, completely exhausted.
For info, here’s the schedule for this trip:
– 5:00 meet up at McDonald’s
– 5:40 departure from McDonald’s
– 6:00 arrival at the boat
– 6:30 the boat was supposed to depart for Oslob
– 7:00 we’re finally on the sea and the waves are throwing us around quite a bit
– 9:30 we disembarked in Oslob
– 10:15 we arrive at the site
– 10:45 we’re on the boat and observing the sharks
– 11:15 we’re done and going for food
– 12:00 we’re back and waiting for the boat
– 12:15 we sail against the waves
– 3:30 we finally anchor in Bohol
It’s Saturday night, we’re packing and getting ready for the next adventure. In the morning we’re moving back to Cebu, from where we’re flying to Puerto Princesa. I can’t wait.
What beach will you be almost all by yourself on and where to go for endangered crocodiles?
What are my overall impressions of the Philippines? Read the article The Philippines: The ideal place in Asia for Czechs who love baked goods and cheap alcohol
