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You are here: Home / TRAVELS DESTINATIONS / BOHOL / From CEBU to BOHOL: Island Destinations

April 13, 2011 By Cille Anne 17 Comments

From CEBU to BOHOL: Island Destinations

White sand beaches plus chocolate hills plus tarsiers and more to see and experience in the little island of Bohol! Bohol is 2 hours away from Cebu via fastcraft, it has always been there luring visitors to see its many tourist attractions and swim in its crystal clear waters.  Most of the people I know have visited the island province of Bohol yet there I was never making it to this very popular tourist destination despite my place being so near it –  well, I didn’t until last week 🙂

World famous geological landmark – Bohol Chocolate Hills



Tantan, Titus’ brother called us up and said that he needs a break from slaving it in the office and enticed us to go to Bohol with him.  And since my sister has also been egging me that we go to Bohol for quiet sometime now so we can have ‘pictorial’ it was the perfect opportunity to do the trip. After all, summer is blazing hot and where better to go than to a place famous for many things especially white sand beaches? So to Bohol we go!

Two years ago our group (without Tantan) embarked on a Northern Luzon Roadtrip to ILocos where we had so much fun. So we were all looking forward to another travel adventure. In fact days nearing our departure date, Nicko has been continuously asking if things are all set. LOL.

How to get from Cebu to  Bohol?

BOHOL FASTCRAFTS

Five days before we intended to leave, Titus & I went to Pier One to go to the main office of Oceanjet, a fastcraft company serving the Cebu-Tagbilaran route and vice versa, to buy our tickets early on. We had been doing online research to scout for cheap hotels along Alona beach and ways to go to Bohol. We decided that Oceanjet is the best choice considering that it’s fast, it docks in Tagbilaran instead of Tubigon and they have an on-going ‘Oceanjet Libre Balik Promo’ if tickets are purchased at least a day in advance and date of return is within one week from original date of departure. Unfortunately, I am a tad disappointed with Oceanjet’s promo as anyone reading their literature would automatically assume and think that they have indeed a “Libre Balik” promo which if translated to English means “return trip is free”. I mean, come on, libre = free / balik = return. Sad to say but Oceanjet’s promo is misleading; the return fare is not free, it is just a discounted one. I wonder why DTI have not checked on this.  Anyhow, I hope people at Oceanjet will realized their mistake and change their promo slogan to something more accurate like “ Discounted Return Fare” so travelers will not expect more. Despite my disappointment we still bought 5 tickets at P820.00 per pax round trip fare. One way costs P600/pax.

Oceanjet’s FastCraft to Bohol


Another Option: If you have more time you can choose StarCraft, another fast craft to Bohol but note though that it docks in Tubigon port and not Tagbilaran Port. Their one way fare is P220.00 per person. There are also slow crafts serving the Cebu-Tagbilaran route, one of them is Weesam. These slower boats are way cheaper than fast crafts but average travel time is longer at 4 hours as compared to fast crafts that arrives in Tagbilaran after  2 hours of sea travel. time.

BOHOL DAY TOUR VIA VAN

Bohol for all intents and purposes is still basically a rural place. I don’t mean any offense to Boholanos. I am in fact applauding them. Everyone knows that Bohol is one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations, yet despite the deluge of tourists arriving on her ports and airport everyday, Bohol continue to exude that old town charm. Life is unhurried and slower, I think that’s the reason why it draws in foreign tourists. In the white sand beaches of Alona, I think 1 out of 5 tourists are foreigners. My brother even remarked it feels like we were the foreigners there with so many westerners and Koreans scattered left and right, on the beach front, on the restaurants, on the streets.

Oh yah, public transportation to get to every tourist attractions that Bohol offers is a bit tricky. Actually, in my opinion it is not advisable for tourists to commute for the tour as buses that plies in between towns are rare, like an hour apart. There are tricycles and habal-habal for you to hire; habal-habal are motorcycles that carries three or four passengers but their movements are limited to the main towns.

The best option would be to hire a car or a van. If you are many in a group that would be better so you can all split the cost and make it more affordable per person. The usual  Bohol Countryside Tour packages cost P2,500 using a van or if you’re lucky a SUV is available. We suggest you avail of our van and driver Julius because his group includes Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao in the tour package; most Bohol travel tours does not include Hinagdanan Cave because it is a bit out-of-the-way but Julius’ group does so you may want to consider hiring him – Julius number 09173565898 or Paul’s number 09297623614.

Included in their countryside tour are the following Top Tourist Spots of Bohol:

  1. Picking you up in the airport/seaport of Tagbilaran.
  2. Sikatuna’s Blood Compact Site
  3. Baclayon Church
  4. Rioverde Tarsier Place
  5. Loboc River Cruise
  6. Loboc Zipline & Cable Car Center
  7. Prony the Giant Snake Complex
  8. Butterfly Conservation and  Garden Center
  9. Man-made Mahogany Forest in Bilar
  10. Chocolate Hills
  11. Hanging Bridges
  12. Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao Island
  13. Bringing you to your hotel.

Note:  Alona to Tagbilaran is about 21 kms, so when it’s time for you to leave, you have these options:

  1. Wait for the hourly minibus, be early at the waiting area on the main road so you won’t miss it.
  2. Ride a habal-habal motorcycle to Tagbilaran at P300/person.
  3. Hire a van for P500/van.

 

BOHOL PLACE TO STAY – Cheap Accommodation 

We stayed in Walk-Inn Haven Apartelle, it’s literally a few walks to the Alona White Sand beach strip, maybe 2 minutes tops. It’s a small inn with just 7 rooms. Our driver was the one who suggested that place, and we really like the place. It’s new, cheap, private and you can’t hear the blazing sound system of the beachfront restos despite its close proximity to the beach area.  It’s before Bohol Rock Hotel, nearer to the beachfront than Alona Kew Hotel. The downside to this apartelle is that they don’t have any restaurant, you have to go out if you feel hungry. But that’s okay since lots of restaurant, carenderias, diners, and mini-marts are close by. We paid P1,600 per room good for 3 persons/room, the usual rate for the room is P1,800 but we haggled it down. Highly recommended place for budget conscious like us!

Bohol’s Walk-inn Haven Apartelle is truly a haven for walk-in guests 🙂

The second floor of the apartelle is all ours at P1,600 per room

I had so much stories and pictures to share about our Bohol adventure. But I have to take time off now to mind my sunburnt skin. LOL

Note: Click here to go to all 5 posts of our Bohol trip 🙂

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Filed Under: BOHOL, TRAVELS DESTINATIONS Tagged With: blood compact site, bohol, bohol hotel, bohol tour, cebu to bohol, fastcraft, tarsiers

About Cille Anne

This blog is maintained, written and edited by she - who likes to travel a lot, more like wishes to travel a lot, doesn't want to miss a photo-op, loves the rain, certified chocoholic, coffee keeps her sane - it runs through her veins, she doesn't know how to swim, but wants to dive in Tubbataha all the same haha

~Come share with me, my travels, my stories, my life.

My name is Cille. AND THIS IS PENFIRES. :)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. fetus says

    April 13, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    i love my hometown. it’s where i unwind. as you’ve said, “life is unhurried and slower…”

    i don’t like alona, it’s infested with tourists plus the beach is limited. try next time dumaluan + bbc + bolod; the stretch of sand is endless, you couldn’t walk from end to end in a day. exag. hehehe.

    Reply
  2. penfires says

    April 13, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    hahah fetus you are so right about tourists infestation in alona! lol. another complaint we had was the presence of so many boats that there’s hardly any place to swim especially at dawn!

    will definitely try your other suggestions, what we saw in bohol is i think just the scratching the surface, hopefully the next time i’ll be there i get to paused and truly relax & unwind (it’s very different when you are on a mission of covering all the tourists spots that you can go to in a day lol)

    Reply
  3. fetus says

    April 13, 2011 at 10:22 pm

    hahaha… paita pod nang in a day. try at least 3 days! lol. 🙂 kung akoi pabut-on, ganahan ko mag spend og weeks at panglao. hehehe. panglao pa lang.

    Reply
  4. batanglaboy says

    April 28, 2011 at 7:58 am

    you have walk-in apartelle contact numbers? we’ll be in bohol next week. 🙂

    Reply
    • penfires says

      April 28, 2011 at 9:44 am

      hi batanglaboy wow mag bobohol kayo 🙂
      … err i don’t have the numbers right now pero i think kinuha nung kasama namin, will email you pag nakuha ko na.

      Reply
  5. dario paquit jr. says

    July 23, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    hey guys whats up! do you have a contact number of walk in appartel coz were planing to go in alona this coming august 23. so we need the numbers and book early! you know what i mean.thanks

    Reply
    • penfires says

      July 23, 2011 at 1:43 pm

      Hi dario!

      I’m really sorry I can’t help you with this. 2 weeks ago Tantan was back in Bohol and stayed again in walk-inn apartelle, unfortunately, when they were asked for contact numbers, the 2 attendants there did not provide one. They don’t have a landline and I think the attendants were not allowed to give out the owner’s cellphone no.. the best course for you guys will be (if you have already contacted a driver for your Bohol countryside tour that is if you are planning on one), to ask the driver to go to walk-inn and reserve the rooms for you.

      Reply
  6. Pappy says

    December 15, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    I love reading your blog. it helps me to plan my trip next month during sinulog !
    does the rate of p2500 include the entrance fee / luboc river lunch ?
    I have one quotation which is P 1785 per pax includes transportation, entrance fees, and lunch at Floating Restaurant. Do you think is reasonable ?

    Reply
    • penfires says

      December 15, 2011 at 7:17 pm

      Hi Pappy,

      Thanks for dropping by here and for the wonderful comment =)

      I just want to make sure that you know that Luboc river is in Bohol (not in Cebu), are you going there after the Sinulog Festival? Anyhow, to answer your question, No the P2,500 van tour does not include the lunch buffet and river cruise you have to pay an additional of P400 per person if you want to experience it. Can I ask what is included in the quotation of P1,785.00?

      Anyhow, for points of comparison, please see below computation if you will pay the entrances yourself and will just hire a van:

      **Say there are 4 of you in your group, this will be what you will pay if you prefer not to book a all-in Bohol Day Package Tour:

      1. Van P2,500 / 4 pax = P625 per pax
      2. Blood compact site = free
      3. Baclayon Church = free
      4. Zip Line Area = free (you pay for the rides separately)
      5. Butterfly Center = P50 per pax
      6. Prony place = P10 per pax
      7. Rioverde Tarsier Place = free
      8. Mahogany Man-Made Forest = free
      9. Chocolate Hills Overlooking = P50 per pax
      10. Hinagdanan Cave = P15
      11. Loboc River Lunch Buffet and Cruise – P400 per pax

      Total cost per head is only = P1,150 per pax.

      So it’s really up to you 🙂 You can do it by hiring a van only like with Paul’s group or signed up for the all in Bohol Day tour package.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply
  7. nullie says

    May 10, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    we have a page in Facebook… feel free to drop by.. and thank you for featuring.. our humble inn in your wonderful blog..=)

    http://www.facebook.com/WalkInnHaven?ref=tn_tnmn

    Reply
  8. batchi says

    June 5, 2012 at 8:00 am

    hi! i just want to know how much is the bohol daytour package? is it 2500? we’re going there on june 30, 2012. can you send me quotation.. we are 7 going there..thank you..

    Reply
    • penfires says

      June 5, 2012 at 9:04 am

      hi batchi! the last time we went there it was P2,500 for the countryside Bohol tour, I am not sure if they have increased their rates, best way is to call Paul in the number listed on the blog post. hope you’ll enjoy Bohol!

      Reply
  9. batchi says

    June 5, 2012 at 11:59 am

    hi penfires! do have another cp number of paul..he’s not answering our text messages..thanks

    Reply

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