Posts tagged Outdoors

Boracay – Fun Land Activities

By on January 2, 2012
This entry is filed under beaches, Boracay, heights, tip, travel and tagged , , , .

Traveling to Boracay? Here are some activities which you can add on top of the beautiful beach experience.

 

ATV(All Terrain Vehicle)

If you do not want to get wet and still want to have fun, there are also activities you can do in Boracay. There is the ATV ride. You can rent the vehicle for 1 hour at 3500-4000 pesos. There will be a guide that can take you  sight seeing around the island of Boracay using the ATV. The beach is not the only int

Blue Waters of Boracay, Philippines at dusk.

Image via Wikipedia

eresting part of the island. Within the island, there are other sights to see and the guides will take you to see those sights.

 

Wall Climbing at D’Mall

Believe it or not, Boracay has a small wall climbing facility at D’Mall. It is very hard to miss as it is located along the pathway of D’mall and is an open space wall climbing facility. The price is not too expensive. The last time we went there, the price is just 50 pesos per climb and there are three levels you can try to climb from beginner to expert.

 

Massage, sunbathing, strolling

Along the coast of Boracay, you can find massage shops that offers from hand and foot massages to full body massages with price ranging from 350-500 pesos. The shops are open space but you will be protected from prying eyes by curtains that surround the bed where you will lie down should you opt to have a full body massage. If you prefer to, you can even have a massage along the shore.

Sunbathing is another activity you might want to do along the shores of Boracay. A lot of foreigners enjoy getting a natural tan under the sun while sunbathing along the shores of Boracay. And Hey, it’s free…

Strolling is also a good way to pass your time when in Boracay as there are plenty of things to see there. From small shops that sell souvenirs, to massage shops and restaurants, to Tattoo parlors that offers Henna Tattoo, the non permanent tattoo. A sight to behold along the shores of Boracay are the sand castles that are built along the pathway of Boracay that can be found on Station 1 and 2. The sandcastles are really beautiful and has an amazing intricate design. You can take pictures beside or inside the sandcastles as long as you are careful, for a small fee or donation.

 

Nightlife in Boracay

Nighttime is never boring in Boracay. Even during the evenings until late in the  night, The shores of Boracay is alive and teeming with life, with colorful lights decorating the establishments lining the coast of Boracay. Restaurants turn into Bars that offers a variety of cocktails and drinks and good music. During weekends, Fire Dances and Live band performances are held in Station 1 and 2.

Surely, from morning till night, there is a lot of things you can do in Boracay.


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Boracay Activities – Island Hopping, Snorkeling, Parasailing and More

By on October 18, 2011
This entry is filed under beaches, Boracay, tip, travel and tagged , , , , , , , , . | 2 Comments

Photo by Masato Ikeda.

Image via Wikipedia

Boracay, being a top tourist spot in the Philippines, is filled with fun activities that would ensure tourists won’t get bored. They have plenty of  both water and land sports and activities you can do. Here are some of them listed in no particular order.

 

Island Hopping, Snorkeling and Helmet Diving

Island hopping in Boracay is a lot of fun. Small boats that can seat 5 to 10 people can be rented at around 4000 to 5000 pesos.  You just have to ask around the area or the receptionist of the hotel or resort you are staying at.

 

There are plenty of  islands you can visit around Boracay. If you are early enough and the weather is good, you can even go dolphin and/or whale watching. While island hopping, you can ask the boater to stop at some designated areas where you can go snorkeling. Snorkeling is really fun around the island of Boracay as the area is teeming with marine life that is very colorful and enticing. You can bring some bread with you while you are snorkeling so the fishes would come near you. Snorkeling equipment such as the goggles and the snorkel usually go with the boat rental (you should bargain with the boater for them) 0r if not, they can usually be rented at 100 Pesos. Also, while island hopping you can ask your boater to bring you to the boats that offers Helmet Diving. Helmet Diving is an activity where you can walk on the sand under the sea while wearing a helmet so you can breath for around 30 minutes. The helmet is quite heavy but since you are in the water, it wouldn’t matter much. Under the water, the guides would give you pieces of bread so that you could attract the fishes and they would come close to you and you can feed them. During those times, the guide would take pictures of you feeding the fishes and might sometimes ask you to pose for the camera. Helmet diving costs around 500 to 1000 pesos depending on the number of persons that are going to helmet dive and the package usually includes the pictures under the water in soft copy.

 

Parasailing, Speed Boat, Jet Ski, and Banana Boat

Another activity that is done within the vicinity of the coastlines of Boracay is parasailing. It is an activity where you and a friend can go airborne while sitting on a seat that is attached to a parachute and is dragged by a speed boat to make the chute fly or float. This activity costs around 1500 to 2000 pesos per person.

 

Jet skis can also be rented at around 3000-3500 pesos for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

 

Banana boat is a banana shaped floater that can seat from 8-12 people and is being dragged by a jet ski. The riders are all wearing life vests so the ride is safe and if the riders are adventurous enough, they can ask the driver to flip them over and make them fall in the water. It is more exciting that way. :) The ride costs around 2000 pesos for the whole banana boat and lasts about 15-30 minutes.

 

These are the activities you can do on the waters of Boracay. But aside from water sports, there are other activities you can do that does not require getting wet. On my next post, I will tell you some of them.

 

Disclaimer: Prices are all approximates based on my last visit to Boracay, it may be lower or higher than what I indicated. 


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One of the best beaches I’ve ever been to is the one in Camotes Island specifically the white sand beach in the town of Santiago. The beach is long and the sand is superfine.

 

This week’s featured photo is a shot of the morning view of the Santiago white sand beach line.

Santiago White Beach in Camotes Island

Santiago White Beach in Camotes Island

Day Tour Bohol Part 3: Loboc Floating Restaurant, Baclayon Church, Blood Compact Site

By on August 26, 2011
This entry is filed under Bohol, Food, inside stories, Island, Nature, river and tagged , , , , , , , , . | 3 Comments

After the buying souvenir items from the Sevilla Souvenir Shop at the Hanging Bridge, we proceeded to the Loboc River Floating Restaurants.

 

Loboc River Floating Restaurants

There are four restaurants to choose from, each of them has something different to offer. In our case, we chose the first one, the Riverwatch Floating Restaurant. Apart from the fact we thought the menu suits our taste, we also managed to get a substantial discount from them. The typical price of the buffet is 300 pesos and there’s an entrance fee of 100 pesos. All in all, without any discount of whatsoever, you will spend 400 pesos for the cruising buffet meal.

 

As expected, the buffet meal was delicious. There’s also a live music performance while you are eating and occasionally, the boat will stop at stations where there’s a floating stage at the shore where there are people performing either a native dance and/or a song.

Loboc River Floating Restaurants

Loboc River Floating Restaurants in Bohol

The Riverwatch Floating Resto has plenty of food selections. During our stay they prepared grilled fish (Tuna), Pancit, Chopsuey (mixed vegetables), squid, fried chicken and many other typical Filipino dishes. They also have sliced fruits such as pineapple and and watermelon.

River Watch Floating Restaurant Loboc

River Watch Floating Restaurant in Loboc River, Bohol

 

Python,Ostrich, Flying Lemur in the Mini-zoo

 

Our next stop after the lunch in Loboc River Floating Resto was the mini-zoo (We skipped the zip-line portion since none of us wants to try it).

 

The mini-zoo features a huge python, Iguana (chameleon), Ostrich, Flying Lemur and many others. We didn’t stay long in the zoo and we left immediately after we took several pictures.

Ostrich in Bohol Mini-Zoo

Ostrich in Bohol Mini-Zoo

 

Baclayon Church and the Blood Compact Statue

 

Our next stop is the old church in the town of Baclayon. Again, we didn’t stay there for long mostly due to the hot sunny after-lunch weather. It seems that most of us wants to sleep inside our rented van. So after a few shots of the place, we left for our next stop, the Blood Compact Statue in Tagbilaran City.

Baclayon Church in Bohol

Baclayon Church in Bohol

The Blood Compact Statue commemorates the treaty by blood (Sandugo) between the spanish conqueror Miguel López de Legazpi and Bohol Chieftain Datu Sikatuna in the year 1565. The sculpture was made by a Bohol native National Artist, Napoleon Abueva.

Blood Compact Site (Sandugo) in Bohol

Blood Compact Site (Sandugo) in Bohol

We took several pictures of the statue and as expected, we took our favorite shot – a jump-shot. :-)

 

Going Back to Tubigon, then to Cebu

 

After the Blood Compact Site, we traveled back to Tubigon Port to catch the 4PM MV Starcraft ride.

 

Before stepping into the fast-craft, I look back at Bohol for the last time and a curious idea comes to my mind – I’m gonna come back again to this place!

Links:

Day Tour Bohol Part 2: Ship House, Man-made Forest and Hanging Bridge

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This week’s featured photo is a city lights view of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-lapu. This photo was taken from the elevated garden of Tops. For more information about TOPS, see this article: Overlooking Views of Cebu City

Tops Cebu

view from TOPS at night

 

Day Tour Bohol Part 1: Tubigon Port, Sagbayan Peak and Chocolate Hills

By on August 16, 2011
This entry is filed under admin, Bohol, heights, Mountain, Nature and tagged , , , , , . | 3 Comments

It’s been my second time going to Bohol, but I still find it surprisingly exciting. Here’s the first part of the story:

 

From Cebu to Tubigon Port

My friends from Manila visited in Cebu and after a couple of days touring in the city, we decided to go to Bohol before they go back home. We decided to have a one-day tour, renting a tourist van to accommodate the five of us. The price of the van is 3500 pesos for a day tour from 7AM to 5PM.

We left Cebu very early in the morning to be able to catch the first trip to Tubigon port riding a MV Star Crafts vessel. MV Star Crafts is a shipping line company catering the Cebu to Tubigon route. The first trip of Star Crafts is 5:45 AM. Before that time, you should have already purchased a ticket from their ticketing office just outside the gate of Cebu Pier 1 or else you will have to wait for the next trip which is at 7AM. If you will have a day tour, you should go for a 5:45 AM trip or else the time won’t be enough to finish all the destinations.

MV Star Craft Vessel

MV Star Crafts Vessel catering Cebu -Tubigon route

Continue reading Day Tour Bohol Part 1: Tubigon Port, Sagbayan Peak and Chocolate Hills

First Trip To Iloilo – Boracay, Butterscotch, Biscocho

By on August 5, 2011
This entry is filed under Food, Iloilo, inside stories and tagged , , , , , , . | 1 Comment

Robinsons Place Iloilo entrance

Image via Wikipedia

I have been to Iloilo twice already, well,  three times if you count the first time I went to Boracay. But during that time we did not go to Iloilo proper so I’m not going to count that as a full-pledged visit :-)

Pasalubong (Butterscotch, Biscocho and Piyaya)

Anyway, the first time I went to IloIlo, I took the plane and I only stayed there for a couple of days. Not very exciting so not much to tell except that during that time, we went to Robinsons where a Pasalubong Center is located and bought lots of pasalubong (presents) there. We bought Biscocho, Butterscotch and Piyaya all branded Bong Bong’s and lots of other candies and pastilles that can be found there. Actually, as far as pasalubong is concerned, the first three food I have mentioned is native to Iloilo. Iloilo is famous for butterscoth the most. Whenever I think of Iloilo, my mouth starts to water for their butterscotch. Yes, that is how much I like butterscotch.

La Paz Batchoy

After buying pasalubong, we went to the original La Paz Batchoy restaurant. La Paz Batchoy is one of the foods which Ilo Ilo is famous for. La Paz Batchoy is a noodle soup that has chicharon and egg as toppings. You should try it when you go to Iloilo.

After shopping for  pasalubong and eating La Paz Batchoy, our group went to look for a Karaoke Bar. Sad to say, we walked a long distance and yet we did not find any Karaoke Bar with a private singing room. I do not think, Karaoke bars are common in IloIlo. However, we found a Karaoke bar where, if you would sing a song in the Karaoke, all customers will get to hear you sing. And sing we did.

We finished  at the Karaoke bar a little bit late and then went back to our accommodation because the next day was our flight back to Cebu.

Next time, I will talk about my second trip to IloIlo. It is a more exciting experience!

Location (powered by Google Maps)

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Hiking at Kawasan Falls in Cebu

By on July 22, 2011
This entry is filed under Cebu, Hiking, Mountain, Nature and tagged , , , , , , , . | 1 Comment

Kawasan Falls, Badian, Cebu

Image by Tim Albano via Flickr

I told you a couple of posts back that I would talk about places you might want to visit if you are a nature lover. Most nature lovers likes looking at animals or nice views, taking hikes and go swimming on natural springs.

Well if you are a nature lover, Cebu  also has a lot to offer for you. Cebu has some hiking trails that are easy enough for beginners and some that are not so easy.

One such hiking trail is that which could be found in Busay, Mt. Manunggal. The trail is easy enough for first time mountain hikers and the view is nice from the top and the temperature is very cold, specially at night.

Another trail that i have heard about is Osmena Peak. This mountain trail, I believe, is in Badian, Cebu. This trail is a bit more difficult but also more rewarding if you get your directions right. Why? Because this mountain trail will lead you to the most beautiful waterfalls here in Cebu, The Kawasan Falls. I’ve been there a few times already and I could say, the place is really beautiful.  This place has a series of waterfalls, maybe around five or six coming from high up the mountain going down to the lowest yet tallest one.

As a good news for those who does not like hiking that much but likes cool cascading waters, hiking through Osmena Peak is not the only way to get to Kawasan Falls. You can take the bus or hire a van that would take you to Kawasan Falls in Badian. However, in order to reach the falls, you need to hike a little, maybe 15 to 30 minutes hike depending on how fast you walk. There is also the matter of the 10 pesos entrance fee. Cheap, right? But I assure you, the scene is really breathtaking and waters really enticing.

Kawasan has three main falls that you can go to if you are strong enough and patient enough to go up to the source. The source is really beautiful and the water is really clear. However, to get to the source you need to climb up the mountain trails following the trail of the falls. It’s maybe around 30  to 45 minutes up hill hike. You need to be careful when going up or going back down because some paths are slippery.

On the first and second bigger falls (if you are coming from the easy way) there are picnic tables, life vests, life savers, and rafts that you can rent. You can also have them cook you a native chicken soup for around 250  to 300 pesos. The tables cost around 150-300 pesos depending on how big your table preference is. The life savers and the life vest rental cost around 50 to 100 pesos. The raft will take you under the falls and let you enjoy the feeling of cascading waters falling on you without the fear of getting drowned and can be rented at 300 pesos for 30 minutes. The main source of the falls which is at the topmost part has some picnic tables that also can be rented at the same price as those of the first two falls.

As I have said earlier, you could ask the stores around the area to cook you native chicken soup for a fee. You cold also bring your own food and just rent the tables. Grills are also available for those who want to bring their own meat to be grilled. Drinks can be brought at the stores but you can bring your own to if you want. If you are worrying about having to walk a few minutes while carrying heavy loads, there are porters waiting at the entrance to help you carry your things for a fee.

Kawasan Falls is great place to enjoy for the whole family and for friends.

Location


View Badian in a larger map