Sorsogon City : My Little Secret Caught on Camera

To see Mayon Volcano uplcose was the only goal I had in mind when I finally purchased my plane tickets to Legaspi. But I wanted to also explore the nearby Sorsogon to visit Subic Beach in Matnog and try surfing in Gubat.

Places to visit in Bantayan Island, Cebu

During our island tour, we were able to go around the island the whole day. Click here to check Part 1 of this post.

 
Sugar Beach
 
It was said to have the finest sand quality in the whole island. Its sprawling coastline is dotted with palm trees to provide shade for those who wish to sit by the beach.

Santa Fe Beach Club

Considered as one of the posh accommodations in Bantayan,Santa Fe Beach Club also houses the Ogtong Cave.They had built concrete steps to make it easier for those who wanted to take a dip.

OMAGIECA

It was built by the concerned citizens of Bantayan to help protect the mangrove forests. During the tour, our guide even gave a short lecture on how important mangroves are and even demonstrated how tedious it is to plant a mangrove seed.(Okay,so was that a seed or something else?Char! )

Walkway

Bontay Baywalk 

At the other end of the island is where one can go to wait for the golden hour. They said it was the best spot for sunset watching.

Kota Park

This was our second to the last stop. The ruins from the old garrison place was a little eerie and rustic at the same time.

St.Peter and Paul Cathedral

The cathedral was said to be the first and the oldest cathedral in Cebu.

Blue hour

Virgin Island

Just a few minutes from mainland Bantayan,Virgin Island is a known spot perfect for snorkeling and fish feeding. They said that a resort would soon be established here.We didn't get to visit Virgin Island because of time constraints but it gave us a good reason to come back.


Tristan's Place

I was surprised by the number of foreigners retiring in Bantayan. They were everywhere. And I couldn't blame them considering how charming and laid back the atmosphere in Bantayan is. This little pizza place by the sea was a popular place among locals and tourists alike.Their thin crust pizza topped with gooey cheese was a good afternoon snack made even more relaxing with the azure waters viewed from the dining deck.

Kota Beach

This is where the shifting sandbar appears.The waters here is shallow, perfect for swimming.

How to reach Bantayan Island 

From Mactan International Airport,take a cab to North Terminal.Ceres Bus Lines has the most number of trips to Hagnaya Port.Travel time is around 3-4hours.Alternatively,some taxi drivers would agree to take you to Hagnaya at around 2-3k depending on your haggling skills.

From Hagnaya Port,one can ride the RORO to Bantayan Island.
Motorcycles can be rented (half day or whole day) as well.It's easy touring around the island.


Where we stayed :

Because of the influx of tourists in Bantayan,it has a wide array of choices when it comes to accommodation.We stayed at this newly built inn owned by an engineer (their house is actually on the same compound) that has really nice view of the beach.Otherwise, you can visit www.wowbantayan.com for the other recommended hotels,inns and home stay facilities.

A First Glimpse of Bantayan Island

Upon arrival at the Mactan Airport at around 4pm in the afternoon,our priority was to find a cheap room to spend the night. 

Why, hello there!

Downtown Cebu City was very much similar to the streets of Manila. The hustling of pedicabs,tricycles,jeepneys and buses seem to last forever. Just as I thought.It wouldn't be tagged as the Queen City of the south for nothing,right? Don't get me wrong though.Going into the "city vibe" was not part of my itinerary and good thing we always have plan B whenever we travel.

After feasting on the delicious pork barbeque,sweet longganisa, barbeque and servings of "puso" (steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves)in the ever famous Larsian (drools) , we were finally able to find a room in one of the hotels downtown.
 

I crave.

Larsian dinner in Cebu

I was exhausted but instead,like a happy and excited little kid,my thoughts wandered on the adventure we were about to experience the next day.(Photo taken earlier that day enroute Cebu)

The bus terminal to Bantayan was only a few minutes away from our hotel,and at the crack of dawn,we found ourselves cruising through lush green vegetation and amazing views of the ocean. 

I just love everything about long early morning bus rides.

Upon arriving at Hagnaya port,we were famished. I have read somewhere that this one little barbeque stand in Hagnaya Port shouldn't be missed when visiting Bantayan. Oh boy it did not disappoint! We even bought more as our packed lunch for the island tour.No pictures for this though. We were starving so, you know what I mean. ;)

The good thing about Bantayan Island is that the electricity runs 24/7. This was different from my experience in Palaui Island, Cagayan Valley and in El Nido, Palawan . Though electricity was not turned on the whole day, the surroundings actually made up with what was lacking.

We were eyeing for the cheapest accommodation in the island (based on the research that I did, was around Php500 a night for 2 persons) but the view on this one was just too pretty that we just had to give in.

The best way to tour around the island is through the "habal-habal" or motorcycle. We wanted to be more comfortable so we opted to rent another motorcycle.

Bantayan has this certain laid back atmosphere and we were curious of what the island has to offer. In a blink of an eye, we were off to our island tour. 




SOON : Places to Visit in Bantayan Island

Lingayen is All About Letting Go of What Lies Ahead :)

For almost two months, I had to be on a travel hiatus.There was this test that I had to take and it required me to be under a tedious review routine. The mortality rate was high and failure was not part of the picture. I had to battle between post stress travel syndrome and achieving above average scores in my review. Plus the fact that it was summer and all the social networking sites were flooded with photos taken either on the beach,on a mountain peak etc and status updates were about how good their vacation was. All these made me dead envious.I felt like a kid,having to do chores while watching other kids play.

Dagupan Village Hotel

Sweet Escape to Cagbalete Island

Quezon province had been known to have secret white beaches and hidden coves though many of which are still waiting to be discovered. One of Quezon's pride is the charming Cagbalete Island off the coast of Mauban.

Lovely.