Bantayan Island Trip (June 17-18, 2012)
I and a couple of my friends decided to do a two-day trip to the Island of Bantayan on the North shores of Cebu. We decided to choose Bantayan because for one, we haven’t been to the place and secondly, a lot of people, local or foreign, had been talking about the place so we thought why not right?
Traveling to Bantayan Island
Honestly, none of us know how to go there so I basically did a research beforehand so that we won’t get lost. Luckily there were a lot of articles and resources that I found online and it really did help. (Thanks Google!)
It would be best to meet with your friends at North Bus Terminal because that is where you can find the buses going to Hagnaya Port.
Hagnaya Port is in San Remegio. If you are going to ride the Air Con Bus, that would be the last stop. You would have to look at the sign board in front of the bus so you would know where the bus is heading. Besides the comfortable Air Con Bus (I say comfortable because it is going to be a very long ride), there is the non-aircon and the Van which travels occasionally with the same route. Land trip will take about around 3 hours and a half.
It cost us 150 pesos (approximately 3 US dollars) for the fare ride in an aircon bus going to Hagnaya port. During our trip to Haganaya, they did not turn on the tv (yes there is a tv!) so we only got music playing on the bus.
After a few hours of travelling we made a quick stop at Tabuelan for those who wants to go to the toilet or get something to eat. Plaese prepare coins if you want to use teh toilet. BTW, it is clean ^_^. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the bus will leave the place and now goes straight to Hagnaya Port.
Since we took an early trip, I slept for the whole duration of the trip (lol. It was a comfortable bus. I think I just said it twice already). We arrive at the Hagnaya Port at around 11:45 AM. Since we did not know where to go, we just followed the crowd and found the ticketing booth going to Bantayan Island.
There are two shipping lines going to and from the island, we have the Island Shipping Line and the Cebu Ferries. We took the Cebu Ferries as they would be leaving at 12:30 PM. Since we have enough time, we decided to have lunch first. Lunch cost us around 60 pesos each, it was quite a saving.
The fare for the boat ride was at 170 pesos and the travel time is around 1 hour and 30 minutes. You might wonder why because what they place on the travel time is just an hour. Yes, you will arrive in an hour, more or less, but the boat had to dock properly which would take a few more minutes.
The 170 base fare (approximately 4 US Dollars) was for the non-aircon. It was just a short trip so we decided not to take the tourist.
Arriving at the Island
The Sta. Fe Port is where you will dock. This is where all the resorts are and this is where the white sands are found. Note that Bantayan Island is not just about the white sands but it is so much more. It is just that it is famous for the white sands that they have. So it would mean that Sta Fe (where the white sands are) is just a part of Bantayan. One of their municipalities.
As you reach the port area, you would have to walk a long covered path going to the gates of the port where you will see, tricycle, pedicabs and motorcycles waiting to take you where your heading.
It would be best if you can have your chosen resort meet you at the port so that you can just tell the driver, who’s meddling you to take their ride, that somebody is picking you up so that they won’t bother you anymore.
Me and my friends stayed at Sugar Beach. Kuya Manix picked us up at the port and we rode the pedicab going to the beach which cost us 20 pesos each (approximately 0.50 US dollar). I’ll just give the contact numbers of Kuya Manix and also Dindo form the Sugar Beach below.
I like the Sugar Beach. Dindo and Kuya Manix are very accommodating. They are the caretaker of the Resort. We reserved for a non-aircon room good for 4 persons worth 1000 pesos (around 22 US dollars) but when we look at the room, we did not think that it was comfortable enough. Luckily, since it was not a peak season, they offered us the aircon room which was good for 4 at a discounted price. From 2500 pesos (56 US dollars) they gave it to us at 2000 pesos (45 US dollars)! Good deal.
We also ask Kuya Manix if they can arrange a motorcycle for us to rent for 24 hours so that we can travel the island and they gave us one which was worth 350 pesos (around 8 US dollars) for 24 hours. We also got a great discount for this one which I will tell you guys later.
We rested for a while and when we woke up, the motorcycle was already at our door step. The room that we took was just near the shore lines and it was a beautiful site. But we did not get to swim the beach there because the waves were very big. It was due to the fact that there was a typhoon the day before and I think that the strong winds were the aftermath of the typhoon.
Checking the Batayan Down Town
We did not know at first what to expect going to down town Bantayan. We were asking where we can find an ATM machine and they said that Sta Fe does not have one and we have to go to down town. How come? It would have been nice if they had one at Sta Fe knowing that there are a lot of visitors and foreigners docking at their port to go for a vacation. But anyway, we took a motor ride going there and saw old architectural infrastructure still standing in town.
We only found one ATM machine though and good thing there were no long lines on it. The down side in going down town is that you won’t find many good places to eat at. We ask around and they can only give us Abuhan as the best restaurant there. I was just confused as to why they called it Abuhan but they don’t have grilled dishes served.
After a trip to town, we went back to Sugar Beach and decided to sing the nigh out. We started at around 8 in the evening and ended around 10. Dindo, kuya Manix were really nice. They waited until we stopped singing before they rested. I think we were the only people at the resort.
Day 2: Virgin Island
I felt like day two was the longest day for an entire vacation. We started the day going round Sta. Fe municipality in our rented bike and buying food for our trip to the Virgin Island. We had breakfast back at Sugar beach where they can cook food for you for 40 pesos per dish.
We were lucky (again) to have gotten a rented boat for 1000 pesos (around 23 US dollars) all in one. Kuya was able to bring us to the island in 45 minutes.
Virgin Island really speaks for itself. The pristine whites sand was visible even from afar but not only that, when you look closely, you will see tinges of pink coming from the corals or maybe shells that may have been washed ashore and crushed through time.
The place was not commercialized (yet). But I heard among the locals that half of the island was sold already so that a resort would be built later, they were just not sure as to when. It kind of reminded me of Sumilon though. I just hope that the changes would not affect much of the beauty of the small island. It is beautiful already without much of the big infrastructure.
There is a fee that you need to pay when you are at the island. The caretaker charged us 500 pesos (roughly 11 US dollars) so that we can use the cottage and the cooking area. Good thing we came there during low season as there were only a couple of boats around. According to kuya boater (I forgot his name) there would be around 27 boats parked during peak season! That would be chaotic! You won’t know where to swim by then.
Kuya boater cooked the food for us which was heavenly. It was fun knowing that they got your back when you’re hungry ^_^. Right after taking a dip in the clear waters, Kuya brought us somewhere to fish. My friends were able to catch small fishes but I guess the fish does not like me L. I wasn’t able to catch any, not even one tiny thing. Well, fishes are friends. No need to catch them.
We also get to climb off the boat and watch the corals right below with the fishy swimming below you. It was really clean and clear.
Right after that, we went back to our place at around 3 pm to change clothes. We decided to go to the Ogtong Cave. We heard form a few people that this is one of the places that tourist go to when they are in Bantayan. We took a ride going to the Ogtong Resort where the cave is located. But before we were able to go to the cave, the owner of the motorcycle was already waiting for us to take the bike. We asked if we can extend the time a little further because we were not able to use it for the day because we went to Virgin Island and he was nice enough to make us add only 50 pesos and use it for the rest of the evening.
We paid 100 pesos for the cave and also the use of their pool. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting something like the one in Camotes Island where you get to go down a flight of steps and see a small basin of water and walk inside so that you could see the water source or something but when we get there, we took like ten steps and was told that, that was it already. Like, is this it?
When you are at the mouth of the cave, you can literally see the tip of it. I guess I should not have raise my expectation so high. But anyway, we get to swim in their pool which was, by the way, 9 feet deep. I asked the life guard how come the bottom part of the pool was not proportion and he said that it used to be a part of the cave. Oh, OK. It made me think for a while.
The resort itself was very nice. It was well landscaped and there were bird in cages and sheep too! Note that they open at 8 AM and closes at 6 PM so if you want to enjoy the place and the pool you should come early.
Right after that we went back to freshen up and go to town for dinner.
There were a lot of diner to choose from but we found this very cool restaurant called Le Petit. They serve a variety of food preferences categorized according to meat.
I found the place very affordable and the ambiance of the restaurant was solemn and calm. I loved the white drapes made on each table location placed like tents and there was also one table where you get to seat on the floor. It was fantastic. The food cost us 250 pesos each. That includes the ladies drink and soup too!
After that we decided to take pictures around town and stop at the Cou-Cou Bar. It is a wine bar which serves a collection of drinks ranging from cola, beers, wines and rum. But out of all the alcoholic drinks they offer, we decided to drink mango shake and halo-halo (lol)! You should try their halo. I think it was just 85 pesos and it was really enormous!
We also get to play billiards which was 50 pesos per hour. But the most interesting thing that happened was that my friend accidentally hit the tall table which made one of the shake glasses fell down and broke into pieces. What caught our attention was that they did not charge us for that. We only paid for the services and the drinks but never for the broken glass.
I really am not sure why but it really made us wonder. That incident made us decide to end the day. We had to travel early back to the city the day after.
CONCLUSION:
Likes:
The beaches, of course. It is clean and was not that congested during my stay. But according to kuya Manix, holy week is the time where a lot of people travel there.
The food. It is cheap and affordable.
The people. They are very accommodating.
The place. It is full of history and you can just around town taking pictures.
Dislike:
The coffee vendo machine at the Sta. Fe Port (ha! Had to include this for my friend.) For me it was great coffee machine. Hey, where can you get a coffee for 5 pesos only. But unfortunately for my friend, her two five peso coins got stuck up on the machine and her coffee was not processed. Ha!
Ogtong Cave. I don’t know, I was just rooting for it to be something spectacular.
No ATM machines in Sta Fe.
CONTACT NUMBERS:
Dindo of Sugar Beach: 09217755058 (It would be best that you call rather than text)
Kuya Manix of Sugar Beach: 09183710627 (He was the one who picked us up and got us a motorcycle to rent)
Kuya Boater: 09993679952 (He was our boatman going to Virgin Island)
PRICES:
Air-Con Bus to and from CEBU and HAGNAYA Port: 150 pesos
RO-RO Boat to and from HAGNAYA PORT and STA FE Port: 170 pesos
Pedicab form Sta Fe Port to Sugar Beach: 20 pesos
Sugar Beach Air-Con Room good for 4: 2000 pesos per night
Boat Rental to and from Sugar Beach and Virgin Island: 1000 pesos
Motorcycle Rental for 24 hours: 350 pesos (plus 50 pesos extra)
Port Terminal Fee (Both HAGNAYA and Sta. Fe): 10 pesos
Virgin Island Entrance and Cottage Fee: 500 pesos
Ogtong Cave Entrance fee and pool use: 100 pesos
