BOHOL! My Dream Trip on a Budget (Part II)

Virgin Island, Bohol, Philippines

Yours truly,biyahera, together with travel buddies Lheila, Pyke and Squall had an uber time touring Bohol on our day trip (previous post),the second half of the trip--the island hopping part--however, seals the deal. While the road trip showed us the cultural and natural wonders of the island, we saw the other marvels of Bohol--its beaches, dolphins, and amazing marine wealth--during our island hopping, dolphin watching and snorkeling trip the following day. Bohol is truly one of the best places in the Philippines that boasts of beautiful white sand beaches. It also has a marine sanctuary that is a must-see to snorkeling or diving enthusiasts. Anyways, for our island hopping trip, our itinerary was: 1) dolphin-watching, 2) snorkeling at Balicasag Island, and finally, 3) Virgin Island. The duration of the tour: half-day.


The author, @Dumaluan Beach Resort




Dumaluan Beach Resort


"Our" bahay-kubo...

Our day started early. As per previous post, we spent the night at Dumaluan Beach Resort. The place was full-packed with picnickers but luckily, we were able to avail of one of the resort's tree houses for an uber cheap price of PHP 1,200. Dumaluan is, how should I call it..."pang-masa", which is just OK with me by the way.Nevertheless, the resort also has its classier sections that cater to tourists with discriminating tastes and, unlike us, are not on a tight budget hehe. Anyways, more than having a tolerably comfortable accommodation, what matters to me is that it has a nice shoreline and a beautiful beach. Solved na ako dun!

I texted the boat operator that would take us on island-hopping and settled with the PHP1,500 price for a half-day boat rental. Before 6AM, the boat arrived at the shores of Dumaluan Resort. Kudos for being on time! The tourists, on the other hand, were late. Blame it on the alcoholic drinks we had the night before hehe...Anyways, the boat operator was just fine with it and was very patient, but I want to iterate that it is very important to leave really early for dolphin watching since dolphins are only around early in the morning.


Island hopping time! :)





As we headed to the dolphin-watching location, there were over a dozen other boats that time each one containing a group of tourists. The water was so wave-y that our boat was rocking as if we were all in a see-saw. The ride is not for the fainthearted, but just OK for those who love adventure. As for us, we wouldn't be intimidated by the strong waves and miss the fun ahead of us.

Our first agenda was to watch dolphins and we were not disappointed! We saw several short-snouted spinner dolphins, which, according to our bangkero slash tour guide, are the common species in the wild. My only disappointment was that I didn't have a techie camera to capture the fast movements of the dolphins which were emerging in and out of the water with great speed.It was amazing to see the dolphins even from a short distance and our boat was filled with "oohhhs...", "galing!" and "ayun pa!" from me and my equally excited companions.


Dolphins delight! :)






When the sun was shining brightly already, we noticed that our dolphin-sighting was almost nil. It was time to proceed to Balicasag Island for snorkeling. Balicasag is a protected fish sanctuary, hence large boats are not allowed to go near because their anchors might damage the corals underneath. Instead, small row boats big enough to carry two to three persons came to fetch the tourists from their respective tour boats (fee is approx PHP200). The smaller row boat took us to the actual snorkeling site, but before that we were provided with life vests and snorkels which we rented for a minimal fee (approx P100, I think).

The view underneath the water was amazing!It would have been great to capture the view, but unfortunately, none of us had an underwater camera. Anyways, I think it is just imperative now to preserve and protect such wonderful natural wonder as Balicasag Island. For snorkeling aficionados, Balicasag is worth a visit; for those who are not a big fan, it is worth a try.



The tropa, just finished with their snorkeling

After Balicasag Island, we proceeded to our last stop--the Virgin Island. Virgin Island has a long sand bar, which is actually the centerpiece, so to speak, of the island. The sand is fine and white, the waters blue...a real beauty...Need I say more? :)


The Virgin Island: a Paradisaic Get-away


Vacaay Mode :)


Starfishes!



Virgin Island was a perfect vacation-ender, although any of the places we've been to in Bohol would be great as well. In fact, Bohol, as I've already stated several times, is one of the best places in the Philippines. Hopefully, I get the chance to come back some day to visit the other beautiful spots that could no longer be squeezed in in our two-day budget Bohol trip. This is it for now :) FIN.