One summer season, my closest girl friends and I decided to visit and discover the beauty of Bohol province. Planning for this trip, we decided to book a vehicle service that will cater to us during our whole stay in the province. Since we stayed there for only a few days, we really planned to maximize our time for us to be able to visit most of the popular tourist spots in Panglao-Bohol.
Immediately upon arrival, our service vehicle fetched us and passed by our accommodation in Hotel Renate for a quick check-in and bag drop. Afterwards, we went on our way to our first stop, the Hinagdanan Cave in Dauis, Bohol. This is a popular limestone cave with a clear lagoon inside where you can take a swim. We didn't really plan to take a swim and we just wanted to check out the place. Honestly, we found it a bit hard to breathe well inside the cave so I suggest that those who are a bit claustrophobic should rethink about going down inside the cave.
Our second stop is the famous Bohol Bee Farm also located in Dauis, Bohol. This place is a must visit in the province. We decided to have our late lunch there with a beautiful ocean view. Their restaurant offers different dishes made from organic and homegrown ingredients. The Bohol Bee Farm is also famous for their homemade ice cream. Aside from their original location in Dauis, they also have a restaurant branch along Alona beach in Panglao. Making it easier for tourists to try their popular variety of ice cream flavors.
Beautiful sea view
Complimentary bread
Our plan is to just visit two tourist spots on our first day so we headed back to our hotel to settle our things and rest for bit. Hotel Renate offers simple but really nice accommodation even if it's not located beachfront. The Alona beach is not that far from this place and is considered walkable. Come dinner time, we decided to take a walk towards the Alona beach. Dinner turned out to be a pasta and girls wine night at Alona Vida Resort. The beach is so lively at night with lots of resorts and restaurants along the side of the shore. We really enjoyed our wine night getting updates about each other's lives and adulting topics such our life and financial goals.
Our second day is our Bohol countryside tour. We started our day early, stopping by McDonald's for breakfast then head our way to the famous chocolate hills. As it turns out, the location of these other famous tourist spots in Bohol is quite far from Panglao island so it really is advisable for tourists to book their own service vehicles or avail of offered local tours. It was a dream of mine to see the famous chocolate hills in person. There's a view deck at the top where you can see the 360 degree view of the chocolate hills. The climb was tiring but worth it.
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We also visited the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. It's a surprise for me on how really small and cute the tarsiers are. Take note though that they are very sensitive to noise so you need to be quiet as you roam around the area. Our next stop was the man made forest in Bilar. It's quite refreshing in the area because of the tall trees. But since this is along a passable road, you need to be careful and stay alert of passing vehicles as you take your pictures.
Afterwards, we had a buffet lunch at the Loboc river cruise. You really shouldn't miss this experience! Though the food variety they offered is not considered extraordinary, the unforgettable thing about this is the experience itself of having your lunch along the Loboc river with great local singing performers in the background. The Loboc river is really beautiful and I'm amazed of how clean the water is. We really enjoyed this lunch slash activity.
We also visited the famous Baclayon Church. It is one of the oldest Catholic stone churches in Bohol and a witness of the growth of Christianity in our country. Some parts of the church was restored due to the damaged it incurred during the 7.2 earthquake last 2013.
Our 3rd day is our dedicated beach and chill day. A tipid travel tip that I can share with you is to avail a buffet lunch with day tour access package at South Palms Beach Resort instead of staying overnight. The beach front in this side of the island is much more beautiful in my opinion. Their buffet lunch offering was really good and we had a nice chill day and swim time in the beach. The beaches of Bohol are so beautiful and also comparable to the beach and waters of the Boracay island.
For our last dinner in Bohol, we endured the long line to be able to dine in this famous restaurant named The Mist. It is a uniquely designed restaurant giving you that dining experience in a tree house or kind of jungle vibes. The prices are a bit on the expensive side but it's a worth it for me.
my beautiful friends
If you're also fond of traveling locally and discovering the beautiful places within the Philippines, you shouldn't miss out visiting the province of Bohol. It's a truly beautiful province with nice and friendly locals. As a local tourist, even if I find the prices in Bohol more expensive as compared to other local travel destinations I've been to, the experience we had was so much fun and unforgettable. So on your next travel, please do consider visiting this province.
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