October 27, 2017

Bohol Island, The Philippines

After our time in Cebu, we decided to head to Bohol island where we would stay for one night with my brother before leaving him to enjoy the rest of his trip. We took a two hour boat from a nearby port to reach the island, and were dropped at a port close to Alona Beach – a short tricycle ride to our hotel.

Staying there

We stayed in the Henann Hotel, Alona Beach, and oh my god it was out of this world. We hadn’t stayed in such a nice resort since Thailand and it came at the perfect time! There are plenty of options along Alona Beach, which is the most built up area.

things to do

As we only had one day to enjoy Bohol, we decided that it made sense to hire a driver for the day who took us around to as many sites as we could fit in. It cost just 2,000 pesos for the car and was definitely worth the additional cost to have the freedom to go where we wanted.

If you are visiting Bohol, I suggest you book with Gerry. He is so knowledgable about the island, and passionate about his country. His English is perfect and we really enjoyed our day with him. You can contact him at the following email and phone number:

Phone: 09178903162
Email: gerrybirad@yahoo.com.

hanging bridge

First up on our trip was the twin hanging bridges. To be honest I was really nervy walking across them, but it was completely safe!

bohol

Chocolate Hills

We then head to the Chocolate Hills. They are so called because in the summer time they are so dry that the colour of the soil is a rich brown colour, and almost look like Hershey’s Kisses. As we visited the Philippines during the rainy season they were instead a lovely shade of green – and so the locals referred to them as peppermint hills!

chocolate hills

Tarsier Sanctuary

Tarsiers are tiny primates that are classified as ‘near threatened’ in the Philippines. They are such interesting creatures as they have many characteristics of different animals. Although they cant move their eyes, they can rotate their head 180 degrees each way, and can even jump backwards. They are nocturnal just like bats so most of the time can be seen just sleeping – just look at how cute they are…

Pythons

I am so petrified of snakes and when our driver told us that we would visit them on our trip I was fairly apprehensive. We were able to go in and touch the snakes but it was actually really upsetting. They did not look happy and the cages are far to small. So please do not go here if you are visiting Bohol.

Blood Compact

On our way back, our driver stopped to show us a monument that was built in order to remember the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniard and Filipinos. This is called Sandugo which means ‘one blood’.

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to the Philippines. We really enjoyed our adventures here and wish we could stay for longer to see more. Not only is each island different, and so beautiful in their own right, the people we met along the way were so friendly and helpful.

When we told our friends we were visiting the Philippines, people were weary. Most wondering why we would go somewhere so dangerous. This is completely inaccurate. Of course, there are some areas that are currently under threat, and that I would advise avoiding. However, the majority of the country is perfectly safe and I would encourage as many people as possibly to visit.