Bantayan is located on the uppermost part of the Province of Cebu in the Philippines.
Bantayan Island is one of the dream places my mother wants to be at since then. She really wants to go there because whenever we travel to have our vacation, we always go to the Southern part of Cebu. We planned to come here last September actually, my family and other relatives. Sadly, some were not allowed by their parents to go on the trip, mainly because of the pandemic. That is why it was canceled.
Then days passed by and we still don’t know if we can still go there after reasons for us not to keep on stacking on top of one another. My father had an eye surgery in Pterydium that requires it to be stitched and heal for 15 days. My father felt so much during the time of healing and so we finally decided to really push through with our canceled vacation trip this time. To celebrate the successful operation and removal of the stitches, we chose a destination in Cebu. Moalboal came to mind first for the majority of us. I searched for the possible things we can do there, a place to stay, mode of transportation, etc. But we later realized that it’s so hassling on our part to go there. We still need to go to their municipal hall to get clearance before we can go to the place where we’ll stay. That’s a no-no for us especially since we’re just commuting via bus in going there. Also, my brother and I have already gone there before. So we thought that it will be better to just have a vacay in our hometown, Oslob then.
But my father suggested that why not we just continue our planned Bantayan trip even if our relatives can’t come anymore. It was actually a very good idea. This will be our first complete family get-together in maybe a decade. So Bantayan Island it is. 🛥
I excitingly looked up all info about our trip and voila, I’m already prepared to be my fam’s very own tour guide. I really like doing itineraries. I also like doing it yourself (DIY) travels because it’s better that way – to be lost in paradise. And so our journey to Bantayan Island began.😃
This might be my most treasured memory of our family now. Our first trip together and now I can give back to them in my own little way. I decided to pay for our accommodation for our 3 day stay there. Moreover, I taught my father how to take pics and I’m so happy with the result – my solo pics were taken with good angles. We also rented a motorcycle to roam around the island and it sure is the best.
Appreciating nature with the best people of my life is really a moment worth treasuring.
03:10 – 03:30 AM —> Rode a vehicle from our house in Talisay to the terminal in SM City Cebu. Then waited for almost an hour before leaving SM City Cebu. The vehicle’s name is called “Ceres”.
04:15 – 07:30 AM —> SM City Cebu to Hagnaya Port. On our way there. We also stopped by San Remigio to buy their famous delicacy called Pintos-Binak (5pcs for 2 USD). Pintos is a sweetcorn tamales wrapped in corn husk.
08:30 – 10:00 AM —> Hagnaya Port in San Remigio to Santa Fe Port in Bantayan. We paid P185 each (3.7 USD) for the boat ride. We saw a fish trap or “bungsod/lumpil” but it was destroyed because of the strong winds.
The water when we arrived at Santa Fe port was so clear that we can see a lot of fish already – clear as day.
We paid P30 (0.6 USD) each at the port for the tourism office they said. And they required us to show our QR codes and confirmation slip for our accommodation most likely will be provided by the place when you booked beforehand. Then finally rode a tricycle going to Honeybee Apartment, P30 (0.6 USD) each.
We stayed at Honeybee Apartment for supposedly P1600 per night, but the owner gave it to as at P1,500 (30 USD) instead. The room we rented is quite nice for the price. We had our own CR, kitchen to freely cook food, living room with TV, and an upper and lower bed for us to sleep at.
My family knows how to drive a motorcycle, that is why we rented two as our main mode of mobility around the island. For only P1200 (24 USD) we can already use the two motors for 48 hours.
After a very long journey going to Bantayan, we were all starving and decided to have our lunch at Tipsy Island Restobar. The main reason why we chose this resto is because of its Halloween theme already. It just looks so good. Even their foods are delicious, except for the shrimp because I feel like it’s not fresh anymore.
We ordered Tipsy’s Baked Scallops (P130/$2.6), Shrimp Sinigang (P235/$4.7), Grilled Squid (P190/$3.8), Pork Sisig (P150/$3), Rice Platter (P180/$3.6), and Cucumber Lime (P200/$4).
On our way to our first destination, we passed by their early Christmas design by the road. Here in the Philippines, we do really celebrate Christmas extravagantly. Filling the surroundings with all Yuletide season vibes even if it’s still 3-4 months away from Dec. 😂 This made us miss our hometown in Oslob because they also have decorations by the road at this time.
We also were able to pass by their airport and through the tall coconut trees which give shade to us, making it a lesser hotter day for people to enjoy.
A must-visit one because of good feedback on the internet and from the beautiful pics of my friends who went here before. The mangroves are ❤️. The mangrove eco-park is a project to protect the 116.5-hectare mangroves in the area. They have a restaurant and other activities such as kayaking and boating. They even have the Camp Sawi signage in here and that long bridge feels so relaxing to cross. The fee for every person is 55 pesos (1.1 USD).
On our way to our next stop, we saw a market that sells fresh scallops (P30/kg) so we bought one kilo. They also are selling native chicken for P120/kg.
It was supposed to be Ogtong cave but we came in late in which the people in there said that we can’t enjoy it that much anymore. And so a misfortune led us to a tourist spot not so far from the cave.
The ruins has a nice background good for selfies. I let my father took pics of me and he slayed it all. 😁 The sea in front of the ruins feels too good to be true with the visible fishes on the clear waters.
I personally recommend renting a motorcycle on this island, really convenient. We asked the locals for a good place to go next and they recommended this resort. The place didn’t disappoint and it’s living up to its name “Paradise”. The beautiful sandbar and the beach will just leave you in awe.
Ever since we stepped foot on this island, we can’t stop ourselves from being dazzled by the beach and nature around.
We paid P50 each at the entrance. There’s this huge cactus to welcome you but there are names written on it. That’s weird and sad. Anyway, further down the resort we saw a big family that also came from Talisay. My family and I enjoyed the sea and taking pics together. There was even a moment where my brother lifted my mom in the air. Hahahaha 😂.
We later went back to Honeybee to rest and have our dinner already 😋. My father cooked the fresh scallops with sprite and we just bought liempo to make us more full.
Our dinner’s so yummmyy 😄.
Finally, to end our 1st day in Bantayan, we had our stroll. They have this Christmas Village with Japanese lanterns in Santa Fe. A must-visit indeed. A lot of people went there to see those dazzling lights too. Topping it off with some nice Christmas music, it sure is a good way to end our day.
We only felt that we’re tired when we were already in the room. The whole day we felt so energetic maybe because we’re just too excited to finally be here at last.
Also, that this is our first complete get-together after a decade or so, we really need to savor every single bit of it.
Join us again on our next day, hivers 😊 See you on the continuation of this blog 👋.
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