Fun 3 Days and 2 Nights at Panglao Bohol

Panglao, officially the Municipality of Panglao is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,839 people.

Panglao is known for its diving locations and tourist resorts.

The name Panglao may have come from its former name Panglawod, meaning “to the open sea”, or derived from the word panggaw, referring to a fishing implement used by locals.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panglao,_Bohol

This is the passenger terminal for Oceanjet at Pier 1 Cebu City

This is the entrance gate for the passenger terminal and as you can see in this photo, there’s the spot that says “Entrance”. In this area, this is where you can buy the ticket for the Oceanjet. You have to have a ticket first or else you will be denied entrance from the passenger terminal.

I’m pretty sure the ticket price will always be subject to change so allow me to specify that during that time, it was February 7, 2024, the ticket for Oceanjet Cebu to Bohol was 800 Pesos. You can purchase your ticket online on their website but if you have kids, it would be best to purchase at the pier to avail a discount. Their website ticketing doesn’t offer any discounts.

This is the entrance to the Passenger Terminal building for Oceanjet. You will have to present the ticket here. Upon entering, you will pay for a terminal fee worth 25 Pesos per person.

I strongly recommend for you guys to buy a roundtrip ticket from Cebu to Bohol and Bohol to Cebu to save time from queueing.

Upon entering and paying the terminal fee, you will have to check in. There is a check in counter to get the seat number. Then go to the next counter for the luggages or baggages. You will pay 100 Pesos per bag or luggage.

After the check in and the luggage drop, you will have to stay in this area for boarding. There are souvenir shops and snacks in the area so you won’t go hungry. There is also a massage area if you want to relax. You will have to pay for a hundred or two to avail the service.

Although they collect the terminal fee, the comfort room isn’t that presentable. There’s no proper way to flush the toilet and there’s no water at the faucet. This toilet problem is pretty common in the Philippines so you just have to be ready.

This is the inside of the Oceanjet for the tourist seats. There used to be business class but during that time I purchased the ticket, they only offer tourist seats. It will take two hours from Cebu city port to Tagbilaran Bohol port. During the trip, you can watch a movie from common Tv and grab some snacks. Just a reminder that the snacks including bottled water and beverages in the Oceanjet has a higher price than the regular retail so it would be smarter to bring your own food.

Also another friendly reminder if you visit Panglao Bohol. If you already have a hotel reservation, you can ask your hotel to assist you and pick you up at the port. The regular price for the taxi based at Tagbilaran Port is 1000 Pesos but my hotel assisted me and it only cost me 800 Pesos. A private car picked me and my family from the port and brought us to our hotel directly. I gave the payment at our hotel counter because you can choose to pay the driver directly or leave the money at the reception.

Right after exiting Oceanjet, my luggage was ready to claim. You just have to be sure you have your claim stab to get your belongings.

This is the pick up area. You will see your name or some agents offering taxi and Day tour services. In my experience in 2005 and 2006, I never recall seeing this arrangement then. But how would I remember it has been 18 years. Things have totally changed.

This is the port of Tagbilaran Gate 2. As soon as you exit from here, you will be going to your hotel. As for me, I went directly to my hotel in Panglao.

We departed around 11am in Cebu and so we arrived in Bohol at 1pm. We were able to check in around 2pm at our hotel and I was glad the staff allowed me for an early check in.

The hotel I and my family stayed at is Luex Hotel which I found on Klook and I used HELLOPHILTAI for the promo code. Click this link to book: https://www.klook.com/zh-TW/hotels/detail/582277-leux-hotel-alona-panglao/

Leux Hotel is pretty much convenient in terms of location. There are restaurants and fast food anywhere and it’s just a few minutes away from the famous Alona white beach.

I was too tired to change so I decided to just grab my bag and go to the shore to relax and eat.

After a few minutes of strolling the beach looking for a good place to stay, I finally chose Villa Tomasa. They offer the most unique way to enjoy food and drinks. It’s the only restaurant that offers this beach bag comfy couch to their customers.

In here, I was able to have my delicious meal while watching my kids swimming and splashing in the sea. No worries at all.

One thing I like about Villa Tomasa is their service. The staff is so friendly and accommodating. They even offer their staff comfort room for my kids to rinse off the sea water after hours of swimming and soaking.

Due to its cozy atmosphere, foreigners love to stay at Villa Tomasa to bask and have some drinks. I understand this is a tourist area so the locals are trying their best to earn a living but I have a love hate feeling with the caroling.

Like this boy wearing yellow, the staff has no control over these kids. They just come and go as they please. They will strum their ukulele and sing a verse or two sometimes not so audible and then they will wait for you to give them a tip aka money.

There are so many shops and restaurants in the area including souvenirs. I suggest you buy souvenirs during your Day Tour because they offer the same designs not in Alona Beach area because the price is higher.

In souvenir shops for the Day Tour you can buy a keyholder for only 20 Pesos.

First stop for the Day Tour is the Chocolate Hills. There is an entrance fee for every person and I didn’t get a discount for the kids.

The place is still attractive and indeed breathtaking but I think the facilities need a good maintenance most especially the comfort room. The toilet doesn’t flush, there’s no place to wash the hands and the tourists have to use the dipper or the tabo to pour the water.

Personally I do not approve of using “tabo” because we all have suffered from Covid-19 and hygiene is so important for the tourists’ health. Imagine the thousands of people touching the same tabo and you cannot even wash your hands properly. To me, it really is so frustrating not to have access to a decent toilet when in fact, the place collects entrance fees.

Second Stop is the Tarsier sanctuary with a very expensive entrance fee of 150 Pesos. We didn’t even enjoy the walk. It was just a quick trail from the entrance to the exit and the tarsiers are stationed in some corners. And it seemed to be the last station for the trail, some locals offer help for the picture with the Tarsier. This one with open eyes because the rest were sleeping. Again, you will have to give them tip for a single click.

I didn’t have much fun here because in my previous experience, I was able to touch the Tarsier and the entrance wasn’t that high too. It would have been ok if the place offers a functional comfort room but it didn’t. As usual, you will have to use the “Tabo” and you can’t find a proper area to wash your hands.

This man-made forest is just along the way to the Tarsier Conservation area. You can choose to come here first or after the Tarsier stop.

I think this place is more attractive to adults and those who are really good at photography. Cars or vehicles come and go here so it’s really hard to get a picture perfect pose.

BTW, this stop is free of entrance. There are vendors selling souvenir shirts. It would be best for you to have enough coins or smaller bills because they don’t have change here. I was supposed to buy a shirt but I decided to let go of it because they don’t have enough change for my 1000 pesos.

The happiest part of the Day Tour is this Floating Restaurant at Loboc River. The entrance fee including the all you can eat buffet is 800 Pesos per person and they will only give a discount to children with height below 3 feet.

The food was tasty. I also had a relaxing time with all the rest of the tourists. They have a live band and you can give them tip if you like. There’s also a folk dance presentation in one stop. You can dance with them and also give them a tip.

The entrance fee for this Butterfly Park is 100 per person and for me, it can be optional. You can come or skip since it isn’t featuring something that’s native of Bohol.

Although you can see some other animals too. Be sure you are not scared of some like the snake.

As I have mentioned, I really hope any establishments like this one asking for an entrance fee should at least offer a decent toilet. I really had a hard time finding a comfort room in Bohol with a washing area or sink. For someone like me who likes to wash my hands often, it really was a burden.

What I like here is that every group has its own tour guide. The tour guide can also help with the picture so you have no pressure for the tip. In Bohol, tip is life.

Another stop without an entrance fee is this Baclayon Church. It’s a historical church in Bohol that stood for hundreds of years. There’s a museum inside but I didn’t have a chance to enter since there was a mass going on.

I decided to just stroll around the church and take some pictures and go.

This blood compact shrine is another optional stop for me. It’s just simply like this as what you can see in the picture but it does have historical significance in Bohol for hundreds of years.

What I didn’t appreciate much here are the vendors that push their products to you. It’s a little uncomfortable. It would be better if they have their stalls and allow the tourists to walk and choose freely. Also the prices vary depending on how the vendor gauges you. They add or minus the price as they want.

As a Filipino, I think Bohol government should regulate this kind of transaction because the safety and comfort of the tourists is still a priority in a tourist area like Bohol.

The Day Tour started at 8 am in the morning and lasted around 4 pm in the afternoon. Leux Hotel helped us a lot with everything and I gave 200 Pesos to our driver as tip for the safety trip.

My room was already cleaned up when I came back. The reviews about Leux Hotel is right. This is a comfortable and tidy little hotel in Panglao. Size for me doesn’t matter for as long as it’s clean.

Just a random photo stop in Alona Beach

Spent the whole afternoon and evening at Villa Tomasa. One of the things I enjoy in Bohol. The food is delicious and the price is reasonable.

They offer Filipino food, pasta and pizza too. You can also order some beers or cocktails.

One lit experience in Bohol would be this Fire dance demonstration. At first they will have a presentation and then they will ask the guests to join. They will help you take your video and you will have to give them a tip at least 100 pesos. It was fantastic!

At the Oceanjet for boarding. The same step in Cebu. Upon arriving at the port, you will have to check in for the seat number and leave the luggage and pay 100 Pesos each bag. You will have to keep the claim stab to be able to claim your stuffs.

There isn’t much to buy in the waiting or boarding area. This coffee is just a simple one but it costs me 250 Pesos for two. I don’t know how the cashier calculated it but yes, I paid 250 pesos.

These are the fast food chains located near Leux hotel. How convenient right? Book this hotel on Klook App and use HELLOPHILTAI for the promo code. Link here: https://www.klook.com/zh-TW/hotels/detail/582277-leux-hotel-alona-panglao/