I came across some pictures of a beautiful island when I was just browsing some travel deals. I read the name of the place - Boracay, had never heard of it. So I googled for this place and was surprised to know that it is the world's best white sand beach. I was amazed by the pictures I saw. That same evening, I mentioned this place to my husband and showed him the pictures. We resolved at that very instant to visit Boracay this year. Thus started our planning. We checked with some friends who were interested in holidaying in a beach place and once we wowed them with the pictures, got them into the loop. I looked for the best time to visit Boracay, and considering our schedule, decided to go in November for 5 days.
Flight Information:
We booked our tickets on Cebu Pacific air through Manila for the dates Nov 9, 2012 to Nov 14, 2012. The closest airport to Boracay is Caticlan. Cebu Pacific has lot of options with respect to the flight timings for both the legs of the journey. So you can choose whatever is convenient for you.
Hotel Booking:
For booking our hotels, I had to read up on the island and then decide on what would be the best area to stay. Boracay has 2 parallel strips of beach - the famous white sand beach and the Bulabog beach. The white sand beach is further divided into 3 areas - station1, station 2 and station 3. Station 2 is the central part of Boracay where most restaurants, hotels and beach activities are located and hence the most crowded part. Station 3 is not that well developed and hence the hotels are not that pricey. Station 1 is the quieter part of Boracay. The hotels and resorts located here are slightly pricey, specially the ones located right on the beach.
Considering all this, I chose station 2 and narrowed down on Boracay Beach Resort for our stay, which was located right on the beach. Our room type was a detached bungalow and cost us around SGD120 per night including breakfast. My friends were more keen on enjoying the beach on the quieter side and hence chose The Strand Resort on the northern end of Station 1. This hotel was slightly away from the beach and hence cost them around SGD90 including breakfast. We used hotelscombined.com to book the rooms.
Planning the Itinerary:
Next, it was time to plan the itinerary. I read up on the activities available in Boracay and decided on helmet diving, zorbing, paraw sailing, island hopping and driving an ATV. Other activities available are para sailing, kite boarding, wind surfing, scuba diving, banana boat ride, jet ski, Cliff diving, bike rides, eco tours, zip line, and lots more. Whatever your interests, Boracay definitely has something to offer and please you.
Visa Requirements:
http://www.dfa.gov.ph/index.php/consular-services/visa
I read in the Philippines Embassy's website that travellers with Indian passports and having valid Visa of countries - US, UK, Singapore, Japan, Shengen, Australia, Canada or permanent resident permit in any of these countries can travel to Philippines visa free for 14 days. This is the page that gives a more detailed information on this matter
http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/announcements/2012/05/visa-free-entry-of-indian-nationals-with-ajacssuk-visa/
This was a recent announcement made by Philippines and so it was not a very obvious thing to find in the website. To confirm this news, I went to the Philippines Embassy office in Singapore and checked with an official there. What I learnt from here is that, this visa free entry is valid only if the port of entry to Philippines is through Manila at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals 1, 2 and 3. We luckily had booked our tickets through Manila. There are flights through Cebu as well, and in that case, we would have had to take visa prior to our travel. So you might want to plan your flight route through Manila if you want to avoid the hassle of getting a visa before travel (Applying for a Philippines visa requires you to personally go to the embassy).
If you are travelling to Philippines from Singapore, then you can have a look at this website for details regarding the Visa requirements.
http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/consular/visa/tourist-business-transit/
Now, with all the bookings and a high level itinerary in place, it was time to go shopping and prepare for the trip!
Singapore - Manila:
Our flight from Singapore to Manila was on Nov 9, 2012 at 00:40hrs. At the Singapore airport, we only got the boarding passes till Manila and were told that the Manila - Caticlan boarding pass would be issued at Manila. However, our friends got both their boarding passes at Singapore airport itself. It was a little annoying because it was the same flights that we and our friends were taking and Cebu Pacific had different ways of working at different counters in the airport!
At Manila:
Manila to Caticlan:
At Caticlan:
The board at the Caticlan Airport
At this counter you can book for a tricycle to take you to the jetty costing php25 per trike, the ferry ride tickets to Boracay - php50 per person, and the terminal fees of php50 per person. These tickets can be bought separately at the jetty as well. You can get trikes right outside the airport if you don't want this package.
A tricycle is the heart of transportation in Caticlan and Boracay. A small covered 4 seat chair car with a single wheel is attached to a bicycle thus making it a tricycle, a trike.
A Trike
At the jetty, you have to purchase the environmental fees costing php75. With all tickets purchased, we proceeded to our ferry ride to Boracay and about 20 minutes later we were in the island of Boracay. Boracay:
Day 1:
Once we collected all our luggage we took a tricycle to D'mall which cost us php100. D'mall is located in Station 2 and is the central area of Boracay. Since our friends and we were staying in different hotels, we wanted to pick up Sim cards. When the trike stopped, I looked around and did not find any big building. So I asked the driver where D'mall was, and he casually points towards a bunch of shops. I was quite surprised to see just some shops lined on one side of the street when I was expecting a big building with multiple air conditioned floors. I entered the area with a lot of apprehension, but then realized that D'mall was an area filled with lots of shops that was spread out horizontally rather than the cliched idea of a tall building mall.
We picked up Global sim cards that cost us PHP150 each and topped up for an amount of PHP50. Local calls were priced at PHP7 per minute. Texting is a very popular and influential means of communication in Philippines and hence is known as the 'Text capital of the world'.
It was now time to check in to our hotel. We took a Trike from D'mall to take us to our hotel Boracay Beach Resort. After a little trouble in locating the area, we finally were dropped off on the street parallel to the beach and were asked to walk to the resort. Since the resort was located on the beach front and there was no access for vehicles on the beach, we had to walk the rest of the distance. Our hotel was right on the beach and I liked the setup of the hotel. There are small gardens outside every cottage and each cottage has a small patio with 2 chairs and a hammock.
Our room at the Boracay Beach Resort
The room had the basic amenities and looked comfortable. There was a double bed and a single bed, a mini refrigerator, a wardrobe, television and a table. The bathroom was nothing fancy, but was clean.
The inside of our comfortable room
The only thing that bothered us was the lighting. The entire room had a single bulb which was definitely not sufficient. We asked at the reception if they could provide us with another lamp and within minutes we were given one. We were given a nice cold mango juice as a welcome drink, which we enjoyed sipping in the balcony. That was when we noticed that there were mosquitoes and realized we weren't prepared for it.
We were to meet our friends for lunch and while waiting for them, we decided to discover our surroundings.
The White Sand Beach right outside our hotel
We were stunned by the beach, the water and the sand. I have never seen water that is so clear. It was beautiful. I am not a very beach loving person and usually I don't like to get into the water, because of all the mess that it creates, with sand in my head and feeling sticky and itchy after getting out of the water. But, after seeing the white sand beach, I must admit that I couldn't wait to get into the water. There are no stones on the beach and the sand is absolutely fine and doesn't prick at all. It felt like I was in paradise!
The warm sunny day at Boracay, just perfect!
We walked towards D'mall and found that our hotel was only about 5 mins away from D'mall. We walked through D'mall identifying places where we can eat. My husband and I are vegetarians, and hence had to run through the menu to see if the restaurants had anything to offer us. At a supermarket we picked up a liquid mosquito repellent to use at nights. After meeting up with our friends we sat down for lunch at an Italian restaurant whose name I cannot recall, but it was located opposite to Cafe Del Sol. The spread of menu was good with decent amount of vegetarian options. After filling our stomachs we decided to walk around a bit before hitting the beach.
We decided to go to the beach at Station 1 near the Strand resort. It was a nice bright sunny day and the water was very inviting. We entered the water and in spite of it being sunny, the water was not as warm as I had expected it to be. It took me a while to get adapted to the temperature but once past that I was loving it. The water was so clear, I could see my feet!
Water so clear!
This part of the beach is relatively less crowded. Another interesting thing about this beach is that there are no heavy waves. It is a very peaceful beach and the sand is very fine and soft with no stones to hurt your soles. In fact extracting sand from the white sand beach is against the law. We stayed in the water until sunset, admiring the beauty around us and by then we had all fallen in love with Boracay!
We strolled around in D'mall after that, and had dinner at a restaurant called "The Hobbit". It is an interesting place with artifacts and posters from "The Lord of the Rings" displayed and the place was served by midgets. The food and cocktails were quite alright. After this we walked along side the beach and lot of restaurants had live music and fire dance shows going on. We went in to one place to watch the fire dance and after another drink there, called it a day.
Day 2:
I woke up to the sound of rain outside and was quite upset. We had our breakfast at our hotel. They have a fixed set of breakfast options to choose from, which was quite a decent spread.
Since it was raining heavily and the clouds did nothing to improve our hopes, we could not do any of the water activities. We just walked along the beach all the way to station 3, just exploring and looking around for new places to eat and hang out. Just outside D'mall, on the beach, there is a flea market put up every morning where you can buy souvenirs.
Cloudy day at the Boracay beach
We met our friends near D'mall and after lunch decided to go to the Bulabog beach.
Bulabog Beach:
It is a stretch of beach parallel to the white sand beach. A trike ride to the Bulabog beach cost us PHP60. By then the raining had ceased.
The Bulabog beach is rougher than its neighbour and is more suitable for surf boarding. We saw a lot of surfers that day, since it was quite windy. This side of the island is not much populated and there aren't too many hotels and restaurants. But you can find some big resorts located here.
Surfers at the Bulabog Beach
It was still very cloudy and thought it was a nice time to go to a spa and relax. We took a trike to Mandala Spa, but were disappointed to learn that prior appointments had to be taken. We returned to D'mall where there are lot of massage spas around. We went to one of them for a nice relaxing back massage. We stopped by at Lemon cafe for a cup of coffee and some chocolate cake. The evening was spent on the beach with cocktails and finger food. We went to a couple of places that had live music. It was a day well spent.
Day 3:
We woke up to a nice cool morning with no rains. After breakfast we decided to go for helmet diving. We spoke to our hotel's tour arranger for the same. There are lot of people on the beach who arrange the water sports, so you can talk to any of them or to your hotel reception for recommendation.
Helmet Diving:
The four of us went to the beach, paid PHP700 per person which included photographs. A boat took us to the sea where another boat was waiting for us. We shifted to that boat, where instructions and a quick sign language course was given. And now we were ready for the helmet dive. You are asked to get down the ladder into the water, and when you are half immersed in water, they place this huge helmet over your head that rests on the shoulder. Immediately, you are to step down the ladder completely into the water. Once in, you can walk around a limited area. The helmet seals the head from water and you can see clearly. It also provides gas for normal breathing.
Once in, I walked around looking at the many fishes around me. I was so amazed at being able to walk on the sea bed. There were some small corals and spotted the famous clown fish family too!. The instructor gave us each a bun to feed the fish. This is the fun bit where so many fishes come to eat the bread and they are all around your hand nibbling at the bread. It was so beautiful!. We were under water for about 20 mins and were about 12 feet under water. It was an amazing experience. We couldn't stop talking about it.
Nemo's family
Here are the details of the Helmet Diving center
Milky's Dive Center and Helmet Diving
Tel: (036) 288 2011/288 2243
Scuba Diving:
We were so thrilled at this new discovery, that once ashore we walked directly to a scuba diving centre and booked a beginner's dive for the same day. This was a PADI certified centre and after talking to the instructor, confirmed our appointment. The cost was PHP3000 per head, with an extra cost of PHP1000 for underwater photography for the group. We had a light lunch and were back in an hour all ready to explore more on the under water world.
Started off with the theory class where the instructor explained about the scuba gear, the sign language used under water, how to equalize the pressure and remove water from the goggles. We bought new mouth pieces for php35 and the instructor arranged for prescription goggles for my husband who has a power of -6.5. After this we were taken to the shallow part of the sea shore to have a practice session with the gear. There is one instructor for every 2 people. We were taught to breathe from the gear through the mouth, familiarize with the signs, remove water from the goggles, equalize pressure, and how to retrieve the mouth piece if it gets knocked out from the mouth at any time. Once this was completed, we were all ready to go do the actual scuba diving.
With all the gear strapped to us, we were asked to fall back from the boat into the sea and slowly started our descent. At every meter, we had to equalize the pressure and with the help of the instructor we finally reached the sea bottom. I just looked around and was stunned at the beauty. The water was very clear and I could see a good distance. The corals around us was plenty and beautiful and so colourful. We moved a short distance to a clearing at the bottom, squatted there and fed some bread to the fishes. This time there were lot more fishes running towards us, and you can feel some fishes pecking at your fingers too! After taking some pictures here, we started our journey.
The instructors are well aware of the area and they have a route that they take us on. They also show some cool stuff which we might miss. At one point, our instructor pointed us at this particular species of fish that were schooling above us in a huge circle. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen! Unfortunately we couldn't get a picture of that. After touring the area, we were brought back up to the boat, in a slow manner, again equalizing at every meter.
A Spotfin Lion Fish that we spotted
The instructors are well aware of the area and they have a route that they take us on. They also show some cool stuff which we might miss. At one point, our instructor pointed us at this particular species of fish that were schooling above us in a huge circle. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen! Unfortunately we couldn't get a picture of that. After touring the area, we were brought back up to the boat, in a slow manner, again equalizing at every meter.
Once back on the boat, we couldn't stop raving about our experience and were so glad that we actually did the dive, and not let our fear take over us and miss this wonderful part of the world.
Highly recommend our instructor. He was very patient with us and encouraged us at every step. Here are the details of the Scuba Diving Instructor.
Mark Pinto
makos@hotmail.fr
Highly recommend our instructor. He was very patient with us and encouraged us at every step. Here are the details of the Scuba Diving Instructor.
Mark Pinto
makos@hotmail.fr
Back on the shore, the rest of the day was spent just chilling on the beach, dining, dancing away our tiredness and endless talk about our wonderful day and the latest and greatest experience of our lives!
Day 4:
Today's plan was ATV and zorbing.
ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) is a four wheeled, single seated bike which can be rented to go on specific trails
that lead you to particular spots. You will be accompanied by a guide, who will lead the path.
You can also rent a buggy car which is 2 seated.
We spoke to our tour arranger for the ATV drive. There are multiple trails that you can choose from, depending on the track, time and where you want to go. We opted for the smallest and basic trail, which is on road. Its a short drive of about 25 - 30 mins to a watch tower. The cost was PHP400 per person. There is another trail of about one hour, which is not completely on roads and it leads you to Puka Beach.
At the starting point of the drive, we were given a quick session on the ATV, with a few rounds there to get used to the vehicle. And then we were off on a small trail to a watch tower and we were led by a guide. Driving the ATV was scary and fun at the same time. The roads are wide enough for a two way traffic, so its quite comfortable to drive in a single file.
From the watch tower, we could see the Boracay island. we spent some time taking pictures and soon were on the way back.
This is a new sport that looks fun and scary. It includes you getting inside a huge cushioned ball which is rolled down a small slope. There are 2 kinds of zorb. One is the harness zorb where 2 people are strapped to the inside core of the zorb ball and you roll along with the ball, head over heals. The other one is the hydro ball where 2 people get inside the core, and a small amount of water is filled. As the ball rolls, you will roll alongside but will come back an upright position, as compared to the other type, where you will be upside down similar to a roller coaster ride. We chose the hydro zorb for PHP350 per person.
In the last 2 days, I had done a lot of new things that I thought I would never even try. Since I was on this adrenaline ride, I decided to go for para sailing too and convinced my husband to join me. We immediately spoke to our tour arranger and had a boat take just the two of us. We did not want to wait on a boat in the sea for others to finish and end up feeling nauseated due to the rocking. We paid PHP1000 per person.
After having an adventurous day, the evening was spent just chilling on the beach, walking around and enjoying some cocktails with he backdrop of a beautiful sunset over the sea.
Dinner was at Ambassador hotel, the menu had good options, and they readily agreed to make some vegetarian version of pasta and pizza.
This was our last day here. We went to the beach at Station 1 near Strand hotel. After enjoying the clear waters for some time, we headed back to station 2 for lunch and massage. We checked out from our hotel, took a trike to the jetty and left for Caticlan.
ATV Ride:
ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) is a four wheeled, single seated bike which can be rented to go on specific trails
that lead you to particular spots. You will be accompanied by a guide, who will lead the path.
You can also rent a buggy car which is 2 seated.
Single Seat ATV
2 seat Buggy Car
We spoke to our tour arranger for the ATV drive. There are multiple trails that you can choose from, depending on the track, time and where you want to go. We opted for the smallest and basic trail, which is on road. Its a short drive of about 25 - 30 mins to a watch tower. The cost was PHP400 per person. There is another trail of about one hour, which is not completely on roads and it leads you to Puka Beach.
At the starting point of the drive, we were given a quick session on the ATV, with a few rounds there to get used to the vehicle. And then we were off on a small trail to a watch tower and we were led by a guide. Driving the ATV was scary and fun at the same time. The roads are wide enough for a two way traffic, so its quite comfortable to drive in a single file.
From the watch tower, we could see the Boracay island. we spent some time taking pictures and soon were on the way back.
View of Boracay Island from the watch tower
Zorbing:
This is a new sport that looks fun and scary. It includes you getting inside a huge cushioned ball which is rolled down a small slope. There are 2 kinds of zorb. One is the harness zorb where 2 people are strapped to the inside core of the zorb ball and you roll along with the ball, head over heals. The other one is the hydro ball where 2 people get inside the core, and a small amount of water is filled. As the ball rolls, you will roll alongside but will come back an upright position, as compared to the other type, where you will be upside down similar to a roller coaster ride. We chose the hydro zorb for PHP350 per person.
They poured some amount of water into the core, and once we were in, the hole was plugged. They push the ball down the slope and you start rolling inside. It was a short trip down the slope, less than a minute and before you know it, have landed into a swimming pool (the pool is the end point) and you exit out of the ball into the pool.
I know it kind of sounds scary reading about it, but its less scary and more fun when you actually do it. The Zorb Park is located at Yapak.
The slope at the Zorb Park
You can visit their facebook page for more details
https://www.facebook.com/zorbparkboracay
Para sailing:
In the last 2 days, I had done a lot of new things that I thought I would never even try. Since I was on this adrenaline ride, I decided to go for para sailing too and convinced my husband to join me. We immediately spoke to our tour arranger and had a boat take just the two of us. We did not want to wait on a boat in the sea for others to finish and end up feeling nauseated due to the rocking. We paid PHP1000 per person.
Like all other activities, this was also my first and had no clue of what it would be like. We were asked to sit on a harness and slowly it took off as the boat moved forward. The take off was so smooth, I dint feel being lifted at all and before I knew it I was high up looking toward the beautiful mountains of Caticlan at one side, the Boracay island on another side and the vast endless sea around and below me. I must admit, it was a beautiful sight and I wasn't scared a bit! My husband was asked to leave his glasses in the boat and hence he could not enjoy the scene that much. Since this was our first time para sailing, I had asked them to bring us back down in 10 mins, otherwise it usually is around 15-20 mins.
Sunset at the beach
After having an adventurous day, the evening was spent just chilling on the beach, walking around and enjoying some cocktails with he backdrop of a beautiful sunset over the sea.
Dinner was at Ambassador hotel, the menu had good options, and they readily agreed to make some vegetarian version of pasta and pizza.
Day 5:
I'm gonna miss not waking up to this!
Our flight was at at 4pm, but there was a delay and we were put on to another flight that was scheduled for departure at 5:15pm. At the Caticlan airport, you are required to pay airport terminal fees of PHP200 (this is not included in the ticket).
If the weather does not permit for flights to take off from Caticlan, Cebu Pacific will arrange for you to be taken to the airport at Kalibo, which is about 1.5 hours by road. A bus will be arranged, however you will have to pay for it! A friend who flew the previous day had to take this bus to Kalibo as the weather was quite bad and the ATR could not take off in such weather conditions. She was also given a free ticket from Cebu Pacific Air to be used anytime within 90 days. Not a bad deal!
If the weather does not permit for flights to take off from Caticlan, Cebu Pacific will arrange for you to be taken to the airport at Kalibo, which is about 1.5 hours by road. A bus will be arranged, however you will have to pay for it! A friend who flew the previous day had to take this bus to Kalibo as the weather was quite bad and the ATR could not take off in such weather conditions. She was also given a free ticket from Cebu Pacific Air to be used anytime within 90 days. Not a bad deal!
We had about 4 hours transit in Manila. We had a quick bite to eat at the airport. At the Manila airport, you have to separately pay the airport tax of PHP550, and this is not included in the ticket price.
Our flight was on time and before we knew it we had reached Singapore and we were terribly missing Boracay. The next couple of days was nothing less of an hangover feel :(
But I must say, it is one of best places I have seen and I have a feeling that not many places will come close to anything like Boracay.
Other Things to do in Boracay:
There are some more things that can be done in Boracay, but we couldn't manage all this either due to time or weather constraints.
- Island hopping: A 4 hour boat ride to some islands around Boracay. You can visit Crocodile island, Crystal Cove island and explore the two caves. You also get to snorkel.
- Paraw Sailing: You can sail around the ocean or get an awesome view of the sunset on a double outrigger boat.
- Jet Ski, Kite Boarding, wind surfing, fly fish, Banana Boat, kayaking
- Bike tours, Trekkig, eco tours, stand up paddle tour, horse back riding, helicopter ride
- Cliff diving at Ariels Point: A 30 min boat ride from Boracay takes you to Buruanga, to this place called Ariels point. This spot is famous for cliff diving. Other activiies here are snorkeling, swimming, BBQ lunch with unlimited drinks.
Travel Tips:
- Its a beach, so don't forget your sunscreen lotions, hats, caps, umbrellas...
- Mosquito/bug repellent
- Ensure you have taken the airport fees of PHP200 at Caticlan and PHP500 at Manila airport, to be paid on your return journey. (the fee during the forward trip is included in the ticket, but not on the return leg of the journey!)
- Have sufficient transit time at Manila during the return journey. Delays might happen at Caticlan airport due to bad weather.
Happy Holidaying.
