" ESCAPADE IN BANTAYAN ISLAND "
Heyaaah Hiveers!!! Welcome to my #LakwatsaniIntoy Diary 015 | Two Days and One Night Exploration in the Stunning Bantayan Island Cebu, Philippines. How are you Hivers? Hoping you’re doing fine where ever you are right now. This time in my travel story I will bring you to one of the iconic Islands of the Philippines, Bantayan Island Cebu.
Have you been here?
If you’ve already visited this Island, what do you think of it? I’m sure you loved the island, it offers a lot of beautiful sceneries and adventures that will captivate your heart.
For those who don’t know about this island. Bantayan Island is located in the Northern part of Cebu Province with an estimated area of 108.7 sq. km. It is divided into three municipalities;
1.Bantayan (the largest municipality covering the central part of the island),
2.Madridejos(located in the northern part of the island),
3.Sta. Fe (Covering the Southern part of the island and consider as the Center of the Tourism). These three municipalities have a lot to offer to travelers. Surely you will not get bored exploring this place.
How to reach the Island?
If you are in Cebu City, you may ride a Bus in North Bus Terminal for 3-4 hours and drop off at Hagnaya Port then ride a ship for a one-hour crossing to the island. Bus fare is only ₱150-₱170 and for the ferry, it cost ₱180 for a one-way trip. You may also rent out a Van going to Hagnaya Port, like what we did. It cost us ₱600 each back and forth already, the cost is almost double compared to the bus but it lessens our travel time and we also avoid a crowd of people to skip the contact from the Virus. By the way before going to the island you need to have a QR CODE pass, stating your personal information. This is part of the protocol for travelers on the island. Ask this to the resort or place where you stay. they are the ones who will provide this to you.
When We Visited the Island?
In June 2021, we found out that there is a Holiday on Saturday, which means we have a long weekend at that time, so my travel buddies decided to have a getaway on the Beautiful Bantayan Island. I was so excited because it is my first time on the island and I can’t wait to explore those beautiful sceneries that everyone says.
We look for a Tour for Two days and One Night Staycation in Bantayan Island for June 12-13, 2021. We found a package Travel Tour worth 1450 pesos only which fit in our Budget. The following are included for this Package Travel Tour.
a. Free pick up from the port and drop off to port
b. Accommodation (we use 3 rooms)
- airconditioned
- own Cr
- cable tv
c. Access to Kitchen and Dining Area (all kitchen utensils are free)
d. Land Tour Package in 5 Destination (Included entrance Fee)
- Mangrove Obo-ob (Camp Sawi)
- Paradise Beach
- Cliff Diving (Ruins)
- Ogtong Cave
- Sand bar (Kota Beach)
e. Island Hopping package in 2 island Destination (Included Entrance Fee)
- Hilantagan Island
- Virgen island
This Tour Package offers a great deal, we stay in Juanitas Homestay in Sta. Fe Bantayan, the Inn is near the beach and the proper of Sta. Fe which is walking distance to the place where you can enjoy at night time. You can contact their information below for inquiries.
Upon arriving on the island, our Tricycle Service picks up us in the Port and Brings us directly to this place we stay in. We take a rest for a minute and after putting down our baggage, a while later we start our exploration on the Island. The excitement is on this time. Are you ready?
By following Our itinerary, below are the Sequence of our Tour.
Day 1 adventure was a land tour package and this time we will explore the beautiful sceneries within Bantayan island.
- First point (Mangrove Obo-ob)
We start our adventure in this refreshing Mangrove Forest of the island where you feel like you’re in the middle of the jungle. This amazing place reminded us of how beautiful nature is. We just need to take care of it and be responsible humankind.
- Second point (Paradise Beach)
In this destination, Wow !!! is the first word I say when entering the Beach, look how stunning it is. The calmness of the water and the view is perfect. Its name defines the beach, it is truly a paradise.
- Third Point (Cliff Diving /Ruins)
At this point, at first, we are just a little disappointed with the view of the ruins, we don’t know, we didn’t just appreciate its actual view because it is just like a broken house beside a cliff. But when we start taking pictures, the view we captured is different from the actual view, it is beautiful. I think it’s because of the paints on the wall I think. It gives radiant to the place. The cliff in the area is narrow. Those sharp rock formations beside the clear water of the ocean make the cliff beautiful.
- Fourth Point (Sand Bar Kota Beach)
The last point for the day one adventure is a wide White Sand Bar on the beach. We stay here until dusk and finish the first day on this beautiful beach. A lot of people are here compared to the other beach. It's nice to unwind and swim in the sea on this beach. We love it so much the place.
That’s our first day's adventure on the island. it was tiring but so much fun in the four places we explore on. After the beach we pass by first in the market for the food we cooked for our dinner. We buy Pork, Fish and “Dried Dangit” which I love the most. We ended up our day with a little shoot of Tequila and sleep early for the Day 2 adventure.
Day 2 adventure was an Island Hopping Package we will be crossing 2 Beautiful Island near the Bantayan.
- First Island ( Hilantagan Island )
This should be the first island we will explore, but the group decided not to step on the island instead we just dive in beside it and take the clear seawater that surrounds the island. We love floating, jumping in the boat, doing a free float, and doing snorkeling. Benny eath the clear water was a beautiful coral reef and colorful sea creatures like starfish.
- Second Island (Virgen island )
The last part of island Hopping was where my heart was left. Hahaha, the island is superb, the view of the sand and the underwater adventure was amazing. Everything was perfect. I should say that this isthe Highlight of our travel. If you will visit Bantayan, you should visit this islet. This will give a reason to travel more to see the other place with such a kind of nature.
That island hopping was amazing compared to the other island hopping I’ve been experiencing. That was unforgettable.
- Ogtong Cave
After spending a long time on the island. We do the last Land tour on the island of Bantayan. We go to the Ogtong Cave. This should be done in our first-day tour but when we go there we didn’t reach their time cut off for tourists. So we decided to do it on our second day since it's part of our Tour Package. The cave is small, we enter the cave alternately. But it was beautiful inside the water is cold and you will be relaxed inside the cave. Good, we visit the place even at the last minute.
And that’s how we ended our 2 days and 1 Night escapade on the Island of Bantayan. That was nice travel, Worth it to visit and an unforgettable place. For sure I will be back in this place. I pin my Hearth on this island.
That’s it Hiveers in my #LakwatsaniIntoy Diary 015. Hoping you had a great time reading my exploration in Bantayan Island. Thank you for visiting my little Hive room 😊.
This is @intoy.bugoy! See you in my next Hiventure 😉....
Not so tall, not so dark, not o handsome but surely I'm a CUTE one 😊.Your Civil Engineer, Real Estate Agent, and Financial Adviser. I'm into Travel and Photography. Knowing the culture of one place is my interest. Come and join me in discovering this infinite beautiful world following all my #LakwatsaniIntoy diaries (MyTravelstories).
If hIS content made you 😁, then drop some ❤️ by upvoting and leaving a comment. Also, click the Follow button to keep posted on his journey here on Hiive.