Bantayan Island Land Tour
July 31, 2017
Land tours are abundantly offered around the island, some bloggers have experienced being offered land tours as soon as they got off the bus. In our experience, we did not come across some offers because we arrived at around 5am or so, luckily for us we stayed at a resort which took care of us and all our touring needs. At the time, we are to stay at Bantayan Island for only a day (the demand of Metro was so hectic, cuz adulting) so we cut our very precious day into two, the first half being on the Virgin Island and the second half is for the land tour.
The Land Tour cost us 1,000php which includes around 6-9 places, and a tricycle that’s good for 6 pax, you can also opt to rent a motorcycle which costs around 350php for 24hrs exclusive of gas. However with such time constraints we were only able to visit 4 tourist spots, namely; (1) Sto. Nino Cave at Nature Park (2) Cliff Diving (3) Omagaica Mangrove (4) Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church.
This place is the farthest from where we were staying, it took us around 1hr or so to get there but it was definitely worth it. Sto. Nino Cave is a small cave filled with crystal clear freshwater that’s believed to have some sort of curing properties and is told to be good for the skin.
The cave itself is situated at Nature Park Resort which is this huge land filled with various floras and faunas. There’s even a mini zoo inside and an infinity pool down below.
Entrance Fee: 100php
Now I’ve never tried cliff diving before, I’ve always thought I’d be a scaredy cat and back out eventually since I Am THAT scared of heights.
On our way there, and with the intention of trying out something new, I sort of conditioned myself to just do it. However upon arriving, we were informed that we cannot dive because it was at low tide so we just stayed there and enjoyed the magnificent view
Note to everyone: Time your trip to the Cliff Diving Point
Now this Mangrove is definitely spectacular, upon entering you will be oriented on what a mangrove is, why they exist and what are the floras and faunas existing in said mangrove, etc.
You get to walk along a very long trail that ends up with this bamboo tower that rises for about 3 to 4 stories high which you can climb and get amazing photos of
There’s fish pellets available at the front desk for about 5-10php which you can use to feed the fishes there.
There's are other activities available at the said mangrove, they have Kayaking for 350php and dining at their restaurant.
Entrance Fee: 50php
We asked our tour guide/driver to bring us to the market to buy danggit for pasalubong, and he told us that we should stop by the market near Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church so that we’ll be like killing two birds with one stone by buying our pasalubong and visiting the historical church, and so we did.
The church, according to locals and plates round the church was built during the Spanish colonization era and was used as the first pit stop of Spanish priests entering the country where they are taught the language and culture of the Philippines before being sent out to various provinces of the Philippines. However, the church was then destroyed in 1600 by Muslim rebels and reconstruction only began in 1839 - 1836.
The church is built using coral stones from the island and is now standing tall and magnificent in the town of Bantayan
Bantayan Island has been getting a lot of buzz lately on social media and ever present on the "must go to" list of all travel junkies out there, and there's no surprise there. The locals are proud to have worked hard to maintain Bantayan Island's rich and gorgeous ecology for everyone to enjoy. Whether your a history buff, thrill seeker, wonder explorer, photography enthusiast, party personality, or a regular person trying to live life to the fullest, Bantayan Island has got you covered.
Final notes:
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*Some photos are taken by Ken Simon, Jeff Costales and Kissarine Maranon, be sure to check out their IG Accounts linked bellow for more awesome travel photos
Final notes:
- make sure to haggle or canvas for the right price, some tour packages are offered at a high price based on how foreign they perceive you to be
- check with your resort of choice first if they already have land tour packages as most resorts do, which will be easier for everyone
- be prepared for a whole lot of walking so as much as we would love to wear something fancy for our ootds, It's better to be on your active clothes and rubber shoes.
- With a lot of walking expect a lot of thirst so make sure to bring your water bottles, (although some of these spots have stores where you can buy water, they're a bit pricey than normal)
- Bring FIRST AID and stay safe, on our little time at Bantayan we have encountered two fatal accidents, so make sure to be prepared and a bit vigilant to incoming dangers
- For all DIYers out there you can just rent a motorcycle and do your own thing around the island, the cell site is excellent so you can just google maps or waze your way arround the island, although there are a lot of off road shortcuts that the said apps cannot find.
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*Some photos are taken by Ken Simon, Jeff Costales and Kissarine Maranon, be sure to check out their IG Accounts linked bellow for more awesome travel photos
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