We had our annual family beach trip in Bohol just last week and the trip was really an amazing way to escape gloomy Manila. The beginning of it, though, was not as exciting. After we boarded the aircraft to Tagbilaran, we were informed that they were having technical issues with the plane and asked a mechanic to come up and fix it, which could possibly be the worst thing you can hear when you’re about to go on a flight. It took a while--about an hour and a half I think--and when they were just about done with the ‘issues’, we were pushed to an inexact schedule on the runway so we were asked to get ready to deplane. Just as they said that, the pilot spoke up again to say that we weren’t actually going to deplane now as they just gave them a go for departure. Soooo, 3 hours in a stationary plane later, we finally left Manila for Bohol.
It was pouring hard when we left Manila but when we arrived in Bohol, there was nothing but sun. We stayed at the Bellevue Resort which was really just one of the best places we’ve ever stayed in. The resort was in a more secluded part of the island compared to the tons of other resorts in Bohol. The service was great, the view was great, the food was exceptional, and the beachfront + pool was just amazing. If you’re ever planning on going to this lovely island, I highly recommend booking at Bellevue.
We arrived at the resort at around 1pm, then had late lunch at the resort’s restaurant. We then settled in for a while then spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach with a couple of large halo halos in hand. We also went on this viewing dock that was in the middle of the water through floating platform and I shit you not, it was probably one of the scariest things ever. 1) The platform was not stable at all so it kept rocking back and forth, and 2) if you fall, the water in that area was pretty deep and the floor was covered in sea urchins--I mean, probably not the best place to put a floating platform but once you get to the viewing dock, it’s absolutely perfect.
The next day, we booked for a day tour. One of the places we went to was Baclayon Church, which is considered to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. An earthquake struck Bohol about 5 years ago in which the Baclayon Church was shattered. Now, the church has been fully restored and I was in absolute awe of how beautiful it was. The paintings on the ceilings, the moldings on the walls, and the extremely ornamented altar reminded me so much of European churches--it was just so beautiful.
After that, we went to the Tarsier Sanctuary next where they kept a number of the small primates. They were really just about the size of one span and definitely one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I really wish their species would be well taken care of.
We then ate lunch at the floating restaurant in Loboc River that was accompanied by a buffet in the center of the floating hut and live performances by a singer on board and stations where locals perform as a choir and dance the tinikling.
Our next stop was the man-made forest in Bilar, which was an array of beautiful mahogany trees on the side of the road. First photo of the forest is my favorite photo from this entire trip.
And finally, we went up a steep climb of steps to view the famous Chocolate Hills from the top. This was the last stop of our day tour and we headed back to the resort in the middle of the afternoon which still gave us some time to lounge on the beachfront again before the sunset. For dinner, we went to Alona beach which strongly resembled a Boracay beachfront.
On our third day, we went to Balicasag Island and saw a couple of huge sea turtles and fish sanctuaries. We were meant to see dolphins first, but the waves that morning were really strong that we had to go straight to Balicasag instead. Still, on the way to the island, the waves were stronger but we eventually made it there safely.
After that, we went to the Virgin Island to eat, where there was an array of food vendors selling grilled seafood along the sand bar. We bought our meals then ate at the boat, then went right back to swimming along the sand bar after. By the time we left, we were exhausted so we rested up at the resort again until dinner.
On our last day, we spent the morning at Isola di Francesco where we just swam around the island, then headed to a snorkeling spot again to see little fishes and a lot of corals.
Before noon, we headed back to the hotel to shower and check out then went to The Bee Farm restaurant for lunch, and finally headed straight to the airport and back to Manila.
And that concludes our trip to Bohol! I can’t stress enough how much I needed to get away even for just 4 days. It was so refreshing to be back at the beach and I’m so grateful that the trip turned out really great. I had an amazing time with my family as always and I’m definitely looking forward to the next one!
Watch the travel video below:
