Sur Beach Resort Boracay

This is my report of my second trip to Boracay in 2013. I made this visit to the island of Boracay with my friend Markie. Our trip was initially quite tiring because we were not able to get a flight from Manila to Caticlan. We forced to take the route to Boracay through Kalibo. Once we arrived at the Kalibo airport we took a bus for the two hour journey to Caticlan that seemed to take forever. I guess I can’t the blame the bus driver for going so slowly considering the Kalibo-Caticlan road is very curvy. We were exhausted the time we finally get to our hotel on the island of Boracay. So, if you are planning to visit the island of Boracay, I suggest do not go there unless you can get a direct flight to Caticlan. It is not that bad of a trip if you go directly to Caticlan airport. Once you get to Caticlan, the boat ride to Boracay will only take ten minutes to get to the island port. From the port to your hotel will take another fifteen to twenty minutes. I suggest if you are traveling on a budget and just want to book all of your transportation yourself, book your transportation through Southwest Boracay Transportation Company. http://www.southwesttoursboracay.com



On this visit to Boracay I had a great adventure. My friend and I really enjoyed something called helmet diving. You simply wear an unpressurized helmet that has a tube in it that brings fresh air into your helmet from a boat on the surface of the water above you. It is a very inexpensive package for 400 pesos per person that includes underwater pictures and a video of your dive. It was pretty cool when I was able to actually touch the live fish with my hand. If you don’t have your scuba diving license, helmet diving is the way to do it.



We stayed in Station 1 at Sur Beach Resort. On the first and the second night of our stay in the island, we walked along the beach going to station 2 and 3. We stopped and watched many tourists singing and dancing along the beach.





I always woke up early in the morning so I could run or walk along the beach bare foot for at least half an hour. I like to get my exercise very early in the morning because the beach gets crowded later in the day and to avoid the hot sun. In sum, this trip to Boracay was great, largely because I enjoyed helmet diving for the first time.



Sur Beach Resort Boracay Website: www.surboracay.com
Contact: +63 36 288 6844

Boracay

August 23-26, 2012

 

Finally I made myself to Baracay Island it was my first time to go there.  I took Cebu Pacific Air from NAIA to Caticlan.   Cebu Pacific and AirPhil are the only two airlines offer a direct flight to Caticlan and not via Kalibu.   When I arrived in the Caticlan Airport, the hotel service van took me to the port area for a boat transfer to Boracay.

The time travel from Manila is about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Land travel from the Caticlan Airport to Caticlan port is about five minutes or little more but not more than ten.  When I got to the port area, somebody from my hotel in Boracay guided me where do I go and which boat I should be riding on.   Once I was all situated and boat starts moving, it took fifteen minutes only to reach to Boracay.

From the Boracay port I waited about five minutes until somebody from the transportation company who is contact of my hotel will picked me up.   The drive from Boracay port is about ten to fifteen minutes.  My package was well organized by the hotel from the airport.

Starting from the airport when I arrived they have a placard with name on it so as in the port area and the land transfer.   I was surprised everything works out well.  When I arrived in Willys Resort Boracay they were very helpful attentive and offered me a fresh shake of welcome drinks.

Willys Resort is very nice.  I am very close to the famous rock of the island of Bocaray.  The food is good but the thing I like the most is there famous “Peanut banana choco shake”.   I don’t what it is in this shake but is just delicious.   

For entertainment my friend Leana and her husband will picked me up in the evening for dinner and some drinks.

I jogged early in the morning for two days when I was in Boracay.  I absolutely love the sands and the fresh breeze.   The sands are so fined and don’t get hot even in a sunny day.  The water is beautiful and clear but the only problem is there are too many people.   It won’t be long Boracay will get over populated.

Willy's Beach Club Hotel

Boracay Island

Tel No. 6336 288-37794 t0 97

Link: www.willysbeachclubhotel.com

Be Resort

 August 14, 2012

Be at home

Be in Cebu

Be Resorts

BE Resorts
Punta Engaño Road,
Mactan Cebu
Tel No.: 032-236-8888
Web: www.besorts.com

My next adventure in Cebu was swimming again at the newly opened resort next to old Hilton hotel - Movenpick. This time I was with my two friends, Leana and Tintin. We three decided to visit this place before Leana and I permanently leave the Philippines. Be Resort (what do you think of this name?) is very nice. The place was so beautiful and had a quite relaxing environment. Be Resort had a long shore line. I also noticed when we were there that there were more foreign guests - particularly Koreans. The pool there was quite small. What was kind of interesting was the way the swimming pool aligned with the ocean so it seemed the pool was an extension of the ocean.

The Be Resort had a very tropical feeling – more so than any other resort in Cebu. They also offered free Wi-Fi access at the lobby area. It is cool place to be when you are planning to visit one of the resorts in the Mactan area. The price is affordable compare to the Movenpick Hotel next door and also Shangri-La. Be Resorts also offered day use of their pool and beach for a very affordable price.

Hilutungan Island

August 13, 2012

My friends and I agreed to do island hopping once again in the Mactan area before I leave for U.S. at the end of this year. We contacted a boat operator about a boat we could rent for a day. Our first island stop from Punta Engano, where all the charter boats dock, was the island called Hiluntungan Island. Next we planned to visit Olango and then Nalusuan Island. The ride going there was so rough – there were many big waves. I heard so much about Hiluntungan Island in particular. I read from many websites that this island is just awesome. There are lots of fish to see, pretty corals to view and many unusual vistas.

When we got to Hiluntungan we saw many of docked boats. Up to 60 boats were unloading people while others were just waiting for their guests to t finish snorkeling and scuba diving. Once our boat captain had our boat situated, I became very excited to see what was underwater.
But before I jumped in, there were three men riding on a very small paddle boat asking for an entrance fee. I found out that every rental boat that brings guests to this island requires a payment of 100 pesos per person. I was wondering why they didn’t also try to charge us for breathing the air around the island. The fish are so small and the corals are broken. For a hundred pesos per person and the boat has maximum of 50 guests every day, that makes a good business in this island.

I had been snorkeling in Bantayan Island, Batangas and Bohol before, but only in Cebu have I been asked to pay the fee like this. It is embarrassing to let the world see this find this kind of silly avarice since I’m a Cebuana too.

Our next stop was near Olango Island. This area was not good for snorkeling at all, plus there was nothing to see. The last stop on our itinerary was Nalusuan Island but we decided not to go through because of the strong currents and waves. Two of my friends suffered from sea sickness already. We finished a bit earlier than we planned. Lucky for the boat owner we paid the full amount considering we only used the boat for half a day, though we paid for the whole day.

Penang, Malaysia

Last 2011 Christmas we decided to make a trip to Penang Island, Malaysia. Penang, often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient, is one of the most picturesque and romantic cities in all of Asia. This tropical island lies in the Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Penang received its name from the Pinang, or Betel Nut tree, once commonly found on the island. Established as the first British trading post in the Far East in 1776, Penang today is a bustling metropolis reflecting a uniquely exotic blend of East and West. It is a mash-up of cultures, religions, foods, and architectures.

There is a wide range of different styles and types of architecture to be found in Penang. The British Museum was built in 1986 and has been restored to pristine condition. The Queen Victoria Clock Tower is another example of the British influence on the local architecture. Another architectural theme is expressed in the many mosques that can be found in Penang – perhaps most famous of which is the Floating Mosque. There are also many Hindu temples. Perhaps the most pervasive architectural statement is made by the hundreds of store shops with second floor residences that can be found in Chinatown.

Getting Around Penang:

Getting around Penang we found two basic transportation options for getting around Penang – taxi and bus (Rapid Penang). Each taxi had a notice to potential customers painted on the side of each taxi indicating it was against the law to “haggle” over taxi fares. This gave us hope that the taxi drivers would only use their meters to charge us – wrong!

We quickly learned that very few taxi drivers would use their meters to charge tourists to Penang. This is a big problem because how can you haggle over the cost to your destination if your not sure how far it is? We tried haggling twice and wound up paying three or four times what we thought was a fare price.

The buses in Penang are clean, comfortable and very cost-effective. The buses travel just about everywhere we needed to go and cost about a tenth as much as a taxi. The only problem we had with the bus drivers was getting them to let us when we had arrived at our destination. You need to carefully investigate the route your bus will take and figure out for yourself when to get off.

The Beaches:

We found the beaches in Penang to be as beautiful as any in Asia. They were clean and rarely crowded. We found a nice combination of fine sand and large rock formations.

There were several signs warning about jellyfish and we read a story in the local paper about some packs of dogs running on the beaches. We did notice some stray dogs on the beaches, but they seemed friendly enough.

Shopping:

Gurney Plaza is a modern, beautiful and clean shopping mall at which we found a wide variety of goods and reasonable prices. In addition to shopping, Gurney has a wide range of dining and snack options.

Penang has a number of open-air markets or “sidewalk bazaars” where one can find a little bit of everything that could generally be described as “souvenirs.” Some of the items on offer are of reasonable quality, but most are close to “junk” status. Be prepared to haggle a reasonable price at these markets. We would always start by offering no more than 50% of the merchant’s “asking price” and then go from there.

We were so lucky to find the Copthorne Hotel. It was quite a bit less expensive than the other hotels in the immediate area, but it several ways was much better. The hotel itself was beautiful and the staff was extremely helpful and courteous.

The hotel had a nice pool that was particularly enticing in the evenings and several different beach options. There is a grassy, landscaped area with umbrellas as well as a large beach with clean sand for taking long walks.

Bantayan Island Cebu

Ogtong Beach Bantayan Island

My friends and I left of our trip to Bantayan Island from the Cebu City North Bus Terminal early in the morning. Once our group was assembled we were off for the 2.5 hour ride to Hagha. The trip was a bit bumpy and hot since the bus was packed and there was no air conditioning.

From Hagha we hired tricycles for the five-minute ride to the boat docks, where we were able to find the ferry that took us to Bantayan Island. The pleasant one-hour ferry ride was more fun than the bus and gave us a chance to take a couple of pictures.

Upon our arrival in Bantayan, we quickly located another tricycle for a short, five minute trip to the Sugar Beach Resort. The whole trip from Cebu City to our destination at the Sugar Beach Resort was around four hours.

Two different resorts on Bantayan Island were recommended to us – the Ortong Cave Resort and the Sugar Beach Resort. We decided to stay at the Sugar Beach Resort because it has a fantastic, white-sand beach. While we were there, the employees of the resort worked continuously to keep the beautiful grounds around the resort looking as clean and neat as possible. Too bad they could not have spent some of their time cleaning the resort’s guest rooms clean and neat. The rooms were quite basic and very dirty. Several of the cheapest rooms did not even have locks on extremely flimsy doors. This would seem to be a very serious security problem, but I guess some people don’t mind or feel safe travelling in large groups. The budget rooms, that cost P700, also did not have TV, air conditioning, phone, hot water, soap or towels. If you want soap, towel, and a blanket, you can rent them for an extra charge of course.:-)

The budget rooms were quite sparse, but afforded great views of the ocean. The rooms with air conditioning cost about P1,200 but are located around the back of the resort and do not have nice views. We did not have a look at these rooms, so I don’t know if they have hot water, soap, towels, and a blanket.

Sugar Beach, Bantayan

The Sugar Beach Resort does not have a restaurant. When you get hungry, the first step is to make a trip to the local market – about five minutes by tricycle. There you can buy fish, chicken, pork, rice, and some veggies. With your shopping complete, you return to the resort’s kitchen where they will cook your dinner for P40 per item and bring your food to your room.

Just next to our resort is the Ogtong Cave Resort. This place looks more like a resort hotel. They have a restaurant and rooms that include air conditioning, TV, hot water, soap, etc. – starting at P1,600. Aircon villas start at P3,500 a night and the Honeymoon Suite is P18,000. While the Ogtong Cave Resort offers much better amenities, it does not have the same expansive, beautiful beach that we found at the Sugar Beach Resort. I guess you could stay at the Ogtong Cave Resort and use the beach of the Sugar Beach Resort for a small P35 entrance fee.

Virgin Island

Virging Island

As far as the activities while we were on Bantayan Island, we had an opportunity to do some island-hopping. Our group rented a pump boat with driver for P1,200 that gave us about a four hour cruise to visit Virgin Island and the surrounding area. The trip to Virgin Island took about an hour. Once there we enjoyed swimming, snorkeling and generally frolicking on the beautiful beach.

The highlight of our trip to Bantayan Island was the beautiful beach. To be honest, there was not much else to do there or reason to make the trip. The two options we had for accommodations were either extremely poor but cheap, or modest but expensive for what you get. I would say the Sugar Beach Resort is fine for backpackers who bring their own towels and soap. The accommodations at the Ogtong Case Resort looked much better, but at prices that could not be justified in our minds. Given the hot and dusty trip that took a half-day each way from Cebu City, I don’t plan to return to Bantayan Island any time soon.

Waikiki Hawaii

I’ve always wanted to go Hawaii. I guess my first impressions about Hawaii, stemmed from my favorite TV show - Hawaii Five 0. I waited a long time for my dream to visit Hawaii to come true.

My journey to Hawaii starts with Delta Airline. It was my first time to travel with Delta. I was pleased to find they have very good customer service - unlike PAL. There were no problems with our flight and we were able to leave on time, also unlike PAL (Plan Always Late).

When I got to Hawaii the first thing I noticed is the smell of the air. It certainly smells good and fresh, with just a hint of the many flowers which abound. Like the air, the water in Hawaii is crystal clear. They are so many fit people jogging along the beach while others are surfing, biking and engaged in many other forms of athletic endeavor. At night there are Hawaiian cultural shows that you can watch, not to mention mimes, portrait artists, and various other entertainers. We like to go out in the evening just to see the beautifully lighted landscapes; water falls various night decorations and varied architectures on the streets of Waikiki.

The next day we took a tour to Pearl Harbor to see the famous “bookends” of the U.S.S. Arizona and U.S.S. Missouri. Before boarding a small boat to the Arizona Memorial, our tour group watched a 15-minute show about the battle that took place at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. After watching the very interesting history of the seek attack on America’s fleet at Pearl Harbor, I noticed that many of the tourists got teary eyes - including me. It was very interested to learn why so many people sailors became trapped when the U.S.S Arizona exploded and sunk. I didn’t know that they were sleeping during the attack because their ship’s band won second place in the battle of the bands that took place on Saturday night the 6th of December. As their prize, all of the Arizona’s men allowed to sleep until ten the next morning. Thus, the men were asleep in their bunks when the air attack began.

After seeing the U.S.S Arizona Memorial, the tour bus took us to the U.S.S. Missouri or “Big MO” as it is also called. I was so amazed how big she is - it’s gigantic! It was very interesting to see the inside of U.S.S Missouri and learn about the history of the 63rd and final battleship built in America. The tour lasted about hours and included a tour around Honolulu as well as Pearl Harbor.

I loved my trip in Hawaii. It was a “dream come true” for me. They are so many things and places to see in Hawaii, I only wish I could have stayed longer. It was so beautiful and I wish I can do it again.

Imperial Palace

Imperial Palace
Waterpark Cebu
Phone No. 32 494-5100
Website: www.imperialpalace-cebu.com

We had to do more to welcome the New Year than you trip to Sumilon Island, so we decided to check out the new resort and water park that opened on Mactan Island. There has been a great deal of hype about the first water park in Cebu, but I was not initially too interested because I assumed the water park would just be a couple of sides that kids could use instead of diving into a swimming pool. Well, I have to tell you, the Imperial Palace is really fantastic.

The uniquely themed water park, the first in Cebu, is designed by Dream Park International, experts in water parks, themed-parks, and family entertainment. The water park features five different themed pools: Amazon River Pool- a flowing river pool that you can enjoy best in an inflatable tube; the Wave Rider- an artificial tide pool; Captain Hook’s Pool – featuring a pirate ship and slides; Beach Pool and Toddler Pool. It also features three exciting slides including the thrilling Space Bowl.

The one-day pass for Imperial Palace costs P2,000 on weekends and holidays and P1,500 ++ – and it’s a bargain. From the moment you enter this place, you are treated like the most important person in the world. The customer service is absolutely outstanding in every way. There is a comfortable and clean place to change into your beach wear. Next, you pick up your beach towel and you’re off to visit the many theme pools and ocean. If you’re energetic, they even offer aerobics classes that you take while standing in one of the pools. From time to time, the Imperial Palace offers dance troops who entertain you with various family-friendly dances and small skits. If you have any questions about what to do at the Imperial Palace, you can ask any of the friendly and helpful staff who seemed to be everywhere just waiting to help you.

We noticed a wide range of adults and children from many countries, although there seemed to be a quite large contingent of Korean guests. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We were a bit concerned there would be gangs of screaming, out-of-control kids, but there was only lots of laughter as hundreds of people from all over the world enjoyed themselves. Sure, a few of the pools had a preponderance of kids, but there were also quiet, peaceful places where you could relax and rest.

The Imperial Palace is beautiful, fun, and has one of the best luncheon buffets in the Philippines. My friends and I were hard-pressed to decide if we enjoyed the great food or water slides the most. All-in-all this place is about the best recreational value you can find in Cebu. If you haven’t yet been to the Imperial Palace – you should go.

Imperial Palace's Updated Day Adventure Packages

Water Wonder – P 1,900.00 net inclusive of Lunch or Dinner and free use of Waterpark.

Water Fun – P 2,400.00 net inclusive of Lunch or Dinner, free use of Waterpark and a Banana Boat Ride (one time only).

Water Thrill – P 2,900.00 inclusive of Lunch or Dinner, free use of Waterpark and a 15 minute Jet Ski ride.

Water Escapade – P 3,400.00 inclusive of Lunch or Dinner, free use of Waterpark, banana Boat Ride (one time only) and 5 minute Jet Ski ride.

Cabana Package – P 3,400.00 inclusive of Lunch or Dinner, free use of Waterpark,-hour use of Cabana with snacks and drinks.

*Rates include free towel and a changing room*.

Rates quoted above are for Local Residents only. Foreigners living in the country need to present proof of residency to avail the local rate. Applicable P500.00 surcharge will be added for Non-Locals. Children 12 years old & below can avail of a P600.00 discount. Children 4 years old and below accompanied by at least one paying adult is free of charge (maximum of 2 children). A choice of Lunch at Familia Buffet Restaurant OR Ala Carte at Familia, Aqus Pool Bar Aqus Island Bar for PhP 1,000.00nett with inclusive of one round of standard drinks (chilled juices, iced tea, sodas or local beers). 50% discount on succeeding beverages orders if ordered together with the inclusive Day Adventure Package meal.

Food and beverages items from outside sources MAY NOT be brought and consumed in the Hotel.

Day Adventure coupons are available at the Day Use Counter from 9AM to 3PM only. Additional Php 300nett for all Day Adventure Packages on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. For further inquiries, please feel fre to contact our Day Use Counter at 494-5222.