1st time to Bohol

[sonjack2847]

My friend is visiting from the UK  and we have discussed going to Bohol for a couple of days. I know we will go and see the Tarsiers and chocolate hills. I have no idea as to where we will stay or what transport is available there. Could you lads give me a few suggestions on

1, Transport not mb as our daughter will be with us, can we hire a trike and driver for a day how much do think we should pay.

2, where to stay not high end.

3, apart from tarsiers and chocolate hills suggestions please on other activities, Please bear in mind that my daughter is 6 so no mountain climbing please.

4, Do I need to book the fastcraft in Dumaguete the day before or do we do it on the day.

I thank you all in advance.

[Old55]

When we saw the Tarsiers was near a river that had fairly large boats take a tour up to a falls. Your 6  year old may enjoy that.

 

[OnMyWay]

The river boats are on the Loboc river and include a buffet lunch that is not bad, at least when we went.  We enjoyed the cruise.

Google Things to Do In Bohol and you will get a lot of lists.

I'm not sure what the taxi situation is there now but I believe there are plenty in Tagbilaran if you are getting off the ferry there.  With the new airport down in Panglao, there may be more taxis around down there.  Last year down in Panglao it is mostly trikes.

I'm not sure how many people you will have but you might want to take a look at Air Bnb if you have more than 4.  We are staying in 2 Air Bnbs at the end of May.

The best way to sightsee, especially on a short schedule, is to hire a car and driver for a day.  They can get you to all the key sightseeing in a day and you don't have to worry about parking, walking, etc.  Search on FB or google Bohol tours.  6 years ago we hired a car and driver for p2500 an it was well worth it. 

We will rent a car for our 8 nights there.  The only disadvantage to that is what I said above about parking and walking at some of the major sites like Choco Hills.  It would be nice to have a driver sometimes.

We went to the main Choco Hills overlook last trip and could not park, so we skipped it.  However, we found an alternative place we really liked.  A different view of the hills and on the way there you actually drive near some of the hills on a beautiful country road.  It is called Sagbayan Peak Park.  Google it.  Last year they were building a water park next to it and I think it is finished.

 

 

[Gary D]

We just book the tour from the hotel. Was driven around the sights in a van. Lomboc cruise is well worth it.

[sonjack2847]

3 hours ago, Gary D said:

We just book the tour from the hotel. Was driven around the sights in a van. Lomboc cruise is well worth it.

Will look into that. I have to wait until my friend comes down from Angeles tomorrow and see what he wants to do. Oh and we might let the women chip in as well.

[jimeve]

2 hours ago, sonjack2847 said:

Will look into that. I have to wait until my friend comes down from Angeles tomorrow and see what he wants to do. Oh and we might let the women chip in as well.

Have a look at hotel Taver's Tagbilaran, not big but clean. Not recommended hiring a trike, they are very small. Hire a van and driver about 3k.

There's butterfly site,  Loboc river cruise. Best book the ferry 1 or 2 days before you travel.   

Edited April 29, 2019 by jimeve
wrong spelling of hotel

[sonjack2847]

I have booked the ferry and I went to the port to do it as online would have cost a hell of a lot more. I have booked a hotel called Harbour Gardens we will be off on Saturday ( and miss most of the water cut off here) Thanks for the input all of you.

[Guy F.]

Hire a van. Pay no more than P2,500/day. With luck you can get it for P2,000. Look it over before you seal the deal. If the tires are bald or you see other issues, look elsewhere.

Do the Loboc River cruise. There is decent food, live music which varies considerably in quality, and other entertainment.

There are several butterfly gardens. The best one has comedians for guides and fun forced perspective photography. Sorry I don't recall the name of it.

The tarsier sanctuary is a must-see.

The Chocolate Hills are worth seeing once. If you've seen one Chocolate Hill you've seen them all.

The best bang for your resort budget is Bohol Beach Club.

DON'T do the Balicasag/Virgin Island tourist boat excursion at P1,000/person. See reviews at TripAdvisor. Ask around at the dive shops to ride along on a trip to Balicasag Island for snorkeling only at P350/person.

Go to Molave Cove Resort in Tangnan on Dauis Panglao Island for snorkeling. A Marine Protected Area is adjacent and the snorkeling is as good as at Balicasag Island.  Admission is P30 and (optional) rent a 'cottage' shelter for P300/day. I think I saw some snorkeling gear available for rent.

You're welcome.

 

[sonjack2847]

Well just got back and I will say that although it was a hectic couple of days it was well worth it. We hired a car with a driver through recommendation and he took us all over the place. We went to chocolate hills then the butterfly garden then the man-made forest we then went to the river cruise but opted out as it looked overpriced(650 per head) and not really what we wanted to do.So then the driver took us to a church with a museum and lastly we want to Bohol beach club and spent an hour there. I will add that not far from Dumaguete is a zoo (Amlan) which we have been to before and apart from tarsiers and the beach has everything we saw in Bohol.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, sonjack2847 said:

and lastly we want to Bohol beach club and spent an hour there.

What is the latest on going to Bohol Beach Club for a short or day visit?  In 2012 we went there and really enjoyed the uncrowded beach.  Last year, I think based on their web site, it appeared that they were charging really high for a day trip.  How much did you pay?  We are going on the 27th.