Discovering Bohol with a Budget

This vacation has a requirement -- A budget.
We booked our tickets to Bohol last February  so we can have more time to save.  But due to circumstances, we decided to continue the trip with an amount that will still keep this 1 week vacation memorable.

credits to bohol.ph

After months of research for cheap tours and accommodations, we finally acquired the tour from Incon Bohol Tours
Thanks Kuya Paul!  

credits to Bohol Board

First, we stayed in the City of Tagbilaran to buy pasalubong, it was advised to us that it is cheaper to buy in the Island City Mall. We bought shirts and Peanut Kisses. 
 We were also meaning to buy shirts for ourselves because we saw a nice design, too bad they didn't have our sizes.  We also watched Pirates of the Caribbean, haha.  We went to Bohol to watch a movie haha.  We ate lunch at Payag Jo's Chicken Inato in the food court and dinner in KFC.  We were supposed to eat in Garden Cafe but rain kept us from going out of the mall already.


We stayed at Panda Tea Garden Suites, very affordable.  The only thing I didn't in our room like was the bathroom, the interiors seem to ebe put in the wrong place.  Like the switch for the light was placed on the wall behind the door.  There is a curtain separating the bath from the toilet, no island in the middle to keep the water in the shower space.  They did not put something to keep the water from becoming a pool in the whole bathroom.

In the morning, Mr. Paul Incon fetched us past 9am and started the tour.  A sedan was supposed to be our ride because it has the cheapest rate but luckily Kuya Paul was using the SUV! lucky lucky!! :) 

The spots we visited  in the countryside tour were:

1.  Blood Compact Shrine -- This shrine is not the real spot where the event took place. Accdg to Kuya Paul, they put this here because of the very nice view. There is no port here and it is said that the galleon stopped between 2 rivers. More tivia (read descriptions)...

2.  Baclayon Church -- The oldest Church in Bohol 

   

3.  Real Blood Compact Location  -- The real spot where the Blood compact took place, shows a painting of the galleon and the Sandugo. 

4.  Tarsiers -- Fact: When tarsiers are stressed, they commit suicide.  So it is better to keep them in their natural environment. 

5..Loboc River Cruise with Buffet lunch -- The best river cruise is Riverwatch, others look boring LOL.  The most festive, most colors and most people.

6.  Loboc Zipline -- Exciting!  But in the future we like to try Danao for more adventure and Bukidnon (The Longest Zipline in Asia)

7.  Man-made Forest -- BSP planted trees during the 50s.  If I remember correctly 2km of this forest is man-made, the rest are the natural.

8.  Butterfly Sanctuary -- Simply Butterflies Conservation Center is located in Bilar town in the interior part of Bohol. Wide and spacious, it is the first butterfly livelihood breeding and conservation program in Bohol

9.  Chocolate Hills -- They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season. They are grass covered limestone, that is why no trees are on the hills.

10.  Hanging Bridge -- The bridge is more or less 4o meters long which crosses the Sipatan River.  Rain made it brown, just like what it shows in the Loboc River Cruise.

11.  Buzz Cafe -- We got the Malunggay and Spicey Ginger Ice cream. I liked the former, Ely the other.  Their products are expensive but all are organic.

12.  Loboc Church -- The 2nd oldest Church in Bohol

13.  Prony the Python -- The biggest Python in Captivity ( in the Philippines).  When we got there, she was fed the day before, that's why they said she was sleepy.  Prony in fed once a month and is an obese snake hahah.

14.  Hinagdanan Cave -- We reached the Hinagdanan Cave late already so there were really no photos of the sunlight thru the holes and the water inside the cave. My camera battery also went dead. Take a better look here

After the very tiring tour, we reached Cherry's Inland Resort Too near Alona beach in Panglao Island around 8pm.  We really wanted to be at the Bolod Beach part, longer shores and I think cleaner, but the Affordable rooms in Dumaluan Resort were booked.  We went to dinner Paluto Style.  I forgot the grill place, either it's Alona Hidden Dream or One for da Road, but very yummy paluto.  Food stores in Alona are expensive, you just have to find an establishment that serves hearty and tasty meals to make up for the price.

We didn't get any Sea Tour because we already tried snorkeling in Palawan and island hopping in Palawan and Pangasinan. Of course the fact that we were on a budget trip haha.  Not much of the Panglao Tour also, the countryside tour is enough for now. 

But for sure that we would come back next time for more tours and adventures in the North side of Bohol.

We  just lounged in front of the beach to relax and look at the scenery, beach and people.  Due to the tiring tour, we were glad that we just swam, sat, stare and relax.  We got to observe LOL! Observe women in their bikinis and men who kept looking and looking at them haha. 

Our breakfast was in Cherry's, they had complimentary breakfast for our room, very good food with big mugs for coffee and tea. Unlike other places where they have small mugs.

We ate our lunch in Alona Seaside, basic menu but there were a lot in the plate.  There were some in the menu that we liked but was not available.  We had the green salad which consists of tomatoes, cabbage and cucumber with vinegar dressing.  As for the main course, we had tender and tasty Pork Curry and the big but expensive Sweet and Sour White Snapper.  Pricey but very good meals. :) 

Dinner time!  We were excited with this -- Hayahay Pizza, which was really good!, yum yum! Thin crust, crunchy pizza.  We ordered the Four Seasons Pizza and the cheapest pasta in the menu haha sorry I also forgot what it's called but I think it has the marinara sauce and the fettuccine noodles.  

You can choose the pasta you would like your sauce to drown in.   We had to put lots of salt and pepper in the pasta, lacked something in our taste buds but the pizza was good. :)  

I was somewhat disappointed of the trash and seaweeds in the right side of Alona shore, so sad. I hope they hire someone to clean or just let each establishment clean their own sea front. 

I don't know if the seaweeds were brought to shore because it rained the past few nights before we arrived and I also disliked the stray dogs, lots of poop on the sand hehe --  Camouflaged LOL!  I also stepped on one during the last night :(  

A Simple vacation, yet one memorable one.  The night after the tour was the most memorable because Ely proposed.  No wedding plans yet, oh no no haha.  We still need to save more but for now it's very mutual just to have a long term engagement. :)  
Here are more of Our Bohol pictures 1 2

4d3n Bohol Trip with accommodation and food, more or less 9-10k