Hi there, wholesome reader!
Known as the home of tarsiers and the land of chocolate hills, Bohol is one of the islands in the Philippines that is close to my heart. I have visited the province at least two times in my childhood years since it is the place where my father’s lineage is from. I had fond memories of my predecessors in the island and because of that, Bohol has always felt like home to me.
This is not the first time that I visited the island for vacation and leisure purposes. Last 2016, our family also got to tour the countryside for a few days.
But for this post, I’m going to share the countryside tour I had together with my friends. It was the first time that I traveled Bohol with friends, so I was expecting a different kind of experience this time.
After a month of planning and coordinating, the day finally came. We availed of a tour package from a travel agency recommended by my cousin. If you are interested, you may contact them through their Facebook page.
We booked the dates August 6 to 7, which fell on a rainy season. At that time, there was the fear of cancelled plans as there was a typhoon affecting the Visayas region. Luckily, on our departure day, the typhoon has already crossed the region, and the coastguard approved the resumption of sea travels.
Going to Bohol, we decided to travel through Tubigon Port, which is nearer to our first destination of the tour and is just an hour away from Cebu Port. On the other hand, Tagbilaran Port is still two hours away from our starting point and is also two hours away from Cebu. Midway our travel, in the middle of the ocean, rain poured. I was feeling a bit dismayed as I was thinking that if the rain won’t stop, our plans might get ruined. However, a few minutes later, the pour stopped, and a slight hint of sunlight was already visible.
We arrived at Tubigon Port at around 8am, which was the exact time that our travel agency has arranged for our transportation needs.
Upon getting out of the port, we were welcomed by our driver, and he quickly took a picture of us for his documentation (which he will, then, submit to the travel agency as proof of his work for the day).
Our First Destination Was..
I guess you already know the most famous tourist destination in Bohol - the Chocolate Hills. They even have this delicacy named Peanut Kisses which imitates the shape of the hills. Since our visit did not fall during the summer season, the hills were not chocolate-looking but, rather, they look like matcha hills lol (our driver made this joke, all credits to him) 😆
The hills are spread throughout the different towns in Bohol. These provinces include Carmen, Sagbayan, Valencia, Batuan, Bilar, and Sierra Bullones. This is the third time that I have visited Chocolate Hills but on my previous trips, I went to different spots namely the Sagbayan Peak in the town of Sagbayan (as its name states) and Chocolate Hills Adventure Park in Batuan.
This time, I got to see a 360-degree view of the scenery as we visited the Chocolate Hills Viewing Deck, the famous one that is located in Carmen.
Our driver dropped us at the foot of one of the hills. This hill is said to be the biggest among the others. We had to take 214 steps to reach the peak, and yes I counted the steps! Both the stairs and the view at the observatory deck literally made us all breathless. There was a large pair of binoculars at the deck, too, which allowed us to take a closer look of the surrounding hills.
The Next Stop Was..
We visited the big-eyed little creatures also known as the tarsiers in Bohol as our next stop was the Tarsier Conservation Area.
Tarsiers are nocturnal animals, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. Thus, this is a place where silence is very much appreciated as these little creatures have sensitive senses.
We were able to take pictures together with the tarsier, and with the assistance of the staff inside the area. However, we were from a distance since we cannot really step closer to the animal.
The Adventure Continues
Even though it was already past lunch time (and we have not eaten our meals yet), we had one last destination to go. It was the majestic Man-made Forest along the roads in Bilar.
This was the second time that I visited the place but I was still as amazed as the first time.
Before, there used to be a nature park somewhere along the road but as I had seen, the said park was already closed; this may be brought along by the COVID pandemic.
Finally, Lunch Time!
Our stomachs were already churning as it was way beyond lunch time. Although we enjoyed the first part of our tour, we can’t deny the fact that we’re already hungry! Thankfully, next off our itinerary is the Loboc River. Part of the tour package we availed was a buffet lunch at one of the famous restaurants in the island - Loboc River Floating Restaurant.
While we cruise the length of the river, we were serenaded by a local group of musicians and singers. And along the way, we also got to meet other boats and even tried to wave to other tourists. Gladly, most of them were friendly enough to wave back.
One Last Stop
After our relaxing lunch experience in Loboc, we headed straight to Bohol’s newest tourist attraction – Sikatuna’s Mirror of the World and Botanical Garden. Visiting the place was like being able to travel the world without actually leaving the country as they display some of the famous landmarks around the globe.
Some of the replicas displayed in the place are Paris' Eiffel Tower, the statue of Christ the Redeemer, the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Merlion of Singapore. They also have their own version of the Hollywood sign, but instead of Hollywood, they spell out the word “Bohollywood”.
Honestly, at this point, I already got all so tired that I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the place. Since it was such a long day for us, my energy level at this time was already running out.
So after like twenty minutes of roaming around the place, I went back to our van and took a rest while my friends were still inside the tourist attraction, happily taking pictures.
Initially, we planned to visit a few more places but time forbade, we weren’t able to visit the rest. What I have learned from this trip is to allocate at least an hour for each destination off our itinerary next time and to consider breaks in between places to recharge and rest for a little while.
After our last stop in Sikatuna, we headed to our hotel accommodation in Panglao, which was still about an hour away. We stayed at Red Picnic Hostel, which was also included in our tour package and dined at a famous restaurant in the island - which you’ll know soon on my future blog post.
This will be all for today's post. I hope you enjoyed reading and discovered a place to visit in Bohol. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day! 😉
I'll take delight in writing for you again soon.
Love,
Sam ♡
Hello, in case you have not read my intro post, my name is Samantha. You may call me Sam for short. I am from Cebu, a beautiful island in the Philippines. I created this space in an attempt to put all the good things in one place, thus, my blog name @wholesamdiaries.
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nice post, vacation with family, yes indeed a very exciting experience🤩
Sometimes, we just all need a breather from life and the best way to enjoy it is with family and friends :)
what a trip, looks great, never been to a place with so many little mountains, i bet the sound of the threes echo when the wind blows and bounce against the small mountains, must be very relaxing, Im a bit scare of the rivers when the water is not so clear, not thinking that is dirty just trying to imagine what animals could be underwater, looks like you and love ones had a great trip, thx for sharing ✌️
Yeah the river was brownish at that time because of consistent rains. Mud from the mountains flowed down the river, that's why. But so far, I have not heard of any creature living underneath the waters haha
Woah 😍 what a wonderful tour.
Ako lang siguro ang taga bohol na never pa naka anha ug Chocolate hills ug sa man made forests uy
Surely you enjoy your tour with your family 💕
Hello! I'm guessing that you're living on the northern part of the island? I hope you get to visit some time naman ;)
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