Tag Archives: Philippine beaches

HOW TO GET TO BORACAY FROM KALIBO?

November 20, 2012 yannahthewanderer 176 Comments

UPDATED: MAY 2013

Kalibo is one of the main hubs towards Boracay. It is about a- 2 hours bus or van ride away from Caticlan jetty Port, where you will ride a boat (about 5-15 minutes ride) to get to the beautiful island of Boracay.

Kalibo is a good choice if you are in a budget–except of course if there is an ongoing sale for Caticlan which rarely happens— It is a good way to save money, and of course the mountainous or forested scenery is a plus if you choose Kalibo. Manila to Caticlan fares (regular fares) are usually PhP 7,000-10,000 while Manila to Kalibo the regular fares are around P3000-P4500, so as you can see there is a big difference! *Advise: Wait for airline seat-sales because they lower the price for about 75% so you can save a lot.

After your arrival in Kalibo International Airport, you can see a lot of stalls offering a package of either bus or van with ferry ride. This package usually costs from 200-300PhP depending on the bus/van company. During my visit we opted to ride a van which costs P250.00 (the company that runs it is KIATA).

The stalls are located right in front the baggage-claim area.

How to get from Kalibo to Boracay — The Baggage claim area, in front of this are the stalls

HOW TO GET TO BORACAY FROM KALIBO — UPDATED PHOTOS AS OF MAY 2013

van service kalibo to boracay — Here is the van service we used (Kiata)

After 2 hours of traveling we were dropped off to Caticlan Jetty Port where we paid environmental fee, terminal fees and other kind of fees. We were also required to sign up in the visitors’ log sheet where everyone is required to sign in order for the local government unit to monitor the number of people coming into the island.

BEFORE YOU ENTER CATICLAN JETTY PORT, there are counters waiting for you at the side of the entrance. You should not go inside the jetty port UNTIL you already paid the things you need to pay, such as terminal fee, environmental fee and alike. If you are such a naughty kid “so makulit” you will be told to go out again to do what you should do, which only means that you’ll be hassled again because of the tedious security check. Save yourself the hassle of opening your bags and repeating the same procedure. So, Before you get inside please pay your dues…

THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED: 1. TERMINAL FEE 2. ENVIRONMENTAL FEE 3. PUMP BOAT TICKET

Environmental fee: P100.00 (updated May 2013).

Terminal Fee: P100.00 (Updated May 2013)

*Students and senior citizens are given discounts, for environmental fee, you will only pay P75.00 . 😀 so, present your ID’s!!!

TERMINAL FEE:

PUMP BOAT TICKET IF YOU DID NOT AVAIL OF PACKAGE RATES IN KALIBO

You also need to sign up your names if you are visiting Boracay, so that LGU’s will have information regarding the number and the names of the people who visited this number 1 tourist destination in the Philippines.

Caticlan Jetty Port registration booth — You will register here, put your name and signature in their logbook. 😀

The ferry ride is just 15 minutes, so basically, after 2 hours and 15 minutes of travel you will arrive to the mesmerizing island of Boracay…

Caticlan to Boracay — the ferry/fast crp that will transport you from Caticlan Jetty Port to Boracay

BUT! after that 15 minutes ferry ride, you still need to ride a trike (tricycle) which costs at around P100.00 or 2USD to get to the White Beach where most of the hotels are located. P100.00 is for the whole trike, so you won’t share it with anybody, it can carry up to 4-5 people. But, if you are really in a budget, you can share the tricycle with other people. Our hotel is located near D’Mall (in between station 2 and station 1) so maybe if your hotel is in Station 1, the price will be higher.

As for the boat rides, it is P25.00 per person for trips starting at 5am to 6pm and P30.00 for trips starting at 6pm onwards except if it is part of the package.The ferries end their operations at 10 pm. Which means that it operates from 5am until 10pm.

Although it seems tiring to get to Boracay after deplaning in Kalibo… Everything just seems to go away once you catch a glimpse of the glistening sand and turquoise water of Boracay.

HAPPY WANDERING!

Boracay, Philippines: Still a Paradise.

October 22, 2012 yannahthewanderer 5 Comments

Boracay, Philippines is well known for its long stretch of fine white sand and as the place-to-be for parteyying.

It is a paradise for sightseers, adventure-seekers and party-goers, if you fall into any of these categories, then this place is for you.

Some Infos you Might need to Know:

There are two (2) gateways to get you to Boracay through air travel. The first, which is the easiest and fastest way is to fly towards Caticlan Airport, which is 15 minutes away from the island itself, you just need to hire a tricycle to arrive at Caticlan Jetty Port and then ride a boat towards Boracay. The second is flying towards Kalibo International Airport. It is a cheaper way to arrive in Boracay, however, it is quite uncomfortable because of the additional 2 hour van/bus ride,. The air tickets towards Kalibo Airport is much more cheaper than getting a ticket to Caticlan.

Tickets Manila-Kalibo-Manila, regular fare is P3500.00 or $82USD, while Manila to Caticlan-Manila ranges from P7000.00 -15,000.00 ($163 – $350USD) regular fare. But, you can always spot an airline sale and get 50-70% slash of the regular airfare. Like my facebook page and I will always make sure that airline, hotel and other kind of sales will not miss you! —Yes! I’m proudly promoting my FB page! haha!

However, anyone seeking adventure may still opt for a challenging bus ride or an almost 24-hour ferry ride which most of us call RoRo. I’ve seen a bus there, it was Philtranco, I don’t know how it get there but it says ARANETA-CUBAO, haha! Maybe there is really a bus going there! 🙂 Anyway, I’ll get details about it later.

There are 3 stations in Boracay, the 1st station has the best sand but the hotels here are more expensive than the other 2 stations. The 2nd station has the most party-places and more affordable accommodations. The 3rd station has rocky sand but still white, but it has the most affordable accommodations/hotels in the island.

SIGHTSEERS:

The place is scenic. —I don’t have anything to add anymore. It is beautiful, peaceful–in the mornings. and entirely different for beach lovers, in the sense that it is a long–very long– white sand beach. I walked towards the start until the end of Station 1 and I’m really tired after, I ended up sleeping the whole night! 🙂

The sand is pearl white especially if the sun is shining brightly. It somehow sparkles, and it is quite hard to glare at since it is really white. This is the 2nd time I see a bond-paper white kind of sand. It is indeed beautiful. And the sand is really cuddly. I love putting my feet beneath those sand. It is really soft to the touch! I just love the sand!

What I love in this island is its amazing sunset. It is so dramatic that I wanna cry. 😦 No words can amount to what I felt looking at it! see for yourself! 🙂

sunset boracay, philippines — amazing sunset

ADVENTURE-SEEKERS

There are a lot of water/land activities in the whole island, like para-sailing, jet skiing, cliff-diving, diving, reef/helmet diving, banana boat riding, ATV riding, horse back riding and so much more.

TIP: especially for the foreigners, don’t talk to those people who are selling you or offering you with activities since they will tend to increase the price 3x.

I tried the Cliff-Diving in Ariel’s Point and it was a -one of a kind- experience! It is awesome!!! 🙂 I’ll post about my experience in Ariel’s Point later.

ariel's point boracay, philippines — Ariel’s Point diving board. 🙂 yeee

PARTY-GOERS

There are a lot of clubs and bars, you will love bar hopping, mingling or just plain having fun. The life there is really great, though the price is high.

If you wanna mingle, there is a club that organizes what they call as pub crawl. There you will meet other people, drink to your heart’s desire and simply enjoy the nightlife in Boracay… I almost tried this, but during our time it was cancelled since there are few attendees.

By the way, I’ll be back in Boracay this May!! If you are there then see you! 🙂

THIS IS MY FIRST POST FOR MY BORACAY SERIES. THIS IS AN INTRODUCTION!

HAPPY WANDERING!

Beaches, Philippines, Puerto Princesa Palawan

Pandan Island, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa: Simply Breathtaking!

September 8, 2012 yannahthewanderer 1 Comment

Breathtaking— the only term that I can use to describe this island. It has aquamarine/apatite colored waters amidst the cobalt blue sky, it also has the whitest fine sand I have ever seen (whiter than the one in Boracay). It is simply a paradise!

What makes this island special?? There are no buildings made of concrete, just cottages made of wood.. This is the place where you can really savor the beauty of nature.

Pandan Island Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa, Philippines — The lone tree.. beautiful isn’t it? This is my own cozy spot, no crowd, just me and nature

It is amazingly picturesque! There are also a lot of coconut trees which makes it your dream tropical island.

While looking at this island, I imagine as if I’m a survivor of a shipwreck, and this is the island I choose to be stuck.

Pandan Island, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa, Palawan — Towering Coconut trees

I’ll definitely choose this place to relax and chill….

According to our tour guide/boatman, this island has the whitest and finest sand throughout Honda Bay, thus, it is more popular for the visitors than the other islands. Most people choose to stay here to eat their lunch, so during lunch time there are a lot of people…. and it kinda become messier/noisier.

The downside of its popularity is that it is a lot more crowded or noisier than the others.

I might say that I prefer the Starfish Island over this island… because more people spend all their time here, but I don’t blame them since this is the most beautiful amongst the islands… However, I hate the seaweeds that lives in its shallow waters… I just don’t like swimming with those amoeba-like (in terms of movement) weeds :)… anyway, the waters here are shallow, just like in Boracay… in order to reach the deeper part you need to walk at least 3-5 meters, this is good for those who have children, since it is safer for the kids…

Amidst all the cons, I can still say that it’s a relaxing place, since it is a big island, you can find a good and silent spot and CHA DA! You have your little paradise without anyone spoiling it…. you can have your cozy, private space where you can meditate, reminisce or just be emo (emotional) 🙂

The best thing here is the sand! it is indeed white and fine….Actually, the sand here is comparable to Boracay, and I may say that it is whiter! I’ve taken some sand with me by putting it in a bottle of mineral water, and compared to what I got in Boracay, It seems whiter… But, you would only see the difference if you’ll look at it closely….

There are various business establishments in the area– No, not like those in Boracay, concrete stores/hotels etc…– Only small stores that offer foods, drinks, and even massage! This island is more commercialized than the others since it is the top choice of tourists who visits Honda Bay…

There are a lot of cottages for rent, but we weren’t able to get one…all were occupied. However, we found a table with chairs and fortunately for us, they didn’t charge us for that tiny little space beneath a coconut tree…

There are three (3) “paluto” restaurants in the island–As far as I’m aware of. they will cook for you and serve you the freshest seafood available– Which is indeed not only tantalizing to the eyes but also delectable to the taste-buds! I promise you that the food is great!

unfortunately for us, the other restaurants doesn’t want to take our orders anymore since they are already super busy…. poor me, I’m already hungry during that time 😦

Luckily, our boatman found this small store on the end most part of the island, the store is selling crabs. I bought all those crabs for P1500, including rice and the service fee for cooking. Me, my colleague, the boatman and his assistant all dined together…

FROM THIS:

TO THIS:

Aside from the restaurants, there’s a shower place where you can wash your body and change your clothes after hours of swimming and rolling in the sand. It is made of native materials, so it blends well to the tropical island theme… 🙂

After we spent 3 hours here, we went back to the port. By the way, there is an entrance fee of P100.00 per person in this island.

Here are the other pictures I took. I experimented using my DSLR, so, here you go, some are good while some are not (overexposed, not good blending!) I’m an amateur you know! :p

HAPPY WANDERING!

To SEE other posts about Puerto Princesa, CLICK HERE!, (ITINERARY, REVIEWS, BUDGETS, ACCOMMODATIONS, ETC).

YANNAH THE WANDERER

Tag Archives: Philippine beaches

HOW TO GET TO BORACAY FROM KALIBO?

Boracay, Philippines: Still a Paradise.

Pandan Island, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa: Simply Breathtaking!

Travel is my Rhythm