The Four-Day Cebu Road Trip

Last year, my good friend Lex and I made plans to go to Palawan. Although we both already had round-trip tickets, the trip didn’t happen. I confess it was my fault. I needed to use my trip money on something more important.

This year, Lex and I started working on another plan. He wanted to tour the whole island. See, Lex is an ex-office-mate. He is not a native of Cebu. And three years ago, he moved to Manila. Although I haven’t seen him in years, we finalized our plans with the help of good ole Facebook. Haha.

So, yeah, here are the photos of the trip. Check out the video of the trip at the end of the post! 🙂




Bantayan Island at daybreak. Just marvelous!

It was going to be a four-day trip so we had to pack smart. We also had to take into consideration the fact that we would be on a motorbike more than 60% of the time.

Of course, there’s the guide book and maps, electronic stuff, enough clothes, water, toiletries, and a tent.

We left the city on October 6 at approximately 8 in the morning. Meter reading was 53,058 km. Here we go!

DAY 1

Our first stop was the Parola in Liloan. Beautiful lighthouse!

Then, we went to Papa Kit’s for breakfast. Entrance fee was 100/person. A few months back, the entrance fee was “consumable.” When we got there, only Php50 was consumable. Tsk!

Also, when we went to their restaurants, we were told that they couldn’t serve breakfast because it was still too early. Well, the main reason why we dropped by was to have breakfast! Haha.

Eventually, we just took a couple of shots of the place and we were off. We left the place 200 pesos poorer and with very empty tummies. We couldn’t afford any unexpected stops and expenses because we were running late and we were on a very tight budget.

Not a very good start, I must say. Haha.

Php50/person to get to try this hanging walkway. Nope, we couldn’t afford it. Hahaha.

They have an aviary, too. I’m not sure how many birds they have, exactly.

View of Silot Bay. Just gorgeous.

Catarman Bridge connecting Baranggay Catarman and Liloan Proper.

I’m just a lonely boy. Lonely and blue….

We decided to have breakfast in Danao City, instead. Less than an hour later, we saw the familiar coast of Danao.

View of the new Danao City Plaza from the Macapagal-Durano Fish Port. Lovely, right?

For breakfast, we had sinugbang isda, eggplant, fish soup, and beefsteak. Yum!

After eating, we checked out the park next door. It was lovely.

Bust of Diosdado Macapagal at the center of the park.

After that, we were back on the road. Chickenman!

Our next stop was the Durano Foundation compound. Always a good destination for first-time visitors. Lex was amazed. Haha.

Lovely sight. Busts of popes inside the compound.

After that, we went to the town of Carmen for a quick swim. But first, we dropped by the Benedictine Monastery to pay homage to the Our Lady of Manaoag.

After that, we visited the Durano Ecofarm and Spring Resort. Entrance fee at Php60.

Lovely! We had the pool to ourselves!

The river just a few meters from the pool. Very fresh and clean.

And the view of the beautiful cliff was just breath-taking.

We were on our way to check out the Bagatayam Falls in Sogod when it started to rain really hard. We had to stop at a small road-side police outpost.

And it turned out that the outpost was right in front of the Catmon cemetery. Hehe.

Here’s a photo of our wet bike and tent.

We were stuck for at least an hour before we could proceed to the falls. The water was a little ‘darker’ due to the rain.

After Bagatayam Falls, it was a non-stop ride to the city of Bogo. Before we reached the city, we dropped by the shrine of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

It was already around 4:30 pm and we had to hurry because the last boat to Bantayan leaves at 5:30. Also, we had to make sure that our bike was parked safe inside the Hagnaya Wharf. Also, we had to buy food for dinner. So, we made a quick stop at Jollibee to buy something to eat (fries and burgers.)

We finally reached San Remigio around 15 minutes past 5. Thankfully, things went well. We were able to park our bike near the guard house (big thanks to Sir Richard,) get boat tickets, and get on the boat before the 5:30 cut-off. Goodbye San Remigio. See you tomorrow!

We reached Bantayan Island around 7 in the evening. The place was very quiet. Unlike my previous visits, the island was deserted. In fact, we were the only ones who pitched a tent. Sugar beach was basically empty. It was a little scary, actually. On a positive note, we were free to use the bathrooms and shower rooms (normally, you’d have to shell out 20 pesos to use them.) We were also able to charge up our phones and other gadgets  free of charge (thanks to open cottages with power outlets. Haha.)

Our tent.

DAY 2

The next day, it was time to hit the beach! Bantayan Island is just lovely!

Sugar Beach. Minus the tents.

What’s good about traveling to Bantayan during the quieter months is that you can see the normal Bantayanon life unfold before your very eyes. Normally, during peak seasons, these kids are either selling bottled water outside the camp grounds or helping backpackers carry their bags.

Early morning scene in Bantayan.

Fishermen loading a banca with fishing materials.

This lady is busy collecting small shells in the sand.

Small shells. They can be cooked. They can then be used to make bracelets and earrings, too.

The lovely Bantayan Island.

We decided to skip breakfast because we had to pay for the entrance fee (35/head) and tent fee (150/tent) the previous night. These things weren’t on our budget. Hehe.

On our way back to the port, we dropped by a burger station to buy two burgers (Php25 for two orders. Yey!) Yep, that’s our brunch. Hahaha.

On our way to the boat.

The port of Santa Fe. Very clean!

One and a half hours later, we were back in Hagnaya. There’s our bike! 🙂

Hello there!

By 2 pm we were back on the road. And VERY hungry. We reached Tuburan around 3 pm. A few minutes later, we reached the lungsod where we finally had lunch. Thank God!

After a short break, we were back on the road for the final stretch of Day 2. Around 5 in the afternoon, we finally reached the city of Toledo. We checked out numerous pension houses and inns and they were all either very expensive or fully booked. Fortunately, we found the Toledo Travelers Inn near the plaza.  Our budget was only 500 but the room was at 800. We decided to take it anyways because it was getting dark and we had nowhere else to go. I guess we’ll just have to skip a few more meals.

View of the seaside plaza in front of the inn. Very pretty.

[It turned out that the room that we got was the last available room for that day. Two more groups arrived shortly after we checked in.]

The room wasn’t too bad. There was cable and A/C. Plus, we were able to get a good sleep.

[It rained the whole time the previous night and we didn’t have enough sleep because our tent was flooded. Haha.]

DAY 3

Shot of Days Hotel Toledo. Nope, we didn’t stay there.

So, for breakfast, we just dropped by Arbee’s bakeshop to get some bread. After that, we were back on the road. Our next stop was the town of Aloguinsan.

We finally had lunch at around 2 in the afternoon. Yay!

After that, it was time to tour the place!

We checked out the Baluarte Heritage Park.

[Entrance fee: 10 pesos]

After Aloguinsan, we were back on the road. We reached the town of Alcantara at around 4 in the afternoon.

Sea Paradise Boardwalk in Poblacion, Alcantara.

Hahahahaha!

Please lang! Hahahaha.

We finally reached Moalboal a few minutes before 5. The sun was setting and we needed to find a camp site really fast.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t pitch our tent because the tide was so high and the sea was just so restless. We might wake up in the middle of the ocean. So, we asked around for room rates and we got from as high as 3000 to 800. And, nope. We couldn’t afford it. We could only shell out 300. Hahaha.

Fortunately, one lady agreed to give us a room for Php500. We decided to take it. Well, that means another missing meal. But, hey! We’ll manage. Bwahahaha.

DAY 4

MCPB!

So, instead of getting busy eating and drinking coffee, we spent the whole morning of Day 4 swimming and running on the beach. Woot!

Beautiful Moalboal!

We left Moalboal for Barili at around 10 am. Yes, we skipped breakfast (and lunch, too.)

Of course, we had to see Mantayupan Falls.

Still very gorgeous. Definitely one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Cebu.

The secondary drops are pretty, too.

After our short stop, we were on our way back to the city. Lex’s plane leaves at 3 so we had to hurry.

Too much humble is hambog. Hahahaha.

We reached Cebu City at around 1 pm. We only had less than an hour to grab lunch and some pasalubong for his officemates.

And what a way to end this very long trip. Lechon! Every Manileño wants it! Haha.

By 2 pm, we were at the airport. According to Lex,  10 minutes after we arrived, his flight started boarding. Hahaha.

Final Meter Reading: 53530 km. That’s a total of 472 kilometers! Wow!





Check out the video of our entire trip!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBb1TaRynAA]

It was a very fun and memorable trip. Til next time, Lex!

30 thoughts on “The Four-Day Cebu Road Trip

  1. Basta pics ni Leylander, naa gyod tay makuha nga lesson. Pananglitan, ang paglikay sa pagpakasala.. hehe.. ang sobrang pag-humble, hambog na diay. LOL.

    And like my favorite Kapuso mo, Jessica Soho, dili gyod mawala ang lami-ang pagkaon sa MCPB.

    Payter!

  2. Nice kaau imo blogs bai… I am a rider myself but never had that chance to document everything like you do… and usually in a group ang ride. Maybe sometime maka kuyog ko nimo laag hahaha… cge part ride safe and nice blogs…

  3. Great video! Thanks for your transparency. I feel like I was traveling with you. Maybe next year (puhon) I get to do this maybe with you?!

  4. we traveled 472 kilometeres? now that’s amazing! haha 🙂
    let’s do this again after 3 years! in Palawan perhaps? Lol!
    this is one trip I won’t ever forget! the mark is right on my face *sunburn*! haha!
    many thanks again Ley for being my driver, photographer, videographer, companion, and above all, a good friend!
    yeah, I might be a native of Cebu but I’ll keep on coming back! it’s like my, ahm, fourth home! hehe 🙂

  5. I agree with Judith it was like being on the bike with you guys video was brilliant!
    I wouldn,t stay in that tent though maybe i would rough it at the Days hotel!

  6. Wow. thanks Ley. I’ve been waiting for your next adventure all this time. Miss ko na pod Cebu after reading your story and watching your video. Funny how you hanged your wet clothes sa sanga sa lubi. I remember about some 40 years ago when I visited my relatives in the island of Naro, Masbate nga ingon ana pod ang among panghayhay sa among manga nilabhan.
    Ang honasan sa Bantayan is like the seashores of Naro as far as I can remember. Daghang kaayong salamat and u take care.

  7. gimingaw nako ani sa dhang naa pa ko dha sa cebu..roaming around cebu and going to the nearby islands. og ang dagat sus tawn pinaka namiss nako…though im in south korea now ang bsag cge kog laag2 dre like what i used to do in cebu lahi ra jud og ang pinas suroyan oe…nakakamiss pero makakauwi din ako at gagawin ko lahat na namis ko gawin..ive also tried like what youve done here na like gtuyok ang northern part sa cebu before with friends from hawaii..maybe next year i wil be back in cebu for a vacation… ^.^

  8. Awesome! Mga pila ang budget diay kung muadto kag bantayan for 2? Nya mag commute ra. 1 night raman. Ganahan kaayo ko mu ara sa bantayan. Suya ko dah. Nice one ley. 🙂

    1. bale 70 ang bus to hagnaya. 180 ang boat to santa fe. 35 ang entrance sa sugar beach. trisikad 20 each. 150 pitch ug tent. 500 ang room usually.

      i-times 2 lang. hehehe

      1. Salamat sa info ley. Ako najud gi save. 🙂 Muadto jud ko kay nice ayoo ang lugar ayy. makita sa imu mga pictures. 🙂

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