Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Town Tour

After playing in the sand and taking some 50 pictures by the shore, we decided to sit in one of the lounge chairs to relax. That’s when a local approached us to offer a tour to Bantayan Town. It’s actually part of our itinerary because it’s where you can find the old Sts. Peter and Paul Church and the big public market where you can buy all sorts of dried fish – danggit being the most sought after – for pasalubong at a much cheaper price.

When we asked how much the tour is, it’s a whopping 500 bucks! That is way beyond our budget so we asked for alternatives. The local told us that we can rent his motorcycle instead and drive ourselves to the town at a rate of Php300/day + gas. We haggled because we don’t need an entire day but the cheapest that he can give us is Php150 + 50php gas. He said he can give us a lower price but he’ll let us use a motorcycle whose brand I only heard for the first time. Of course we won’t risk getting stranded in the middle of I-don’t-know-where so we still settled for the trusty Honda. Better safe than sorry! :D

Testing 1, 2, 3.

Jhay asked for directions then we’re good to go =)

We traversed a seemingly endless road for about 20 minutes before we reached what looked like a town proper. A few hundred meters more and we saw the town plaza, the old church and the market.

We decided to hit the market first.

Heaps of dried seafood everywhere!

Folks, meet danggit :) It’s at 500php per kilo if salted.

The unsalted ones are 30php more expensive.

Another yummy delicacy: pusit (dried squid).

It’s just about the same price, if I remember it right.

I’m holding a quarter of a kilo, meaning one kilo is really plenty. The packed fish in front of me is tuyo, a Filipino favorite for breakfast, and it’s at 60php per pack.

We spent a little over 800php in the market then proceeded to the nearby bakeshop to buy a loaf of bread for dinner and for tomorrow’s snorkeling.

And then it’s time to say a little prayer =)

The church interiors in its antiquity.

It’s getting dark so we opt to drive back to the resort. The best thing about Jhay driving is that I can ask him to pull over just so I can take pictures!

Maia’s is one of my options but when we saw this sign, I can’t be more thankful that I chose Kota Beach. Maia’s is just too far from the port and the main road!

I originally wanted to sit in the middle of the road for a dramatic shot for my header (Maude’s Avenue of Thoughts, remember? ^^,) but J won’t let me :(

So I had to be contented with this. Haha.

Thankfully we were able to get back to homebase. We dropped by the little market again to buy canned goods, ripe mangoes and bottled water. Our rule is that we can splurge for one meal per day so we’re having Century Tuna for dinner. Haha.

Jhay and I exploring a place we’ve never been to on a motorcycle was one great adventure. It’s so fun and it’s another one for the books!

Other posts from my Cebu Getaway Series:

Cebu Getaway: The Beginning
Cebu Getaway: East Capitol Pensionne
Cebu Getaway: SM Cebu and CNT Lechon
Cebu Getaway: Cebu City Tour
Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Island
Cebu Getaway: Kota Beach Resort
Cebu Getaway: Snorkeling and Island Hopping
Cebu Getaway: Gran Tierra Suites
Cebu Getaway: Casa Verde
Cebu Getaway: Skywalk Extreme
Cebu Getaway: See you again, Cebu!

Cebu Getaway: Kota Beach Resort

Booking our Bantayan Island accommodation has got to be one of the toughest decisions in this trip’s planning phase. I had at least 4 options and every single day I change my mind either because beach X is cheaper than beach Y or beach Z looked prettier in pictures than beach X and so on. But when you drop the X, Y and Z, what do you get? Beach, right. It’s after all what we came to Bantayan for so I settled for the one with the best beachfront – Kota Beach Resort.

However, it is important to note that while past visitors of Kota were raving about the beach, it also has a lot of negative reviews all over the net – poor customer service, unkempt rooms, everything in the resort needs to be replaced, and the list goes on. I discussed it with J and what he kept telling me is that the only thing that matters is him and me together. Alright, I got that recorded, just in case he rants when we get there. Hahahaha.

Fast forward to noon of our second day in Cebu. We docked in Sta. Fe and as we made our way out of the ferry, I already saw this:

Transfers from port to the resort and back is free when you have a booking at Kota Beach.

We reached the resort in about 5 minutes. The shuttle driver, Kuya Dodong, is very accommodating, he even carried our things to the reception area. We waited awhile for the person in charge and when she arrived, she handed our key to Kuya Dodong who more than willingly led us to our room. I booked an Aircon Room Double but I requested him to show us the beachfront cottage as well since I’m considering an upgrade if I’m not satisfied with what I booked. He obliged :-)

Above is how a beachfront cottage looks like. It has 1 double bed and 1 single bed, a CR and its own veranda overlooking the beach. It’s very spacious, can probably fit 4 or 5 with extra mattresses. Kuya Dodong offered it to us for Php1500 instead of Php 1700. That’s when I realized a couple of things:

* I booked with i-link.ph and I kinda felt that it was a wrong move because eventhough they say that they don’t have booking fees, they stick with the standard rates. My only consolation is that they have a Manila line and I didn’t have to make long distance calls for inquiries. And they were prompt and patience in answering my e-mails.

* If I booked directly with the resort, I could have gotten our room at (maybe) Php1000 instead of Php1260 especially since it was lean season. Oh well, better luck next time.

J said that the cottage might be too big for us so we settled for the one that we booked. Let me show you pictures of Aircon Room Double.

From the outside. Nothing fancy, really.

Here’s the bed. We dived into it right away ‘cause we got too excited as it was a lot bigger and more comfortable than the previous night’s. The sheets were not exactly new but it’s not so bad either. We had a good night sleep that we failed to catch the sunrise as planned. Fail! Haha.

This side is right across the bed. The aircon is another thing that made J like this room better. According to him, it’s newer than that in the beachfront cottage (yep, he noticed that!) It met our expectations – we were both freezing in the middle of the night. Hahaha. And then behind the native blinds is a window looking out to the restaurant. I think it’s high enough for people not to peek into the room but we still get paranoid sometimes. Since it’s near a common area, there’s that feeling that anytime someone would accidentally break in. Good thing though there’s none :-)

The bathroom is clean enough for me. The flush works and the water supply is sufficient. However there’s no heater and there’s something about the water coming out of the shower. Ugh. Sorry I don’t know how to describe it but J said he didn’t feel a hundred percent clean after rinsing/bathing. Maybe it’s from a deep well or something. There’s also no bidet but when I asked for a pail and dipper, they were able to provide. So folks I’m happy to report that service isn’t as bad as depicted in the reviews. The Kota Beach staff was able to attend to us whenever we need assistance.

This time the reviews were right. The table and chair are kinda old.
I’m sure they’d appreciate a replacement ;-)

No cabinets as well, only this wooden shelf.
Not a big deal though ‘cause we prefer not to take our things out of our bags.

Now let’s go to the beach! :D

The vast serene sea and the clear blue skies were truly an amazing sight!

And of course, the sandbar that Kota boasts of!

You don’t always get to stand in the middle of bodies of water, do you? :)

One side of the beach. I just wish they do a little up-keeping.

Lotsa dried seaweeds on the shore.

Beach lounge chairs + shade of the coconut trees = the perfect spot to while away time

But it looks like J has other plans…

Hey, hey, where do you think you’re going, honey?
Come back here and take a picture of me first! Haha!

Please excuse that big tummy and just focus on everything else. Like the cover-up top that I’m wearing. It’s nice, no? It’s the perfect beach wear for those who wanna reveal a little but not feel too nekkid :)

Now it’s his turn to be photographed.

A semi-emo shot right there. Hahaha.

That’s me experimenting with the camera. Bear with it ;-P

As usual, the boyfriend trying out every jumpshot pose possible.

Let me just say how much I love this shot. He’s too happy for words. Agree?

It took a lot of tries before we were able to come up with those two shots.
Methinks they’re worth it :-)

Beach-bumming won’t be complete without scribbling on the sand. I forgot to take a photo of what I wrote but it’s supposed to be J & M @ 6 (Jhay and Maude at 6 years, that is!)

No pictures swimming? Yeah, I noticed that too but that’s because we didn’t swim on our first day there. I’ll just include our few water shots in my snorkeling and island hopping post.

All in all, I’m giving this resort 3.5 out of 5. If you, too, don’t mind basic amenities and would just want to marvel at the natural beauty of Philippine beaches, Kota Beach at Bantayan Island is for you.

Other posts from my Cebu Getaway Series:

Cebu Getaway: The Beginning
Cebu Getaway: East Capitol Pensionne
Cebu Getaway: SM Cebu and CNT Lechon
Cebu Getaway: Cebu City Tour
Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Island
Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Town Tour
Cebu Getaway: Snorkeling and Island Hopping
Cebu Getaway: Gran Tierra Suites
Cebu Getaway: Casa Verde
Cebu Getaway: Skywalk Extreme
Cebu Getaway: See you again, Cebu!

Cebu Getaway: Cebu City Tour

After filling ourselves up with a delicious lunch, we went back to SM Cebu to buy some snacks and a big bottle of water in preparation for our next activity: Cebu City Tour!

3:30 pm. As soon as we're done with our little shopping, we took a cab and told the driver to take us to our first stop: Taoist Temple. Our original plan is to ride a cab only to the said place then just take jeepneys or walk to our other destinations. The driver, however, asked if we don't wanna go to Tops as well. I do, really, but as per the travel blogs that I've read, it's a little far from the city so it's gonna cost us a fortune in terms of transportation. J wanted to take chances so he asked the driver how much it'll cost if we'll be hiring him to tour us around the city, Mactan Shrine included (which is a few kilometers away). His first answer is Php 1500 -- I quickly said no, considering our budget. J haggled so it was down to Php 1300, then PhP 1200, and finally PhP 1000. We got a good deal :D

Since it's already a package, we let Kuya Joe (that's the driver's name) take charge of our route. I didn't mind which to visit first as long as we visit the places in our list so instead of Taoist Temple, we went to the farther spot first: Top Skyline Garden or simply Tops. Getting there from SM Cebu takes approximately 20 minutes. Since it is on top of a hill, expect steep curves and zig-zag roads (which made me realize that while the romantic view of Cebu and Mactan's city lights make evenings the best time to drop by, an afternoon trip is still the safer choice). Upon entrance, a payment of PhP 100 per head is required.

The view from the entrance.

Then here's the opposite side.

This is what you paid Php 100 for.  A beautiful view of the city and its neighboring islands :)

Plus some greens on the side :-)

Of course we took pictures! It was a lovely backdrop, yes? ^^,

Sitting in a corner is a bell. It looks like an ordinary bell but let me share with you what is written there, in case the picture is too small to read.

"Standing face to face, or around in a circle (for groups), hold hands to unite the bond. With the other hand, ring the bell once for a firm partnership, twice for lasting friendship, or three times to symbolize never-ending Love. Repeat the process on anniversaries to strengthen the bond! For special celebrations, the bell may be rung repetitively."

Being the shy guy that he is, J didn't wanna ring the bell and get everyone's attention. But I was persistent so we did! Three times! And true enough, everyone looked at us. But it's fun, I tell ya! ;-)

After "the act" we left Tops and drove down the hill to proceed to Taoist Temple. It's located in Beverly Hills Subdivision, home to some of Cebu's wealthiest so expect tight security upon entrance. We got there around 4:30 and were told by the guard to (kind of) hurry as the temple closes at 5pm. We were handed a sheet of paper where rules and regulations are listed down but the main idea is to respect their place of worship. Admission is free, by the way.

This is the main gate but tourists enter through the smaller one to its left. Oh, this big gate opens up to an ample parking space so you won't have problems if you're bringing your own car.

There are a lot of picturesque spots there so I clicked away...

The main temple will greet you at the end of the staircase.

Does it hurt, hon? :P

A vast space that looks like their multi-purpose hall

A replica of the Great Wall

I was born on the year of the dragon so I really wanted a shot here. Haha.

That's what you call taking turns :D

The only couple shot at the temple courtesy of a helpful stranger :-)

After roaming around and posing for photos at just about every corner of the temple, we hopped back to the cab and moved on with our tour. On the way back to the capitol area, we passed by the Heritage of Cebu Monument and our driver insisted (yeah, he did! I like him because he’s even the one telling us to enjoy the sights! :D) that we get off to take souvenir shots.

I wonder why I haven’t thought of moving a little to the left so that I’ve covered the woman in orange shirt :)

Just across the street is the Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House. Its open 9AM – 6PM daily but we no longer went in since we still have a lot of other spots to visit.

Also along the way is Colon Street, dubbed as the oldest street in the Philippines.

I took advantage of the red light and took a photo of the marker.

In about two minutes, we reached our next stop.

I originally wanted to hear mass but we can’t have the driver wait for us for an hour so we just whispered our prayers, took a couple of pictures outside then carried on.

A stone’s throw away are Sto. Nino Basilica and Magellan’s Cross – both are packed with church-goers and tourist alike.

I can’t help but smile as I looked at the historic cross – this only used to be a lecture in Grade 2 Sibika at Kultura :P

We lit candles outside the basilica to say thanks for the 6 years of love ^_^
And also for Haley who we learned is sick back home :(

I grew up a devotee of the child Jesus so it was one stop that I really looked forward to.

Then we were off to the last item on our itinerary – Mactan Shrine. Being far from Cebu City, this one made the cab rental so much worth it. En route to Mactan, Kuya Joe showed us Fort San Pedro but I decided not to go in (as you know I spent my entire college life “within the walls” so I’m not too excited about another fort... teehee).

After a 30-minute drive, we arrived at the shrine. What I thought was just a monument turned out to be a nice little park filled with trees and adorned with lights.

I wish I was a little better at photography to capture the beauty of the place at night. This shot didn’t do it justice at all!

I don’t know what this is or what it symbolized but if it’ll give you any clue, it has phrases like “Glorias Espanolas” and “A Hernando de Magallanes.”

Say hi to Lapu-Lapu! :D

Of course a photo with him, courtesy of our driver cum photog :)

 A little history... “Here, on 27 April 1521, Lapu-Lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders killing their leader Ferdinand Magellan. Thus Lapu-Lapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

Souvenirs are relatively cheap in Mactan Shrine as well so I suggest you hoard buy there already. J bought for his mom that white shirt in the photo for 100php.

Keychains are 10php each while magnets are at 3 for 50php.

These bracelets cost 10php each also, but since we bought 10, we got one free :-)

This sando for Haley is a little pricey at 80php (or was it 90? I can’t quite remember.)

J bought a couple more shirts for his family sadly though we didn’t find one that we like for the two of us. Good thing Kuya Joe said that he knows a place to buy high-quality shirts. He’s the man, really :)

Pasalubong Center has lots and lots of shirts with oh-so-cool designs (price range is Php300 - Php600) and we found one that we really really like butttttttt… they don’t have my size :( Looks like someone needs to lose weight. For real.

You can also find there a variety of Cebu delicacies (but they don’t have 7D Dried Mangoes, they have other brands though) so we just bought these:

I loved this. I brought some to the office and even my manager said it’s yummy. I wish I bought more :( Each pack costs Php 70.

Ballers for J and his bro at PhP 69 each.

After a 5-hour tour around Cebu’s famous landmarks, we’re ready to call it a night so Kuya Joe dropped us right in front of our pension house. We gave him Php1250 because the 1k that was originally agreed upon was just drop-off at Mactan Shrine. But if you’ll ask me if we got our money’s worth, the answer is still yes, yes, yes! Here’s why:

• We were able to maximize the limited tour time that we have. Remember we started past 3pm already but we were still able to go to a lot of tourist spots because we didn’t have to look for them. Kuya Joe took charge of the route but he made it a point to visit all that’s in our list.
• Each destination is tiring but we get to recharge inside our service cab. With chips and bottles of water plus the refreshing air-conditioning, we’re always re-energized for another pit stop.
• Kuya Joe is pleasant to be with. He starts small talks but knows when to shush to give us some privacy. He tells us tidbits of Cebu info every now and then and never gets tired of dealing with our questions and requests. He shows no sign of boredom when he waits for us, he just enjoys chit-chatting with fellow taxi drivers during his lull time. And essentially, he understands and speaks Tagalog well so we didn’t have to deal with language barriers.

We gave him the all-new PHP bills, thus the smile (kiddin! :D) Let me know if you want his digits and I’ll give it to you by all means so that you too can avail of his service.

Our car for the day! ^_^

It was an exhausting but exciting day 1 at the Queen City of the South. Up next, our Bantayan Island adventure! Stay tuned.

Other posts from my Cebu Getaway Series:

Cebu Getaway: The Beginning
Cebu Getaway: East Capitol Pensionne
Cebu Getaway: SM Cebu and CNT Lechon
Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Island
Cebu Getaway: Kota Beach Resort
Cebu Getaway: Bantayan Town Tour
Cebu Getaway: Gran Tierra Suites
Cebu Getaway: Casa Verde
Cebu Getaway: Skywalk Extreme
Cebu Getaway: See you again, Cebu!