Cebu Airport has been upgraded, there’s a Burger King inside immigration, as well as some other reasonably decent food options and this leaves Manila Airport for dead. It’s nice and clean, the shops are alright and the staff at most of the shops are friendly and helpful without being pushy at all. Like anything with a terminal in the Philippines, you’ll need to pay a terminal fee so make sure you don’t arrive in a hurry because you might have to wait a while if there’s multiple flights taking off around the same time. If you’re not into taking the Cebu to Bohol ferry, you can take a domestic flight from within the Philippines.
Allow plenty of time to get to the the ferry terminal at both ends as it’s a bit of a shit show both in Cebu and Bohol (Tagbilaran). You can read more about the Cebu to Bohol ferry here. If you want the short version, bring a jacket because the pump the air conditioning and it blows on you the whole trip. Also bring some noise cancelling airphones as it’s quite noisy, but the boat itself and the shit movie they have playing, at least in Business class. This is one time you can trust the reviews on TripAdvisor and one of the best Bohol tavel tips we can give you. Book online before you go because when we showed up at Tagbilaran (the ferry terminal in Bohol on Panglao Island), it said all boats were full for the day.
Definitely book the Balicasag and Virgin Island Tour BUT, make sure it’s not low tide, as the vendors aren’t there apparently and it’s a much better experience to wade around in waist high water and experience it. You can read more about the sand bar at Virgin Island in our things to do in Bohol with kids guide. Bring small cash as they have vendors selling some snacks which you’ll want to try. The fried bananas are pretty good. Most small snacks like that cost 30 pesos. Bring a waterproof camera as you’ll definitely want to take some pics of this cool place.
Manage your expectations for snorkeling on Balicasag Island, there’s quite a few people there and there’s not that many fish. Well there’s a lot of fish but not that much variety. Still, it’s worth it if you get to see the sea turtles. There’s a number of different companies both on Alona beach and online that you can book it through. We booked it with Amorita Resort which cost more than it should have but it’s still cheap and we’re assured of not getting ripped off and if anything goes wrong you know the hotel will fix it.
Speaking of Amorita Resort, if you’re wanting Bohol travel tips regarding accommodation, I recommend staying here. It’s relatively cheap, or at least good value for money. With light traffic, it’s about 30 minutes drive from the Tagbilaran ferry terminal. Leave with plenty of time because apparently traffic can get pretty bad even on this small island.
The food at every place I’ve been to in the Philippines is rather shite. Let’s be honest, how often do you say to yourself “let’s go for some filipino food tonight”. Not that often, and there’s a reason for that – you figure out the rest for yourself. Use your common sense, how good do you think a piece of ribeye steak, wherever it’s from, is going to be on a far away island in the Philippines?
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