Possible Tagbilaran City Fiesta and Bohol Tour Itinerary

Five of my ex-officemates and I are going to Bohol on May 1 to join the fiesta celebration of Tagbilaran City.  I booked my ticket online on the 16th and couldn't believe how expensive the flights have become.  The Boholano people are very religious and most of them do their best to go home during their town's fiesta.  

My travel buddies and I then decided to book the flight to Cebu instead and ride a fast ferry from there to Tagbilaran. It was only PHP 2,588.32, a lot cheaper compared to the one way Bohol flight which was over P6,000. Our Cebu Pacific flight on Apr 30th will leave Manila at 6:35AM and in Cebu at 7:45.  From Cebu we can ride either the SuperCat Fast Ferry (which leaves at 8:30AM and arrives in Tagbilaran at 10:15) or Ocean Jet (which leaves at 9:30 AM  and arrives at 1:10PM).  The ports in Cebu are only 30-45 minutes away by taxi from the Mactan International Airport but considering the traffic, we might have to go with Ocean Jet.  According to the Ocean Jet site, tickets purchased on the date of departure will be sold on a normal rate of 800.00, but if purchased in advance will have the following cheaper rates:

1 day - 400.00 for open air accomodation only

2 days - 500.00

1 week - 400.00

2 weeks - 300.00

The Tagbilaran City Port Office 

It's going to be a seriously busy season in Bohol because every day in the month of May, there will be a fiesta celebrated in different towns, barrios or sitios. This year I plan to attend most of them so I might be staying there for a few weeks.. However, my travel buddies are going back to Manila on May 4th and most of them are Bohol virgins so we will have to make the most this visit!  The plan was to stay for two nights in Tagbilaran City and two nights in Panglao Island. Everyone is on a budget so we called Casa Juana, a nice but affordable lodging house in Tagbilaran City for available rooms.  Unfortunately, most of the accommodations in Tagbilaran are already fully booked.  I'd love to stay in the Dumaluan Beach Resort on May 2 and 3 but I'm still trying to wait for confirmation if they still have available rooms for those days.    

Beach View from Dumaluan Beach Resort 

My travel buddies all have really, really busy schedules (one of the reasons why I left the company) so we haven't really talked about the itinerary yet.  They might have different plans on what to do then, but for the benefit of my readers, a well thought out Bohol tour might look something like this: 

April 30
6:45AM - Depart from Manila to Cebu
7:45AM - Arrival at the Mactan International Airport
9:30AM - Leave for Tagbilaran City via Ocean Jet Fast Ferry
11:10AM - Arrival at the Tagbilaran City Port
11:20-12:00 - Lunch (I would suggest Jo's Chicken Inato-Payag)
12:00-1:00 - Check In and Rest
2:00-9:00 - Tagbilaran and Dauis Tour
- Panglao Island Nature Resort Afternoon Trip (They have an entrance fee of P450 but P350 of is consumable for food and totally worth it)
- Visit the Hinagdanan Cave - entrance fee around P15.00
- Visit the Bohol Bee Farm
- Dauis Church and Cafe Lawis in Dauis
10:00PM - Back to Tagbilaran City

At the back of Dauis Church

 A late afternoon snacks at Cafe Lawis.

Cafe Lawis at Night

May 1 
- The Feast of Saint Joseph, the Worker.  The whole city never fail to indulgently celebrate this very significant day and as always expected, there will be lots of activities like motorcades and parades.  Margo, my bestfriend in Bohol, invited us to join her family for lunch.
- A Dinner at Bohol Tropics Resort would also be a great experience

May 2
8:00AM Onwards - Bohol Countryside Tour (usually around P3,500 inclusive of van and driver during peak season; Check in a Resort in Panglao)
- Blood compact site
- Baclayon Church and Museum
- Prony of Alburquerque - the famous Bohol Python
- Loay Backyard Industry
- Loay/Loboc River Cruise with buffet lunch and serenade
- Tarsier watching
- Sipatan Hanging Bridge
- Bilar manmade forest
- Chocolate Hills
- Souvenir shops
- Check in a resort in Panglao island

The Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), known locally as the Maumag in Visayan, is an endangered tarsier species endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archipelago, particularly in the island of Bohol.

The man-made forest in Bilar.

You've never actually been to Bohol if you haven't seen the world famous Chocolate Hills!

May 3
5:30AM Onwards - Dolphin Watching Tour
- Dolphin Watching
- Balicasag Island (snorkeling and other water activities)
- Island Lunch - you can buy sea food and have them cooked in any way you want (P100 service fee for every dish cooked)
- Balicasag Island Dive Resort (P200 if you will use their pool and facilities)
- Virgin islands - a great spot to relax and just enjoy the view
2:00PM – Back to Panglao Island. Best time to lounge around the beach and wait for the magical sunset.
7:00PM - Have a wonderful meal but affordable meal at Dumaluan Beach Resort 2 (Right beside Bohol Beach Club).

Sunset in Panglao Island