Philippines Travel Guide
Philippines Travel Guide seeks to share the vibe of an authentic experience through our idea of adventure travel for explorers and memory seekers in the Philippines.
Philippines Travel Guide seeks to share the vibe of an authentic experience through our idea of adventure travel for explorers and memory seekers in the Philippines.
Our first two days in the Philippines (Day 1-2) were spent exploring Metro Manila, the country’s capital city. Watching the spectacular sunset in Manila Bay was remarkable. We shopped at the world’s third-largest mall, and visited Fort Santiago in Intramuros and Rizal Park in Ermita.
On the next two days (Day 3-4) of our Philippine Adventure Travel, we explored Bantayan Island in the Northwestern part of Cebu, where we got to know stunning beaches in the Central Visayas area.
It was the third day (Day 3) of our Philippines Adventure trip. At 3 a.m, we left Cebu City at the Cebu North Bus Terminal in Mandaue City, Central Visayas by a provincial bus. It took us about 4 hours of bumpy travel to reach the Port of Hagnaya in San Remigio Cebu, Central Visayas. The bus was loaded and transferred via RORO (Roll On, Roll Off) to Santa Fe Port on Bantayan Island, Central Visayas area.
It was raining heavily when we arrived at the port, so we hopped on a tricycle (a Filipino motorbike with a sidecar) to get accommodation on Bantayan Island. We had no idea about the best accommodations in Bantayan and just thought that Mayet Beach Resort, situated in Santa Fe Cebu, Central Visayas Area, was an ideal place to stay and wait for the rain to stop. The rooms were very standard without any luxury, but it was just fine.
After the rain, we went to Caffe del Mare Ristorante, an Italian restaurant located in the city center of Santa Fe, Central Visayas, and enjoyed a delectable dinner. The food was unbelievably good, with fresh tomatoes on the bruschetta and pizza from a wood-fired oven.
Sounds tempting, isn’t it?
After we finished shopping, we needed to store some of our equipment in Manila, so that we could pack lighter luggage for our next backpacking trip to the middle part of the Philippines, the Visayas Region.
Thanks to our good connections in Manila, we were able to keep part of our luggage with Marc, a good friend of ours. – It’s always lovely to visit Marc for a chat in Metro Manila.
If you are planning a visit to Bantayan Island, check out the Google My Maps below to experience activities and adventures and get to know different routes and directions, accommodations to stay, attractions to visit, and restaurants to dine in. Visit the Bantayan Island Travel Google My Map to learn more about our Philippines Travel routes and adventures.
It was the fourth day (Day 4) of our Philippines adventure trip. At 5:30 a.m., we headed to Sugar Beach in Bantayan Island to get a glimpse of the sunrise. The resort is located in Sta. Fe Bantayan Island, Central Visayas. After taking a few good photos of the beautiful view of the beach, we went back to the resort for breakfast, where we met Julia and Iwan. Julia is one of Zak’s colleagues from Australia.
By Motorbike to Sandira Beach
Are you excited to know how we toured around the spectacular Bantayan Island? Well, listen up. We had some time left, so we rented two motorbikes (XRM) and went on a small tour to Sandira Beach with the others. The beach is top-notch but quite hard to find. But, with the help of a few locals, we managed to reach it after all.
You should know that Filipinos truly appreciate guests who can speak some of the useful Filipino words & phrases when coming to the Philippines?
Before we were allowed to get into the Sandira Beach, we had to pay an entrance fee, which is absolutely worth it. There weren’t many people that time, so we enjoyed the beach’s crystal-clear water and white powdery sand. We relaxed on the seaside, took some fantastic shots, and flew the drone over the beautiful coast.
Back in Santa Fe, we went to the Italian restaurant once again for dinner. We just can’t get enough of the great- tasting foods that were served to us the night before. Visiting Bantayan Island was truly a remarkable experience.
As a must-visit eco-tourism spot, Bantayan Island is an adventure destination in the Philippines that boasts its pristine beaches, impressive natural formations, pleasurable nature views, and interesting heritage structures. It is situated in the northmost part of Cebu, Central Visayas.
If you want to know the top things to do in Bantayan Island, check this out.
If you have a sweet tooth, try Biko, Cebu’s most famous recipes especially during Holy Week. It is a sticky rice cake made from caramelized coconut cream or latik, sweetened coco milk, a few bits of ginger, and sugar. Another promising Filipino dessert is Binignit, a sweet soup of combined tapioca pearls, jackfruit, taro, sweet potato or kamote, coconut milk, and bananas.
Some of the toughest challenges when exploring Bantayan Island by motorbike are the lack of road signages, unpaved roads, and unfamiliarity with the area. Although Google destination maps can be helpful when traveling around Bantayan, self-guided adventure travelers find poor internet signal as a huge challenge. Fortunately, locals in the Philippines are helpful and hospitable to guests who ask for directions.
To protect the cave from being overused as a result of mass tourism, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines takes control of its operation to the public, which is why it is temporarily closed sometimes.
When the sun goes down at around 6 p.m. tourists can get to experience the beauty of Bantayan island at dusk. Madridejos and Santa Fe make the best sunrise view spots in Bantayan. Meanwhile, Bontay Baywalk and Kota Beach are worth-a-visit for its magnificent sunset.
Isn’t it fascinating to know that although this historic church was destroyed by Muslim rebels and some natural disasters in 1600, it stood against all odds up to this time? After approximately two decades of reconstruction, Sts. Peter and Paul Parish was restored using coral stones from Bantayan Island.
Inside the parish lies a tiny museum containing significant pieces of the Philippines’ rich culture and remains of the Spanish era. During Holy Week and festivities, around 20,000 tourists crowd inside it. However, to be allowed to go inside the parish, you need to have a confirmed appointment from its staff.
Being one of the most-loved adventure destinations in the Philippines, accommodations in Bantayan are made available to ensure a convenient and pleasurable stay for all its guests.
Beachfront hotels are ideal for a more relaxing stay; while, privately-owned homes used as vacation rentals are ideal for group travelers. Budget-friendly accommodations with basic amenities make a good pick too. No matter what type of accommodation you have in mind, Bantayan Island has a handful of accommodations in-store for you.
During our trip to the Philippines, we visited a great deal of places and had a lot of memorable adventures. Here is a complete overview of the Philippines Travel Diary of our 51-day trip through the Philippines’ various destinations in 2017:
Zak and Dani created the Philippines Travel Guide while on 51 days Philippines travel adventure in 2017. Focused on the idea to explore travel routes and documenting location information by using the Google Maps application in the Philippines.
We created a detailed Philippines travel diary each day about our Philippines eco-adventure traveling experiences, including the production of pictures and videos of our trip through the Philippine archipelago.
Philippines Travel Guide is passionate about helping other self-minded adventure travel lovers, to make the best out of the trip to the Philippines by providing real information that passionate travelers and enthusiasts need to know about the archipelago.
Philippines Travel Guide is passionate about helping other self-minded adventure travel lovers, to make the best out of the trip to the Philippines by providing real information that passionate travelers and enthusiasts need to know about the archipelago.
Philippines Travel Guide is an ongoing process to work out public shared and detailed Google MyMaps of the entire Philippines to provide easy navigation for travelers.
This website also contains a collection of interesting authentic insights and travel tips and tricks and destinations in the Philippines.
Bantayan Island, one of Cebu Province’s top tourist attractions, offers an experience of beautiful beaches, caves, historic churches, and simple island life for adventure travelers in the Philippines. The island, lacking ultramodern buildings, is an ideal escape from the hustle of the city and reconnect with nature.
Our Bantayan Island adventures in the Visayas area brought us to powdery white-sanded beaches and delectable foods-serving restaurants. We enjoyed watching the spectacular sunrise view at Sugar Beach and took postcard-perfect shots of the beach’s turquoise waters. The entire Bantayan experience was made more remarkable by touring around the island by a rented motorbike where we came to know friendly and helpful locals.
Check out our Bantayan travel guide blog to get more extensive insider tips and must-visit destinations on Bantayan Island.
For the next two days in the Philippines adventure diary (Day 5-6), we continued to explore the beautiful city of Cebu, in the Central Visayas Region.
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Philippines Travel Guide seeks to share the vibe of an authentic experience through our idea of adventure travel for explorers and memory seekers in the Philippines.
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