Bohol is a province located in Central Philippines that is comprised of several small islands. If you’ve visited other areas of the Philippines, you’ll notice right away that Bohol brings something different. It doesn’t have the city life that Manila has and it doesn’t have the beach vibe that Palawan offers. Instead, Bohol will remind you more of the countryside and the jungle. Bohol is most known for the Chocolate Hills but there are other astonishing things you can see here too!
Contents
Getting There
By Ferry
We visited Bohol in the later half of our trip. To get there from Cebu, we had to take a taxi to the pier so that we can take a ferry. The taxi ride didn’t cost much at all – less than 400 pesos from our resort. Once you get to the port, you will need to go to the entrance for ticketing which isn’t connected to the pier hall. Driving in to the pier was like driving in to an airport terminal.
We got business class for 1025 pesos per person and it was definitely worth it. The tickets were only a little bit more expensive by a couple hundred pesos but you get a lot more leg room and and it’s not as crowded.
The route you want to buy is from Cebu to Tagbilaran and there are many times you can choose from. You don’t need to purchase tickets in advance – we bought ours at the ticketing office the morning of our departure. The ferry ride from Cebu to Bohol is about 2 hours.
By Plane
If you don’t like to travel by ferry or get really sea sick, you can also fly into Bohol. We flew out of Bohol to Manila. There were two security check points – super strict here. But they have fast free WiFi!
Things to Do
When we got out of the ferry, there were taxi and tour services ready to be utilized. We went with one of the tours that took us to the Chocolate Hills, the tarsier conservation, the hanging bridge and then dropped us off to our hotel just in time for our night firefly tour. This cost a total of 2,700 pesos for all 3 of us. The driver was very friendly and the van was air conditioned.
One thing to note while you are in Bohol is that they speak Bisaya instead of Tagalog.
Bohol looks really lush with greenery. I would recommend renting a motorcycle to drive around to the spots as well if you have the time. There isn’t any traffic so it’ll make it a relaxing ride.
Chocolate Hills
This was the first location we went to and it was the furthest as well. The car ride was about 1.5 hours. The Chocolate Hills are a natural wonder! These hills are a collection of cone-shaped mounds that are usually covered in green grass but turn a brown color during the dry season (hence the name).
Tarsiers
After spending some time admiring the Chocolate Hills, we visited the Tarsier Conservation Area next. The tarsiers are a small species of primates found in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. They are somewhere between a lemur and a monkey and have really big eyes! If you don’t look closely, you might miss them since they are so small.
Sevilla Hanging Bridge
This was the last destination on the tour. Crossing the Sevilla Hanging Bridge was a fun and exciting activity in Bohol! The bridge was originally made out of bamboo and although it may feel unstable, it is actually quite sturdy. If you are afraid of heights, you may want to sit this one out though…
Firefly Watching
We booked this tour separately of the Countryside tour. Watching the fireflies at night is a popular tourist activity in Bohol. Seeing these beautiful fireflies light up at night was truly magical and relaxing!
Where to Stay
There are many hotels and resorts you can stay at in Bohol. We decided to stay at the Peacock Garden. It was a 30 minute car ride from the port. As we were driving up to the resort, there was a huge gate at the entrance.
The Peacock Garden gave off a Godfather type of feeling or an old royal palace. The staff were very friendly. We even got complimentary drinks as we were checking in!
This resort was very spacious with many rooms but not as much people staying there.
One of the reasons we booked this place was for the infinity pool.
Our room had a great view overlooking the pool too!
Here were some shots at sunrise.
Visiting Bohol was a nice and much needed change in pace and scenery. I really enjoyed the green landscapes as we are driving around. If I were to come back to the Philippines again, I would definitely add Bohol to our itinerary!
