Philippines Guide

Let us capture the best sunrise and sunset in the Philippines.

And where else can we see this if not in the famous white beach at Boracay?

Let us enjoy the comfort of staying in a home away from home, Crystal Sand Beach Resort.

Crystal Sand Beach Resort is located in the midst of the long white crystal sand of Boracay beach. This is the reason why it is named Crystal Sand Beach Resort. It has enough rooms to accommodate visitors coming from the different parts of the world.

Indeed, the comfort of the visitors is the top priority of the hotel that is why first class amenities are offered to visitors.

The 24 hour air conditioning to make the occupants of the room warm and comfortable is the number one feature. Added to this cable TV, in case the visitor gets tired of roaming around the island, is provided in all rooms. A telephone and hot and cold shower are other plus factors in their room accommodations.

For those who are occupying the suite and superior rooms a refrigerator is an additional provision. To assure that there are always lights around the vicinity even in case of brown outs there are 2 standby generators. And of course to add colors to the experience of the visitors the resort has its bar and restaurant where different people meet and exchange stories. As the saying goes, this is where East meets West.

For the rates of the hotel these vary according to season and the type of rooms one is occupying. But definitely, the price is fair and reasonable.

For the super peak season which covers the period from December 23 to January 23 including the Chinese New Year as well as Holy Week the prices are a little bit higher. For standard a single room the charge is 10445 PhP and an additional fee of 4400 PhP for an extra night. For a double room the price is 6300 PhP and an additional payment of 2200 PhP for an extra night.

For superior single room the resort is charging 12150 PhP and an additional 5250 PhP for extra night. In case it is a double room the cost is 7450 PhP and an extra fee of 2630 PhP for another night. Again, this is for super peak season.

During the super peak season the cost of single suite room is 14745 PhP and an additional charge of 6550 PhP for an extra night. For twin or double room the rate is 8310 PhP and an additional 3275 PhP for extra night.

However during peak season which starts every January 24 to June 15 the rates per type of room are different. For single standard room the rate is 8550 PhP and an additional payment of 3400 PhP for extra night. For double or twin room the hotel is charging 5390 PhP and an extra fee of 1700 PhP for an extra night.

For single superior room the charge is 10150 PhP and an additional 4250 PhP for another night. For double or twin room, superior type the rate is 6200 PhP and an extra 2125 PhP for an additional night.

For single suite room during peak season the cost is 12745Php and an additional 5550 PhP for an extra night. For double or twin room the charge is 7480 PhP per night and another 22775 for extra night.

The lowest rates of the hotel can be experienced by the visitors during the low season which starts every June 16 to October. For a single standard room the rate is only 6100 PhP and an additional of 2085 PhP per night. For a double room the charge is 4400 PhP and an extra payment of 1300 PhP for an extra night.

For single superior room the rate is 6900 PhP and an additional charge of 2500 PhP for an additional night. For a double or twin room the cost is 5100 PhP and another 1570 PhP for an extra night.

For the single suite room the hotel is charging 8250 PhP only and an additional 3290 PhP for an additional night. For double or twin room the cost is 5500 PhP and an additional charge of 1800 for an extra night.

So we can see that the rates differ according to the seasons which are all reasonable in the sense that all these payments include 3 days and 2 night’s room accommodations, daily breakfast, roundtrip airport transfer and welcome drinks.

Indeed visitors who will come to this white beach of Boracay in the Philippines will really experience the first class hospitality of the Filipinos once they decided to check in at Crystal Sand Beach resort. From the time they arrive to the airport up to their stay at the hotel until their departure they will feel their being important as visitors and will never regret that they have chosen this resort to be their home away from home.

Tags: Tourist Destinations, traveling, philippine-beaches, Beach, Philippines, Mindanao, Boracay

Bohol is located in the south-central part of the Philippines, right in the heart of the Visayas. Although Bohol is known primarily for the Chocolate Hills, the Tarsier, and as an ideal spot for diving and snorkeling, there’s one other attraction that Bohol can boast about, and that every vacationer on this island should try— and that is the floating restaurants along the Loboc River.

Each floating restaurant can hold about 20-25 people each. The boat ride starts at the Loay Bridge, just 20 kilometers from Tagbilaran City. A motorboat maneuvers a large bamboo raft upstream through the Loboc River, and the buffet begins.

This extensive selection of tasty, native dishes positioned in the center of the raft makes for an extremely pleasant dining experience, which one can enjoy buffet-style for approximately P250 per person. Dishes usually offered are soup, grilled seafood such as squid, prawns and fish, and barbecued chicken, pork, and vegetables. For dessert, a variety of fresh fruits are available, as well as overflowing coffee and tea. While dining, a small group of singers serenade you with everything from folk songs to local pop songs.

Another reason that makes dining along the Loboc River so enjoyable though, is the breathtaking scenery that surrounds the raft. The lush greens all around the raft are captivating against a perfectly blue sky which adds tranquility to the ride. As the boat goes further upstream, one cannot help but notice that the river is full of life.

Locals go about their business on small boats and canoes, carabaos are wading and drinking the river water, while children are everywhere, swinging from tall coconut trees and jumping into the river. Sometimes, the children swim up to the boats and try to catch the tourists’ attention, performing random stunts in the water. Other tourists and locals call out to you, wave and smile at you, as their restaurant and yours cross paths.

The boat takes about 45 minutes to reach a small waterfall called Busay, where it will stop for a while in order for those aboard to enjoy the view. Afterwards, the boat turns around and makes its way downstream the river.

During the summer, the river is clean and green, while during the rainy season, the water is rather brown. It doesn’t really matter what time of the year you decide to go here though, because either way, you’re still in for fresh air, scrumptious food, and a completely unique experience.

Tags: scuba diving, Tourist, philippines-beaches, Philippine Islands, traveling, philippine-beaches, Tourist Destinations

“Fresh” is the operative word here. Fresh seafood. As in just plucked out of the sea a moment ago and cooked before your very eyes. Freshly slaughtered suckling pig roasting in a pit of hot coals. Fresh vegetables. Harvested just a few steps away. Some garnish the seafood; some are processed for salads and side dishes. Fresh fruit. A local picks them off the bushes, shrubs or trees and ably adds these to the growing menu.

We are going to have a fiesta. In these parts, fiesta is a vital component of celebrating life. What seems like a growing cacophony of food preparation activity is actually an orderly exercise in merrymaking. It is the lifeblood and the tradition of these islands.

These are the Philippine islands. Home to a warm and hospitable Filipino people. And if there is anything Filipinos love to do, it is to eat well. Compared to many other nationalities worldwide, Filipinos share the peculiar reputation of celebrating the small and big events of their lives with food. To them, food is indispensable as a means of merrymaking. It seems well entrenched in the national psyche that good food; processed and handled and served well, is every homemakers status symbol. It is a widely held belief that a self-respecting Filipino will go to great lengths to transform the humblest of food into something special at the dinner table.

Native cuisine is often an eclectic mix of Chinese, Spanish, American, and local food reflecting influences from their neighbors, colonizers, and trading partners. The staple food is rice, fish, and vegetables, but pork and chicken is also popular. Each region of the Philippines is justifiably proud of its local specialties which take advantage of the dazzling range of fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats available. But let us focus on Bohol’s restaurants and its unique seafood festival.

Scenic and historical Bohol Island is a popular tourist destination located among the cluster of Visayan Islands in south-central Philippines. It is home to some spectacular dive sites that attract international divers who very often take up long-term residence here. Add to this the seasonal tourist, the resident mix-blood whose ancestors traded with or colonized the islanders, the local migrants, and the islanders themselves, and you get a picture of a Bohol island which is peopled by a merry mix of nationalities, all of whom have their own food tastes and preferences. This gives rise to a clientele for a wide variety of restaurants in Bohol which cater to every need, want and budget.

Yet most Bohol restaurants are no different from that which is typical to the Philippines or from similarly situated tourist destinations throughout the world. Even the mildly unique restaurant structures that are set partly on land and partly on the shallows of the beach are typical in many coastal tourist destinations. Fresh catch may be the operative word here, but that is true in most all quality restaurants throughout the world.

But what is unique to Bohol restaurants is the sheer variety of fresh catch and the price for which they can be had. A recent World Bank publication and the United Nations Development Program have cited a good number of marine resources scientists who claim that the Philippines is at the center of the world’s marine fish biodiversity. That study rings most true in Bohol which is situated at the center of the Philippine islands. The sheer variety of fresh catch at near bargain prices. This allows for a seafood festival unique to Bohol restaurants.

Tags: Davao, Tagalog, Philippine Islands, Beach, traveling, Dive Sites, Philippines

The Bohol Province is considered as one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is an island in the Central Visayan Region of the Philippines. People in the province are called Boholanos. Many tourists from different countries go to Bohol because of its beautiful beaches and resorts. The province is known for the famous Chocolate Hills and the Philippine Tarsier, a small monkey with big eyes. Other attractive amenities that the island offers are diving shops, recreation centers and shopping malls.

Restaurants on the island province offer a variety of food. Tourists in the province can enjoy flavors from countries around the world. There are Japanese, Chinese and Singaporean as well as Filipino-American restaurants that tourists and locals can go to. Coffeehouses, bake shops, bars and music lounges are additional attractions that the province offers. Franchises of local and international fast food chains are also presents in the province. Fusion restaurants have also made their mark in the island province.

Tourists who prefer to eat the freshest food can go to restaurants located near or within wet and public markets called dampa. Seafood on sale at wet markets includes king crabs, lobsters, mussels, prawns and shrimp. It is guaranteed that seafood sold at the wet markets is the freshest catches of the day. When eating at a dampa, customers buy seafood from the market, go to the restaurant and tell the Boholano staff how they want the food to be cooked. Customers may also leave the decision on how the food will be cooked to the staff of the dampa that they will be eating at. Eating at a dampa has become famous not only with locals but also with tourists because it brings an enjoyable and one-of-a-kind experience.

Bohol also offers cruises along Cambuhat River that will surely delight tourists not only because of the sights that they will be able see but also because of the oyster feast that they can enjoy at the end of the river cruise. Slipper oysters can be bought from oyster farms in the province.

The island province of Bohol is very accessible to foreign and local tourists. Once in the Philippines, there are daily airplane flights offered by a number of airline carriers available for them to take. Estimated travel time from Manila to Bohol is one and a half hours. For those more adventurous, they can opt to take a ship that goes to different provinces within the region where the province is located.

Tags: Baguio, philippines-beaches, traveling, Dive Sites, Philippine Islands, expat, Pinoy

Bohol is a province in the Philippines located to the south of Luzon, north-west of Cebu and northeast of Leyte. Considered as one of the most beautiful locations in the Philippines, it is also known for its historic attractions such as the Baclayon Church, the oldest church in the country, the Blood Compact Site, the wonder of Chocolate Hills, and the exotic tarsier, the World’s smallest primate. In addition to that, certain places in Bohol are now a diving spot wherein divers can see more of what Bohol has under the sea.

Panglao Island is located at the tip of Bohol, often called “Tourist Haven” for its beautiful scenery and crystal clear water. The world-renowned Alona beach is just 3 minutes away from the island by foot. Below are the lists of diving locations around this island:

Cervera Shoal - Known as the “Spaghetti Shoal” or “Snake Island“, Cervera Shoal is a definite diving spot for those who wants to get a glimpse of large pelagic fish and other sea snakes for a change (since there aren’t sea corals around here). Cervera got its name from the black-and-white sea snakes which can be found in numbers.

Kalipayan - Not far from the white-sand Alona Beach, Kalipayan (also known as “Happy Wall”) houses Alona Beach’s reefs. Divers will surely enjoy watching small gorgonian sea fans and other school of fish wandering around corals of the island.

Pungtud Wall - The famous coral garden of Pungtud Island, Pungtud Wall is also perfect for snorkeling. Soft and stony corals can be found at this diving spot along with groupers, sea urchins, clownfish, puffer fish and other sea creatures.

Arco Point - At the southeast of Panglao Island lays the famous vertical funnel of Arco Point (or the “Hole in the Wall”). Most divers for its calm condition, either little or no current at all. Divers can enjoy the scenic beauty of the underwater along with its inhabitants such as the moray eels, wrasse, butterfly fish and sea snakes.

Napaling - Perfect for underwater photographers and the likes, Napaling is known for its wonderful coral garden. White tip reef sharks can be spotted occasionally while the caves are patrolled by squirrelfish, scorpion fish and royal angelfish, among many others.

Duljo Point - Take a drift-dive at the sandy slopes of Duljo Point located at the southwest part of Panglao Island. The wall is covered with sea fans, a variety of sponges and colorful corals. The current here is usually rough where trigger fish, batfish, surgeon fish and other pelagic fish can be found.

On Balicasag Island you’ll find some of the best diving spots the Philippines has to offer; located 6km southwest of Duljo Point. Below are the diving locations where you can find around Balicasag Island:

Black Forest - Take a fast drift-dive in the steep sandy slope of Balicasag Island’s Black Forest. A variety of coral can be found here and as you go deeper, large groupers, tuna, and others can be located. Advanced divers often pick this spot.

Rico’s Wall - Another beautiful coral garden lies southwest of Alona Beach, Rico’s Wall is famous for its bountiful sea stars, small reef fish, and a wide variety of leathery, stony and soft corals. Diving down would lead you to a number of small caves and overhangs where lionfish, moray eels and sometimes grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks and barracuda can be found.

Rudy’s Rock - If you continued diving to the eastern part of Rico’s Wall, you’ll find Rudy’s Rock. Get a chance to see large green turtles. Also big eye trevally can be found here which will circle around you for awhile.

Tags: filipino food, Dive Sites, expat, Baguio, Asia, Pinay, Boracay

Many renowned international divers hail Bohol dive sites as a dream of a lifetime. Located at the center of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world, these dive sites are ideal for all types of divers. They feature gentle slopes, magnificent sheer cliff walls, extensive multi-colored coral cover, and a rich variety of marine creatures. Certainly an opportunity for great underwater photography. And all this at near bargain prices. But hype is hype so you be the judge.

That tall assertion notwithstanding; recent studies published by the World Bank as well as World Ocean Day Celebrations spearheaded by the United Nations Development Program in coordination with over 100 marine resources scientists have placed the Philippines at the center of the world’s marine fish biodiversity. Its 26,000 square kilometers of coral reef is reported to have the highest concentration of marine species per unit area. If the Philippines is at the center of all this, and central Philippines is made up of that cluster of islands collectively called the Visayan Islands or simply the Visayas; this is where Bohol island is located. Needless to say, it is surrounded by the aforesaid dive sites.

But let’s not get too scientific. Instead, let’s celebrate diversity. From the biodiversity of exotic flora and fauna to marine biodiversity, to the very diversity of inhabitants that people this place; Bohol dive sites are unique in the world. Bohol is home to a gentle and friendly people, to the exotic chocolate hills, to pristine sandy shell coralline beaches and hidden coves. Would it be immodest to say spectacular dive sites? You be the judge.

Your staging point will be the southwestern most town of Tagbilaran, the capital city of Bohol. Directly opposite Tagbilaran city is Panglao Island. Diving is done by boat entry; known locally as a “banka”, or boat with outriggers, or by shore entry from a number of international class resorts on the island. On the popular northern and western sections of the island, you will frolic in both narrow and shallow reef platforms at 4 to 6 meters width, the edges of which terminate in perpendicular submarine cliffs plunging down to depths of 30 to 48 meters. Immersed in crystal clear waters with all round visibility of about 30 meters, the sheer variety of multi-shaped and multi-colored corals is breathtaking.

Want to get serious? Go further southwest on a “banka” or outrigger canoe to Balicasag Island. In just 4 short kilometers from Panglao reef, you will break land on pristine white sand beaches surrounding the island. On your approach, your eyes are drawn to peer through the crystal clear waters which hint of the reef set against the white sand bottom. Striking? This is a narrow reef shelf some 49 meters in width. The tops of the submarine cliffs are an extensive forest of black coral cover and sponges and gorgonians populate the lower levels. This is home to sea turtles and sea snakes; and swirling schools of jacks, barracuda, and mackerel abound.

Want to get more serious still? For large marine life encounters, go directly southeast of Panglao island onto Pamilacan Island. This is an almost year round convergence point of hammerhead sharks, tuna, dolphin, grouper, and mackerel. However, the real reputation of Pamilacan Island is that of a prime site for whale and dolphin watching. Endemic species include several of dolphin, melon-headed whales, beaked whales, and the legendary sperm whale. Diving here is nothing short of spectacular. At near bargain prices, can anything be more serious? Of course though, hype is hype and so you have got to be the judge.

Tags: philippines-beaches, Dive Sites, Mindanao, Tourist, traveling, Boracay, Makati

One of the most exciting adventures is to explore the bottom of the sea. Scuba diving; it may seem dangerous, however it offers a once in a lifetime experience. An example of Asia’s finest diving destinations is the island of Bohol, Philippines. This island is located in Central Visayas region. Bohol dive sites are numerous across the island. Under its deep blue lies a vast paradise unfolding before every diver’s sight.

Most diving sites in Bohol could be found in Panglao Island. A smaller island connected to mainland Bohol through a bridge. It is composed of two neighboring towns namely Dauis and Panglao. Divers usually select an appropriate beach resort as a starting point towards their desired diving spot. These beach resorts cater to every diver’s need, from equipment to tourist guides.

Bohol dive sites in Panglao vary in its area of difficulty. Dive sites suitable for beginners are Kalipayan and Arco Point. The Kalipayan dive site is located in the Southeastern part of the island. It is also known as the “Happy Wall”. Arco Point appears to be at the center of southeast portion of Panglao. It’s other name is “Hole in the Wall” because of the presence of a vertical funnel passage.

There are also a number of Bohol dive sites which require more proficient diving skills. The Pungtud Wall dive site is located in Pungtud Island, Panglao. Normally, its currents can be strong; however one can still go there during a calm weather condition.

Duljo Point could be found at the southwest portion of Panglao. Napaling on the other hand, is situated at the center of northwester side of the island. Rico’s wall and Rudy’s Rock are both sited on Balicasag Island. Another island of Panglao situated on its southwest point.
 
A popular dive site, on Balicasag Island requiring a more advanced scuba diving skills is very often sought after. This scuba diving site in Bohol is known as the Black Forest. Novice divers are advised to stay close to their dive master while exploring this site.

These scuba diving sites in Bohol could compete with any dive site in the world. They are blessed with remarkable marine life which adds color to the deep blue. A diver can expect to see exquisite corals, various nudibranches, snappers, barracudas, stonefishes, highly-prized seashells, and a many more awe-inspiring sea creatures.

Scuba diving in Bohol is a one-of-a-kind experience. The island is equipped with a whole bunch of dive sites that could match world-class diving spots. The total vacation package spent on the isle of Bohol specifically in its scuba diving sites would make it not only an enjoyable one, but at the same time memorable, plus it’s all worth the money spent.

Tags: vacation, philippines-beaches, philippines travel tips, asia travel, Manila, Cebu, Snorkeling