Boracay has been in my bucketlist for a long time. Thanks to Tiger Airways for introducing this new route to Boracay via Kalibo.$240 for a return trip isnt too bad yea? Flight duration : 3.5 hrs.
U can check out cebu pacific airlines, more convinient as it lands near Catlican jetty but of course u will pay more.
Catlican Jetty is a 2 hour bus ride away from Kalibo Airport where u will take a 10 mins boat ride to Boracay.
The bus is comfortable so it wasnt an issue for me . The bus ride could get a bit scary but i wouldnt wanna scare anyone with details so maybe u could experience it yourselves :0 Those who ever drove up to genting / cameron highlands would know what I mean . Anyways, I survived. The return transfers cost me $35, operated by Southwest tours . The hotel will help to arrange them so payment will be made to the hotel.(PAYMENT IN PESOS)
I call it spiderboat. Hehe.
It was about 7pm when we reached the island. There is no time difference but by then, it got really dark cuz sunset is at about 615pm.
Beautiful lah!!!
We checked in Boracay Haven Resort
http://www.boracayhaven.com.ph (click link)
located at station 2. Price for 3 nights is about 480(twin sharing)
( Price will depend on how many will be sharing the room).
It is a newly built boutique hotel 2 mins walk away from White beach. The staffs were really super attentive to ur needs and I would strongly recommend this hotel. Room were super clean but toilet's drainage could be better.
booking.com (click link)
Room interior:
Balcony facing the pool. Wi fi is strong :) there is TV but I doubt u will be watching much of it :0
I didnt have much time to explore whole of Boracay so I am not sure what is around aside from the happenings along the White Beach which is divided into 3 stations. Station 2 is considered to be the noisiest station among all but thankfully, my hotel provided the peace and silence I need.
FOOD :
Food is literally everywhere and is super cheap. Halal food was actually easy to find (sadly only had it on my last day) I only had seafood the rest of my stay.For $5 bux,u can get rice with bbq squid. I didnt have much appettite when my travel partner told me food might be cooked using pig's blood. So be aware. So just stick to halal. I only tried the Indian restaurant called True Food, Station 1.For about 40 bux for 2, u can get urselves 2 pieces of naan, chicken and lamb. Skip the lamb and u will be paying way less for 2. Restaurant is by the beach front so you wont have problem finding it. There is also middle.east halal restaurant but I didnt have time to search for it
The halal Indian food at true food.
Went Spanish with seafood paella
The 5bux meal. In a beautiful setting by the beach , candlelight yaw.
Hotel breakfast wasnt too great. Be aware of bacons (courtesy for muslims)
PASSING NIGHT AWAY:
Sheesha lovers.. Sheesha is about 10 bux. Smooth and flavour is strong. :) U can smoke ur night away while watching live bands etc.
Live bands are scattered along the beach. But I managed to stumble on a raggae one thank god.
That perfect night. Raggae, beautiful laid back restaurant, cheap finger food and were lucky to see fireworks. Atfirst I tot it was some gun shot :0
Click to watch video.
Clubs opened from 11Pm-6am, went for a lil bit to see the scene but got a throbbing headache with the never ending techno songs. Was hoping for some rnb! The clubs are again along the beach front so u can just easily jump from one to another .
Note to smokers : Never smoke ciggarettes on the beach. U will get fined.
Activites:(prices as what I can recall)
-HELMET DIVING - SGD 40
- PARASAILING-SGD 60 /15mins
-ISLAND HOPPING with lunch - SGD30/6 hours
-ATV - SGD30 /25 mins
-Jetski-SGD 50/15 mins
* payment in pesos. These are rough prices after conversion. U can ask ur hotel to e-mail u the activity list.
There are many more activites( prices were steep) so I opted for Island hopping and ATV. Island hopping will bring u to beautiful Crystal cove. U will need to pay 40 pesos entrance fees. But it was worth it.Always bring enough cash cuz u may never know the extra fees needed. 20 pesos(less than a dollar) required for snorkelling . Lunch will be served at an island and be aware of kids selling knicks and knacks. They will rip u off. Just ignore and say no thank u..never say later cuz its not nice and they will bug u cuz they will wait for u once u end lunch and make sure u ll buy from them.
PHOTOS FROM CRYSTAL COVE : Lifeguards will be nice enough to get u to do poses and I got my million dollar photo, lols.
The waves came in on time
U will need to crawl in the small coves .
Mermaid's tail :0
ATV will bring u to a beautiful view from Mount Luho. It was my first experience on ATV so i literally scrapped my skin cuz I couldnt manouver it properly and got stuck in a bush. It was a fun experience all in all.
They wouldnt tell u what to do, so be prepared and whatever happens never put ur legs out if u feel like falling on ur side
ALA ALA HAWAII
The beach is beautiful so why not just spend ur time soaking ur day away. Weather was intense about 40 degrees ! I got burnt but thats what Island holidays are about.
Drawing for 10 sgd is enuf to content me.
The hotel provided us with private beach front, infront of Reyes BBQ. They have umbrellas and comfy beach chairs for guests so i felt pretty safe putting my things but common sense..place ur valuable in the safe in ur hotel room. Locals may be nice but tourists u have to look out for.
Massage parlour is on the beach and is about SGD10 for an hr.
SHOPPING:
D'MALL is along the beach front in station 1. Loads of beach wear, etc etc and compared to Sgd it is definitely cheaper. ORIGINAL Havanians is about SGD30. BUT please dont buy sands in bottles as u may be fined a hefty one if u get caught at the customs. 5-6 digits fine!!!
D TALI papa is in Station 3 and was considered cheaper but i dont find much difference. Good quality BORACAY tshirts is less than 10sgd for 3 even. Magnets about 3 -4 bux for 3 pcs.
Didnt do much shopping actually as it wasnt in my itenary but bikini lovers , u can go crazy there :0 Atms could also be found in Dmall.
Some photos of the shops.
Basically this is how it looks like for the shopping area. Just small shops lining the whole stretch of beach. For dmall(Its in my.
another camera , yet to upload) .
IMPORTANT NOTE :
This is about it for my boracay trip but this is an important that u will NEED to take note of. Journey from the island to Kalibo airport is about 2.5hours IF everything goes smoothly so it will be better to sleep one night in Kalibo the night before ur flight. U may get the transfers to pick you up at 5-6pm from Boracay and u will reach ur hotel in Kalibo at about 8-9pm. I stayed at Marzon hotel 10 mins tricycle ride away from airport. I also recommend this hotel , clean and comfy and 60 sgd one nite for 2 pax.
Rooms equipped with flat screen tv with great channels so it wasnt too bad . Wi fi is strong at the balcony but not in the room.
This is to play safe cuz u may never know what will happen and u wouldnt wanna miss ur flight. note u also need to be in airport atleast 2 hours before flight.
The system in the airport sucks so the earlier u get there the better. It took me almost 1.5 hrs to get my boarding pass and u still need to queue to pay for the terminal fee of 500 pesos. It was summer time and the airport was full house so just cut queue or u will also miss ur flight if u dont get to boarding gate on time. 2 customs officers handling about hundreds of people will delay alot of things too. I was worried I would not be able to make it to flight and it was a major rush and cutting queues.
Anyways hope these tips helps u plan ur trip. Have fun!! U may also visit this link :
myboracayguide.com
myboracayhaven.co
myboracayhaven.com.ph
