Got to travel to Boracay Island! It has one of the best beaches in the Philippines. You will surely enjoy the long and wide coastline of Boracay with its soft white sand. The people here are great and there are lots of places to eat. The island can cater to both the elite and the norm. They have various accommodations from 5-star hotels to affordable inns. Once you're at the beach everyone's the same and just having a blast.
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| Gloomy Second Day at Boracay |
We didn't prepare an itinerary for this trip. We just made a list of things we wanted to do and come what may when we got there. We wanted this trip to be a stress free trip. So we wake up when we want to wake up and just look for something to do after eating breakfast. Most relaxing trip/vacation. So here's what we did.
Arriving at Boracay Airport (Caticlan)
We departed from Manila August 4,2011 4:20PM and arrived at around 5:20 at Boracay Airport via Cebu Pacific. We stayed at Boracay until August 7. We were really hoping that it would not rain that much since it was
the rainy season. Luckily it didn't and we enjoyed our stay.
The new modern
Boracay Airport is awesome and not to mention fully air-conditioned. Better than most airports in the country. Although it's small but it's said to be a part of the new Caticlan Airport that is expected to be finished by 2013.
Going to Boracay Island
From Boracay Airport you still have to ride a boat to Boracay Island. When you go out of Boracay Airport, you'll be greeted with guides offering private vans to the port and some even offer packages from airport to your hotel. But be reminded that this would surely cost more and if you're not familiar with the prices you'll surely be ripped off by these guides.
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| Rented Private Van with the driver not the agent |
We didn't know yet the price rates and we wanted a quick way to the hotel, so we agreed to a package that a guide offered us. Our package was from airport to hotel for Php400 per person. But later we found out that regular commute from airport to any hotel to Boracay Island only costs around Php150 - Php200. And not to mention most of the terminals are regulated with fixed rates, so no worries of being scammed.
We asked around and here's the breakdown of the costs if you decide to commute on your own:
Tricycle from airport to port: Php40 (4pax) Php7 each
Port Terminal and boat fee: Php70
Port Environmental fee: Php75
Tricycle or multicab from port to hotel: Php5 - Php25 per person depends on hotel
So considering this, I suggest going to Boracay Island on your own. It's pretty easy and tricycles and boat transfers have fix rates. Private vans you can negotiate directly to drivers. The tricycle terminals are near the airport and ports. Just a minute walk away. Definitely
DO NOT ACCEPT TRANSFER PACKAGE DEALS FROM GUIDES. Take note that with or without a guide, you would get to your hotel almost the same time.
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| Port to the actual Boracay Island |
Boarding the boat is a challenge. First, you had to wait below the hot sun to board. Then you had to cross a floating bridge made with bamboos and floating plastic drums. It was hard to keep our balance since it was windy and the bridge kept on moving.
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| Long line under the sun to board boat |
The boat was small but they made sure that the boat is not overcrowded. The boat is quite safe and they have life-vests and helpful staff.
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| Boat to Boracay Island |
Boracay Regency is a 5-star hotel and you can assume that facilities would be great. We booked our reservations at a travel expo so we got our rooms at 50% less than the regular rates. This is actually a resort and houses hundreds of rooms. It's big and has several buildings, so you'll probably get lost a few times inside at first. We loved staying here and our money was well spent. For prices and details
Boracay Regency Hotel.
Luckily the day that we were to try some water activities the rain stopped. It was sunny and the wind just right. One of my friends was acquaintance with one of the companies who offer water sports there. So we were able to get decent rates. Although I thought we got special prices, but I later found out that some can offer lower rates. We tried Jet-skis and the Flying fish.
We also tried reef walking. I really thought that this would be a waste of time. But once you're
under water, walking and jumping around, you'll really appreciate this.
At first it was hard to breathe but after few seconds you'll get the
hang of it. There was lots of fish to feed under water and there was
even some starfish. The package includes unlimited photos and videos
using their underwater cam. For prices and details click
Boracay Water Sports and Activities.
Some of you may not like the water, so you might like to try Boracay's ATV adventure. Sadly the ATV course was not off road. But you do get to drive an ATV for 15 to 20 minutes. While on the ATV adventure, you also get to drop by an Insect Farm and the Ocean Tower where you can see an awesome view of Boracay Island. They have Dune Buggies as an alternative to ATVs which can carry two passengers, great for couples and parents. The facility also has go-karts and their very own race track. For prices and details click
All-Terrain-Vehicle (ATV) Adventure.
You can enjoy a friendly competition with your friends with D'Wall Wall Climbing at D'Mall . They have two walls to climb, beginner and intermediate. They have well trained staff to assist you but they don't have climbing shoes. So climbing barefoot is a challenge. For prices and details click
Wall Climbing Challenge.
Other Island Attractions
One of the night attractions of Boracay are the Poi Dancers. Usually at night they go to the beach and perform for free. You can take pictures with them and they would whirl fireballs in front or around you. There's no exact rate, but tips is required.
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| Performing Fire Poi Dancing in Front of a Person |
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| Performing Fire Poi Dancing |
Another fun attraction is the Bungee Jump located at station 2.
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| Boracay Bungee Jumping |
There was also the Boracay Showdown, which is a free throw shootout. Fun competing with my friends.
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| Boracay Free Throw Showdown |
For religious people, there's a nearby church in Boracay Island. Just one tricycle ride for just Php25.
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| Boracay Church |
Last, I consider Boracay's souvenirs as an attractions since there was so many to choose from.
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| Boracay Island Souvenirs |
If you enjoyed the white beaches of Boracay, you'll surely enjoy eating there even more. There are lots of restaurant at Boracay that you wouldn't find in Metro Manila. For prices and details click
Food Trips at Boracay.
Going Back to Manila
Going back to Boracay Airport we tried to commute. We hired a multicab from hotel to port for Php200 which can have 10 passengers. Then we rode a 4 seater tricycle for Php40. It was far cheaper than any private van agents would offer you.
Checking-in was great since it was off-peak season and plus the airport is air-conditioned. After that it was back to Manila for us.
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| Nice Areal View |
The new modern Boracay Airport is awesome and not to mention fully air-conditioned. Better than most airports in the country. Although it's small but it's said to be a part of the new Caticlan Airport that is expected to be finished by 2013. 
4 comments:
Hi, very useful infos!
It's my first time to boracay and im trying to know everything i can because im afraid of riding in the plane. I had airplane trips before but i never did get use to it. im also concern because we are going there in this rainy season with our 5 year old daughter.
Ca i ask for your contact number?
you can pm it to me on my cp number
09264812010
thanks and god bless
Hi, glad you found my site useful. You can email me your questions and gladly try to help you. Click the About tab above and you'll see my email there..:) Thanks!
Hello, thank you for the very informative post. I just want to ask.. on your way back to manila how many hours do you have to be at caticlan airport before your flight? thanks! :)
Hi. I always arrive at the airport 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs before any flight. This is to make sure I have extra time in case of unforeseen events specially travel delays to the airport. Plus I don't like being on the rush hehe.. thanks! happy trip!
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