Bantayan is an island at the northwest part of Cebu. It is supposedly the “egg basket” of the Philippines, as such, the island was given dispensation or exemption by the Vatican from fasting during the Holy Week. The center of the Holy Week celebration in Bantayan is the centuries-old church built in 1580. It is also home to the more delicious variety of danggit and other salted dried fish.
As for me, Bantayan is an island of great beaches, sunrise & sunset. Among a million other great things. View my Bantayan photos View my other Cebu photos: Camotes and Malapascua
For more information on resorts in the island, click on http://www.bantayan.net/ or http://xoops.bantayan.net/modules/xyp4all/topten.php?hit=1
Disclaimer: Prices, activities, schedules, telnums, etc. were valid when we were there. This info may have changed as of reading.
Summary of activities & expenses:
Kota Beach Resort – P770/room/day
There are other bigger & newer cottages. Prices range from P1,500- 3,000/cottage. Good for 4-6 pax/cottage. See telnum below
Day 1
Jeep from Maya pier to Don Pedro – P25/pax (see my Malapascual blog)
Tricycle from Don Pedro to Hagnaya – P50/trip
Boat from Hagnaya to Sta. Fe – P140/pax (see telnum below)
Tricycle from Sta. Fe pier to Kota Beach resort – P50/trip
Lunch/Dinner at Kota beach resort – P150-200/meal/pax
Day 2
Breakfast in Kota beach resort - P120-150/meal/pax
Tricycle to Sta. Fe beach club – P20/trip
Tricycle to St. Bernard beach resort – P40/trip
Lunch at St. Bernard - P150-200/meal/pax
Dinner at Marisquiera – P170-200/meal/pax
Day 3
Breakfast in Kota beach resort - P120-150/meal/pax
Trisikad from Kota to Ogtong Beach resort – P20/pax
Entrance fee at Ogtong – P100/pax
Lunch at Ogtong - P150-200/meal/pax
Trisikad from Ogtong Beach to Kota beach resort – P20/pax
Round-trip tricycle fare from Kota to Bantayan town market – P300/trip
Danggit – P80/250grams
Dinner at Marisquiera – P170-200/meal/pax
Day 4
Breakfast in Kota beach resort - P120-150/meal/pax
Trisikad from Kota beach resort to pier – P20/trip
Boat from Sta. Fe to Hagnaya – P140/pax
Bus from Hagnaya to Cebu City – P85/pax
How we got there:
> From Malapascua island, we started our way south going to Bantayan Island. When we arrived in Maya (see my previous blog about Malapascua), there weren’t any busses going south to Cebu, so we boarded a jeep for Bogo. It would take us a little over 1 hour to get to ‘skina (“eskina”, which means “road”, I think) Don Pedro, get down, and ride a tricycle to Hagnaya port. Jeep P50/pax. Tricycle P50/trip.
If you’re coming from Cebu city, there are busses in the Cebu North Terminal with signs “Hagnaya”. There are also “public” vans/v-hires and cars for hire for a more comfortable trip.
> It was just 30 minutes before departure when we arrived in the Hagnaya port. It felt like the Amazing Race. Good thing that the boat (Super Shuttle) wasn’t full and we were still able to get tickets. I was surprised to see that there were 2 other lines operating between Hagnaya and Sta. Fe. The boat trip took about 1 hour. As expected, the trip was uneventful. There were noisy Korean kids running around, and a B-movie was playing in the TV. I started shooting the profile of the island when didn’t appear too small in the camera screen, and I could see the white shoreline.
Boats from HAGNAYA (Cebu) to STA. FE (Bantayan Island)
1) Super Shuttle (032-2323150) 1 hour, P140/pax
Hagnaya To Sta. Fe - 7:00 Am / 10:30 Am / 12:30 Pm
Sta.Fe To Hagnaya - 8:30 Am / 12:30 Pm / 4:00 Pm
2) Aznar Fast Craft (032-4352065) 30mins only, P168/pax
Hagnaya To Sta. Fe - 8:30 Am / 11:00 Am / 3:30 Pm
Sta.Fe To Hagnaya - 10:15 Am / 1:30 Pm / 4:30 Pm
3) Island Shipping (032-4352078) P168/pax
Hagnaya To Sta. Fe - 6:30 Am / 9:30 Ma / 12:30 Pm / 1:30 Pm / 5:30 Pm
Sta.Fe To Hagnaya - 5 Am / 7:30am / 9:30 Am / 11:30 Am / 3 Pm
Day 1:
> It was around 12 noon when we arrived at Hagnaya port. Unlike other ports I’ve been to, the water around the port was actually clean & clear. From the Port, facing the island, we saw Sta Fe beach at the right side of the port & Kota beach at the left in all their “white” glory. I was ecstatic. If we didn’t have our luggage, I would have jumped into the water immediately. Haha! Exaj.
> From the pier, a lot of tricycle drivers, habal-habal (scooter) drivers, vendors and jeep barkers were trying to get us to hire them. We took a tricycle and were at the resort in less than 5 minutes. Tricycle P50/trip.
> Check-in and lunch at the Kota Beach Resort (32-2542726/2545661). We dropped off our bags in our room, which was dismally old & crummy, but nonetheless clean, and went straight to the beach. The brightness of the sun reflecting on the white beach took my breath away. Parang kumikinang ang sand. The beach was beautiful. And there weren’t any people loitering around, which made it feel exclusive. While waiting for our lunch to be served, Bucky & I took a gazillion pictures along the shore.
The bottled water was so expensive! A liter, that costs P20 in the grocery, costs P60 in the resort. Crazy! We only knew the day after that a small market about 200 meters from the resort sold cheap bottled water, and was open 24 hours. Lunch P150-200/meal/pax. Room P770/night.
> Swimming, exploring, siesta-by-the-beach, playing cards. Our vacation in Bantayan Island officially started. We checked out the west side of the island, which was to the right of Kota beach. Mejo mahaba pala ung beach so we only walked as far as the last resort we could see. There were Budyong & Yoonek beach resorts in this stretch. The sand wasn’t as fine & as white as Boracay, but it was clean, and it had the “proven?al” appeal. And also unlike Boracay, there weren’t any flashy resorts, malls or stores, no pesky masahista and vendors. The locals, especially the children, were friendly, and most of the time, curious. I guess they were more curious of our camera and tripod than of us. The Budyong-Yooneek shoreline, was peppered with old and beaten wooden outrigger bangkas. When we were strolling, children were helping their father and/or eldest brother untangle the fishing nets. It really felt like the probinsya: simple, quiet though friendly, and humble.
> After taking our first sunset pictures in Bantayan, we had a blah-dinner at the resort, showered, and retired for the night. It was a very tiring day. I also felt the first pangs of sunburn on my shoulders that day.
Day 2:
> Catching the 1st sunrise in Bantayan. The resort was more beautiful during sunrise than it is most of the day. Even though it was a little cloudy, the sun rose out slowly, radiating the whole blue sky with hues of orange and yellow. The tide was high, the water unusually warm, and the whole place was … still.
> Exploring Sta. Fe. After breakfast, which was the only redeeming meal in the resort, we decided to explore the island further. We hired a tricycle for a trip to the east side of the island, where Sta. Fe Beach & St. Bernard resorts were. Sta. Fe Beach resort was disappointing. The pictures from the internet were very impressive, but when we got there, the resort was small, though the beach was nice, considering that it was very near the pier. We just took some pictures of the “watawats” (as Bucky puts it) and the beach, then decided to go to St. Bernard at Barangay Ocoy. We took a tricycle again, which the driver charged us P40. Little did we know that St. Bernard resort was just a short walk away. St. Bernard resort was a narrow lot with about 10 circular concrete huts. The resort was kinda disappointing also, though I expected it to be not really nice because the huts were inexpensive. We walked further east from St. Bernard and came across a quaint beach house, a deserted-looking hut, and a shady empty lot with vines & little purple flowers. By this time, it was very hot and windless, so we took a dip. Like Kota, the beach in Sta. Fe had a long, grassless shore, that during low tide, you’d have to walk far before the water reaches your chin. Total tricycle fare = P60 (2 trips: Kota to Sta. Fe, Sta-Fe to St. Bernard in Ocoy).
> Lunch at St. Bernard resort. We went back to St. Bernard Resort for lunch. I had the sizzling lapu-lapu, while Bucky had pork snitchzel. The food was OK, way better than Kota Beach resort. The serving per meal was for 2 people, but we finished both our meals. Why do we get so hungry at the beach? P150 – 200/meal/pax.
> Walk back from St. Bernard to Kota Beach resort. We were so full after lunch that we decided to walk back to the resort, even though the sun was freaking hot. Figured that it was also a good way to explore the Sta. Fe beach, and get rid of all the calories we downed from lunch. There were a lot of houses, bangkas & mothers screaming for their children to quit swimming and have lunch. We passed by a barangay, crossed the pier, and reached the Kota-side of the shoreline. The tide was so low that we could see thousands of mini-crablets (yes, they were smaller than crablets, hence mini na, crablet pa), crawling frantically back into their holes when they felt us approaching. Initially, I thought they were dirt, or pieces of wood washed ashore. And then they moved & disappeared in the sand. When we reached the beach by the lagoon, we couldn’t help but take a dip. It was just so inviting! The water was clear and the shore was grassless, besides, the sun was up, it was so hot and we were sweating like pigs because of the long walk. By the time we got back to Kota Beach resort, we were hungry again. After merienda, siesta, more swimming & picture-taking, it was sunset again and time for dinner.
> We had to go out in search for dinner because the food in the resort wasn’t good. Most of the trisikad drivers recommended a Portugese resto near the mercado or market. So not knowing where else to go, and not wanting to eat in the resort, we ended up hiring a trisikad for Marisquiera. It was a big, open-air resto, with native/local furniture & design mixed with European, not just Portugese, flags, shirts, and what-have-you. It was a rather eclectic mix. Even the cuisine, the customers, and the owners were … mixed. The food was way better & more “exotic” than the food in Kota and St. Bernard. We wanted to try so many foreign-sounding dishes but we could only order 2 different meals. Bucky had a beef meal with fries, while I had the red curry chicken. Both meals were very spicy, we ended up downing beers and 2 pinipig crunch ice cream bars. I didn’t care about my dieta anymore. I was praying that I’d lose all the calories from swimming & walking around the island. Feeling guilty for eating so much food, we just walked home back to the resort. We played a round of chiki-cha by the beach while waiting to get drowsy. While we were at the beach, we could hear a group of people in one of the cottages playing poker. Bucky couldn’t help but be inggit coz he knew that VC and his friends were playing poker in Manila during that time. We didn’t have poker chips so couldn’t play on our own. After 3 rounds of chicki-cha, we got sleepy and went back to our room to retire for the night. Dinner = P170-200/meal/pax.
Day 3:
> We saw the best sunrise on our 3rd day in Bantayan. We also met a cute kid named Valerie, and her mom Rosette. After breakfast we decided to go to Ogtong Cave & resort.
> Ogtong Cave & Resort was farther up in the island. We took a trisikad & were there in around 15mins. The resort was on a low cliff that extended to a beach. The resort was clean, nice and well-kept. It was owned also by the owner of Sta. Fe Beach Club. Ogtong cave was actually just a little hole in the ground/rocks that had a fresh-water pool. The resort made a staircase down to the underground pool, and attached lights on the overhead rocks so that people can swim towards the farther end of the pool. It felt creepy when we first came in because the pool was kinda dark and full of shadows. Good thing people were already there when we came in. The water was cool and surprisingly very clear. And there were small fish! It was hard to gauge the depth of the water because it was dark, we ended up banging our knees and legs against the rocks on the shallow parts. There were also parts in the pool that became suddenly deep and slippery. I wouldn’t recommend it for unattended small kids who don’t know how to swim.
We had lunch after our refreshing dip in the cave. I had the best chopseuy in years. Bucky also raved about his grilled beef tips. After lunch we went around the resort, took some pictures, and went down the beach. Like everywhere else in the island, the beach in Ogtong had a long grassless shore of pristine white sand. It was also low tide when we were there, but that didn’t stop us from wading in the cool, shallow waters and taking some more pictures.
Bucky & I were so amazed by the underground pool at the cave that we decided to stay there for another hour. Swimming in the fresh-water pool was a refreshing break from the salty beach.
> Trip to Bantayan town, market, & Bantayan church. We went back to Kota beach resort, showered and prepared for our trip to Bantayan town proper. We hired a tricycle who agreed to take us there and back for P300. The trip to the town took about 30 minutes. We passed by barangays, the island cemetery (which was very crowded with visitors and vendors), old houses, and stores. Bantayan town is a small and quiet town, with a plaza, church & market all within walking distance from one another. Our first stop in the town was the market. We bought danggit and other varieties of salted dried fish, for which the town was famous for. After we bought our danggit, we went to Bantayan Church. Besides being famous for its age (it was constructed 1580, I think), it’s also famous for its Lenten activities. The whole Bantayan was given dispensation or exemption from fasting by Vatican. I guess that’s one of the reasons why the island is especially busy during Lent. It was so quiet in the church when we got in that I couldn’t help but whisper. I even felt hiya about taking pictures for a moment. I said a little prayer, also asking permission to take photos. It was amazing to see how old the church was: the walls were made of blocks of coral stone, the big church doors looked heavy and old, and the design in the glass windows looked very aged too, though I don’t believe that they were installed since 1580. After taking photos, we went out to light candles and offer prayers. After all, it was All Soul’s Day.
> Catching the last sunset in Bantayan. It was just before sunset when we arrived at Kota from our trip to Bantayan town. The last sunset turned out to be the best in our 3-day stay in the island. We swam and took pictures by Budyong beach until it the sun was totally gone.
> Dinner at Marisquera again. Since we weren’t able to taste the other exotic-sounding dishes the night before, we decided to eat at the Portuguese restaurant again. We had pork Bitoque, pinakbet, and beer.
> I wanted to go night-swimming but Bucky & I were so tinatamad to change and shower again. So we decided to pack our bags because we had to leave early the next day.
Day 4:
> Breakfast at the resort & taking pictures of the last sunrise. We woke up at 5am again to catch the sunrise by Budyong beach. Took great pictures.
> Back to Cebu city. We had to catch the 830am boat to Hagnaya (see schedule above), and catch the earliest available bus to Cebu City so we would have enough time to unpack, change bags/clothes, and buy food & medicine for our trip to Camotes Islands. We were able to buy tickets for the 830am trip. Trisikad = P20/trip. Boat = P140/pax.
Thank God, the next bus for Cebu city was airconditioned. The trip was better compared to the one we took with the non-aircon bus to Maya. There was a stop-over in one town where passengers were given time to pee, stretch, and buy some lunch. We had 3 hotdogs and 4 puso for lunch. And we ate it on the bus because there wasn’t enough time for a sit-down lunch at the karinderya. Bus Ticket = P85/pax.
> After around 4 hours, we arrived in the city, got into a cab (which was stopped by a police because we loaded the taxi at a no-loading area. Buti na lang, lawyer si Bucky at nasindak ang police), went to his house, dropped off dirty clothes and other unnecessary stuff, had lunch, bought groceries and medicine for my allergies (I think I ate too much eggs), and left for Cebu Pier 1 to catch our 530pm trip to Poro Port.
Total Expenses: P8,406.00 (for 2 pax)
I had such a great time at Bantayan that I plan to take my family there for a vacation when I have the money. The place isn’t too expensive and not too far either.
Next stop: Camotes!