This is now the second stretch of my Cebu-Bohol vacation last April. If you read my Cebu blog, you’ll know that the initial plan was to have a Central Visayas tour, Cebu to Bohol to Siquijor to Dumaguete, but because Peter couldn’t come with me, I decided to cut it short and just visit Cebu and Bohol, with a few days in Manila too, before heading back to Brisbane.
We booked our ferry tickets through Klook, it was easy breezy. No need to go to the ticketing office to buy tickets. We went straight to the port and just showed our Klook confirmation. The process was very quick! After showing the confirmation, they exchanged it for our ferry tickets, which also included a stub for our check-in luggage. Not sure how the terminal looks during busy season, but when we went, it wasn’t as packed as I imagined it would be, even around Easter break.
The travel time took almost an hour, and there was little to no signal at all out at sea, so if you need to do anything online, keep that in mind.
When we arrived at Tagbilaran port, we got our luggage right away and headed straight to the hotel. We stayed at Henann Resort Alona Beach, and the whole stay felt very comfortable. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in Panglao and want that real vacation vibe.
As soon as we got out of the port, there were a lot of tour operators and drivers, and they charge you exorbitant amounts just because they know you’re a tourist, so it’s best to be vigilant about how much they’re asking. I imagine foreigners who don’t know any better would easily just accept the asking price.
One driver initially asked us for 800php from the port to the hotel. After some haggling and back and forth, we settled on 450 since there was going to be another passenger in the van too. This was in the middle of the war in the Middle East, and they kept saying it was because of fuel prices. I understand their point, but it still irks me when people take advantage.
Ton and I arrived at the hotel first. Our tour driver for the day was set to fetch us, then take us to pick up Addy from the airport. We were able to check in early, so we went straight to the room to drop our bags off and hopefully get some rest first before we start the Panglao tour.
I was sooo excited when I saw the view from the pool because it was overlooking the beach! They even have happy hour every afternoon so if you just want to chill out, the pool by the beach is the best bet. And for people not staying in the hotel, they also have day passes which includes access to the pool and the lounging area by the beach. Our hotel booking also comes with buffet breakfast which has a very diverse selection. The selection has Filipino food, Korean, and some international food too. I really missed filipino breakfast so I was really excited for the breakfast. :D Here’s the Agoda link if you’re curious!
So a few minutes after we drop our bags, the tour driver called to say he was already waiting downstairs. Off we went, straight back out to the airport for Addy.
Our tour for the day was the so-called “Panglao Tour.” The itinerary was
- Bohol Bee Farm
- Hinagdanan Cave
- Shell Museum
- Panglao Church
- Moadto Strip Mall
First Stop – Bohol Bee Farm
Ton had been raving so much about how good their ice cream is, so I was really curious to try it. We had lunch at their restaurant overlooking the beach. I love a good lunch spot, especially when the food is good too. Vibes + good food. 👌
I tried the grilled baby back ribs, honey-glazed chicken for Ton, and Seafood pasta for Addy.
To end the meal, I tried their best-selling malunggay ice cream.
Overall, the experience was great. Loved the view, and the food was so good. The servings were generous too! Funny enough, the bees themselves aren’t even really part of the public experience anymore. We didn’t see any bees at the time. The original apiary was relocated for safety.
Hinagdanan Cave
📍 Bingag, Dauis, Panglao Island, Bohol
🏊 Underground lagoon reaching 10-20m deep, swimmable if you bring a change of clothes
🌍 Recognized site within the Bohol Global Unesco Geopark
Next stop was Hinagdanan Cave. I’m not sure it’s for everyone, but they told us we needed a guide going down, and we could pay whatever amount we were comfortable with. I hate that almost every spot we went to seemed to require a guide, but in fairness to the Kuya, he was trying his best to be funny and was always game to take our photos. He even took videos, and even though it’s dark inside the cave, he knew the right iPhone settings to brighten things up.
You can swim inside the cave if you bring a change of clothes, and we saw a lot of people doing just that. As for us, we couldn’t be bothered. We just took our photos and moved on to the next stop.
Nova Shell Museum
📍 Teofilo Arcay St, Poblacion, Panglao, Bohol 🕐 Open daily, 9am–12pm 💸 Small entrance fee (bring cash)
Heads up though, they only open until noon, so if you’re doing the Panglao tour like we did, make sure it’s on the earlier half of your itinerary or you might miss it.
Turns out this isn’t just some random roadside collection. The museum was put together by a guy named Quirino Hora, who spent decades diving and collecting shells around the world, and apparently has two shells named after him because of it. Scientists have also said Panglao has the widest variety of shells in the whole South Pacific, so I guess it makes sense the island has a museum dedicated to them.
The smallest shell we saw was genuinely tiny, and it turns out it might’ve been the world’s smallest seashell, which is actually named after Emperor Hirohito of Japan. You basically need a magnifying glass to appreciate it. I took a photo of it and photo looks very pixelated because I had to zoom in to take a close photo. When I looked back at my gallery after a few days and saw it, I was thinking hard on what that photo is because it doesn’t look like a shell at first glance. haha!
Moadto Strip Mall
Quick facts: Moadto Strip Mall 📍 Tumoy Leisure Village, Doljo, Panglao, Bohol 🕐 Mon–Thu 10am–10pm, Fri–Sun 10am–11pm 🍽️ Home to another Bohol Bee Farm outlet if you want round two of that malunggay ice cream
The mall is literally a few steps from the beach, but it was very quiet. There are souvenir stalls and another Bohol Bee Farm. It feels like it’s meant to be a tambayan, but there weren’t many people around. We didn’t take too long here, just checked out what was inside and left right away.
Turns out Moadto Strip is a fairly new addition to Panglao, sitting right in front of Doljo Beach’s shoreline, next to Modala Beach Resort. It’s designed as a two-level, open-air retail space with around 40 shops, so on paper it sounds like a proper mall. In reality though, it’s still filling up. A lot of the units were empty when I went, which tracks with what other visitors have said too, that the shops and restaurants side still feels pretty vacant depending on when you go. Still, the beach right outside it is genuinely gorgeous, so it’s worth the quick stop even if you’re not planning on shopping
Panglao Church
Given my experience in Cebu, where churches always make the itinerary, I wasn’t surprised Panglao Church made the cut here too. As someone who isn’t really religious, I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to look for or check out.
Even though church visits aren’t really my thing, I did some digging after and it turns out Panglao Church has more history than I gave it credit for. It became a parish way back in 1803, but the stone church we actually see today wasn’t finished until much later. Construction started in 1894, got completely halted because of the Philippine Revolution, picked back up in 1912, and it wasn’t officially consecrated until 1924. So this building basically took three decades and a revolution to finish.
It also survived Bohol’s 2013 earthquake with minimal damage, which is wild considering how many other heritage buildings on the island weren’t as lucky. If you do go in, look up. The ceiling has old murals depicting the seven sacraments, which honestly might be the most interesting part of the whole visit even if the religious side isn’t your thing either.
We didn’t stay long, either. I think we were all tired by that point and just wanted to get back to the hotel.
For the rest of the day, we chilled by the pool and had dinner at The Original Paeng’s.
