Cebu is always on my bucket list in Philippines because of their waterfalls and beautiful beaches. I note to myself that when I got there I will visit Bantayan Island. I've always wanted to go there ever since I watched Camp Sawi Movie. And I am so happy that our honeymoon will be in Cebu! Also the one I am more excited about is, this is our first travel alone and first time to experience in airplane(Oops🙊). Haha! Yes, it is our first time to travel alone because when we were not married yet we always travel in day tour and if not, we should have someone like brother or cousins accompany with us. My parents is very strict with this. That's why I am soooo excited for our honeymoon because it's all FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE!😍
About Bantayan Island
Bantayan Island is located in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the northern part of the Cebu. The island is made up in three towns such as Bantayan, Madridejos and Santa Fe.
We booked a flight at the end of the week of March. I am so busy on that time so I don't have a time to do an itinerary or book a resort for us (and it's all fully booked!) I wanted to check-in in Kota Beach Resort but unfortunately it also fully booked.
How to get there:
Clark International Airport
1. Fly to Cebu. Of course the first thing is you need to book a ticket to Mactan International Airport.Travel hour is 1 hour from Manila and Clark. You can choose what airport you want to depart, NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) or CIA (Clark International Airport). You can check these airlines Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Airsia for the prices. Want to book a ticket with less hassle and fast? Check this out. I booked our ticker there. Follow them to be always updated for the airlines promo.😉
Inside Mactan International Airport
2. Take a myBus to North Bus Terminal. Outside of the airport, take the myBus to get in the North Bus Terminal. Fare is 40php/$.8 per peson. The bus will drop you off at the SM Cebu, that is their last stop. From there, take another bus that is going to the airport, they will drop you off at the North Bus Terminal, you don't need to pay for that. I think the route of the bus to airport is different.3. Take a bus to Hagnaya Port. At the North Bus Terminal, take a ceres bus going to Hagnaya Port. Travel time is 3-4 Hours. Fare is 170php/$3.4 for ordinary and 180php/$3.6 for air-conditioned. I preferred the air-conditioned bus, they are more fast than the ordinary.
Hagnaya Port
4. Ferry to Sta.Fe Port. Before you get to the island, you need to ride a ferry. Board a Island Shipping or Super Shuttle Ferry. Travel time is more or less 1 hour. Fare is 185php/$3.7. First trip is at 3am and the last trip is 5:30pm. Additional 10php/$0.2 terminal fee will be collected.After a long long ride! You will now see the beautiful island.😍 At the port, you can see the white sand and blue water that was surrounded by the island. There are a lots of tricycles outside the port that offers a ride for you. But before that, the island collects an ecological fee of 30php/$0.6 per person.
Honestly, before we get to the island we still don't have an accommodation because it was all fully booked. Then I found this Hoyohoy Villa at Agoda, I called the number and thankfully they still have vacant rooms. I told to the driver the place and I didn't expect that it was near at the port that you can actually walk only. Fare is 10php/$0.2 per person.
Image from Hoyohoy Villas Instagram
The place was so beautiful! It was perfect for our honeymoon. I loved how the place so relaxing and quiet. They have 2 available rooms when we got there, one is a Villa and the other is their Casitas room. They offer us a room tour first to help us decided what to book. I both love the room, the only difference between them is the type of the room.
Casitas Room is the farthest at the beach front but near in the reception area and restaurant. I love how minimalist the style is and the interiors. The price for casitas room is 3,000php/$60 per night max of 2 pax. Not bad!
Images from Hoyohoy Villas Instagram
While the other hand is the villa, I super loved their villas! There are two type of the villas, one is at the beach front and have two rooms(the other room is the living area I guest) while the others have one room only. There are 6 villas at Hoyohoy and 2 of them is at the beachfront. The price for villas are 5,000php/$100 per night while the beach front is 6,000php/$120 per night max of 2 pax only.
We chose the villa, I am sooo happy that this will be our home for the next 3 days. The villa has a sofa at the left side, tv with cable, refrigator, big cabinet(thankful!🙏), big mirror(perfect for ootd shot😉), and the bathroom they have a bathtub, outdoor shower room(the most I loved😍).
What to do at the Island
You will notice that every tricycle drivers, they will offer you a Land tour and Island hopping, they all have different prices so we chose Kuya Nilo for our Land Tour for 600php only! We will visit 5 places for one day. We started the tour at 9am.
First is the Kota Beach.
Because this is the nearest in our resort we first visit this beautiful beach that was filmed by the movie "Camp Sawi". No Entrance Fee! And you can stay as long as you want. I super loved this beach, we are lucky that the place was not crowded. They said that it has a sandbar at 3pm, when low tide. We stayed for more than 1 hour I guest and kuya Nilo was waiting outside. When you get there, don't forgot to buy the Coconut Milk at Kota Beach. It was the best!
The ruins cliff diving
This is the second place we visit. Also no Entrance Fee. The second should be the Ogtong Cave but we didn't try there because I heard that the entrance fee there was not worth it and the place is just too small. The entrance fee at Ogtong is 200php/$4 per person. Here in the ruins is where Sam Milby cliff diving at the Movie.
Photos taken by my phone
Paradise BeachThis is way too far from the ruins, travel time is about 30 minutes. This beach is secluded at the island, I don't know if you can stay here overnight because there was no any resort near the area. Entrance fee is 50php/$1 per pax. I love how calm the beach is here. We almost fell asleep! Haha. Sorry to kuya Nilo who waited for us so long. The beach was not crowded too even that day is Sunday. I don't have much photos here because our camera's battery was empty and we fell asleep. Lol😄
Lastly, Oboob Mangrove Garden/Eco Park
Finally our last destination was this beautiful and peaceful mangrove garden. Entrance fee here is 50php/$1 per pax. This place is for sightseeing only for the mangroves, there have cottages inside and I see other people swim at the mangrove. You can finish it in minimum 15 minutes. It also had a restaurant inside, you can take an order there before you start then eat after your sightseeing. Price range is 100-200php/$2-4. Their serving is for 2 person.
We finished the Land Tour at 3pm and we already tired so we didn't try the Island Hopping. You will be visit the Virgin Island, Kinatarkan Island and Hilantagaan Island for Island Hopping. Virgin Island(Silion Island) collects a 500php/$10 entrance fee for the first 2 pax then 100php/$2 for the additional head. Kuya Nilo offers the Island Hopping for only 800php/$16! Contact details for Kuya Nilo at the end of this blog. Maybe we will try the Island Hopping next time we visit again the island.
MJ Square
Of course the island also offers a lot of choices for food! When we were in Hagnaya Port, I saw the tarpaulin of MJ Square and there has a lot of choices of food. So we decided to try the place. MJ Square offers a lot of food stalls for desserts, souvenirs, buffet, seafoods, bar etc., The place was live every night, there was live band also outside. We bought a souvenir here and my husband wants a seafood so we try the Poseidon Greek Restaurant. The food was worth it! I forgot the name of what we ordered but it's a mix of all seafoods. I love their baked scallops with cheese! You should definitely try it. But everything was sooo good. My husband loves it too. It costs 600php/$12.
Our trip was relaxing, beautiful and we really enjoyed it. I didn't regret that I chose to visit this beautiful island of Cebu and we will definitely be back here to try the Island Hopping.😊
Beach front of Hoyohoy Villa
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You can also check in Airbnb for more affordable accomodation.
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Hoyohoy Villas Details:
Website: https://www.hoyohoy-villas.com/
Contact Number: +639166818357
Email: info@hoyohoy-villas.com
Book your next trip here! https://www.facebook.discovertheworldph
They offer Hotel Bookins, Ticketing and Tour Packages 💗
Kuya Nilo Contact Number -+639075550566