#beachesph

My boyfriend and I have always loved travelling. We’ve been to different places already, but this is the first time that we’ve travelled to a place unfamiliar to us. After the news of the scheduled re-opening of Boracay surfaced, I told him that we must go check the place out. Luckily, he said yes because he really wanted to go there ever since. We just have to wait for the perfect time to plan out everything.

We love travelling, but we also hate spending (too much). So, what we did, we waited for the perfect time to book our plane tickets and our room accommodations (via agoda) – in short, we waited for promos 😅

Plane Tickets

October came and airlines still don’t have seat sale promos. Luckily, Air Asia (my go-to airline when broke HAHA) offers cheap plane tickets. For only ₱3,150/head, we were able to book a roundtrip ticket to and from Kalibo. If booked with other airlines, the minimum one-way airfare ticket to Kalibo is around ₱2,500.

You might be wondering why we booked via Kalibo instead of Caticlan which is closer to Boracay Island. Well, my dear friends, the answer is simple – plane tickets to Caticlan are more expensive than Kalibo’s. Although, I don’t recall how much the difference exactly is, but if you travel via Kalibo and ride a one-hour van trip to Caticlan, it will only cost you ₱175/head.

Room Accommodation

Since I had work in the morning, we had to schedule our flights at night. We arrived in Kalibo at around 11pm and stayed overnight at RB Lodge Kalibo. It is an inn located at the heart of Kalibo and the van terminal to Caticlan is just across it.

In Boracay, we booked our room accommodation at White Beach de Boracay. It is a beach-front building beside Astoria Hotel in Station 1. The rooms have wifi access, air-conditioner, refrigerator and a bathroom with hot and cold shower. For only ₱4,803 we were able to book a two-night, three-day room accommodation thru Agoda.

Kuripot tip: There are a lot of activities in Boracay, so if you have plans of visiting the island, book at budget-friendly hotels ;) ALSO, I just learned this from a friend (sayang!), but if you want to have less expensive room rates, download Airbnb so you can have  ₱2,200 OFF from your first booking (minimum of  ₱3,500 worth of booking). You can register here.

How To Get There?

If you’ll be coming from Kalibo Airport, there are vans there bound to Caticlan Jetty Port. The fare is only ₱175. But if coming from Caticlan Airport, you can rent trikes to the jetty port, though I am not sure how much it costs.

Upon arriving at Caticlan Jetty Port, you’ll have to present a hotel booking confirmation and an ID at the entrance of the port.

After showing your proof, you’ll have to pay some fees: env’t fee - ₱75/head; terminal fee - ₱100/head; and boat fare - ₱25/head. The trip to Boracay Island from the port is around 15 mins.

From Boracay Island port, you can ride a van, trike or habal-habal going to your station. Since we are not familiar with the place, we rented a trike.

Initially, our plan was to walk to our hotel because we saw people walking with their trolleys and stuff. But because we were very lazy to walk and carry our own stuff, we decided to rent a trike and pay ₱120. It was only when we arrived at our hotel when realized how far the port is from Station 1. Good thing we (are lazy-walkers and) decided to ride a trike 😂

DAY 1

The first thing we did after checking in was to look for restos. There are many restos in Boracay but it’s impossible to find a cheap/sulit one. Almost every resto was crowded because it was lunch time, so we had a difficult time finding a place to eat. Good thing we checked this small resto beside Astoria which sells fresh seafood – by fresh, I mean, you get to choose diff types of seafood that are still alive (and swimming 😂) Although I wasn’t able to take a picture of their mini aquarium, I have pictures of their menu 😅 They also offer meat dishes.

After eating, we decided to make our first day as our “rest day” since the next two days will be filled with activities. We roamed around the island and checked the ‘changes’ after its rehab. I must say, comparing it from the previous pictures I’ve seen online, Boracay really has become much cleaner. Local staffs/security are found everywhere, and they watch and fine anyone who litters. Trash bins are also present all over the island, so there’s no excuse not to throw your garbage at the right place.

Since we want to ‘fully experience’ Boracay, I wanted to try having my hair braided. But I guess, I made the wrongest decision of my life. Hahaha

I was charged ₱650 for this braid. HAHAHA. This is prolly my most unforgettable experience in Boracay. As per the ate who did the braids, the regular price for a braid is ₱250. But since she added yarns, there’s an additional ₱100 per yarn; I had FOUR YARNS. HAHAHA. IMAGINE WHAT MY FACE LOOKED LIKE WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO PAY! I told her to remove the yarns, but she said I would have to pay another ₱250 because she would have to re-do my braid. I was pissed, but I just had to let it go and not have my vacation ruined bec of that 🙂

While I was complaining how expensive my braid was, my boyfriend had his henna tattoo. And no, I did not ask him to have my name henna tattoed on his neck. It was his (sweet gesture) own decision. He was charged ₱250 for a four-letter tattoo.

Of course, we ended our day by watching the beautiful sunset near the shore. We were so caught in the moment that we forgot to take pictures of the sunset. Also, we had samgyupsal for dinner! 😆

DAY 2

For our second day, we booked an all-day tour at Ariel’s Point. It is an island 20-30 minutes away from Boracay. The package costs ₱2,800.00/pax and covers the following:

UNLIMITED BEER and ALCOHOLIC DRINKS (yes, you read that right)

Non-stop Snacks

Buffet Lunch

5-meter, 10-meter, and 15-meter high cliff jump activity

Water activities such as: Snorkeling, Stand-up Paddle Board and Kayak

Very nice, friendly and accommodating staff. LIKE REALLY, REALLY NICE.

While on our way back to Boracay Island, one of tour guides initiated a drinking game. He started spinning a bottle and whoever the bottle points, s/he has to drink the alcohol straight from the bottle.

Sadly, Ariel’s Point is closed today until after two months. I don’t know exactly why, but my dad who’s been there a week ago, relayed this info to me.

Day 3

For our third and final day, we decided to book island activities. But since our hotel accommodation is only until 12nn, we only booked 2 activities: Parasailing and Helmet Diving.

Parasailing

The original price of Parasailing is ₱2,500/pax for 15 minutes. Good thing, we met Kuya Loyd, a kuya who works at our hotel and offered us a much cheaper price. He gave us a ₱300 discount, because he has connections (that we don’t have HAHA).

For a while, it was fun. But because of the strong winds, our canopy was leading us to different directions, which made me a bit nauseous.

Helmet Diving

Because I was a bit nauseous, I kinda didn’t enjoy this activity. The pressure on the helmet was too much for me that I found it kind of heavy. BUT, I loved the view and I saw Nemo (yes, I know it’s called clownfish but I prefer to call it Nemo).

Before going down, you’ll have to sign an agreement form in which you’ll have to assess your health state. Because I was desperate to check what the bottom looks like, I just checked ‘yes’ to everything. BUT PLEASE, DON’T DO WHAT I DID. I AM NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE!

The activity costs ₱1,500/pax but because we had Kuya Loyd, we got it for ₱1,200 only! He is such a helpful friend. (in Lily’s [How I Met Your Mother] voice)

Important Reminder

Well the best thing I could remind you is to bring extra money wherever you go. Since Boracay re-opened, everything became pricey. The price of anything that is being sold there is a quarter higher than it was before. Some locals say that they are trying to recover from the income lost during its rehab. Well, I couldn’t blame them. But what’s irritating is some local businesses are taking the ‘recover thing’ on a higher level that the prices are unreasonable. Exhibit A: the yarns of my braid.

Despite the pricey vacation, I must say I had fun and I’m definitely going back to try the other activities! Au revoir, Boracay!