#laboracay2014

Boracay already earned its status as one of the best beach island destination in the world. True to its claim, all you can think of possible in a beach paradise is offered in Boracay.

Boracay, a 7-kilometer long island, is located in the northwestern tip of Panay Island, Philippines. Aside from its beach renowned for clear turquoise waters and powder white sand, it boasts of luxury hotels, restaurants offering local and international cuisines, land, water and air activities, and what it is famous for, nightlife.

GETTING THERE:

Boracay Island can be reached through air and sea.

Caticlan’s diminutive Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, handles turboprop flights from Cebu and Manila. Caticlan Airport is about an hour and a half flight away from Manila, and is only a 20-minute ferry ride away from Boracay. From the Caticlan airport, (there is a terminal and environmental fee of P175), you will take a short tricycle ride (5-10 mins) to the Caticlan Jetty port, from where you will pay the fees, log your name as visitor of the island and ride a small boat to the White Beach. The boat journey takes around 10-15 minutes. From there, you will ride another tricycle to take you to the street where you can find your hotel accommodation. (recommended)

Kalibo International Airport, 90 minutes away from Boracay by bus, handles domestic flights from Manila as well as international flights Flights from Manila take an hour and a half to arrive.

WHAT TO DO:

Boracay is best appreciated when you venture out into its waters and there are several ways to explore the sea and smaller islands around. 

Paraw are traditional sailboats with outriggers, and are available for rent from freelancers on White Beach or by inquiry with your Boracay resort. The ride cost us P300 (pax of 2) good for 30 minutes.

Parasailing. You can take wing for at least fifteen minutes when you go parasailing above the island. Parasailers are attached to a parachute and towed behind a speedboat; the speed creates lift, and the parasailer flies over a hundred feet above the sea. For a cost of P1,200 each (haggled price) for about 10-15 minutes of flying experience.

Diving. The island is beautiful, both above and under the water. Expert and newbie divers alike are well-served in the island, given the diversity of diving sites and the number of dive shops on the island. You can choose a diving package with length and intensity depending on your budget and expertise.

ATV. Four-wheel buggies that can be rented by the hour to explore the dirt roads criss-crossing the hills in Boracay’s north end. Places like Tanawin Viewpoint and an aviary can be reached via ATV - these vehicles are not permitted to operate on the Central Highway.

ACCOMMODATION:

The cheapest places to stay are mostly run by local families, and most of them don't even have a website, so you have to find them. It's actually not that hard. 

But here’s a tip: Stay in Station 2 where rates are just on the average. Plus it’s near food spots, near Epic (after the party, you don’t have to walk a long way or worse, take a tric going home). There’s just a LOT of choices! Best is you can ask someone’s who’s been there where they stay so you don’t have to go through the researching in the internet. Doesn’t matter if it’s not beachfront. All the rest are just a minute or less than a walk away from the beach. If you're really on a tight budget try Station 3, the cheap accommodations are certainly down there.

THINGS TO KNOW:

Avoid Christmas, New Years Eve and the Holy Week. Prices are more than double and the beach is way too crowded, so forget about that! 

It does feel a bit overcrowded at times, so avoid Boracay if you're looking for peace and quiet.

D’Mall near Station 2 has several ATMs, as does the main road near the entrance of the mall. Withdraw earlier, as ATMs tend to run out in the afternoon and are not refilled till the next day.

Not all hotels and restaurants accept credit cards.

Some dishonest tricycle drivers might try to trick you into paying more so before getting into the tricycle, ask how much the fare is or ask the locals first. Usually the fare cost 7 PHP each.

Don’t take home sand or sea shells back with you. It is prohibited to take these away from the island.

Will I go back there? Maybe.

Laters!

Rainy days are here and I am only posting now my epic summer 2014 experience, apologies for the late post. I wanna share with you guys my first #Laboracay experience (one of the most talked about summer weekend in the island). First of, I haven’t been to Boracay ever. So going there again especially on Labor Day was already the highlight of my summer. 

Fully commit to the bikini-only uniform! Embrace the hubadera peg and spend an entire day walking around in your prettiest bikini, cause you won’t ever get to do that in the city. Well not for me I guess. Haha! Probably I get used to that next year. 

Boasting beautiful white sand beaches and unbelievably clear water, Boracay is a really wonderful spot to spend a beach holiday if you're looking for a good mix of beautiful scenery, buzzing nightlife, a great selection of restaurants and shopping, and a wide range of activities. 

The sea, sand and sun make Boracay an awesome setting for many activities. Scuba diving and other watersports are excellent diversions, naturally - Boracay is surrounded by over 30 dive sites suitable for beginners and expert divers alike.

First activity on the list was FlyFish!

For about 20 minutes, FlyFish will take you to one of a hell ride. I swear! Imagine the speed of the boat pulling the inflatable with you. Of course, the supreme about that is it'll flip you as the inflatable goes up side ward, enough for the riders to fall over if by any chance you don't be able to hold tightly in the grip.

Ready?

Off we go!

At first, we were still smiling while the Kuya on the speedboat is taking shots of us through my camera. We were pretty excited at first. When the speedboat started speeding up, we immediately hold on to the handles so as not to fall. The boat kept on going here and there, breaking at some point and of course I started screaming and cursing. Haha!

And another round! 

Well during that round Raymark fall and immediately after seeing how the fall had hit him, I was more determined not to fall at all. Haha! 

It was crazy! And I must warned you that this is really really a tiring activity. Yes, it was fun and exciting, but I can’t deny its savagery. 

Next activity was Parasailing and I must say that this is the most expensive activity in Boracay. We’ve never done parasailing before, but it looked super fun and cool to do, so we decided to do it. e availed the parasailing activity for 1,200 pesos per person. Too expensive right?

Bucket list no. 04: Experience Parasailing!

To tell you honestly, it was a bit of scary. We were hearing the clac-clac noise of the steel attached to our harness but seeing the beauty of the island from above eliminated the fears I had that time. 

What happens is they put straps around you which would be your seat that’s tied to a parachute. The parachute is then pulled by the boat and you are whisked up into the air and fly for a good 15 minutes. They said you can request to be dipped in the water as you are pulled down (only if you want it).

Snorkeling at Crocodile island: my very poor swimming skills made me hold on to the boat for the entire time we were snorkeling (yea, I was that scared!). Underneath that water were many local fish that came to feed on the bread that we had on hand. Awesome!

Puka Beach is one of the nearby islands we stopped at during our island hopping. Same as the White Beach, this one also has white sand and crystal clear blue waters. Although limited, souvenir shops can also be found on Puka Beach.

Boracay sunset is something to look forward to and we want to make our sunset viewing more memorable this time. We searched for another option to experience sunset viewing in a different perspective but we ended up with Parawsailing.

On the other hand let's talk about Laboracay 2014.

It was only early January when I found out about the #Laboracay (which gave me the realization that I am awfully anti-social and outdated). Apparently, there was a multitude of people that visited the island to celebrate the Philippines’ Labor Day Weekend. A week long of parties, events, activities and more parties simultaneously happening at the white sand beach stretch of Boracay in time for a long weekend in celebration of Labor Day.

Just a tip, make sure to book at least 3 months before the trip because summer is peak season especially of the event.

But what is Laboracay, really? Laboracay is a summer party celebration in Boracay. Famous artists both local and foreign often visit boracay during this time. It is marked by intense partying by the beach, lots of booze and good music.

Meet the girls! (Mica, Jona and Abi)

Everyday of that week is a party hell indeed! Well, that's what you call eat, sleep, rave and repeat kind of week.

It's a wild wild and wild wet crazy party from sunset until sunrise literally! Good thing that I'm with Kretzmer which happens to get well with this thing

PS. One thing I've search recently that there are people who really hates this event (worst is they even make an account to testify their hates) I honestly don’t know why so many people have been giving Laboracay such a bad reputation. I don’t see anything wrong with people jetting off to an island to have fun and enjoy the long weekend. And hey don’t forget to read my quick guide to Boracay Island too! Laters!