Very local and laid-back ... Bantayan in the Philippines

When: October 2013
Kids: Big Sister 9y5m, Twins 6y10m
Flights: Hong Kong - Cebu v.v. on Cathay Pacific
Booked through: Flights were on points (kids had all collected 20,000 points that were due to expiring end of this year), hotel was booked directly after an extensive Tripadvisor search.

On Friday 8 November 2013 10.40 am Bantayan was sadly the 4th landfall of deadly typhoon Yolanda. The typhoon has flattened the island completed and 90-95% of the houses have been damaged and 90% of the people of Bantayan are now homeless. Tourism is important source of income for Bantayan especially over the next few months. The people of Bantayan (and those others affected by the typhoon in the region) are in my thoughts. May paradise be restored soon in Bantayan.

The kids' frequent flyer points were expiring this year so we had to use them ... 20,000 points doesn't get you particularly far, especially when it's basically still typhoon season in the area and some destinations are simply not an option this time of year (plus ... my preference to explore new places). Had Chiang Mai on our list, but no availability whatsoever, so we settled for Cebu (fairly safe in term of typhoons, though definitely not impossible, we were lucky though). As we didn't want to do the "standard" Shangri-La again (no matter how comfortable), thanks to a tip, we came up with Bantayan and Malapascua, both north of Cebu Island. We chose Bantayan in the end since it's bigger, and there's more to do. Malapascua is just very small, and some will even say "boring".

So, how do you get to Bantayan? We had the morning flight out of Hong Kong, arrived at 11.15 am (slightly ahead of schedule) and we were outside within half an hour. A big earth quake had hit beautiful Bohol earlier that morning, but things were fully operating at the airport and also heading north we didn't notice anything unusual (we didn't get to see the details until later that day). I ordered a van (PHP3000 as opposed to a car PHP2500 making it more comfortable for the kids) via the hotel to bring us from the airport to the port of Hagnaya, about 2 1/2 hours north of Cebu. A fairly comfortable, but still relatively long ride. We arrived at Hagnaya port at 2 pm where we bought tickets for the 2.30 pm ferry (ferries go about every 1 1/2 hours, and run til it gets dark which is fairly early). On the way out we had Super Shuttle Ferry which took about 1 1/2 hours, on the way back we had Island Ferry which only took 1 hour and we found the latter more comfortable as well. Life vests and passenger list available, definitely not overloaded as far as safety goes. Cost are minimal, about PHP170 for an adult and half price for kids. Porters are available everywhere, and once you let one carry your bag, about five them will request money at the end, so on the way back we just didn't bother and dealt with it ourselves. Once we arrived in Bantayan, we had 2 cyclos waiting for us, and they brought us to the hotel in about 5 minutes, suitcase on its little roof.

Paradise Beach

I had booked Hoyohoy Villas, after going back and forth a little bit. There aren't any high end options and even mid-range there is not a lot. Also I preferred to have a pool and the only thing I could find on Tripadvisor that was well rated AND had a small pool was Hoyohoy. I tend to stick to at least a 4 out of 5 rating in this part of the world especially when it's a less expensive place. It was slightly more expensive than the other options but still very reasonable for our standards. The other option I looked at was the newer Anika Island Resort which is a little further out of town, cheaper, smaller rooms, but it had no pool. The beach does look nicer though (much wider), but not within walking distance from Santa Fe (but you can catch a cyclo). Since we were going slightly off the beaten track, a tad more basic, I really preferred a pool, no matter the size. I have no regrets ... the kids were in it daily, multiple times, so it was definitely good to have!

As always my review on Hoyohoy can be found on Tripadvisor, so I am not going into detail about the hotel itself right here. Hoyohoy is in Santa Fe, close to the ferry pier and the best location for beaches and restaurants, it's the most "touristy" part as far as touristy goes on Bantayan (apparently it does get very busy in December and during Holy Week, it's hard to believe though). Admittedly, the first 24 hours, I thought we might have gone a little too local. You hardly see any foreigners (seen about 20, no kids, and mostly men married or in a relationship with local women so not tourists as such). It felt like we'd been dropped in a local Filipino village. Even locals didn't seem to know about the "touristy" places I read about, and it all looked a little dead as far as tourism goes (the locals make up for the livelihood though, big time with karaoke on every corners and outdoor local discos til deep in the night). Also, as I said before it's a small island at least an hour out by large ferry so not everything is readily available all the time. It was easier to get a beer than a Coke light (not that it mattered). Filipino food is not great when compared to the rest of South East Asia, but most restaurants offer a wide range of international fare plus local cuisine. We mostly stuck to seafood (squid, shrimps, grilled fish) since it's caught daily and they prepared it just fine. Don't get your hopes up on great food, it's nothing special but tasty nonetheless. We basically visited three restaurants, apart from the hotel one: Blue Ice, Caffe del Mare and Coucou. The first two were definitely better than the latter (which was still fine, a little less refined, but refined and Bantayan don't really go together anyway). I also reviewed these places on Tripadvisor. None of these places are by any means fancy or offer haute cuisine, but do provide a good meal with a nice cold beer in a relaxing environment ... flip flops and shorts are just fine! Easy with kids too, so that's a great advantage. 

In case you need cash, you'll need to travel to Bantayan (about 15 minutes) by motorised vehicle. Santa Fe has an ATM but it doesn't take foreign credit cards. We were unable to get money in Bantayan with your HSBC card due to the 6-digit pin code, but it worked fine with our Dutch card (4-digit only). There's also a maximum you can take out each time and it does depend per bank (you can insert twice or even three times if you want). In Bantayan, the church is worth a quick visit. As said earlier, Santa Fe (and Bantayan) are known for its beaches, so we mostly relaxed and went to see different beaches and admired the clear water and the amazing tones of blues, greens and purples that the sea had to offer. We first went to Sugar Beach, which is part of an extremely run down resort (the last place in Bantayan you should ever book, avoid!) with no bar, no restaurant, but a wide strip of beach lined with palm trees. Nice, but not the best, plus it wasn't a particularly sunny day either. The next day we went to Paradise Beach, apparently only accessible by boat, but we made it via an unpaved narrow road and a 10 minute walk, the drivers had to ask the local kids who walked us all the way over, passing some grazing, and noisy, cows on the way. Absolutely lovely, we were the only ones there, clear water, no waves, just silence! No facilities either. Another lovely beach with sand bank which provides stunning views is very close to Santa Fe and located in between Kota Beach Resort and Marlin's Beach Resort (both places have bars for drinks and snacks as well, with some excellent views), more wind and waves at this end, but a lovely place to sit, play and enjoy. Last but not least and absolutely fantastic and utterly amazing was Virgin Island, a small island, a 30 minute pump boat ride from Santa Fe. We were charged PHP1000 for a return trip for 5 people. Virgin Island is a private island with a variety of seating facilities, a small shop (snacks and drinks only) and a beautiful ocean ... a magnificent place to snorkel and to relax. Most beaches in the Philippines are private and require payment. Paradise Beach was PHP50 for an adult and PHP25 for a child. Virgin Island charge a PHP500 landing fee (includes 2 people), PHP50 per additional adult / child and you can rent a table (PHP150-300), and other things you may need (snorkels, towels, etc.). Everything is kept clean by the staff and it comes with an armed guard with a huge gun! No food, but they will help you prepare the food you bring on barbeques or you bring your own things.

Kota Beach

 Getting around in Bantayan is easy with cyclos (take 2-3 people), motorised tricycles (take 5 people max.) or smaller vans. Agree on a price beforehand. In town we usually paid PHP20 per person, so PHP100 for 2 cyclos or a tricycle ... the kids loved it! We didn't really bargain either, and at some point we just paid the same fare and everybody was happy. Bicylces and scooters are for rent to explore the island but nothing for kids really so we enjoyed being driven around.

Virgin Island

It did take a little bit of time to get used to, but looking back, I can truly say we've had a great time. It's not a perfect place, but it's local, laid-back, safe and friendly and away from crowds and tourists. On the flip side, it's not luxurious, more travel time, not great in terms of food (but not bad either), but worth seeing. You get to enjoy the real Philippines, a part that is not yet taken over by tourists and luxury hotel chains but you have to make some concessions. We thought it was worth it. We stayed for 5 nights (4 1/2 full days), mostly due to the long travel time, giving us plenty of time to relax, especially the kids. We had the evening flight back to Hong Kong (leaves 20.05) and we were home at 12.45 pm ... almost 12 hours after we'd left the hotel. A hike, yes, but worth it. Like I've said before, this trip is not for everybody, but it's an awesome and unspoiled place!