Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pacitas Disco Bar
Just north of Tipolo Beach Resort.
An empty space six days a week,
Pacitas
comes alive
on Sat nights, when it functions as the biggest disco in
the area, attracting a healthy crowd of locals plus a fair
few travellers. An a/c disco hall has replaced the old
outdoor scene, but the music is as loud as ever and
there's plenty of fun to be had. P30 cover charge.
Sat
only 9pm-3am.
Bohol
BOHOL
, a two-hour hop south of Cebu, is an attractive little island where life today is
pastoral and quiet. The only sign of heavy tourist activity is on the beautiful beaches of
Panglao
, a magnet for scuba divers and sun worshippers, close to the utilitarian port
capital of
Tagbilaran
. Most visitors only leave the beach for a day tour taking in Bohol's
most famous attractions: the much-touted
Chocolate Hills
, a glimpse of the endangered
tarsier
, lunch on the
Loboc River
and a visit to the
Blood Compact
site, memorial to
Bohol's violent past. Those with more time can be rewarded by trips to other parts of
the province, including the adventure centre at
Danao
, the attractive island of
Cabilao
and the pretty beaches of
Anda
.
Bohol is also renowned for its wonderful old Spanish churches, many of them built
with coral, which can be found all over the island, notably at
Baclayon
- though several
were destroyed during the October 2013 quake (see box below). May is
fiesta
month
on Bohol with island-wide celebrations including barangay festivals, beauty pageants,
street dancing and solemn religious processions.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
6
BOHOL
cheaper slower services (4-5hr; P195) on this route.
Destinations
Cagayan de Oro (6 weekly; 9hr), Cebu City
(hourly; 2-5hr); Larena (3 weekly; 3hr); Siquijor (2 daily;
3hr 30min), via Dumaguete (2 daily; 2hr).
Tubigon
Island Shipping operates fast ferries between
Cebu City and Tubigon (4 daily; 1hr 20min).
Ubay
A number of ferries and pumpboats depart from
Ubay, including to Maasin (3 weekly; 3hr 30min) and Bato
(daily; 6hr) on Leyte.
Jagna
Oceanjet and Supershuttle ferries run one daily
service each to Camiguin Island (2hr). Oceanjet also have a
daily service to Cagayan de Oro (4hr 30min) on Mindanao.
BY PLANE
Air Asia, Cebu Pacific and PAL have daily flights to
Tagbilaran from Manila (1hr 15min).
BY BOAT
Tagbilaran is Bohol's principal port, though there are also
services from Tubigon, Ubay and Jagna.
Tagbilaran
The Cebu-Tagbilaran route is operated by
several fast ferry companies (2hr; P500-800) including
Oceanjet (6 daily), SuperCat (2 daily) and Weesam (3 daily).
Other operators such as Cokaliong (1 weekly), F.J. Palacio Lines
(3 weekly) and Trans-Asia Shipping Lines (1 weekly) also have
Tagbilaran
There are plenty of hotels and lodges in
TAGBILARAN
, the hectic port capital of Bohol,
but with so many beaches and sights nearby, there's no real reason to stay here. From
Tagbilaran you can be on Panglao Island in less than twenty minutes and even the
Chocolate Hills, hidden in the hinterlands, are less than an hour away by road.
Aside from the museum (see opposite), the only sight in Tagbilaran itself is the
Cathedral
, opposite the plaza in Sarmiento Street, a nineteenth-century hulk standing
OCTOBER 15, 2013 QUAKE
The whole of Bohol was shaken up by a magnitude 7.2
earthquake
which struck the island
on October 15, 2013. The quake did damage as far away as Cebu City, and on Bohol over two
hundred people died and thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed (including the
Chocolate Hills Complex and some of the island's beloved Spanish-era churches). While houses
and modern buildings are being reconstructed, many of the Spanish churches remain in ruins
and for now their future remains unknown.
