Bantayan Island

[tr|n|ty]

despite the looooong *** drive up to hagnaya from mactan and with an equally slooow ferry ride to the island, bantayan is indeed gorgeous!!!!! boracay minus the people and the over-priced drinks/food. imagine, a meal for 6 at 200 pesos?!?!??!?!?! we rented a bangka for 800 pesos and we went to this island called "virgin island" which wasn't so virgin at all(20 minutes from kota beach) we even had the chance to snorkel in the middle of the sea. the sand is fine and clean, the water is clear blue and very calm..as far as the eye can see..the water was actually up to my waist and i was at least 75 meters away from the shore. perfect. it was only us and the people staying at kota beach. the sun wasn't so harsh and we were even snorkeling and swimming at high noon and the sun didn't hurt at all..unlike puerto galera where it's just awful..staying under the sun was painful! there was even a sandbar! we're like so high class beach-ing, huh?!?!

some pictures

kota beach beach front


on our way to virgin island


virgin island


the people of bantayan are sweet and all smiles, we befriended this one girl who sold barbecue two blocks away from kota beach. she was always all smiles and willing to help, one can only wish everybody was as gracious and as service-oriented. anyways, our stay, we all felt, was too short. should be at least 5 days. we almost missed our ferry ride and our flight..all because of lechon. ahahahahaha! parang amazing race!!! we were telling the pedicabs to make "padyak" faster! fun fun fun. the PhP7500(USD135) was well worth it! we each had our little cottage with AC and breakast(danggit to death).

[VersionTwo]

i'm so happy you had a great trip! hurray that it didn't rain!

[pretty_patty]

Yeah, lucky it didn't rain! Thanks for dropping by Bantayan Island. Hope you'd come back ulit! (promoting Cebu! Why not?)

[adlaw]

great that you did enjoy it. i was really worried if you could catch the flight back, hearing from jean that you were stranded for more than an hour in hagnaya. pero bilib pa rin ako, dahil kahit less than 2 hours na lang ang flight ninyo pauwi, sumugod pa rin kayo sa CnT. ahaha.

sayang, iyong mga lechon doon hindi na siya fresh kasi almost 3:30pm na tayo nakarating, e. but anyway, next time (kung may next) sana mas maraming time para hindi kayo parang harrassed, and you could enjoy the city (and of course, the beaches!) more.

[TravelBug]

Can anybody recommend a travel ageny which specializes in trips going to Bantayan (and Malapascua)? Ayaw ko sana ng agents na presyo lang papunta doon ang alam pero walang alam sa lugar.

[pretty_patty]

Going na this weekend!!!!! Wahoo!! Will share photos when I get back

[VersionTwo]

have a great trip patty!

[earth4]

i hope hindi matulad ang bantayan sa Boracay. We should be proud of what we have and not destroy it, we should protect it. Im really hopin.

[pretty_patty]

Thanks, VersionTwo!

earth4- I know what you mean. Sana alagaan talaga ang Bantayan 'cause it's sooo beautiful!

[CorpSellout]

my friends and i went to bantayan 4 years ago....we were all smitten to the place...i'm really hoping na maalagaan sya

[ewanko2]

Bantayan sounds great. Thanks for sharing pictures and stories. I'm planning to go next time I come home to Manila.

[jimbu]

GMA tells Cebu biz execs to develop Malaspacua, Bantayan islands

by Ehda M. Dago-oc
May 9, 2005

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) to encourage its members, as well as invite interested investors to put in tourism related infrastructure in the northern tip of Cebu, especially in Malapascua and Bantayan Islands.
The president, who was in Cebu Saturday to induct the new set of officers of the CCCI, told officers and executives of the chamber during an informal lunch discussion that there is a need for Cebu to fully develop the tourism potential in the countryside, significantly the beaches in the northern part of Cebu, like Malapascua and Bantayan Islands.

CCCI president Robert L. Go said that although there are already existing resort accommodations in that part of Cebu, the president is concerned that there are still no five-star or three-star resorts being established there.

Bantayan Island, which is considered as the “Boracay” in Cebu, needs to be promoted well as the potential is great, however, better infrastructure like five-star resort should be installed first.

According to Go, the president has acknowledged her full support to the promotion of twin-industry for Cebu, the Information Communication Technology (ICT), and tourism.

“We really have to triple our efforts in enticing hotel investors especially international hotel chain operators to consider Cebu, and put up resort facilities, not just in the vicinity of Metro Cebu, but also in northern tip of the province like Bantayan Island and Malapascua,” Go said.

Because of this serious call of the president for the private sector to help in boosting tourism advantage of Cebu, Go said Cebu-based businessmen could put in this kind of investment if they partner with an international hotel chain.

Last week, Go had a meeting with Sweden ambassador and he said that some Swedish investors are interested to put in resort type of projects in Cebu, considerably in the islands with white beaches.

The target of the CCCI now, Go added is to attract international five-star chains which would be willing to invest in a resort project in or outside Metro Cebu.

Go said Bantayan and Malapascua were mentioned by the president to have a great potential to help push the tourism advantage of the province.

Earlier, Hong Kong-base capitalist Carlos Yeung expressed interest to develop a five-star resort facility at Malapascua Island, as he and his Cebuana wife Mariquita owned a property in the islet.

Yeung said he sees a big potential for Cebu in tourism growth, that’s why he is seriously considering putting up a resort in the island.

Meanwhile, on the ICT sector, Go said the president also reiterated her vow for the development of ICT Center in Naga, and pushing the entry of Cadence Design Systems.

The company has plans to put up a training center here for integrated circuit (IC) design. And the president has considered setting aside a portion of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) facility to IC design training.

[pretty_patty]

Hay! I just arrived hours earlier and I'm still boat-lagged, if there is such a thing.

Anyhoo, my weekend went absolutely great. I don't know where to start!!

We left around 3:40 in the morning Saturday, arrived at Hagnaya Wharf 6:30 a.m. tapos take the 7 a.m. ferry to Bantayan. It was soooo slow, really. Well, patience was never my virtue anyway. We arrived at 7:45, checked into the resort in Kota Beach (stayed at Yooneek) and went swimming!! The waters weren't so turquoise unlike two weeks before, effect daw ng storm, but still it was white sand, clear water, but ang lakas ng waves! Wipe-out! Feel mo binubugbog ka kasi sunod-sunod naman the waves. We mostly hung around the sandbar, then we ate brekkie and went around the town proper, to the Church, sa market, etc. We stopped by the cave thing pala, yung Ogtong? Feel namin racket yun, kasi my gosh, ang daming tao! The waters weren't clear anymore. Meron pa nga this boy who stood up the stairs to go pee, right in front of us! Needless to say, nagulantang kami. Good thing narefund yung entrance fee namin, but sayang 'cause maganda naman siya, dami nga lang tao.

When we went back to the hotel, swimming na naman It was low tide na, so no waves. Pero maraming dumi sa may shore, dala ng waves, I guess. And we caught three jellyfishes! My God, naloka ako doon. Then meron pang isang jellyfish na na-wash out, super duper big, color purple! Nilagyan ng mga people ng bato eh, kaya dead na siya. We even turned the jellyfish around so we could see the tentacles. Grabe.

The next day, Sunday, swimming na naman! We had to leave at eleven so mga 8 nasa beach na kami, and it was high tide! Super lakas ng waves, and we hung around the shore so puro sand ang pumasok sa mga bottoms namin. The waves were even bigger than me!! We couldn't swim because of the waves so we just made the most out of it and rented this totally huge inflatable ring and rode it ala banana boat. Masaya!

Napahaba kwento ko 'no? Pics next time, hindi ko pa nauupload eh.

[erwincute]

hey guys how long is the travel time to Bantayan Island from Manila? And what's the fastest way to get there? Thanks peeps!

[mac326]

manila to mactan airport: 1 hr
airport to bus station: 20 mins
bus station to hagnaya port: 3-4 hrs
hagnaya port to bantayan island 1 hr

don't worry.. it's so worth it.

[gemski_16]

PUNTA RIN AKO DITO...

Napanood ko sa LAkbay channel pati yung MALAPASCUA!

[narutrix]

up lang

[OHNO!]

grrr and im only staying one night in Bantayan! Dibale there's always next time!

Trinity sistah, which resort did u stay to in Kota beach?

[mistyEyed_girl]

hi! i hope someone could reply to this ng maaga.

where can i see the schedules of transpo from bantayan to the port? yung ferry and fast craft ba same thing lang?

thanks!

[marge019]

Usual sched from Hagnaya to Sta. Fe
8:30 am
12:30 nn
3:30 pm

depende sa high tide and low tide =)