Tag: bohol

Posted on

What To Do (And See) In Bohol

There are quite a few things you can do in Bohol. Some of these are:

  • Beach, beach, beach
  • Blood Compact Monument
  • Baclayon Church – The oldest stone church in the Philippines
  • Tarsiers – Cute little critters. The reason why I ended up in Bohol :P
  • Loboc Children’s Choir
  • Loboc/Loay River Cruise – Cruise along the river while eating buffet lunch. Along the way you will see kids diving into the river as well as kids singing and dancing along the shore.
  • Man-made Forest
  • Chocolate Hills – Need I say more?
  • Giant Python (and Marimar)
  • Hanging Bridge (and The Buko King)
  • Butterfly Farm
  • Bohol Bee Farm
  • Hinagdanan Caves
  • Firefly Tour
  • Dolphin Watching at Pamilacan Island
  • Diving/Snorkeling at Balicasag Island

If you haven’t availed of packaged tours, you can contact Jessie Gumapac at +63928-307-9791. He does the countryside tour which covers most of the above. He can also arrange for a Pamilacan dolphin watching and Balicasag snorkeling tour.

Posted on

Amarela Resort (Or Where To Stay In Bohol)

Amarela is one of those boutique hotels that have mushroomed all over Bohol. It started off as a vacation home with a few rooms and has since become a hotel with a wing housing a lot more rooms. But because it started off as a vacation home, it has that homey feel to it. The staff is friendly, the restaurant serves good (in terms of quality and quantity) food, a cozy infinity pool (that unfortunately doesn’t appear to merge into the ocean), and facilities for beach activities (volleyball court, beach chairs, kayaks/bancas, snorkeling gear, etc). And if you really can’t leave work behind and just focus on your vacation, they have a business center with WiFi access.

There’s just one problem, the beach is not all that good. But then again, I’ve never been very impressed with the few Bohol beaches that I’ve been to. If you really want the beach maybe you can try the new Eskaya or time-tested Bohol Beach Club. Or for a lower budget you can try Alona Kew or Dumaluan Beach Resort. The last two are rated rather poorly in reviews but they should be fine if you’re not planning on staying in your room most of the time anyway.

Amarela is not cheap. But it’s rated quite highly in reviews. I myself would rate it higher if not for the rates (and the beach). But that’s just me.

Rating: 4/5