Bantayan Island Things to Do

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Bantayan Proper is just a few kilometers away from the Budyog resort where we stayed. We hired a jeepney to take us back to the resort and since we are a large group of 10 people, we paid 50Php for the service fee.

The Bantayan Market sells danggit (dried fish), dried squid and other dried fishes that the Cebu is popular for. It’s cheaper to buy these dried fishes here than to buy in Cebu City; ¼ of danggit costs 90php, ¼ of dried squid costs 145Php, Tuyo (another kind of dried fish) costs 55Php. You can bargain especially when you buy a lot. The dried fishes are very tasty and give a perfect combination when eaten w/ rice, tomatoes and salted eggs. Yummy!

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Get ready for another island hopping in the Virgin Island! The first time I heard about this virgin island, I wondered if it’s the official name and yes, it really is Virgin Island!
Another paradise!!!!

there's a few differences I observed in the virgin island compared to bantayan.
The water in Bantayan is somewhat like 50% blue and 50% green but in the virgin island- it’s like 75% greener and 25% blue color (that’s my own calculation).
The beach has very clear water! You an even see your reflection on it!
A few houses can be found in the virgin island… well, probably that’s where it got its name.

Good thing that when we did the island hopping, there were only few people spending the holiday so it’s like we own the island!

from Bantayan we talked to some people in the resort, actually there were locals who offer to hire their boat for island hopping. Price ranges from 1200php-1500php (price depends on the size and type of the boat). We rented a boat w/ a fee of 1200Php maximum of 20 pax (round trip) and we just divided the payment for 11 pax. (Price is cheap and really great!) The boat man will wait for you in the virgin island anytime you want just before it gets dark and unless he senses that the ocean is beginning to build up big waves.

Travel time from bantayan to virgin island takes 30minutes.
We arrived at 11am in the virgin island since we dropped by 1st to another island (I dunno the name, it's was just recommended by the boat man) where we bought fishes and squid for lunch. We also bought pork chops in the wet market before our island hopping.
There’s a grilling area in the virgin island and that’s where we cooked our food.
We paid 150Php for the Cottage fee with unlimited use.
There’s this small store that sells sodas, ice, toiletries, onions, condiments and other usual stuffs commonly used by tourists.

It's the only store in the island where we rented plates, kitchen utensils like the knife, basin and container of water for washing the meat and seafood and paid 50Php. We then realized that everything we used in the island had a rental fee.
I know the fees are cheap but I can’t help but wonder why even the use of basin has a fee… I just don’t get it since we’re the only people on that day.

Anyway… gawd! I got over it and accepted that the world has changed… nothing is free nowadays! You can also snorkel but you have to bring your own snorkeling materials with you. On the right side facing the beach, my friends saw a lot of sea creatures like the starfish!

I really admire though the store owner’s house of its life size jars! The mini garden’s also decorated with shells that I find attractive.

I also observed that the dogs in this island act differently compared to the dogs in the urban areas. Yeah, I know it’s weird that I observed this. The dogs don’t bark and I’m not kidding! Really unusual! They just sniff at you and follow you especially when you are eating something & they’re also big but tame.

We got back in Bantayan at 430pm since the boat man advised us to leave the virgin island early due to the big waves that were starting to build up.

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Goodmorning sunshine! A very good thing to start the day right is to watch the sun rise.

Even just a few hours of sleep, it never hindered me to wake up early at 530 am to greet the morning with the sun.
Watching the sunrise is very rare for me.
It’s only on holidays that I experience the actual rising of the sun.
I’m very grateful to have moments like this.

I remembered what the priest said during his homily,
“Why does everybody prefers to watch the sunset instead of the sunrise?
Isn’t it better to watch something going up than going down?”

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This island is the first stop after snorkeling on an Island hopping tour. Around 30 minutes from Sugar beach and much nearer to resorts located near the wharf it is visible from there.
The island is private owned by Villa Carlos so dropping by even just to take some photos of the island will cost you 100 pesos per person aside from the 800 pesos Boat rental.

I think if they making this island for commercial use and turned it into a business then they have to issue receipt and ask for permit from the local government. In my opinion this is not right.

For me, the sand is similar to those of Sta. Fe’s . The snorkeling spot is just right beside the island and its great the water is very clear even 2 to 3 meters deep.
If you have fish or pork to be grilled or even rice needs to be cooked, the staff of the island will cook it for you for a fee.

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The Snorkeling area is near Virgin islands so it is usually the first thing to do before jumping off to the island. The water is so clear that you can even see life under the water. Coral is very abundant too though a little deep compared to Balicasag Island. Don't miss this one.

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Trysikad is everywhere so just choose one that will give you the most reasonable price. You can just go every street, see other resort, the townhall, Church of Sto nino, eat and drink on resto bars like D Jungle, purtoguese, Balikbayan,Etc. Or take pictures what ever you like.

It is more comfortable to do this around 5 Pm in the afternoon. It’s an adventure if you want something different.

You can also have wander around Bantayan town but this time you have to take a tricycle and relax on their plaza in front of St. Peter's church. Typical Spanish colonial stone houses can be spotted in the area too.

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The cave is around 600 meters from Sugar beach resort so I had a walk at the same time see the simple life of people along the way. The cave is located in luxurious Sta. Beach Club.
The entrance fee is 120 pesos per person but it is free for their guest.
The cave is said to be 20 M long.
If you want to have a simple cave experience try this one and take a plunge to its water. Don’t expect bats, stalactites or stalagmites.

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I really love this local dish. Kinhason is actually a local term for a kind of mollusk and their cebuano pansit Bam-i.

I never tasted Bam-i before and never seen it serve in Manila. The taste for me is very different from any other pansit. It is actually a mixed of Canton ( egg noodles) and sotanghon(vermicelli) with some vegetables and comes with or in combination of pork, shrimp, squid and Kinhason. I just like the Bam-i of Aling Bising at Sugar Beach. But some Bam-i I tasted around the town were not good tasting really.