We rented a car delivered to our hotel in Panglao for 2 days so that we can do our own DIY Bohol countryside tour. At P1500 per day and comfortable for up to 4 pax, I was glad that we had this option for a free and easy road trip to Panglao and Tagbilaran, which is around 1 hour away. I have broken this post down into 2 parts - this first one for our morning Panglao spots including a breakfast spot that we went to twice for this trip! Part 2 is for the Tagbilaran day trip.
We drove from Panglao to Tagbilaran to catch this natural phenomenon at sundown! The photo may seem simple but those are hundreds of fireflies behind us shining like Christmas lights in February. You can catch this on a clear day in Bohol almost every day. This was one of the Bohol countryside activities that we did amd we're glad that we chose the Maribojoc Mangrove Firefly Watching boat situated at the Abatan River for this ride.
After our Pamilacan Island tour with dolphins and turtles, it was time to check out Alona Beach - named after an actress who did a movie and ran naked here in the 1970s. Walking by the beach at sunset is one of my favorite things to do in Boracay and I couldn't help but compare. I remembered hearing from our previous (childhood) trip that they imported Boracay white sand to Bohol once upon a time but I'm not sure if it was just rumors. I still prefer Boracay's powdery sand although if you have a day or two to spare or if you're looking for an area with lots of food and beach then this could be the central location for you in Panglao, Bohol.
If you only allotted a day for an island tour in Bohol, I hope you choose Pamilacan Island. On this sunny day in February, dolphins, turtles, lots of fish and multi-colored corals welcomed us. Good thing I chanced upon Abraham Resort in Panglao and they were the starting point of the Klook one. I booked directly on the Abraham website via credit card and got 20% off (vs the Klook price) for this dolphin and turtle watching tour ;)
So the reason for our Bohol trip was The Chocolate Chamber at the Moadto Strip Mall! I first tasted this around 2 years ago and have been craving for it since ;) In my opinion, it's the best local Filipino-made chocolate bar and also in nugget style that I've had so far. This is my Royce and Callebaut local equivalent of chocolate with a smooth and refined flavor. The Chocolate Chamber offerings here in Panglao are not available in Manila and Luzon except for their tablea/hot chocolate which you can get at the Manila Hotel.
It has been a while since we did a domestic trip from Manila and my first target turned out to be Bohol haha. My obsession took me to this side of Panglao Island - a quiet side away from the craziness of Alona Beach. I was initially looking at Modala Beach Resort as an accommodation option so we dropped by just in case we wanted to return in the future. We had a late lunch at their resort restaurant Mangaon Ta and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Let me tell you about what I found out haha.
Let’s learn how to make vermicast fresh off African night crawlers from the pioneer of vermiculture in Mindanao ! Captain James Reamon ...
