Apo Island D.I.Y. Tour

Apo Island is located at Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philippines. It has 691 hectares of protected area. As such the marine sanctuary area was closed off to the public for rehabilitation since 2012 if I remember correctly. No worries because you can still visit the turtle zone where you can swim and get up-close with the turtles.

Meet my friend Green here. He loves swimming and munching on some seaweeds.

How to get to Apo Island?
1. From Dumaguete, ride a Ceres bus with a 'Bayawan' sign-board and tell the conductor to drop you off at Malatapay Market. Fare is 50PHP and travel time is around 1 hour.
2. After getting off the bus, you can walk to the port.
3. Take a 15 minute boat ride to Apo Island. We did not make any reservations. We just went to the port and asked for a private boat. Fare depends on the boat you're renting. Refer to published rates below.

We arrived at the port around 9am. On a normal day you can already see Apo Island from the port, but it was pouring and you can hardly see anything. Some tourist even backed-out and preferred to go back the next day. It was our last day so we waited until it was safer to set sail. Luckily, the weather got better and we arrived safely.

10 seater boat 4000PHP 

This picture was taken when we arrived back at Dauin port. See the weather difference?

Can't remember how much entrance fee we paid for snorkeling I think it was 100-150PHP per person. A tour guide is required, 1 for every 4 persons and it costs 300PHP. The tour guide will help you locate the turtles and take pictures for you, they also ensure your safety and the safety of the marine animals you encounter. STRICTLY NO TOUCHING THE TURTLES!!!

We rented snorkels, booties and life jacket for 100PHP per gear. It's not required but highly recommended as there are sea urchins in the area. You can also bring your own gear if you want. We also rented a table where we can leave our things 300PHP per table. You can also have lunch here for 150PHP. They have chicken adobo, fried or grilled fish.

We were so blessed to arrive at the island safe and the sun was already up.

Most islands only have doggos but there were a lot of kitties in Apo Island too. I wonder if they know how to swim?

Mr. Turtle: Yo guys! This' my friend Ly!

Me: Hi! (wave..wave..)

There are turtles roaming around at knee deep waters so watch your feet!

These turtles aren't exactly shy. They know they're gorgeous so they let you take lots of awesome pictures. And they know it's their turf so if they come close (REMEMBER: NO TOUCHING!!!) you have to adjust for them. 

These pictures are unedited and shot using gopro hero 4. Right out of the box. That's how beautiful this place is. ^_^

Time to say goodbye to Mr. Turtle. Till next Time!!!

Swimming with the turtles is such an amazing experience. I'm really thankful the weather cooperated and we got to see them. It would have been such a great loss if we missed them. But please remember that it is their sanctuary. So please respect them and the rules set by your guide. ^_^

APO Reef Adventure

APO Reef is the Philippines largest reef system and second largest next to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It is a 34 square meter coral reef system located at Occidental Mindoro.

Light House

view from the light house stairs

view on top of the light house

It's our first time to try joining public group tours via S&B Adventure so I didn't really know what to expect. We paid a downpayment of PHP1300 (of PHP4300 in total) for the tour. Here is the list of inclusions and exclusions.

This is the sample itinerary for the trip. One way travel time is around 10-12hours excluding waiting time between change of transport medium.

Upon arrival, you need to choose the perfect spot to put up your tent. There are black ants everywhere so choose the spot with less of them. There's barely any wind at night even by the beach front so it gets very hot and hard to sleep at night in the tent. You might want to bring a fan or something.

The comfort room is decent and clean although there's no fresh water in the island so you'll be using salt water for washing and bathing. Yes, you'll still feel sticky even after shampoo and soap. :(

Despite the travel time, bathing and sleeping arrangements, I found it all worth it for what lies beneath the surface. The island is covered in rich coral reefs full of colorful sea creatures. It was my first adventure after learning how to swim via swim central ( check out my blog here ) so I really really enjoyed it. I didn't have to wear any life vests because I was confident I could already thread and float in water and I was able to chase a turtle (almost he's a fast swimmer) and swim freely in deep waters. (^_^)

Anyway, the tour's highlight is snorkeling ( guided and free ). In guided snorkeling you can hold on to a rope while the boat moves slowly around the island while you snorkel. In free snorkeling, you stop at an area and snorkel freely around. We were able to see really big fishes and colorful ones. There were even small sharks which caused me to panic and board the boat XD. There were also turtles which are quite elusive. (I'll post the video here once I'm finished editing)

There were small sharks present during our snorkeling session but the guides told us to relax and not to worry (photo credits to S&B Adventure)

While I'm at it, I want to raise awareness through this blog about coral bleaching. It's a serious problem which causes corals to lose it's color and eventually die. The main factor which causes this phenomenon is the rising sea temperatures but we also contribute to it. Oxybenzone a chemical contained in the sun blocks we use contribute to it. So let's all be reponsible beings and use reef safe sun blocks free of harmful chemicals not just for us but for the environment.

heaps of dead corals at the rock formation site

On the group tour, in general everything went pretty smoothly. Everyone was accounted for during transfers, meals were served on time and the tours were as described. You get what you pay for and you get to enjoy the trip without hassle.

Hoomans who joined the group tour

(photo credits to S&B Adventure)

The only thing I didn't like was when some people decided for themselves that the 10PM lights out rule was too early for them. We had 6AM call time for breakfast and by that time we should have already finished packing our tents and be ready to go by 7AM. But some people (within our group who was well aware of the 10PM lights out) kept the whole group awake until f/*$^n 2AM!!! It's okay to have socials and all but really? some people just wants to relax and fall asleep so it would have been nice if other people respected that. I half expected the organizers to handle the situation to no avail. Moving on..

Aside from the reef, the island itself is a beauty to behold..

she sells sea shells by the Sea Shore

pristine white sand

sunrise

sunrise

our group chillin' on top of the light house

scenic route to the lagoon

top view of the lagoon

lagoon

sunset at the rock formation

this kind of reminds me of Cambodia's Angkor Wat

I'm a sunset kind of girl and the sunset here is nothing less than amazing!!! I couldn't get my eyes off it <3 <3 <3

Unforgettable Boracay Experience ^_^

The rainy season is already upon us, but I guess summer never really ends.. well for some people at least. I've been to a lot of places and I didn't really think Boracay would be anything special. My mindset was that I would go to Boracay just for the sake of going. But life is full of surprises :). I don't know what took me so long to get here but I'm glad I finally have.

First things first, we booked our flight via Air Asia Manila-Kalibo route for about an hour of travel time. Our 9:45AM trip was rescheduled to 1:00PM, but if you try to check-in it says 12:15PM. At the airport they informed us the trip will be delayed for another hour so it will be at 2:00PM then it got delayed for another hour so 3:00PM from the original 9:45AM. Our flight back was delayed for an hour as well. Way to go Air Asia! -_-

Van Rentals outside the airport

Then we took a van to Tabon Port. There are van rentals once you exit the airport. Travel time is 2 hours, fare is PHP200 per way. The road reminded me of the man made forest in Bohol and the way to chocolate hills.

Tabon Port

Waiting Area

Counter

Then we took a 15minute boat ride which costs PHP130! IKR!

We stayed at Shore Time Resort. Check out the details here.

Our first day was basically wasted at the airport thanks to Air Asia. So when we arrived, we had dinner and took a stroll at the shops on the shore.

Anyway while we strolled on the first day, we hunted for the cheapest and best activity package we could find.

Ate Levi explaining the activities included in the package by drawing on sand XD

We got a package for a bunch of activities for PHP2600 per head which includes the following: Parasailing, Fly Fish, Helmet Dive, Paraw, ATV, 3D Art museum, Sky Cycling, Island Hoping and Snorkeling.

After securing our package, we pretty much just beach bummed.

DAY 2

We started our day at around 10am with Parasailing. I've been dying to try this. I thought it was scary like the feeling of falling but not at all. It's just like riding a swing. The wind in your face and the awesome view of the island from above.

Next we tried Fly Fish, the experience is pretty similar with banana boat. You have to hold on real tight to prevent from falling.

Our last activity before lunch was Helmet Diving. The helmet weighs around 35kg outside water and 2kg in water but it's still pretty heavy you can feel it's weight on your shoulders. The water pressure when you go down really hurts like during plane landing or take off when the air pressure changes in the cabin. So you'll have to equalize to get rid of the pain. You'll get to see fishes and feed them. The package includes a soft copy in a cd with pictures and videos of your helmet diving experience. <don't expect too much though>

We finished around 2PM ate lunch and just before sunset rode the Paraw (a sailboat with nets on either side so you can sit or lay back while watching the sunset).

We ate dinner and ended our second day pub crawling. We really enjoyed this activity so much so I'll be writing a separate blog for it. Check the details here.

DAY 3

We were supposed to do ATV in the morning but Ate Levi was late so we did it after lunch. You'll have to pay an extra PHP100 to go up the Ocean View Tower.

View on top of the Tower

You'll get to see a beautiful view of the island and you can also put love locks on the railings.

We also went to Dream Land, a mini park with a 3D Art Museum and took pictures.

Some of us went Sky Cycling too. I was feeling lazy and it was too hot up so I passed.

Our last activity was snorkeling. You'll have to pay PHP20 pesos each for the environmental fee. The waves were too strong so we didn't get to enjoy it as much. You have an option to go to another island but it's private so you'll have to pay an extra PHP200 for the entrance fee. You can also go cliff diving for a separate fee as well PHP150 if I remember it correctly.

We ate dinner after at Dampa where you can buy raw seafood and have restaurants cook it for you. I'll be writing a separate blog for this as well. <hopefully soon>

After dinner we had some drinks with our new found Harry Potter group of friends from the Pub Crawl XD. It rained that night and I have my camera with me so we had to wear bin bags to keep from getting wet on our way back to our respective hotels. Someone we ran into actually said "nice outfit" XD.

DAY 4

We went to Puka Shell Beach to swim and chill some more. It feels like we own the island because there were just a handful of people.

Then we packed our bags and got ready to go back home. :(

Overall, I enjoyed this trip much more than I expected. The sand was as pure as they say and the water was clear. I got to experience a lot of activities for the first time thus making Boracay really memorable.

I was just disappointed to see these wind breakers they put up during rainy season. It separates the shops in front from the shore hindering the view.

I was really thankful for the nice weather, we were even able to go star gazing. The sunset was hidden from the clouds but I was still able to get some good shots so I'm really happy. ^_^