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. ^_^

Manjuyod Sand Bar and Dolphin Watching

There are tour packages for Manjuyod Sand Bar and Bais Dolphin Watching which ranges from 3000PHP to 4000PHP per person, but if you want to save some bucks, then read on and just D.I.Y.

To get to Manjuyod sandbar, go to Ceres bus terminal in Dumaguete and hop on a bus with the 'Manjuyod' sign board. Tell the conductor to drop you off at Bais bus stop. Fare is PHP55 and travel time is around 1 hour and 30 minutes. We arrived at Bais around 7am.

We arranged for a private boat before hand because we wanted to go home early and head for Siquijor in the afternoon. A private boat which can seat a maximum of 10 persons is PHP3500 for a whole day rental. But ate Rebecca gave us a discount and only gave it for PHP2500 since there are only 2 of us renting.

Bais Private Boat Rental
Contact: Rebecca
Phone: 09059614678

On the bus however, we met Mr. Lee and Nemo, his girlfriend who's also bound for Manjuyod sandbar and somehow my boyfriend and Mr. Lee became instant 'buddies' and Mr. Lee wanted to join our party of 2. So when the conductor asked if they already have a tour booking, he said 'Together' pointing at us.  Oh? Oh well.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was a good thing ate Rebecca still agreed to let us pay the same price for 4 persons. We met with ate Rebecca at Bais Bus Stop. We then took a tricycle to Cannibol Wharf PHP100 for the whole tricycle.

You can see the sand bar from the port. It was just 10minutes away. You have to go really early or late in the afternoon to see the sand bar when the tides are low. we reached the sand bar around 8:00am and the water was already rising. There were a lot of mini star fish and crabs and other sea creatures here. There was nothing special, just another sand bar. Plus points for being 10minutes away from shore. We only spent 30minutes here and moved on to our next destination, Bais Dolphin watching.

We arrived around 9:00am, I have been to dolphin watching tours before but we weren't very lucky so I wasn't expecting much. But to my surprise there were hoards or should I say a school of them just wandering around.

We were just circling the area for an hour and they were just popping out of the water in groups. It was such an amazing experience seeing them jumping out of the water and even doing some flips. There were a lot of boats searching for dolphins and I felt bad at one point because I feel like we're chasing/hunting them. And I imagine what if the boat propellers somehow injure the dolphins below or something.

We went back at 10am then stopped at the sand bar again because Mr. Lee wanted to swim and headed back to shore around 11am. So the entire trip can be done in half a day though you can stay longer if you want and maybe check out the mangrove forest and bird sanctuary nearby too.

with Ate Rebecca, Mr. Lee and Nemo

Trip Cost for a group of 4:
55x2 = 110: roundtrip bus Dumaguete to Bais
25x2 = 50: roundtrio tricycle to Cannibol Wharf
625: private boat to Manjuyod Sand Bar and Bais Dolphin Watching
Total: PHP785 per person

How to rent a car in Jeju

We had a lot of worries with transportation in Jeju. Unlike in Seoul, there are no intricate train systems in Jeju. Travel options are limited to buses, taxis, and rental cars.

The cheapest option of course would be to take public transportation like buses or tourist buses but tourist attractions are scattered accross the island and we barely saw buses in some places so it was a good thing that we opted to rent a car. For reference, from Jeju Aiport to Sammu Park (bus stop near Trevi Hotel) the fare is 1200KRW one way. You can use t-money to pay in buses or pay in cash (exact fare only).

Rental process is quite simple, you just have to sign up at the website and fill in the reservation form. We rented a car from Lotte Rent-a-Car site since it was the cheapest we found with good reviews. Our second option was AJ Rent-a-Car.

Rental Requirements:
1. Valid Driver's License - the designated driver should have a valid driver's license (issued from the driver's own country)
2. International Driving Permit - the designated driver should have an IDP  (issued from the driver's own country) prior to the trip. In the Philippines, you can apply for this online at the AAP website and get it in about a week or two for PHP3500. We applied for this 3 weeks before our trip after our visa got approved.
3. Car reservation form - the designated driver should be the one to register at the car rental website and make a reservation. We did this online and opted to pay once we arrived in Jeju. You just have to specify the type of car and the begin and end date and time of rental.

The process was very straightforward yet we had a lot of worries. For one, there was a clause in the rental requirements that the IDP should have been issued at least one year prior to the rental date. We emailed the car rental and asked about this specifically because our IDP was issued just weeks before the rental.

Another one was that there were horror stories about some car rental services asking for additional payment when you return the car for a scratch that has already been there before rental. So we made sure to get a car insurance and checked the car for scratches. We also asked about this with the car rental service and they told us as long as we have the insurance we don't have to worry about scratches.

We got a A/T diesel Chevy Olando for our party of 7 including the driver. It has just enough room for passengers but not for our lugagge so we had to make 2 trips from the airport to our hotel so we can fit all the luggage.

Driving in Jeju is almost the same in the Philippines but with a lot less traffic. They also have left hand drive cars and the GPS navigation system was on point it even reminds you what is the speed limit for certain places and if you're going over the speed limit. So it is very important to get an English GPS. Google maps and waze are no good in Jeju.

We were also worried about getting driving tickets because there were times we go above the speed limit and the GPS keeps telling us to slow down. Also there was a time we beat the red light (totally unintentional). We were all shocked when the breaks didn't make it on time.

We received the car with a full tank and returned it with a full tank as well. A full tank was enough for our 4 days trip. We were able to go to the following destinations with a full tank:
Samyang Black Beach +82-64-728-3991
Seongsan Ilbuchong (Sunrise) Peak +82-64-710-7923
Manjanggul Cave +82-64-710-7903
Innisfree Jeju House +82-64-794-5351
Jeusangjeolli Cliff +82-64-738-1393
Hallasan Park Yeongsil Trail +82-64-713-9950
Cheonjiyeon Waterfall +82-64-760-6304
Woljeongri Beach +82-64-728-3393

We noted the phone numbers just in case we get a Korean GPS where you have to input the phone numbers instead of the location name in korean to get from one place to another. There was also plenty of parking spaces in tourist places. Parking fees range from 600KRW to 3000KRW.

We returned the car hours earlier from our specified time of return so we even got a refund.

Sample Car Rental Costs:
258,900KRW - 4days car rental 7 seater
  66,000KRW - Diesel (depends)
     8,200KRW - Parking Fees (depends)
--------------------
333,100KRW - Total Cost which is around PHP16,665

17,000PHP for 4 days hassle free travel in your own time. So each of us only paid around PHP2500 for our transporation in Jeju. In the Philippines, you can only rent for 1 day with that amount.

Before I forget, you also need to consider the parking space is available in your hotel if you're going to rent a car. We almost forgot about this and changed hotel the last minute. And so that's it hassle free car rental in Jeju.

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