Endless Wonders in Bantayan Island

Is it lovelier the second time around? The Bantayan Island’s proudest boast is its crystal clear turquoise waters and white sand beaches and be heralded as one of the best beach destinations in the country. It is also synonymous to the word Cebu, very popular that it was chosen as the venue for the Filipino movie “Camp Sawi”.

It’s been years, I’m excited to rediscover the island once more. I’m able to ascertain that there are lots of development as far as tourist spot is concern and with its high demands, establishments and infrastructures are built and carefully laid out. Ultimately, I do hope that they are planned & well-placed to sustain this paradise.

Exactly 10 years ago, I first visited Bantayan Island together with my colleagues. It was when I officialy started to take traveling seriously and from then on, I’ve been traveling to different places in the country and even conquered the other side of the world. So now, I’d like to look back at how this significant island has beautifully unfolded along with my passion for traveling and adventures.

Let’s begin…

We started with an early rendezvous at Cebu South Bus Terminal at 2:00 A.M. so that we could catch an early trip going to the island. We hired a van to transport us to Hagnaya port and from Hagnaya port back to Cebu City on the second day. It was a gloomy morning but our excitement overflowed so it certainly wasn’t bothering us. As a matter of fact, it was a special travel for me because I was able to unite two circles of my friends, the Memoventurers and my Tarsier friends. What bound us together were our thirst for adventures and true friendship. We booked our tour package at Chelie’s Travel & Tours and since we were few I invited my Memoventurer friends to join us. I thought it would surely be extra fun with them! I couldn’t imagine how chaotic our adventures would be with these sets of crazy friends. hehe.

After over 3 hours, we arrived in Hagnaya Port in San Remegio, Cebu. There was a major downpour accompanied with strong winds. We were terrified of course but we prayed hard to keep our travel safe. Thankfully, it didn’t last long so we sailed safely. After over an hour, we finally arrived in our destination, the gorgeous Bantayan Island at Sta. Fe port.

The port was exceptionally clean and the beach was so inviting. It’s still the same polished port I witnessed 10 years ago which means Bantayan Island was able to maintain and protect their natural attractions. It was just the port, how much more with the other spots? Hmmmm, let’s move forward…

We were fetched by a personnel from the agency and it was only then that we were informed that we had to share transportation with another group of visitors. And since it was the first time it happened on our entire traveling journey, there was a feeling of awkwardness and discomfort to be honest. I believe the other group felt the same way too. However, we were able to pull it through because everyone was so respectful and kind, that’s an advantage of traveling, you’ll surely gain new friends along the way.

Mayet’s Resort

We were sent to Mayet’s Resort still in Sta. Fe. The place was peaceful and clean. The cottages fronting the beach were well-structured. The sand was powdery white. The beach was absolutely stunning. It was so early that my mind is already loaded with everything swimming and nothing else,hahaha. I’m not a beach person but Bantayan is an exception, I’d like to dip immediately and enjoy the waters.

After a few moments, we were served with a sumptuous breakfast.

We immediately settled our things in our rooms afterwards and changed attire for the first activity, the island hopping adventure, yey!

The Virgin Island

From our resort, we headed to the famous Virgin Island by a boat. During my first visit, this island wasn’t popular yet so I made sure I’ll be able to capture the most beautiful scenes in the island, charot! But really what’s most important is always the experience more than the photos, right???

Perhaps because of its captivating beauty that it’s called Virgin Island but whatever reasons would they be, it’s definitely stunning. I just couldn’t say it’s Virgin because a huge crowd took over the whole island, it’s already touched by modernization. It was where we spent most of the day. I’m sure you’ll agree that Virgin Island has the finest and the whitest sand in the country perhaps because of the amount of sunlight that it absorbed. I mean there’s no island which is not hot right? but Virgin Island is to the highest degree of hotness, promise! Virgin Island made me fall in love with the beach and I could have enjoyed it even more if the heat wasn’t too intense. So if you want to visit Virgin Island, I would suggest that you apply a rich amount of sunblock all over your body from time to time and bring shawls, towel, sunglasses, and hats with you or anything that could protect you from too much heat. Also, never forget to bring a bottle of water to keep you hydrated as it suggests a lot of walking under the bright Mr. Sun.

The water was so inviting. The island was generally clean because there were trash bins in designated areas. There were hundreds of tourists in the island during our visit and everyone was looking for a shade to stay.

We were not able to roam around the island because the heat was extremely painful. It was funny but we brought an umbrella while swimming, lol!

We also stayed in a floating cottage and swim once in a while.We left Virgin Island with sunburnt skin, charcoal face, and frizzy hair,lol! But it was worth the experience.

Ogtong Cave Resort

From Virgin Island, we hopped to Ogtong Cave just a neighboring resort from where we were staying. We paid an entrance fee of 200/person and ordered food for lunch.

It’s still the same resort I’ve visited before but I guess the entrance fee wasn’t worth it. Unlike my first visit, we didn’t enjoy the cave and its natural pool because we were already exhausted. We begged for some rest and made our way back to Mayet’s Resort,hehehe.

Night Life

We all agreed to witness the sunset and explore the famous Bantayan sandbar but unfortunately we overslept and missed them.We just roamed around Sta. Fe to look for food for dinner. Then we saw some food stalls near the plaza where a lot of people were queuing. They offer hanging rice or puso, softdrinks, Indian mangoes, junk foods, and barbeque. So we looked for a place to stay and ordered food. It was an island dinner to remember.

Then we went back to our hotel. We seized the moment to enjoy the beachfront while munching on some mangoes, listening to soft music and watched the stars. Then, we crawled to bed and called it a night.