around oslob-apo-bais-siquijor in 6 days (DIY)This is our itinerary for our 6-day trip to Oslob, Apo, Bais and Siquijor, where we spent about a day or a day and a half in each. Hope you all get a tip or two from our itinerary.
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We took the earliest flight to Dumaguete and took the next boat to Oslob. Since whale watching stops at noon, we just spent half-a-day roaming around Oslob and Samboan towns. We hired a habal-habal to take us around. Here is our itinerary:
11:40 AM - Check in at BCD's Place 1:00 PM - Visit Tumalog Falls (Tip: Bring a waterproof camera to take a good photo of the falls. You won't be able to get near the falls without your things getting wet. Take a swim for about 30 minutes.) 2:00 PM - Lunch at Oslob town proper 2:40 PM - Visit Oslob church, cuartel and museum and spent a little time by the bay eating ice cream :) (Tip: Come later in the afternoon for streetfoods and barbeque.) 3:20 PM - Head to Samboan 4:30 PM - Arrive at Aguinid Falls and climb up to its topmost falls 5:40 PM - Head back to resort 8:00 PM - Dinner at nearby restaurant (Tip: A few steps away from BCD's place are about 5 restaurants serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think they also serve alcoholic drinks. Try out the one named Mother Theresa for their delicious grilled dishes. :)) 
Tumalog Falls in Oslob. Prepare to get a little wet even if you don't plan to swim.
day 2: whale-watching, sumilon sand bar and balinsasayao lakeThe day was basically spent on whale watching, sand bar bumming and boating at Balinsasayao Lake. Morning was spent in Oslob and Sumilon but whale-watching has to start early so you'll have time to spend in Sumilon sandbar. We had to catch the noontime schedule of the pumpboat back to Sibulan, Dumaguete so we could hike and boat in Balinsasayao. It was already sundown when we got back to our room in Dumaguete. Itinerary here:
6:30 AM - Watch sunrise by the beach 7:30 AM - Breakfast (Tip: One or two of the restaurants nearby open very early. Try Sunrise Grillhouse which is the farthest most from BCD's Place and look for their friendly staff Barbie.) 8:00 AM - Briefing then whale watching (Tip: Whale watching starts as early as sunrise. Best if you could go in early to avoid the crowd.) 10:30 AM - Head to Sumilon sandbar 11:30 AM - Back at BCD's Place to take a shower 12:30 NN - Check out of BCD's Place 1:00 PM - Book for pumpboat then lunch at port 1:30 PM - Head back to Sibulan, Dumaguete via pumpboat 2:00 PM - Arrival at Sibulan port then multicab to Claytown Daro area 2:30 PM - Check in at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast in Dumaguete 3:00 PM - Head to Balinsasayao Lake 4:00 PM - Hike and boat in Balinsasayao Lake (Tip: Better if you get there earlier, say 2:00 PM so you could spend more time hiking, boating and swimming if you want. We were in a hurry since we only had 2 hours and boating stops at 6:00 PM.) 8:00 PM - Back at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast for dinner If you are not tired yet, you can visit spend time at downtown Dumaguete for some streetfood and photo ops at the I <3 Dumaguete signage. 
Sumilon Sandbar
Day 3: bais dolphin-watching and manjuyod sandbarWe left Dumaguete City before sunrise to get to Bais before 7:00 AM but the trip was longer than we expected and we got there at nearly 7:30 AM which was still on time. We rode the bus going to Manjuyod and stopped at Bais LBC to take a tricycle going to the port area. The tricycle drivers suggested that we rent a private outrigger for cheaper rates so we did. Here is our itinerary:
5:45 AM - Leave the hotel 5:55 AM - Hop on the Manjuyod bound bus 7:30 AM - Arrival at Bais and drop off at LBC; hop on tricycle to port 8:00 AM - Start dolphin watching (took us a while to find dolphins as the water was a bit choppy) 10:30 AM - Explore Manjuyod sandbar 12:15 PM - Arrival at port; hop on tricycle to market 12:40 PM - Lunch at market (The Bais market is bigger than the usual provincial markets and has many carinderias on the 2nd floor.) 1:30 PM - Hop on bus to Dumaguete City 3:30 PM - Back at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast; rested for a while 5:00 PM - Spend time in downtown Dumaguete and have sans rival + coffee at the famous Sans Rival 7:00 PM - Photo ops at Dumaguete bay area 8:00 PM - Back at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast 
Manjuyod sandbar after dolphin watching
day 4: apo islandWe planned to leave Dumaguete City around 9:00 AM so we didn't have to rush. We spent time at the bed and breakfast talking to our "neighbors" and was hoping to find someone headed to Apo Island. :) To no avail, we went there by ourselves but it was okay since the boat ride was not as expensive as we imagined. Our afternoon was mostly spent on getting a feel of the island and mango shakes! :) Itinerary for the day:
8:00 AM - Late than usual breakfast at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast (Budbod at Tsokolate was free!) 9:30 AM - Head for bus terminal 10:00 AM - On the bus to Malatapay 10:30 AM - Arrival at Malatapay; found a couple who was waiting for travellers to share a boat with 11:00 AM - Arrival at Apo Island 11:30 AM - Check-in at Ate Nor's; order lunch 2:00 PM - Mango shake at Liberty's (Before they only serve shakes between 6-9PM when there is electricity) 4:00 PM - Roam around the island 5:00 PM - Catch the sunset at the viewdeck/lighthouse; spend time by the beach and get to know the locals 6:00 PM - Electricity in the island is turned on; time to charge your batteries! :) 8:00 PM - Dinner at Liberty's Lodge (Tip: Food in Liberty's Lodge is expensive so if you want to save, order pancit for P100 only.) 9:00 PM - Start to dose off if you want to be sleeping before lights out in the island 9:30 PM - Lights out! Important Note: In the mornings, only small private outriggers costing P2,000 head for the island; the "public" outrigger charging P300 per pax will start to accept passengers only at 2:00 PM. If you use the small outriggers, prepare to get wet and when I say wet, I mean really wet! 'Yong tipong you might as well wear your swimsuits and goggles. We were dripping wet from head to foot when we got to the island. The waves are really big but it only gets like this during amihan season, according to the boatman. Summertime, no worries! 
On a Saturday afternoon, kids living in the island go out and play by the beach.
Day 5: swimming with sea turtles and shakes again! :)I was advised the day before that it's better to swim in the morning for better chances of seeing sea turtles. Later in the day, sea turtles go to deeper parts, the locals say, to avoid divers. In the morning, they roam around the shallow areas scavenging for sea grasses to eat. We have asked Ate Pinky from Liberty's Lodge to save us a seat in their outrigger boat headed for mainland. Our schedule was 11:30 AM so we didn't have to hurry. Itinerary:
6:00 AM - Rise and shine; catch sunrise at lighthouse; spend time by the beach 8:00 AM - Go back to Ate Nor's place for their free breakfast 9:00 AM - Swim with sea turtles (this was our itinerary but better if you could swim say at 6:30 AM) 11:00 AM - Wait for our boat Hercules (which arrived at 12:30 PM) 1:20 PM - Arrival at Malatapay; grab some cheap lunch in the carinderia near the port 2:30 PM - Head for the city 3:00 PM - Arrival at Dumaguete port; book for Siquijor 4:30 PM - On board boat for Siquijor 6:00 PM - Arrival at Siquijor; meet Kuya Dhen of Islandia for free pick-up 7:30 PM - Check-in at Islandia Beach Resort; dinner It could have been better if we arrived earlier at Islandia so we could spend time swimming by the beach. It was already night time when we got to the resort and it was already too cold to swim. Also, better if you know the schedule of the boats headed for Siquijor so you can maximize your time in Dumaguete and cut waiting time at the port. 
Apo Island at noontime, while waiting for our boat Hercules
Day 6: explore siquijorSince we only have this day for Siquijor, we were only able to spend a few minutes per tourist spot. If you have the luxury to spend at least 2 whole days, that will be most ideal! With 2 days, you can swim at every body of water you get to and really enjoy the trip. This is our one day itinerary:
7:00 AM - Breakfast at Islandia 8:00 AM - Spend time lounging by the beach 10:00 AM - Start tricycle tour! (We rented a tricycle to take us around the province. It would have been a habal-habal only but we needed to bring our backpacks since we have to head back to Dumaguete City at 5:00 PM.) 10:30 AM - First stop: Old Balete Tree and Fish Spa 11:00 AM - Second stop: Lazi Church and Convent 11:20 AM - Third stop: Cambughay Falls; jump and swim 12:20 PM - Fourth stop: Kagusuan Beach 1:30 PM - Fifth stop: Sta. Maria Church 2:00 PM - Last stop: Salagdoong Beach; cliff-dive; swim; late lunch 4:20 PM - Siquijor Church (San Isidro Labrador) 5:00 PM - On board boat to Dumaguete City 7:00 PM - Check-in at Gabby's Bed and Breakfast 7:30 PM - Street food by the bay at downtown Dumaguete; ice cream by Kuya Toto; buy souvenirs 9:00 PM - Coffee and sans rival (again 'coz we just couldn't get enough!) at Sans Rival Bistro (Even the bistro serves sans rival and coffee at very affordable prices. P26 for a slice of sans rival and P35 for a cupt of brewed coffee.You can opt to explore other restaurants. Along Rizal Avenue, there's a whole stretch of restaurants that you can try out.) Important Note: The shelf life of sans rival outside of the refrigerator is 4-6 hours. If your flight is in the morning (i.e. 8:55 AM), you can buy one from the old store which opens at 7:00 AM. Better if you could have one reserved for you the day before. Bistro is open from 10AM - 10PM and the older restaurant opens at 7AM - 7PM. You can also buy one in the airport but costs P40 more. 
Cliff diving at Salagdoong. Highlight of our Siquijor trip.
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how-to-get-tos of the trip:Manila to Dumaguete:
Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly to Dumaguete everyday. As of March 2015, Cebu Pacific flies in the morning at 7:00 AM and in the afternoon at 3:00 PM. Philippine Airlines flies in the morning at 8:40 AM and in the afternoon at 1:20 PM. Dumaguete to Oslob: Go to Sibulan port/pier/pantalan and ride either the pumpboat or the fastcraft heading for Liloan, Santander. See my separate entry on how to get to Oslob from Dumaguete. Dumaguete to Bais: Head to Ceres bus terminal and ride the bus heading to Manjuyod or Bais. Dumaguete to Apo: Ride the Ceres bus going to Bayawan and stop at Zamboanguita, Malatapay, Zamboanguita. Walk or ride a tricycle from the highway to the port area. Ride an outrigger boat headed for Apo Island. Dumaguete to Siquijor: Head to Dumaguete port and ride a fastcraft or RORO headed for Siquijor. |
expenses/damageThe entire trip took costs us nearly P10,000 per head for 2 pax, excluding pasalubongs and souvenirs. You can spend less if you opt to eat at really inexpensive restaurants/carinderias or if you ask more people to join you. Please visit these entries to read more spending less for this trip:
arrange for your tripHere are contact numbers which might be helpful for the trip:
where to stay:You can visit my list of hostels, inns and backpackers' lodges for less than P1,000 per night for Dumaguete City, Siquijor and Oslob.
Just click on your destinations below or use the search box: |
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