May your coffee be strong, and your day be beautiful! Good day, Hives! It's me again, Ace26, your Gwapo (handsome) blogger from the Philippines.
In this blog, I will be sharing with you our adventures on the Virgin Islands in Daan Bantayan, Cebu.
On the north side of Cebu in the Philippines lies an underrated island destination that most international tourists will overlook. Bantayan Island is a paradise known mostly only by Cebu locals. Few visitors to the Philippines will have come across it on their quest for the best itinerary in the little time they may have in the country. But for those who have, such as yourself, a day of island hopping from Bantayan to its offshore baby sister island, Virgin Island, will quench that part of you that’s been searching for something a little more off-the-beaten-path in the Philippines.
This trip was planned five months ago, but after super typhoon Odette hit our city on January 2, 2021, we were hesitant to push through with it. Despite the damage around us, we decided to pursue the plan to help us forget about what happened and ease the trauma of the kids.
We travelled to Hagnaya Port at midnight and rode a ferry boat to reach Sta. Fe port. However, the waves were so big that we had to wait for almost 2 hours before the Coast Guard allowed any ship to travel.
When we arrived at the port, we registered at the tourism desk for monitoring purposes. We then rode a motorcycle to our hotel in Daan Bantayan since it was the only transportation available.
Rica's Place accommodation
The hotel we stayed at was nice and clean. The kids were comfortable since there was an internet and TV, and it was fully air-conditioned. It was also the cheapest room that we booked. The hotel was located in Santa Fe, Bantayan Island, Cebu, and had many amenities, such as fully air-conditioned rooms, a common kitchen and grill, free basic toiletries, cable TV, free WIFI, and free drinking water from hot and cold water dispensers. It was also pet-friendly, child-friendly, and within walking distance of most major establishments, including the free public beach, Kota Beach, MJ Square, and The Hungry Beach Co.
Virgin Island captivated us not only with its pristine beaches, clear waters and lush inland scenery. But it also gave us room to escape the crowds while enjoying this perfect oasis on our own time at such an affordable price.
If you want to visit and want a budget-friendly space with a class, you can contact Rica's Space Bantayan at 09173236882.
Their Room Rates are as follows:
- STANDARD ROOM: Rate of 1000/night, occupancy of 2 (charge of extra pax if more than 2), and max capacity of 4
- DELUXE ROOM: Rate of 2000/night, occupancy of 4 (charge of extra pax if more than 4), and a max capacity of 6
- FAMILY ROOM: Rate of 2500/night, occupancy of 6 (charge of extra pax if more than 6), and max capacity of 10
- SUPERIOR ROOM: Rate of 3000/night, occupancy of 8 (charge of extra pax if more than 8), and a max capacity of 14
After we settled in and rested, we decided to roam around the city and buy an ice cream,
We also saw a beautiful lantern that made us feel like we were in another place.
The next day, we went to the market to buy food for our trip to Daan Bantayan Virgin Island.
We also bought some Filipino delicacies, including mangoes and tsokwati, our version of chocolate drink. We cooked our food using the hotel's cooking utensils.
When everyone was ready, we called a tricycle, which was the only transportation available in Bantayan, to take us to the island.
After we reached our destination where was the boat was waiting for us. but we waited for one of our friends because she was hesitant to join us because of the wave suddenly she agreed but she would wear the life jacket together with the kids since we have four kids with us
Fare and fee
Boat fare: 800-1500
Entrance fee: 200 pesos each for kids and adult
When the boat slowly reached the Virgin Islands I was amazed because of the sand, there sand was white as a powder, the water that so crystal clear and the place was surrounded by plants that had thought that flowers or plants would live in the middle of the ocean.
Suddenly my son asked me if he could swim already but my wife disagreed because she wanted to take a photo of us for our memory bank, we granted her the request just to make her happy so she took a photo of us on the bench even on the giant jar, we also took photos on the Virgin Island Arch.She also took a solo picture of our son.
After, that we let our son swim so that he would enjoy our quick vacation, while we preparing the food that we brought one of our friends requested to take a group photo so my wife led the group photo.
After that, we also took photos of the concrete letters signage stating " Virgin Islands". Sometimes we have been in a situation that we thought we couldn't get through but sometimes bad situation makes us stronger and strive harder.