Let’s start this blog by saying we love the ocean and try to spend as much time in or near it as possible with our busy schedules. This leads us to early May 2021 when our family was looking for an adventure to go on. An adventure that was age-appropriate for our daughter, who was only 2-months old at the time. After searching online and asking our friends and family about a cool yet safe place for us to go for a short vacation, we found Bantayan Island. It was then, that we decided to take a spontaneous trip to Bantayan Island with baby, Cora. We chose this location due to the accessibility, the safety of the island, and the overall experience we wanted to have. First, we had to learn a little about the island itself.
Our drone shots of Bantayan Island
Bantayan Island is an island located off the coast of the northwestern end of Cebu Island, in the Philippines. It has a population of over 140,000 people residing on its shores. Despite the large population, the island has an almost complete lack of traffic (which, if you’ve read our previous posts, you know we hate traffic) which is amazing for the Philippines. Before we could embark on our journey to teach Cora how to swim at only 2-months old we had to route our trip.
Cora slept the whole drive
Starting from Cebu City, we would make our way north along the coastal highway for 3-4 hours (depending on traffic) until we reached the bibinka (a local delicacy, made from rice flour and milk, that looks and tastes like sweet bread) stands where we would stop and refuel our empty stomachs. Anyone who has traveled to the north of Cebu will know the stands we’re talking about because there are what seemed like 100 stands all lining the road right next to each other. Another interesting note: each stand will try to compete for your business and since they’re selling the same thing it can be difficult to choose which stand to buy from. In our case, we purchased from a stand with an older lady and her grandson who was helping her cook and arrange their small business. We believe in supporting the local economy and small businesses as much as possible, especially during the pandemic as more and more families are struggling to put food on the table. Anyways… back to our trip.
Cora waking up on the ferry
As we exited the bibinka stand area, the traffic began to subside and the sun peaked its way through the thick trees that were covering the roadside that we previously navigated. Through the trees, the ocean started to reveal itself. The right side opened up to show a light blue sky with small white clouds accompanied below by glimmering water that went from a cyan color to a deep and dark blue the further away from shore you get. Fun Fact: the Philippines is very close to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana’s Trench. After driving another hour along the coast we reached Bantayan’s Port (we planned to take a ferry to the island).
Once at the port, there was a customs check on our car to make sure everything was safe for the journey and all the ferry’s passengers. This ferry was huge, so they allowed us to take our car with us (which was a blessing because Cora needed the air conditioning of the car). The whole fee was less than PHP 2000 ($40). The boat ride was the first of Cora’s life and she loved the waves. She fell asleep within 30 minutes of departure! After about an hour we arrived at Bantayan Island where we drove our way to the Air BnB we booked. Once settled in, we ran into a friend who was close acquaintances with the Mayor of the town we were staying in. Our friend took us to have dinner with the Mayor where we had an assortment of seafood that was freshly caught that same morning. Nothing beats fresh seafood (except Stephanie’s Homemade Curry). We arrived back at our home base a little late so the swimming would have to wait until the morning.
Our adventures are all about family and bonding together
In the morning we got ready as fast as we could, probably forgetting something, and made our way towards one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen. The beach is completely free for all visitors by the way. The white sand went on for what seemed like forever and the shallows weren’t rocky but filled with fine-grained sand. We wanted Cora to like the water and not be scared so we started her lessons slow. At first, we just took her near the ocean while we walked in it to show her it was safe. Next, we dipped her little feet in the water, where she was shocked due to the cold temperature. Once she got used to the temperature we decided to take her in the water (not above her head) for her first-ever swimming experience at only 2-months old. She was unsure in the beginning but once she realized that we were going to protect her she gained more confidence and started to splash around. We decided to test the boundaries and put her in a neck-ring floaty that we purchased earlier in the week. Cora loved swimming with the neck-ring floaty and we have since used it several times.
Cora enjoying a swim after getting more comfortable in the water
After a short swim session, we decided on lunch and to go back and rest with Cora (she was super tired from her swim and it was getting too hot). Back at the Air BnB Cora fell asleep on Christian’s chest and didn’t wake up for another 4 hours. When she woke up we went for some local pizza which was great and made us very full. After our dinner, we went back and went to sleep because we had to be a the ferry early the next morning.
The next morning came quicker than we would have liked and we had to depart for the port. The journey back was similar to the journey there but going the opposite direction! Overall we would recommend this trip if you feel a little adventurous and want a safe yet unique place to go. Cora loved the trip, so did we, and hopefully you do too!
Stephanie, Cora, and Christian swimming together
We hope you found our stories interesting or helpful in any way as our blog is all about sharing our life with YOU, so be sure to Upvote, follow and comment if you enjoyed reading or watching our content.
Bantayan Island [//]:# (!pinmapple 11.169645 lat 123.800383 long d3scr)
