Bohol Day Trip

Read this one-day itinerary to make the most of your day trip to Bohol.

Kymani and I enjoying the Chocolate Hills

Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines and is packed with adventure for anyone. You can easily spend numerous days exploring what the island has to offer, if you're more pressed for time you can enjoy the highlights in a whirlwind Bohol day trip from Cebu. Keep reading to find out everything you need for 1 day in Bohol!

When to visit Bohol?

Like the majority of South East Asia, the Philippines have two seasons. Here in Canada, we are used to four, but they only have wet and dry. The wet season is considered the ‘off season’, as most travelers do not want to be exploring for days on end in the rain. The dry season is considered ‘peak season’ as it’s perfect for beach days.

Our trip happened to coincide with the wet season, it’s just how it lined up with our parental leave and missing the worst of winter in Canada. The benefits to traveling at this time is less people and lower rates.

The majority of people will recommend you visit in the dry season (December-May), however it depends on what you want to do, you can still have plenty of fun in the off season.

How to get to Bohol?

Kymani absolutely loves water

Getting around in south east Asia can vary a lot from country to country, with some having well established public transit and others relying mostly on taxi services. We chose to take the ferry from Cebu to Tagbilaran City. It does run multiple times a day, however, we recommend you get an early start as it will take approximately 2 hours each way.

You will have lots of companies to choose from at the port, they all offer the same service. We chose to sit in the air conditioned indoors for the trip there and then the only option for the way back was the unairconditioned upper level. The ferry itself was nothing special, we felt quite crammed and were happy it was not full.

How to get around Bohol?

The best way to see Bohol is through hiring a private car. You can book this in advance with ferry rides included, but there's less bartering if you do so. You can barter for pretty much everything you purchase in south east Asia, so do your research, pick your price and have some fun! We chose to hire our driver once we got to Bohol, you will be bombarded with offers as soon as you step off the boat. It's important to note that no matter what you book, the attractions will cost extra.

You can also negotiate what stops your car will make so have an idea of what you would like to see. One thing we learned on this trip is that the majority of drivers get a commission from the attractions they take you to. We thought it was strange how insistent they could be to take us to places we had no interest in, and this is why. If you do not want to go somewhere, you can be firm they don't take you. The same goes for if you want to go somewhere, if they won't be receiving a commission they will often tell you the place is closed. Ask them to double check, consider going there first so they can't push it off.

What to do in Bohol?

Stop 1: Chocolate Hills

This is probably the most famous destination on Bohol, and a must visit for your time on the island. They estimate there are over 1000 of the hills stretching off into the horizon. Unfortunately, they have nothing todo with chocolate. Rather, these limestone hills got their name due to their resemblance to Hershey's Kisses.

You have an option here to rent an ATV or dune buggy and explore the hills yourself or to visit the look off point. While we have been keen to give Kymani many new adventures, he's not quite ready for an ATV ride so we only visited the look out.

Stop 2: Tarsiers

This was my number one reason to visit Bohol, I am a sucker for cute little animals. There are two Tarsier sanctuaries you can visit, both are large fenced areas and not cages. Tarsiers are primates, in the same family as lemurs and monkeys! They are insectivorous which means they primarily eat insects, and they are nocturnal.

Tarsiers can be quite tiny, some as small as 3 inches, so it is not guaranteed you will see one, and especially not from close. We were lucky to see 3 and there was an employee there overseeing photos with one of them. It is really important to respect these adorable animals while you’re visiting. Please do not use flash photography or cause any loud noises as it will scare and stress them out. Remember you are a guest in their habitat.

Stop 3: Man Made Forest

This man made forest is a quick photo spot that has really grown in popularity. It seems like a strange addition, since you literally just pull over on the side of the road, run into the middle of the road and take a few pictures. It does have an important history to the area and the mahogany trees create a beautiful backdrop.

During World War II there were refugees who settled in this area and it led to destructive farming practices. There was a large reforestation project in the 1970s to restore the area. You can skip this if it is of no interest, but the stop is so quick it won't delay any other sightseeing.

Stop 4: River Cruise Lunch

When researching things to do in Bohol, the Loboc river lunch cruise came up as number one time and time again. This floating restaurant offers an all you can eat buffet of local specialties with live music. The reviews raved of getting to see locals along the riverbanks and how much fun the cruise was.

This might be a case of the off season not living up to the peak as we found the cruise disapointing. We were told there would be an abundance of vegeterain and fish dishes but there were very little. There was no stunning scenery or locals going about their days. In fact, there is even an abndoned tourist attraction. Some review mention that it was once a pit stop where you can see the Bohol Ati Tribe who reside along the riverbank. They were apparently actors but had creative photo spots and opportunities to hold lizards. Now, it sits broken and abandoned.

Stop 5: Blood Pact Shrine

This is a good stop to add if you are interested in learning more about the history of the area. The Blood Compact Shrine is a monument made to honour the first treaty between the Philippines and Spain. In case you didn't know, the Philippines were colonized by Spain and under their rule for over 300 years. The monument is in the location where the blood pact was performed in 1565. The pact was to signify peace and friendship between the foreigners and the natives.

We actually finished our tour faster than we had expected, we thought about trying to add another attraction. However, on discussion with our driver there wasn't much left close by that we were able to visit with Kymani. We caught an earlier ferry back to Cebu, and were glad we did as a storm rolled in and it rained most of the ferry ride back.

Bonus:

There are other stops you can consider visiting like the Nafame Butterfly Sanctuary or theBee Farm. We had a quick visit to the Butterfly Sanctuary but it was under construction and there wasn't much to see. Our ticket included an ice cream which was locally made and a nice cool treat.