Top Beaches in Visayas (A Review)

It's Summer! And as always, a trip to the beach is simply inevitable! Well, these are the best beaches in Visayas only. This is a simple review of the beaches that I have visited. I hope this will help you pick the right beach for your vacation.. =)

My personal rating 
1 - highest/best
5 - worst

Antulang Beach, Negros Oriental

Travel Time from Manila - 55 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Dumaguete, tricycle to Ceres bus station in Dumaguete, bus ride to Antulang, habal-habal ride (motorcycle) to the beach
Proximity from Manila - #3
Accommodation - #2
Expenses - #3
Food - #1
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - none
Drinking spree - only at the resort
Multitude of People - #3 (usually foreigners)
Adventure - nature photography, breathtaking view, walking along the trail
Serenity/Paradise - #1 (best reason)

Primary Reason - the view and the atmosphere are simply world-class

Related link -

http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/exploring-negros-oriental-and-negros.html

Camotes Island, Cebu

Santiago Bay Resort

Travel Time from Manila - 1 hour and 12 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Cebu, taxi to North Bus Terminal, Bus to Danao Port, Ro-Ro to Camotes, habal-habal to resort 
Proximity from Manila - #4
Accommodation - #2
Expenses - #3
Food - #2
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - none
Drinking spree - resort only
Multitude of People - #2
Adventure - lake, falls, spelunking (best reason)
Serenity/Paradise - #2 (best reason)

Primary Reason - going to Santiago Bay is the best reason to enjoy your vacation

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/camotes-island-white-sand-beach-and.html

Bantayan Island, Cebu
best choice!

Anika Beach Resort

Travel Time from Manila - 1 hour and 12 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Cebu, taxi to North Bus Terminal, Bus to Hagnaya, Ro-Ro to Bantayan, tricycle to the resort 
Proximity from Manila - #3
Accommodation - #1 (best reason)
Expenses - #1
Food - #1 (best reason)
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - YES, at the town proper
Drinking spree - YES, at the town proper
Multitude of People - #4
Adventure - #2 scuba diving, snorkeling, water sports
Serenity/Paradise - #1

Primary Reason - best white sand in Cebu!

Related link -

http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/bantayan-island-in-cebu.html


Biliran (Naval)

Travel Time from Manila - travel by air to Tacloban City, 55 minutes
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Tacloban, tricycle to van station, van to Biliran, motorcycle or tricycle to the resort
Proximity from Manila - #3
Accommodation - #4
Expenses - #4
Food - #3
White Sand - minimal (almost brown sand)
Nightlife  - none
Drinking spree - none
Multitude of People - #2
Adventure - falls, trekking, hiking, island hopping
Serenity/Paradise - #3

Primary Reason - it has great falls (Ulan-Ulan Falls)

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/12/biliran-paradise-undiscovered.html
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/eastern-visayas-tour.html


Boracay (Station 1)

Travel Time - (varies) you can reach Boracay either by air, land or sea
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - 
  if your flight is Kalibo - plane to Kalibo, van to Caticlan, pumpboat to Boracay
  if your flight is Caticlan - plane to Caticlan, tricycle to the pier, pumpboat to Boracay
  if you opted 2GO - ferry ride to Caticlan, pumpboat to Boracay 
Proximity from Manila - #2
Accommodation - 
    Station 1 - high end (10,000 - up)
    Station 2 - average  (5,000 - 9,000)
    Station 3 - 1,000 - 4,000
Expenses - #4-5
Food - #1 (best reason)
White Sand - #1(best reason)
Nightlife  - #1 (best reason) 
Multitude of People - #5
Adventure - #1 (best reason)
Serenity/Paradise - #4 
Drinking spree - #1 (best reason)
Sunset or Sunrise -  sunset (best reason)
Primary reason - best white sand in the Philippines

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/boracay.html


Guimaras (Alubijod Beach)

Travel Time from Manila - travel by plane to Iloilo, 50 minutes
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Iloilo, taxi to Pantalan (pier), pumpboat to Guimaras, motorcycle or tricycle to the resort
Proximity from Manila - #2
Accommodation - #3
Expenses - #3
Food - #2 (you have to taste the mangoes)
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - none 
Drinking spree - only at the resort
Multitude of People - #3
Adventure - island hopping, spelunking, trekking
Serenity/Paradise - #2

Primary Reason - Mangoes!

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/guimaras-paradise.html


Malapascua Island, Cebu

Travel Time from Manila - 1 hour and 12 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Cebu, taxi to North Bus Terminal, Bus to Maya, pumpboat to Malapascua, walk to the resort =)
Proximity from Manila - #3
Accommodation - #2
Expenses - #3
Food - #2
White Sand - YES (best reason)
Nightlife  - none
Drinking spree - only at the resort
Multitude of People - #1 (usually foreigners sunbathing)
Adventure - #2 Thresher shark diving
Serenity/Paradise - #1 (best reason)

Primary Reason - One of the best diving spots in the Philippines

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/malapascua-island-best-island-in-cebu.html

Moalboal, Cebu

Travel Time from Manila - 1 hour and 12 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Cebu, taxi to South Bus Terminal or Librando Bus Terminal, Bus to Moalboal, tricycle or motorcycle to the beach 
Proximity from Manila - #3
Accommodation - #3
Expenses - #3
Food - #3
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - moderate
Drinking spree - only at the resort
Multitude of People - #4
Adventure - diving, boat racing
Serenity/Paradise - #3

Primary Reason - One of the best diving spots in the Philippines

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/passing-in-moalboal.html


Panglao, Bohol

Travel Time from Manila - 47 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Tagbilaran, Bohol, van to Panglao Beach
Proximity from Manila - #2
Accommodation - #2
Expenses - #2
Food - #2
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - moderate
Drinking spree - moderate
Multitude of People - #4
Adventure - island hopping, scuba diving
Serenity/Paradise - #3

Primary Reason - best spot in Bohol

Related link -
http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2012/11/experience-bohol.html

Siquijor

Travel Time from Manila - 50 minutes by plane
Mode of transportation before you reach the beach - plane to Dumaguete, tricycle to pantalan (port), Ro-Ro to Siquijor, motorcycle ride to the resort  
Proximity from Manila - #4
Accommodation - #3
Expenses - #3
Food - #5 (be very cautious on what you eat or drink)
White Sand - YES
Nightlife  - none
Drinking spree - none
Multitude of People - #2
Adventure - falls, visiting old churches, spelunking
Serenity/Paradise - #1

Primary Reason - the entire island is white sand =)

Related link -

http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/siquijor-adventure-in-three-hours.html



Related links:
Traveling in Cebu - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/traveling-in-cebu.html
Top Beaches in Mindanao - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-beaches-in-mindanao-review.html
Top Beaches in Luzon - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/ro-ro-travel-from-allen-to-matnog-ort.html
Islands of Cebu - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/04/islands-of-cebu.html
Eastern Visayas Tour - http://junvillegas.blogspot.com/2013/03/eastern-visayas-tour.html

Traveling in Cebu

It pays to know how to travel in Cebu.

BY LAND 

There are 2 major terminals in Cebu, namely - the Southbound Terminal and the Northbound Terminal.

There are three major bus companies, namely - Ceres, RoughRider, and AutoBus.

Best Option is Ceres Bus (the yellow bus)!

SOUTH BUS TERMINAL
If you are going to Moalboal, the other choice would be the Librando Bus Terminal near EMall (just a few meters away from the Southbound bus terminal). Travel time to Moalboal is 3 hours or 99 kms.

If you are going to Oslob, take the Ceres ride to Bato via Oslob. Travel time is 3.5 hours or 117 kms.

NORTH BUS TERMINAL
If you are going to Malapascua Island, take the bus with the Maya signage (either Ceres or Roughrider). Travel time is 4 hours or 147 kms. Fare from Cebu City to Maya using Ceres is P163 for non-aircon and P170 for aircon.

The first pumpboat to Malapascua from Maya port leaves 7:30 am and the last is 6 pm.
From Malapascua to Maya port, the first pumpboat leaves 6 am and the last is 3 pm. Fare is P80.00 and the total cost of the boat (in case you want to charter it) is P1,200.

Chartering the boat from Malapascua Island to Bantayan cost P2,500.

If you are going to Bantayan Island, take the bus with the signage Hagnaya. Travel time is 4 hours or 111 kms. From Hagnaya port, take the Ro-Ro to Bantayan Island. Travel time is 45 minutes. Ro-Ro service is from 6 am to 6pm. There are 2 shipping lines servicing the route.

If you are going to Camotes Island, take the bus ride with signage of either Hagnaya or Maya and alight at the Danao Port. Travel time is 1 hour. Fare is P60.00. From Danao port, take the Ro-Ro to Consuelo port in Camotes Island. There is only one shipping company servicing the route - Jomalia Shipping. Fare is P180 for non-aircon and P200 for aircon.

Schedule of trips 
Danao port to Consuelo port - 5:30am; 8:30am; 10:00am; 12:00nn; 5:30pm; 9:30pm
Consuelo to Danao - 4:00am; 5:30am; 9:00am; 12:00nn; 2:00pm; 4:00pm

Contact persons -
Danao - Meme 0906-364-0873
Consuelo - Jomari 0923-338-7566


BY AIR
There is 1 airport in Cebu which is situated in Mactan Island.

If you are coming from Asia, it is better to go straight to Cebu rather than pass the Manila airport. Note that the airport is actually on Mactan Island, 15 kms east of Cebu City.

The following are the domestic airlines servicing Cebu, namely - AirPhil (now, PAL Express), Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines (PAL), South East Asian Airlines (SeaAir), and ZestAir. The flight from Manila to Cebu is more or less one hour.



BY SEA

There are so many piers (1-7) in Cebu. It is better to be sure to check your pier, destination, time of departure and the shipping lines. I got lost several times at the piers of Cebu.

The bigger passenger-ferry lines are 2Go and Weesam. 

Tickets can be bought in Robinzon's Plaza, Ayala Center and SM City.

Otherwise you can book your ticket directly at the shipping company's booking office, which in many cases will be at the port, usually at the pier from which its boat departs.