4D3N DIY TRAVEL - DUMAGUETE / SIQUIJOR / APO ISLAND / MANJUYOD SANDBAR

Alert: another seat sale (March 2019), then this happened! Dumaguete for my birthday? Why not! Eyyyyy! Arki Kreng @ 26. yaaas! 

Dumaguete, known as the "City of the Gentle People"

4D3N DIY Travel (November 20-23,2019) with my Anjubebe 😍

As a traveller, I love DIYs so much! You can maximize your time and budget!

Sharing you our travel video for this one. Please subscribe on our YT Channel and hit like! Cheers!

Cebu Pacific's Seat Sale

PHP 2,450.32 / 2pax = PHP 1,225.16 each RT (not so bad right?)
You want to score cheap fares like this one? PM me so I could assist you 😉

ITINERARY

DAY 1 

11:30 AM - Park and Fly @ CRK Intl Airport

12:00 PM - P2P to NAIA

3:30 PM - Arrived NAIA safely

4:15 PM - Boarding

5:00 PM - Departure

Backpackers this time. Brought our flasks to travel wisely. It is our responsibility to save mother earth. ;)

Sunset views are the best!

6:20 PM -  Arrival @ Dumaguete (Sibulan Airport)

*Arriving at the Airport, we had a Tricycle ride on our way to our hostel. If I remember it right, this costed us PHP 100.00.

6:40 PM - Check-in @ Flying Fish Hostel

7:15 PM Dinner @ Nom by Flying Fish

Fresh catch of the day (Something like that, tasted like yellow fin fish)

9:30 PM Lights out!

DAY 2 - SIQUIJOR ISLAND

6:00 AM - Call Time

*Bought our ferry tickets, OceanJet PHP 250.00 each. There's a cheaper way via RoRo, PHP 120.00 each but travel time will be longer.  

Fun fact: We don't like travelling thru the waters for a longer time..

6:20 AM - Arrival @ Port

*Boarding was at 7:00 AM so we had a quick breakfast just near the entrance of the port. We bought Cornsilog and it was so good, for only PHP 50.00.

8:20 AM - Arrival @ Siquijor Island

*Upon arriving, there were already local people waiting for tourists. Tricycles for rent were lined up, offering us daytour. You may also opt to rent a motorbike or "habal habal" for the whole day, but we much preferred having someone to drive us all the way Siquijor Island. The Standard Tricycle Tour costed us PHP 1,000.00 for the two of us.

1. Paliton Beach

*Our tour guide mentioned that Paliton Beach is their so called "Little Boracay". We did not stay for an hour, because at that time it was low tide but gladly we saw this beach in actual.

2. Balete Tree with Fish Spa

*I think the entrance fee was PHP 50.00 each at that time. There were also local vendors selling souvenirs, ref magnets, love potions, and the like. Fish spa is included on that fee. This was our second time to try fish spa. The first one was in Bantayan Island Nature Park (August 2019).

3. Hapitanan Cafe and Restaurant (witch broomstick riding photo op)

*No entrance fee, only donations. We also got to try their grilled banana cue. Actually, it tasted good, kinda sweet and buttery.

4. San Isidro Labrador Church

*commonly known as "Lazi Church". This was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. This is made of sea stones and wood.

5. Cambugahay Falls

*The most awaited part of this trip was to see this majestic beauty, Cambugahay Falls!!! There's an environmental fee of PHP 50.00 each and parking fee. There are a lot of jumping spots and for every spot, it only costs PHP 20.00 (Unli-jump). The bluish green water was freaking cold!!! But finally ticked off from my bucket list!! 

Lunch @Chef Joe's Cuisine and Homestay 

6. Salagdoong Beach

*This beach is famous for their cliff diving, but unfortunately that time, cliff diving was prohibited because it was low tide and you might hit the rocks underneath.

At the port, while waiting our ferry..

We were back at the hostel around 4 in the afternoon. We freshened up and rest for a bit before having our dinner at Hayahay Treehouse Bar and Grill. We ordered fresh oysters, grilled squid, chili shrimp, and sizzling kangkong. (I was so famished so I didn't get a picture of our food, but watch our travel video Dumaguete Travel Video @ 1:40 ) 

Then, we stayed at Nom as usual for our coffee session.

DAY 3 - APO ISLAND (MY BIRTHDAAAAY)

*The Apo Island Tour package costs PHP 1,450.00 per person. Inclusive of: Transportation back and forth, Snorkeling Equipment, Guide Towel, Apo island Sanctuary fee, and of course, lunch. 

We got to swim with the turtles. The best snorkeling experience so far! We've been to three sites! There were two species of turtles that we saw: Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles. 

This was our packed lunch included on the tour package. You must decide your food upon reservation. Choices are chicken, pork or vegan.

The Birthday Girl is happyyyy =)

Of course, coffee after lunch while on the boat? YES!

It was awesome seeing big sea turtles closely but somehow gave me a fright. lol 

We just gladly met these two ladies on this boat, because of them, we got to see Manjuyod Sandbar in the latter part of this blog.

The Island Girl in me is so happy! More tan lines, more memories! Feeling blessed that day!

We came back at the hostel a little early, around 3:30 in the afternoon. Then, we went to try this famous Sans Rival restaurant. They also have a separate shop for takeouts. Girl, their sans rival was heaven!!! It was soooooo good!!!! For me, I prefer the original flavor rather than the chocolate one (too sweet).

Only PHP 20.00 per piece.

 

Before                               After

 

We ordered Grilled Barbecue Spare Ribs (PHP 185.00) and Sizzling Steak (PHP 250.00). This was the only time we really enjoyed the food. The price was reasonable. The food was delicious. We recommend you to try this restaurant if you're planning to visit Dumaguete!! 

Before my birthday ends, we're lucky enough that our hostel had an Acoustic Night. 

chill night

drinks

sumptuous food

good acoustic singer

board games

kwentuhan with the love of my life

what could I ask for more..

best birthday, indeed~

 

DAY 4 - DOLPHIN WATCHING & MANJUYOD SANDBAR

*Last day, Flight Day! Thank God we met Ate Mimi from our Apo Island Tour. Little did we know that they were just the two of them DIY-ing to Manjuyod so we joined them besides boarding time of our flight was until 6:00 in the evening.

4:00 am Call time @ Bus Terminal

This picture was taken at the market around 5:30 in the morning, so as you see our sleepy eyes. We bought our lunch for the boat ride.

sunrise = new beginning

After almost 2-3 hours boat ride, we got to see a pod of dolphins for a distance. Quite sad because we didn't experience to see them a little close unlike others.We went to Manjuyod Sandbar afterwards and had our lunch there. We were early so no sandbar appeared.

See this sari-sari store but on a boat. lol

It was our first time to try this raw sea urchin with a little amount of vinegar. Actually it tasted so good, like taba ng talangka (crab fat). The vendors were selling them per bucket, but we only wanted to try. We insisted to buy only a few pieces. 6 pieces of sea urchin for PHP 100.00.

This was our lunch prepared by the boatmen. 

grilled fish

grilled pork

salted egg salad

grilled eggplant

and lastly, rice

Thank God for 26 years!

This was around 12 in the afternoon. Sun bathing!

TANNED BEBUS hahaha

Another sandbar before going back 

After the boat ride and van ride, we were back around 2:30 in the afternoon. We had our merienda at Nom, then spent an hour and a half before going to the airport.

Vegan Lasagna

Turon with Ice Cream, yum!

6:30 in the evening, finally BOARDiiiiiNG!

Thankful to my favorite human! Labyu, Bby!

8:30 pm Arrived safely @ NAIA

9:30 pm Next trip of P2P to Clark

12:30 am HOME SWEET HOME

Home for 4 Days:

Flying Fish Hostel

Unfortunately, we confirmed this accommodation, 1 week from the trip itself. So what did we expect? We checked Booking.com and they were fully booked already. To be honest, I felt sad and disappointed, thinking that we won't make this birthday trip possible. But suddenly, my boyfriend decided to contact Flying Fish Hostel directly (via Facebook). Guess what? They have 1 Double Private Basic room available for 2 nights and 2 slots for a Mixed 6-Bed Dorm Type. We took the remaining slots available! We've been eyeing this hostel for quite some time. They've required us a partial downpayment prior to the reservation. Thumbs up to their customer oriented reservation system and to the friendliness of their employees!

Computation:

Double Private Basic room:
PHP 1,400.00/night x 2nights = PHP 2,800.00

6-Bed Mixed Dorm:
PHP 680.00/pax/night x 2pax = PHP 1,360.00

TOTAL (4DAYS3NIGHTS) = PHP 4,160.00 for 2 pax

Double Private Basic with a Private Bathroom

Waiting area / Lobby

My bed for the night. 

We were assigned at the upper bunk, because the lower bunks were already occupied. We were the only Asians, rather, Filipinos in this room. Ha! We met this Indian guy, an IT guy who works in Manila. I don't know how to spell his name lol, but he seemed nice.

6-Bed Mixed Dorm Type

It was quite uncomfortable to stay in this type of room, but we got no choice, besides we also woke up early the next day to go dolphin watching. 

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As a long-term couple, we love to travel just the two of us, because we got to understand more of each other and enjoy one's company. People asking us when will we get married. To be honest, we don't know when. We're almost nine years as a couple and we kinda lost track, yet it feels like we're still in college. lol 

So, that's my blog! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to subscribe to our YT Channel and watch our other Travel Videos! Kbye!