TAGBILARAN – The last time I toured Bohol was probably around ten years ago. Since I found myself with a bit of free time, I decided to do the classic Bohol Day Tour simply to refresh my memory and see how the famous tourist spots are doing after all these years.
I booked a solo tour in a private sedan for around ₱3,500. I honestly did not bother looking for a better deal because I was still tired from the marathon hahaha.
Anyways, I already knew beforehand that these tour packages are a bit expensive for what you are actually getting. In reality, the price of the tour essentially covers only for the car and driver. It is less of a guided tour and more of a car-and-driver package where someone drives you from one tourist attraction to another while you get out, take pictures, look around, and get back in the car. So I kept my expectations appropriately low.
Also, I did not list down the things I paid during this tour so all of the fees mentioned here are merely based on my estimate and recollection.
My first stop was the ATV ride, which supposedly takes you around an area with views of some Chocolate Hills. I cannot remember the exact price, but I believe I paid somewhere between ₱1,400 and ₱1,800.
The activity involves driving an ATV through rough and sometimes muddy roads while passing by a few hills. Normally, this would probably be a fun way to start the day. Unfortunately, I had just finished a marathon, so my entire body was still sore and had no interest in participating in an off-road adventure.
Still, my main purpose in doing this activity was to get a little closer to the Chocolate Hills, so I went ahead with it.
The problem was that the hills we passed by did not really look like the iconic Chocolate Hills. They looked more like... regular hills. That was a little disappointing. Hahaha.
If you enjoy riding an ATV on rough roads with a few hills in the background, you will probably enjoy this activity. For me, if the hills do not actually look like the Chocolate Hills, then it’s not worth it.
My second stop was, of course, the famous Chocolate Hills. I honestly just wanted to take a picture of it and move on. I did not even bother climbing all the way up to the viewing deck. I just found a spot beside the road, took my obligatory Chocolate Hills photo, and called it a day.
To be fair, the Chocolate Hills are still the Chocolate Hills. The sheer number of them and the way they are clustered together across the landscape are still impressive. It remains uniquely beautiful.
But there is something about seeing a tourist attraction for the second time. The first time, you think, Wow. The second time, you think, Yep. There they are.
The next stop was to see the sugar gliders, and surprisingly, this ended up being my favorite stop of the entire tour.
I cannot remember the exact entrance fee, but I think it was around ₱200. If you want to hold the sugar gliders and have your picture taken with them, there is an additional ₱10 fee, which I think is reasonable.
You get to hold two sugar gliders that are trained for this particular job. They move from the trainer’s hand to your shoulder, then to your arm and eventually into your hand. From there, they jump toward the camera held by the trainer.
It was actually a pretty cool experience.
And yes, sugar gliders are ridiculously cute. After holding them for a few minutes, I briefly considered getting one for myself. Then I remembered that being responsible for another living creature is considerably more complicated than taking a cute Instagram photo.
Still, they were adorable.
I then proceeded to see the tarsiers. I think the entrance fee was around ₱300.
The tarsiers are still cute, tiny, and sleepy. I managed to take a few pictures before moving on. I felt like the tarsiers were also tired in always seeing human faces, some of whom also look like tarsiers. They probably wondering, why is this big tarsier staring at me?
I made a quick stop at the Bilar Man-Made Forest, where I took a few pictures of the beautiful canopy formed by the towering mahogany trees along the national highway.
I stayed for a few minutes just to enjoy the scenery and chill for a bit. Unfortunately, more and more tourists started occupying the side of the road for their own photo sessions. I have no intention of photo bombing their pictures and reels so I decided it was time to move on.
I then had lunch at the Loboc River Floating Restaurant, where I enjoyed a buffet of Filipino dishes while cruising along the beautiful Loboc River.
There were musicians on board providing lively entertainment for the guests, which made the whole experience feel festive without being too overwhelming. The boat also made a short stop along the river where an indigenous group performed a cultural presentation for the tourists.
I think the entire river cruise lasted somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour.
Of all the stops during the day, this was easily the one I enjoyed the most.
Good food, live music, a relaxing boat ride, and beautiful scenery make for a pretty solid combination. After spending the morning bouncing around in an ATV and walking around tourist attractions, sitting on a boat while eating lunch felt less like sightseeing and more like a much-needed reward. I was just eating, listening to music, and watching the river go by.
The next stop is the Blood Compact Shrine which is just a statue located beside the highway. The site is poorly maintained so I just took a photo and proceeded to the next one.
My last stop was Baclayon Church.
Unfortunately, there was an ongoing mass when I arrived, so I was not able to explore much of the church. I did not want to look like a wandering spirit while people were saying their prayers at mass, so I simply took a few pictures from the outside and decided to call it a day.
I then asked my driver to take me to the port for my trip back to Cebu.
I started the day tour at around 9:00 a.m. and finished at around 4:00 p.m., which gave me enough time to relax at the port and wait for my boat back to Cebu.
Overall, I would say the tour was okay. Nothing spectacular, but not a bad way to spend a day either.
The two experiences I genuinely enjoyed were the Loboc River Cruise and the sugar gliders. The rest were mostly familiar tourist stops that I had already seen before.
Perhaps that is the downside of visiting a place like Bohol for a second time. The first visit is about discovery. You are seeing the Chocolate Hills, the tarsiers, the man-made forest, and the other attractions for the first time, and everything feels new.
The second time around, the novelty is gone.
And that makes me wonder whether some of Bohol's major tourist attractions are really one-time experiences for many travelers. This is something that the tourism officials should ponder on especially considering the persistent complaints about tour pricing.
I do think that it would be cheaper to just hire a car to drive around the tourist spots using Waze or Google Maps rather than booking a “tour”.
Of course, Bohol has much more to offer beyond the classic day-tour itinerary. Perhaps the trick is to stop doing the things everyone does and start exploring the places that are not printed on every tourist brochure.
As for me, I am glad I did the classic Bohol Day Tour again. It gave me a chance to revisit places from my memory and see how they changed all these years.
