For beach bummers, if you’re looking for some of the best beaches in the country, there’s always Malapascua Island and Bantayan Island.
While it definitely isn’t fair for you to bundle these two islands in one trip (there’s just not enough time!), for those whose hunger of beaches had to be quenched in one go, you can always partner these two in a single trip – like us!
| Itinerary |
6-9 Pax |
Per Pax |
Total |
|
Transportation
|
| Van to Malapascua * |
|
190 |
|
| Boat to Malapascua |
|
80 |
|
| Malapascua – Bantayan Boat ** |
|
500 |
|
| Tricycle |
|
P20 |
|
| Pedicab |
|
P20 |
|
| Bantayan Ferry |
|
P144.5*** |
|
| Aircon Bus from Bantayan – Cebu City |
|
P150 |
P1104.5 |
|
Accommodation
|
| Malapascua |
|
P183 |
|
| Bantayan – Sugar Beach Resort * |
|
P168 |
P351 |
| Tours |
| Island Hopping * |
|
P300 |
|
| Snorkels |
|
P100 |
P400 |
|
TOTAL
|
P1855.50
|
boat fare from Maya Port to Malapascua
Transportation
*You can choose to take the bus OR a van to Malapascua. While vans may be more comfortable, buses are cheaper and most of the time, they won’t go into the port for Bantayan, like vans will. You can always ask the driver though for clarifications. Buses cost P160 – P180. Travel time is 3 – 4 hours.
** Since we were scheduled to do Malapascua and Bantayan within 3 days, we had limited time so we had to maximize our time as much as we can. However, we fell prey to a lot of tourist schemes. Instead of going back to the Maya Port to take a bus back to Bantayan, we rode a boat from Malapascua straight to Bantayan. Travel time took approximately 2 hours on water with a big boat (similar to big island hopping boats). This method is NOT advisable for rainy season or bad weather conditions. Going back to Maya Port and taking a bus and then another boat going to Bantayan would, not only be very tiring, but it would also take approximately 2-3 hours as well. Taking a boat to Bantayan from Malapascua is NOT an advisable method for those on a budget.
***The price of P144.50 is for students. Fares from Hagnaya, San Remegio to Santa Fe, Bantayan are below:
|
Non – aircon |
Air-con |
| Regular Fare |
P170 |
P185 |
| Student Fare |
P144.50 |
P157.25 |
| Senior Citizen |
P136 |
P148 |
| Children (2 – 12 years old) |
P85 |
P92.50 |
Accommodations
Accommodation in both Malapascua and Bantayan are both cheap, depending on your requirements for accommodation. Pensions and guesthouses have rooms from as low as P400 – P1500+ for groups of people.
The room we stayed at in Malapascua (an unknown guestroom) was technically, fit for only 4 – 5 people, but we were able to squeeze in – 3 of us, me, Renz and Robbie on the bed, while Ivan and Chino were on the pull-out sofa. There was still room there, however, Drew chose to sleep outside on the bench.
The room in Bantayan, however, Sugar Beach only had two double beds and there were 9 of us here. We got two more mattresses, lined them up on the floor where the rest can sleep. Yes, that’s how resourceful we are.
Tours
Touring Malapascua is pretty easy on foot. If you have a lot of money, go ahead and try different restaurants. If you feel like resting, there are restaurants by the beach where you can eat and rest at the same time. The only real tour around Malapascua is its island tour. The island tour consists of 3 snorkeling spots, one of which we can feed fish, the Japanese sunken ship and the 50 ft cliff dive.
shores of Malapascua
Food
I usually also list down the prices of food, but because we never got to go outside the resort in Bantayan and we did a lot of eating in Malapascua, this part of the budget would be entirely up to you. Dishes in Malapascua range from P50 (Ging-Ging’s) – P250. All you have to do is walk along the shore and you have plenty of restaurants to choose from. If you’re on a budget, bring canned foods and have the resort cook it for you for a minimum like what we did in Bantayan.
Otherwise, enjoy these two beautiful islands. I really do recommend you spend more days in each island. One day is just not enough.
***Rates are updated as of December, 2011***
