Seaside Holiday – Baby’s 1st Sea & Air Experience

It’s Kaja Let’s Go’s WordPress page 9th year anniversary, 9 years of documenting our travels and other memorable moments as a couple, and now as a family of three. We can’t afford an anniversary giveaway though but we have a special travel blog post.

It’s the love month again, for us it’s an extra special month since our baby girl just turned one year old! My baby rode an airplane and a boat, went to the beach..achievement for a travel-holic mommy hehe. Let us tell you more about it, “Kaja let’s go baby to Boracay!”A day after her birthday party, we flew to Boracay, just the three of us, our private celebration moment.

Baby at the AirportFor domestic flights, no need to present baby’s passport, we only showed the photocopy of her PSA issued birth certificate. To be sure, I also brought the original one but the airport staff is ok with just the photocopied version. We don’t have check-in baggages on our flights. Baby’s sitting on our laps, but the airline charged us a minimal handling fee on both flights.There’s an Infant Feeding Station near Gate 119 at NAIA Terminal 3, while waiting for our boarding announcement, I breastfed my baby inside the room. A Kiddie Play Area is also available just beside this room, but I wasn’t able to take a photo outside.Baby is not scared inside the plane even during take off and descend, most of the time she’s just playing with the airline’s magazine and other paper stuff in the chair.Upon arrival at Godofredo Ramos airport, we just looked for Klook’s booth, they took the printed voucher and gave us stickers an tickets for the jetty port. Just right outside the airport gate, their bus is waiting for us. From the airport, it’s just a 10 minute drive to Cagban Jetty Port.Baby at the Port

Now, it’s time for baby’s first sea travel. Again, baby’s not scared on both boat rides. We chose Boracay as our first family domestic travel due to the convenience of transportation. The transfers from air, sea and land is easy and accessible compared to others. After 10 minutes, we have arrived at the island.Baby at Boracay Island

Before exiting the port’s gate, our service is waiting and it took at least 15 minutes till we arrived at our hotel. We arrived 11:30am but the check-in time is 2:00pm so we left our bags with the hotel’s reception and we had our lunch nearby.On our first day, it was raining from late afternoon till evening, we have no choice but to stay indoors. It was only Daddy who went outside and bought ramen for our dinner.Second day, we are all early risers and excited to go at the seaside. After our breakfast, we walked along the shore going to Willy’s Rock. When the morning sun is out, we wanted to go for a swim but baby got scared haha, just hearing the waves scares her..and yep, we did not swam at all for the entire trip.We went to D’Mall for lunch, and just strolled along the shore the whole afternoon. Of course, pizza and pasta for our last island dinner.Third day, we just had a short seaside stroll since we have to check-out earlier due to our airport pick-up service arriving at 10:00am.

Royal Park Resort HotelLocated in beachfront of Station 1, a short walk from Willy’s Rock and a 10 minutes walk to D-Mall. We chose to stay in Station 1 area this time and it’s better, lesser crowd even on the shore. We booked this via Agoda, it’s cheaper online than on the spot booking, they charge P5,500.00 per night if you’ll walk in. Overall, we enjoyed our stay with them and will check-in here if we return to Boracay.The room is fair enough, the staff are all friendly and accommodating. I also like that they have a buffet breakfast, I really enjoyed it hehe.

Our third time visiting Boracay Island, but first time with a baby. For me, I like this cleaner, quieter version of the island. Or it just happened that we went on a weekday plus the current nCOV threat. I’m still on a vacay-high, a bit lazy & tired but honestly, travelling with a baby ain’t easy.

Our next goal, fly international with baby. For now, let’s take it slow and save up not just for travels, but for baby’s future as well.

Thanks for reading!

BoraVaCay

Visiting Boracay for the second time, touring first timer travellers with “Balik-bayan” relatives, it was an another set of experience with mixed emotions. Oh and are you gearing up for the coming summer, read on. “Kaja let’s go again to Boracay!”

Our travels were mostly solo, but this one’s a bigger group, we’re 12 persons and we served as their tour guides. The group had many first time Boracay goers and it was also nice to share the tropical experience with our Balik-bayan Tito and Tita with their sons who were all first timers in the Philippines. They experienced flight delays, unpredictable weather, commuting hassle, price haggling, eating Balut but they all totally loved the adventure and it was added to their unforgettable moments, like they say… Only in the Philippines. :p

Transportation – Kaliboracay Trips

Though we had our disappointing flight delay experience from and to Kalibo, it’s a good thing that our van transfer was a smooth and dependent one. The van that we rode were both in good condition, not an old unit. The assigned driver is always ahead of our agreed pick up time and easy to talk with, same goes with their owner. The van transfer cost us Php 3,000.00 all in. We recommend Kaliboracay trips, just give them a call or text and they answer promptly. 50% down payment is required for your reservation and you will just settle the balance during your arrival at Kalibo.

Accommodation – Boracay Ocean Bay Resort

As John was browsing at Agoda he saw this hotel and directly called them instead and happen to speak with the owner directly. It was a great deal since they offered us Php 3,200.00 for 6 persons in each room with free buffet breakfast for all checked-in guests. They are located at Station 1 along the road and near commercial establishments, it’s just a 5 minute walk from and to the White Beach. The hotel is not so new even the rooms, but it’s clean and well-maintained, away from the beach noise. Overall it’s a good place to stay with and if we will visit Boracay again, we consider staying here again. They require 50% down payment for your reservation.

Activities

What we noticed is that the tour operators had a price increase of all offered tour and activities, it was only 2014 since we went there but the price went all high. Here’s an update:

• Helmet Diving – Php 600.00 per head
• Banana Boat – Php 300.00 per head
• Island Hopping (includes snorkeling) – Php 3,000.00 medium boat / group of 10-12 persons
• Parasailing – Php 1,500.00 solo / Php 2,500.00 group of 2-3 persons

Just remember to haggle for the lowest price and don’t give in easily with the prices or stories that they tell you. Especially if you are in big groups, always mention it to them so they can adjust and give better discounts. They say the price increase was due to the demand of their travel group organization and that they standardized the prices of all activities, despite all their blahs..stillask for the lowest price! :p

Not much has changed on the island, even the other islands you will visit during the island hopping tour. The White Beach is still the same even at night, though there were some new establishments by the beach and inside the D’Mall. The for sale items and pasalubong prices is still the same.

If you want a much quiet Boracay experience and a not so hot/humid one..it’s better to visit during these months, December to February, but we still got sunburned though hehe. Off peak season is better because the accommodations are not yet fully booked, the island is not so crowded, the transportation is smoother. You also won’t wait too long in availing your water or land tours since there’s not so many visitors. But be warned for it was like you’re in Korea haha due to many Korean tourists that you will see on the island.

Summer is coming, plan ahead for your travels, start that Boracay getaway itinerary!

For our detailed Boracay travel, itinerary, expenses..you may visit our 2014 blog post.

Contact Info

Boracay Ocean Bay Resort

• http://www.oceanbayboracay.com
• Mobile Nos. 0920-9552258
• Landline Nos. 6333-337-1759 (Boracay) / 633-337-0634 (Iloilo)

John Paul Oliveros of Kaliboracay Trips

• Mobile No.  0998-5680149

Boracay Island : Dear’s Ultimate Birthday Vacay

They say coming of age and being a Filipino is incomplete if you haven’t been to this place. When it’s summer time, this is the trending beach of all, always shown in news, documentaries, etc. Gaining top ranks internationally and competing with other well know beaches or top destinations around the world! “Kaja let’s go to Boracay!”

This was one of the easy breezy trips we had, it’s so worth the wait! It was booked a year ago and given the long period of time, we’ve prepared enough. To be honest, when we booked it, we’re not so fond of Boracay, we just wanted to give this place a try and go figure why this is such a hype. What makes this travel really special is it fell on Dear’s 25th birthday, yey 🙂 Isn’t he so lucky haha, spending your special day at this awesome place!? Here’s our itinerary by the way…

March 14 Friday

• 5:45am Taxi to NAIA Terminal 3 – P 150.00
• 6:30am Checked In; 7:50am Boarding Time
• 8:25am Left Manila; 9:30am Arrival Caticlan – Terminal Fee P 100.00 each & Environmental Fee P 75.00 each
• 9:45am Tricycle P 50.00  and Boat Ride P50.00; 10:15am Arrival Boracay Island
• 10:30am Tricycle special ride to Station 2 – P 100.00
• 11:30am lunch; 2-5:00pm White Beach bumming & swimming
• 6-8:30pm White Beach sunset stroll; dinner; back to Amigos 2

March 15 Saturday

• 6am Breakfast; 7:30am Tricycle public ride to Puka Beach – P 50.00
• 8:15am-10:30am Puka Beach bumming & photo shoot; Buko drink – P 100.00; Tricycle special trip to Station 1 – P 150.00
• 11am -Arrival Station 1; Willy’s Rock Photo op; Jonah’s Choco Peanut Banana Shake – P 110.00 then stroll back to Station 2
• 11:30am Arrival Station 2; Dear’s birthday lunch; back to Amigos 2
• 3-5:00pm White Beach bumming & swimming
• 6-8:30pm White Beach sunset stroll; dinner; back to Amigos 2; We’re supposed to try Bora’s night life since it’s his birthday but thanks to Nat-Geo’s Live From Space show we haven’t experienced the booze and we don’t get to watch the fire dancers hahaha so geeky couple 🙂

March 16 Sunday

• 7am Breakfast; 9am Went to meet Jeffrey at Station 3 for Helmet Diving
• 10:30-11:00am Helmet Diving
• 11:30am Lunch then back to Amigos 2; 2:00pm pasalubong shopping
• 3-5:00pm White Beach bumming & swimming
• 6-8:30pm White Beach sunset stroll; dinner; back to Amigos 2

March 17 Monday

• 6:00am Breakfast; 7:30am Tricycle to Boracay’s Jetty Port – P 50.00
• 8:00am Arrival Jetty Port – P 50.00 boat fare; Terminal Fee P 100.00 each
• 8:30am Arrival Caticlan Jetty Port then public tricycle ride to Caticlan airport  P 50.00
• 8:45am Arrival Caticlan Airport; Checked In; Terminal Fee – P 200.00 each
• 9:50am Boarding Time; 10:20am Left Caticlan; 11:30am Arrival at Manila; Taxi back to house P 150.00

Location

The world-famous island of Boracay is located in Aklan province 345 kms. South of Manila. The island is accessible by air from Manila or Cebu through two principal gateways : Caticlan airport or Kalibo airport.

Getting there (commuting):

Book flights either to Caticlan or Kalibo airport but I suggest you choose Caticlan instead since it’s easier & with a shorter travel time, no need to ride a van for 2-3 hours unlike in Kalibo. Travel time is 1 hour and 30 minutes from Manila to Caticlan, across the airport there’s a booth where you can buy tricycle ticket P 50.00 good for 3 pax & boat ticket P 25.00 each from Caticlan to Boracay Island, see it’s easy! 🙂 The boat or jetty is safe, life vests are always required to be worn during the short boat ride.

Accommodation

We don’t want to worry ourselves to do walk-in and on the spot search for resorts given that our travel period fell on Bora’s High Season. We tried booking in Agoda, he booked our 4 days stay with Amigos 2 Beach Resort formerly named as Casa Maugueri, you can check the resort’s overview, photos and our own review tagged under his name John C. on this link.

Overall, we recommend staying at Amigos 2 Beach Resort because of it’s quiet surroundings, it’s centrally located at Station 2, staffs are quick & good in service, it has budget friendly rates, clean and privacy guaranteed rooms. They allow early check in and check out times, easy to deal with. It’s not a beachfront resort though and they don’t have food services there but we still felt relaxed throughout our stay. Standard room rate we got is P 1,350 / night with bathroom, air-conditioner, tv , refrigerator, queen size bed. Rates can go higher or lower depending on the season.

White Beach

This is where the Boracay hotels, restaurants, shops may be found, along the beautiful 4km pure powdery white sand beach. White Beach to me is like still being in a metro but with a beach haha, because everything’s already in it, not to mention the commissioners continuously offers you water & land activities..island hopping..tattoo henna..hair braid..sunglasses..hat, everything that sometimes it already bugs you off 🙂 At day time it boasts the perfect land and seascape while at night the ambiance turns into a party & romantic mode.

 

White Beach is divided into Boat Stations for orientation, although it is one continuous beach connected with a long footpath. Bulabog Beach is Boracay’s secondary beach. It is less than a kilometer from White Beach, and is the wind sports centre of the island but we did not visited it since we’re not really into kind of action yet.

• Station 1 – This is the North-Western section of White Beach that is home to some of the top Boracay hotels and resorts. White Beach is at its widest, and it is considered to be to the upscale section of Boracay. Almost all of these Boracay hotels and resorts are directly on the beach, and having most services on-site.

Willy’s Rock Station 1

• Station 2 – This is the restaurant, shopping, and entertainment heart of White Beach. Some of these Boracay hotels are high-end resorts while others fall into the budget category. D’Mall & D’Talipapa is also here, the shopping centre of White Beach. There are hotels for all tastes and budgets in this area, and this is where most of the tourists will gravitate towards.

Station 2 beach bumming

• Station 3 – This was the last section of White Beach to be developed. Most of the remaining White Beach budget and native style bungalows are located here, although recently more upscale Boracay hotels and resorts have been developed to take advantage of this more relaxed atmosphere. It is the quietest part of White Beach. This also serves as the docking area of tourists going on a water activity.

Helmet Diving

Puka Beach

This is the highlight! We wouldn’t allow this trip to end without visiting this beach. Why? Just take a look at our photos and go search for it online too. We spent almost half day there, maybe this kind of beach still appeals more to us since we’re loners haha 🙂 Puka Beach is like the opposite of White Beach but their beauties are unique in some ways. Here, we managed to do our usual travel photo shoots, get a Buko drink & beach bum like it’s our own island, it’s like we’re transported again to El Nido.

A quiet stretch of white sand along the northern tip of the island, Puka Beach is an image of what most people expect on a tropical island: white sand, azure water, and relatively empty. This is where locals gather the small puka shells for some of the jewelry that is sold on the island so expect the sand to be more coarse than on White Beach.

The water tends to be a little rougher on this side of the island but it is much quieter. Similarly, there are fewer services — at last count there was one restaurant but you likely won’t have a problem getting a cold drink or an ice cream as there are a few vendors that patrol the beach. We did not swam on it’s water since the wind & waves are strong.

We now understand why it’s such a big deal place be it locals or foreigners. Honestly, this is the first place where we saw more foreigners than locals haha. It’s a hype because of  the many reasons I can think of! The white sand, clear water, fishes swimming & biting your feet :), beach itself is shallow perfect for easy swimming, picturesque view everywhere, the island’s ambiance & night life, the booze & gastronomic experience around it, the bikini girls & trunk boys everywhere you look plus the easy & convenient travel to the island itself.

I think going to Boracay be it summer time or not always makes you feel the real thrill of hot summer. Everything in the island spells summer, sexiness, carefree, relaxation that magnets this number of tourists everywhere around the world.

Estimated Budget / Expenses (2 persons) 

P 13 to 14,000 overall consisting of air fare, land & water transportation, accommodations, fees, activities, pocket money.

Contact Info

• John of Amigos 2 Beach Resort’s mobile # 0909-7247836
• Jeffrey of Boracay Land & Water Touring Activities mobile # 0908-1412535

We’re hoping to see Boracay’s beauty again!

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