Michi Photostory

Time is slipping away so fast and I can’t believe that today is already the last day of the year 2022. I’m supposed to write my year-end post but my Facebook memories reminded me that four years ago we went to Batanes. It’s been a long time since we travel during the holiday so for now, I will just reminisce about our trip. 

Let’s continue my Batanes series. Batanes is one of my dream destinations in the Philippines but few days before our trip, I was not excited and I don’t even want to go because it’s been raining cats and dogs since the holiday season started. I was worried that there may be a flight delay, flight cancellation or we will not enjoy our trip because of the rainy weather.

On the way to the Clark International Airport, I was praying and hoping that everything will fall into place. So I felt at ease when the plane landed at Basco Airport Terminal Building, at last, bucket list checked. We paid the tourism fee and checked-in at Bernardo’s Hotel, the staff informed us that our North Batan Island Tour will start at 12NN.

Read: Bernardo’s Hotel Review


We ate our breakfast and rested for few hours so we have the energy for our first-day tour. Since we availed Bernardo’s Hotel Tour Package, we don’t have any problem with our transportation and food. There are so many places that you can visit in North Batan but for our tour package, we visited 8 tourist spots. Watch the video here.

Mt. Carmel Church (Tukon Church)
PAGASA Tukon Radar Station
Fundacion Pacita
Basco Idjang Viewing Point
Dipnaysupuan Japanese Tunnel
Valugan Boulder Beach
Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman
Vayang Rolling Hills
Naidi Lighthouse

Our van driver and tour guide fetched us and we went straight to Pension Ivatan Hometel Restaurant for our lunch.

Read: Where to Eat in Batanes

Mt. Carmel Church

Then we started our tour, the first stop is Mt. Carmel Church or Tukon Chapel. This chapel is located in Chanarian Basco, Batanes, a small church made of rocks just like the Ivatan Stone Houses. A local resident donated a piece of land so those who live in Chanarian has a place of worship. With the help of generous people from Metro Manila, the church was officially opened on May 3, 2008.



Mt. Carmel Church is located on top of a hill so you can see Mt. Iraya, boulder beach, Basco Town Proper, and even the airport. I’ve seen some of the photos of Tukon Chapel and I find it so beautiful so there is no doubt that this became a wedding church destination. Unfortunately, even it is made of rocks, the chapel was destroyed by the typhoon.


PAGASA Tukon Radar Station 

Next stop in PAGASA Tukon Radar Station, this is the northernmost station of PAGASA in the Philippines. You can see Mt. Carmel Church and Fundacion Pacita from this site and it also gives you 360 degrees view of the Batan Island. The place is between Mt. Matarem and Mt. Iraya.


Same fate of Mt. Carmel church, the PAGASA Station was destroyed by the typhoon Ferdie and I’m not sure when it will be repaired since we all know that PAGASA equipment is not cheap.

Fundacion Pacita

The third stop is Fundacion Pacita, if the budget is not an issue then stay at Fundacion Pacita. This is the popular accommodation in Basco Batanes because of the location. This hotel offers the best view of the mountain, sea, and sky. And because of that, this hotel is not cheap too but if you want a luxury staycation, then stay at Fundacion Pacita.


We don’t have a budget for that but we are still lucky to have a glimpse of Fundacion Pacita because it is part of our North Batan tour. We are only allowed to visit the garden and restaurant. Too bad, we were not able to eat at Cafe Du Tukon.

Fundacion Pacita was used to be the home studio of Pacita Abad. She was born in Basco, Batanes. An Ivatan and an internationally renowned contemporary painter. Fundacion Pacita is her legacy to her family and Ivatan people. Her brother, Butch Abad changed and renovated her home studio to a Boutique Hotel.

Basco Idjang Viewing Point 



I have no idea that Spanish, American and even Japanese invaders went to Batanes, pati pala Batanes naisipan nila sakupin. Ivatans built idjangs on elevated area to protect themselves. And Basco Idjang is one of their fortresses.

Dipnaysupuan Japanese Tunnel 

Don’t forget to bring your Eco Tourism Fee Tickets wherever you go because they will check that from time to time. When we went to Dipnaysupuan Japanese Tunnel, there is a booth there where they check our ticket.


Anyway, this Japanese Tunnel is a five-door tunnel that is located in the hills of Tukon. It was constructed during the Japanese occupation, it has bunker and water reservoir. Since we have a kid in tow, we did not explore the Japanese Tunnel. It was really dark so better bring your own flashlight, we just used our phone flashlight inside.

Chanpan Beach or Valugan Boulder Beach 

Chanpan Beach or Valugan Boulder Beach is a sacred fishing port of those who live in Barangay San Joaquin. They followed their traditional fishing season which is called Paypatawen. It is from March to May only. The boulders are living evidence of the volcanic eruptions of Mt. Iraya in 325 B.C.


The waves are strong here so it is not good for swimming. The waves of Pacific Ocean and West Philippines Sea smoothens the boulders and gravels. My son enjoyed playing with the stone. He was making a tower of stones.

Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman 



Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman is also known as Our Lady of the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral, this is the first parish church in Batanes that was built in early 18th century.

Basco Rolling Hills or Vayang Rolling Hills 

Among the places of North Batan Tour, Vayang Rolling Hills is my favorite spot. Even I’m afraid of heights and strong winds, I still enjoy the extraordinary beauty of rolling hills. I wish my photos can do justice but nothing beats seeing this site up close and personal.


Basco Rolling Hills is just ordinary pastureland of Diptan farmers but for us, this is an amazing view of endless rolling hills. The site gives you a combination of seascapes and landscapes. From afar, you can already see the Naidi Lighthouse and you can also view the major municipalities all at once. Yes, you can see Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat Island.

Naidi Lighthouse 

Our last stop is Basco Lighthouse or Naidi Lighthouse, this is the popular landmark in Basco. It was constructed in March 2003 with 66 feet in height to serve as a navigational facility for local fishermen. The site is an overlooking of Basco town on the east and Basco Bay on the west. This is also a good spot for sunset viewing, but we did not wait for the sunset anymore since we wanted to rest already. It is nice to end the year 2018 in Batanes.


We started our North Batan Tour at 12NN and we were back at the hotel before 4PM. Some say you need at least 5 hours for North Batan Tour pero ang bilis lang namin, maybe because we had a private tour so wala nang hintayan sa iba.

We paid P7200/per person for our 3 Days Batanes Tour Package (Private Tour). If you want to save for your Batanes trip, check my post here.

Read: Pasalubong from Batanes
Day 2: Sabtang Island Tour in Batanes

Batanes is one province of the Philippines that is part of my bucket list but it took me a long time to visit this place because airfare is so expensive. Yes, there is no other way to visit Basco, Batanes except to book a flight. There are flights from Manila, Clark, Tuguegarao, and Vigan so just visit the airline website so you will have an idea of the flight time and rates.

Manila to Basco 
Airswift
Cebu Pacific
Skyjet

Clark to Basco
Philippine Airlines

Tuguegarao to Basco 
Northsky Air
Sky Pasada

Vigan to Basco 
Platinum Skies
As I’ve said before, Batanes airfare is not cheap so most of the time, Filipinos will just visit other Asian Countries than Batanes. I won’t deny that because I’ve experienced that when I was planning for our holiday.

SIDE STORY:

December came and I was planning for our holiday getaway. We’re supposed to go to Taiwan, I already checked for plane ticket and hotel. But I was having second thoughts because it is more on nature trip and temples so I’m not sure if my son will like it. Remember our Bangkok Trip? Ayaw niya ng temple trip namin, hehehe!

Read: 6 Days in Bangkok with Kid

When my son came home from school, I asked him where he wants to go. Taiwan or Batanes? Temples or Mountains? I enumerated the possible places that we are going to visit in Taiwan and in Batanes and he chose Batanes.

So we let go of our Taiwan Trip and we immediately plan for our Batanes Trip. I’ve read some articles like PHP8000 Batanes Budget Trip and PHP12,500 DIY Batanes Trip, in my mind, I thought makakatipid ako because we’re not having an international trip but I was wrong.

When we decided to pursue our Batanes trip, my husband immediately called Bernardo’s Hotel to reserve a room and I purchased our plane ticket on the same day. The following day, I continued my getaway planning and at that moment, napapaisip ako if I’ve made the right decision. Why? Ang mahal pala talaga pumunta sa Batanes.

1. Our Batanes plane ticket is more expensive compared to Taipei plane ticket.
2. Bernardo’s Hotel rate is almost the same with Taipei hotel rate. No kids rate for my 10-year-old son.
3. Lastly, the tour package rate is so expensive. No kids rate too for my 10-year-old son.

So I checked some possible options on how we can save for our Batanes trip and I showed it to my husband but after brainstorming, we still chose Bernardo’s Hotel + Tours + Meals Package. My husband deposited 50% downpayment to confirm our reservation.

But of course, that is only our preference. We all know that we have our own needs, wants, and lifestyle. If you are reading this post, I’m pretty sure you are planning to visit Batanes anytime soon and you are curious if you can really go to Batanes on a budget. My answer is Yes, yes there are some ways to save money for your Batanes trip.

How to Save Money for Your Batanes Trip 

1. Buy cheap airline tickets. 

Batanes is known for expensive airfare but from time to time, you can score cheap airfare. Yes, watch out for airline seat sales, visit travel expo or if you have an airline membership card, use your miles. You can read a lot of blog post where they were able to buy an affordable plane ticket.

For Philippine Airlines, the cheapest one-way ticket that I’ve seen is PHP4000+ and the rate may change depending on the season. Prepare more or less PHP10,000 for a round trip ticket if there is no seat sale. If you will use miles, just pay PHP800 for Round Trip tickets.

Read: 8 Ways to Score Cheap Airline Tickets

2. Look for affordable accommodation 

After buying your plane ticket, it is time to search for your accommodation, Batanes offers affordable, mid-range and luxury type of accommodation. Of course, homestays, lodge or inns is the choice for the cheapest accommodation. You can book for as low as P1200, check the list below. These are some examples but I’m pretty sure there are more choices on the internet.

Affordable Batanes Accommodation 

Davocol’s Inn
DDD Habitat Lodging House
Dive Batanes Lodge and Restaurant
Florabelle’s Iraya Guesthouse
Martin’s Inn
Midtown Inn
Marfel’s Lodge
Nathaniel’s Lodge
R&E Bed & Breakfast
Shanadel’s Inn
Savatan Homestay
Ysabelle Homestay

3. Prepare your own meals 

To be honest, not only airfare is expensive in Batanes but almost everything. Yes, even food so prepare around P300 budget every meal/per person if you will eat in the restaurant. It is like eating in Metro Manila, hindi siya provincial rate. If you want to save money, do not stay in the hotel because you cannot cook your own food.

Read: Where to Eat in Batanes

4. Look for promos, deals or discounted tours. 

I learned about Bernardo’s Hotel because of Deal Grocer, I love checking this site if I’m looking for affordable deals. Last year they are offering two deals, P19,000 (3D/2N) and P27,400 (4D/3N). I did not avail the promo because that is only good for two persons but as of this writing, they have offers for 4 persons na, P30,900 (3D/2N) and P40,500 (4D/3N). The offer includes room, transfers, tours and full-board meals.

You can also book tour at Klook, I was surprised when I learned that Klook have kid’s rate. Waah! Sayang!

3 Days North Batan, South Batan, and Sabtang Island Tour P5,500 
2 Days North Batan, South Batan, and Sabtang Island Tour P4,800 
North Batan Half Day Tour P1500 
Sabtang Island Day Tour from Batan Island P2500 
2 Days North Batan and South Batan Tour P3500 
South Batan Tour P2000 

If you are not picky, then join group tours. Group tours are cheaper compared to exclusive tours. You can book from your hotel, travel agency or buy tickets from Klook. I paid P7200 per person for our 3 Days North Batan, South Batan, and Sabtang Island Tour, so you can already see the difference. (Private Tour)

Klook.com
5. Book a Tricycle Tour

If you want DIY Batanes tour then book a tricycle, you can ask your hotel for contact, book at the travel agency or read some blogs for tricycle driver contact. We are family of three so we can avail the tricycle tour but we had a bad experience with tricycle tour kasi when we went to Guimaras, that’s why we did not choose this.

According to my research, this is the rate of the tricycle (good for two)

P1,100 - North Batan

P1,700 - South Batan

P2,200 - Sabtang

Tricycle Tour from Travel Agency (with lunch) 

One person

P1499 - North Batan

P1999 - South Batan

P2499 - Sabtang

Two persons

P999 - North Batan

P1299 - South Batan

P2299 - Sabtang

Three persons

P899 - North Batan

P1099 - South Batan

P1999 - Sabtang

* Rates are per person basis. 

Planning ahead of time is very important because you can wait for seat sale or visit travel expo. You can search and compare different rates of hostel or hotel. And you can find more affordable deals that will match your budget. That’s it for my savings tips.

Read: Pasalubong from Batanes

* This post contains affiliate link/s. If you decide to make a purchase, I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

I was checking my blog and I noticed that my Bohol posts have a lot of views for this week. It’s been 10 years since we last visited this province. I thought we can no longer push through this trip because it was supposed to be August 2007 for my birthday celebration but my vacation leave was denied so we need to reschedule it to December. When December came, for some reasons this trip was almost canceled but thank God, we made it. 



Day before the trip, I called Dumaluan Resort to reserve a room but unfortunately, there was no longer room available so I settled for Metrocentre Hotel, which is located in the city. It is very far from Panglao Island. 



Metrocentre Hotel has free roundtrip airport transfer so it is a really good deal and they even allowed us for early check-in. The service, facilities and amenities are all good. There is Sundry shop beside the hotel where you can buy snacks, pasalubong and souvenirs. 

Day 1: Sleep, sleep and sleep 

Just like our Coron Trip, I have no itinerary for our trip so good luck to us. We did not do anything for this day because we are both tired and sleepy because of the Christmas Party. Good thing that there were flyers and calling card in the airport so we were able to book our Countryside Tour, P2000 for the two of us. 

Day 2: Countryside Tour 

We booked our tour at 8AM, the driver/guide fetched us at the hotel. Our itinerary for the day are Blood Compact Shrine, Baclayon Church and Museum, Tarsier, Loboc-Loay River Cruise, Hanging Bridge, Mahogany Man-made Forest, Chocolate Hills and souvenir Shop.



We enjoyed our countryside tour and I was so glad that I was able to see Chocolate Hills and tarsier. If ever we will go back to Bohol, I will also avail countryside tour so my son can experience it too. This is already part of their lesson so makakarelate siya. 

Read: Bohol Countryside Tour

Day Trip of Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa 

After our countryside tour, we decided to avail the Day Trip of Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa (now Mithi Resort and Spa). Well, should I say, half-day trip. Hehehe! It is the sister company of Metrocentre Hotel because I’ve seen the flyers in the hotel. We just took a cab on our way there, cab fare is x2 because you need to pay for roundtrip fare kahit one way lang naman ang trip.



Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa is beautiful and clean. At the resort, there is a cave that you can visit, we did not stay that long because of the closing hours of the cave. So we spend most of our time in beach and swimming pool. The place was not crowded too. 



Read: Day Trip at Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa

Day 3: Back to Manila 

As much as we want to book an Island Hopping Tour, we cannot afford to miss our flight so we just stayed at the hotel, waiting for our check-out. That is one disadvantage of staying in the city, malayo sa beach so if ever we will go back to Bohol, we will make sure to stay in a resort. 



So that’s it, it was a 3 days trip but we just explored Bohol in one day. Ito yung nangyayari pag walang plan or itinerary, di namaximized yung trip. Hehehe!

Read: Damaged Heritage Sites Klook.com

We were in Bohol for 3 days but only had one whole day to enjoy it because we just went there without any itinerary. I’m thankful for the flyers at the airport because we were able to book our last-minute Bohol Countryside Tour. We paid PHP2000 for a private car tour for two people.

Call time is 8AM so we woke up early to prepare. We ate breakfast at the Metrocentre Hotel; part of the room package is Continental Breakfast for two persons. We know it is not enough for us so we need to order another breakfast meal para busog kami bago magtour.

Itinerary for the day: Blood Compact Shrine, Baclayon Church and Museum, Tarsier, Loboc-Loay River Cruise, Hanging Bridge, Mahogany Man-made Forest, Chocolate Hills, and Souvenir Shop.

We have a list of our itinerary but the driver/tour guide is the one who decides the order of our trip. So the first stop is Tarsier; there are only a few places in Southeast Asia where you can find tarsiers and we’re lucky that we have that in Bohol. I can’t remember if we paid for an entrance or gave a tip for our visit.

Tarsiers are nocturnal animals so they sleep during the day so you are not allowed to make any noise. You can look and take pictures but make sure to turn off the camera flash. You are not allowed to touch it so I was surprised when the staff put the tarsiers on our shoulders and hands. He immediately took a photo of us. Nakakakiliti, good thing they are not moving. (2007 experience) I was so amazed because they are tiny and cute.