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Boracay Sept 2015
Hi all,
Just returned from a trip to Boracay. It was a short holiday spent with friends. We're all young local backpackers, so we stayed at budget accommodations and didn't eat at swanky places.
It was a great trip, and I'm still a bit tired and catching up with some work. However, I might as well post a few pics. I don't know if this will be a full-blown pic thread, as it depends on my time, inclination and internet connection.
At best, I'll first post the pics of the place where my friends and I stayed, and other "digs" that I saw, so that people who are interested in Boracay can have options aside from the 4- or 5-star ones that BLD and crocman posted. :) I might as well promote tourism in my own country and contribute to the local economy. lol This forum has been very helpful to me in terms of info of prices & places to visit, so might as well put up this thread to help people. :)
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Be interesting to see,was there in 86/87 no electric and water was limited but what a great holiday.
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We travelled by ship to go to Boracay, via Caticlan port. We didn't fly into Kalibo. Instead, we took the ship from 2go travel (2gotravel dot com). The ship leaves Batangas city port at 9 pm and arrives at Caticlan port ~8:30 am the next morning. You should be at the port at least 1 hr before departure. We were in the "tourist class" section, which has bunk beds and A/C. The beds are around 0.6m x 2m (or 2 x 6 feet) so not good for very wide or tall people. There are cabin rooms or staterooms, good for 4 people (I think), but I think you have to pay for the whole room and not by the bed. The ship fare to Boracay costs ~1,000 Php or ~22 USD (I'm computing at 46.8 pesos = 1 USD).
This was a DIY trip and we didn't rely on tour agencies. We just relied on info from the net and word-of-mouth, since some other colleagues/ friends have been to Boracay.
After disembarking from the ship at Caticlan port, you have to pay the terminal fee + environmental fee amounting to 225 pesos. Then you'll have to ride a small speedboat for a 5-10 min ride to Boracay island. If you have a lot of luggage (esp the wheelie cases) then it may be a bit difficult to maneuver the cases in the boat. My friends and I travelled light and just had 1 backpack each.
After the speedboat ride, we rode motorbike taxis (they are called "single" there) to go to Station 2. We could also have ridden tricyles, but at that time, there were no trikes and the local eatery (where we ate brunch) recommended that we ride the motorbikes, if it was ok with us. So we rode the "single" (also called habal-habal in some places). Helmets were not provided. The motorbike drivers weren't wearing helmets either. (In my town, helmets are a must - seems the laws aren't as strict in Boracay.) But anyway, it was quite an adventure and I enjoyed the breeze and the scenery.
After the short vacation, we hired a trike to take us to the port. We were brought to a different, smaller port (Tambisan port) which was also good since we got to see the 2 different ports. The boats at Tambisan port are bigger, older and slower.
If you're staying at a posh hotel, most of them provide airport or pier pick-ups and transfers. There are also minivan services going to Kalibo, Iloilo City or Roxas City.
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We stayed at Alice in Wonderland Beach Resort. Room rate at that time was Php 1,008 or ~22 USD, inclusive of taxes (it was lean season). Alice in Wonderland Beach Resort has a sister hotel, Alice Boracay Resort Hotel, which is a bit higher end w/ higher prices. Alice resort was recommended by a colleague.
For more info: aliceboracay at yahoo dot com, w w w aliceboracay dot com
Alice Resort has bungalow type rooms, has grounds and a pool. Rooms were basic but comfortable, good enough for our needs. Rooms had A/C, small TV with cable, small fridge, 2 single beds, toilet & shower w/ heater, verandah. One bungalow is a duplex; it contains 2 rooms. One room is around 5 x 9m, inclusive of the verandah which is ~2m.
The room rate doesn't include breakfast, but you can have it for an additional Php 145 per person. We didn't have breakfast at the resort since we found a cheaper eatery down the street, which serves Filipino breakfasts for 60-70 pesos.
Anyway, here are some pics of the room and surrounds.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1029.jpg
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https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1032.jpg
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1033.jpg
We were four in our group - 2 girls, 2 boys. We had 1 bungalow; girls in one room, boys in the other. We were just friends and we all paid our own way. We split food & transportation expenses evenly.
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There was a large hotel under construction and it could be seen from the resort.
Btw, Alice Resort is not on the main road - you have to go through a small alley to reach it. However it's in Station 2 (where there are a lot of restos & bars) and it's only a 5-min walk to the beach. The beachfront properties are more posh and costly.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1036.jpg
The breakfast area/bar
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1037.jpg
Most guests staying there were local tourists. I only saw 2 older white guys and both had Filipina partners.
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The view upon leaving the gate of Alice Resort, going to the street. There are several budget places in that street, among them Jung's House (Korean-owned, I think).
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1042.jpg
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Another is Coco Rimas St. Vincent Resort, it has wood & bamboo style houses, with A/C too. Didn't ask their rates.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1043.jpg
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1044.jpg
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St. Vincent Cottages Resort, also along that alley
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1045.jpg
The entrance to the alley
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1046.jpg
Near that alley is Alliyah's Beach Resort, which is along the main "side road" to Station 2.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1047.jpg
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Along that road is La Carmela de Boracay Resort Hotel. Rooms vary from 60 to 100 USD, depending on the type of room & location (ocean view, executive wing, etc).
For info: lacarmeladeboracay dot com
La Carmela has a sister hotel (lower end), which is Boracay Travelodge. It was our first option, as it was recommended by another colleague. However, Travelodge was fully booked at that time due to a convention.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1048.jpg
These are the east and west wings
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1049.jpg
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Boracay Sands Hotel, along the beachfront going to Station 1
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1050.jpg
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Nice pics and informative reportage Katie. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes thanks always wanted to viit but never ever had such awful food as with the Pinoys over the years
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^ The only pinay dishes I liked were kinilow and the bbq, the rest was muck.
Great photos Katie that for sharing
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agreed; looks lovely Katie
but the food resembles Thai food once the Dementors of Azkaban have been at it
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Nice Katie.
I can never work out why the food is so Bad. :confused:
How did this come about. ?
I have never been there but everyone says the same.
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I would love to send a postcard from there to my family saying I am staying in Alice in Wonderland Resort!! And it looks great.
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Great post Katie, good to see that boracay can be done on a budget, that place you stayed at looked alright and wasn't way expensive, bet it goes up in the high season though, keep the pics coming
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Well done, makes me want to go. Could it be with the food the predominate spice used is vinegar?
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Hi all, thanks for the replies. Wow, for the first time, I have a 5-star thread! (not that it matters, lol) I'll try to post the pics while my workload is still relatively light and I'm not swamped. Just this morn, I learned that I was given a new responsibility, which means more work. I don't know if that'll mean more $$, harhar. Anyway, more $$ means I can save more for future holidays. :)
With regards to the food - LOL on the Harry Potter reference. If you don't like Pinoy food, there are many other food choices in Boracay - check out BLD's thread. There are also places where you can choose live seafood and they'll cook it for you. I didn't take many pics of the establishments as I just wanted to relax with friends. Prior to the trip, I had very stressful weeks, so the holiday was good.
@BLD - yes, I thought too that Boracay was too expensive and beyond my budget. However, my colleague went last year and he recommended Boracay Travelodge. He also took the ship to go to Caticlan, but going back, they took the plane from Kalibo. So I had some ideas and recommendations. And yes, it was good that my group went during lean season as rates were low. Several resorts had promos and postings of "vacant room available". The only risk of going during low season would be the weather - there might be typhoons. Fortunately for us, it was mostly sunny during our stay and only rained slightly during our last day. We had calm seas too, for the ship travel.
@AO - yes, we use vinegar. Soy sauce too, as well as fish sauce (patis).
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As I've mentioned, breakfast can be had at Alice Resort for an additional P145. We didn't take the resort breakfast, as there was an eatery on the main road which served cheaper food. Everyone is saying Pinoy food is bad, but hey, if you don't like it, then don't eat it. :)
With regards to prices, everything is more costly in Boracay. The Pinoy breakfast that we had (longsilog: longganisa sausage, rice & egg) costed P60. Same meal costs P35-40 in my town. Even stuff at 7/11 or McDonald's are 15-20 pesos higher. My friend asked at McD's: Why are your meals more exp? The server answered in an apologetic tone: Sir, Boracay po ito. (Sir, this is Boracay.) I think the local tax is higher.
Btw, 1 baht ~ 1.3 pesos. So if I'm quoting in pesos, subtract a little to get baht prices.
On my last day, I had a 1-hr massage. It costed me P500, while in my town, it costs P300-350. But heck, I was on holiday and it was Boracay! :)
Anyway, this was my longsilog breakfast for P60. It was good, cheap & filling. Does it look too terrible? lol
Btw, I like my eggs well done, so this was good for me.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2015/09/1121.jpg