A Korean girl proudly strutting her high heels on the sand. Oh and there’s another one wearing shades on a moonless night. Over there, a Chinese guy taking a video of White Beach with his MacBook Air. And what is that? A middle-aged Taiwanese playing Frisbee on the beach wearing jeans and a pair of black socks. Socks, really? Where am I again? Ah yes, Boracay.
In the past, I have avoided this island, beautiful though it is, like it’s the last place I would want to visit in the Philippines. Well, mainly because I don’t have a penchant for crowded and commercialized beaches. But fate has decreed otherwise.
Booking Difficulties on a Super Peak Season
When I asked Sky if he has something lined up for February, he immediately said we’re going to Boracay. I hesitated of course, there was a small tussle, but in the end he convincingly persuaded me to go. It was early January yet. The next day, he booked our tickets. And wham, January 31st was a Lunar New Year. Air ticket was not the problem, our accommodation was. We were in very big trouble. All hotels I inquired were fully booked on our chosen dates. I learned that Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year as we call it, is a super peak season.
There are three super peak seasons; Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Lunar New Year. Lucky, huh? Remind me to refill my bottle of Felix Felicis. I was ready to give up and rebook our tickets, to a different destination most preferably, when this quaint hostel caught my waning attention. It was located somewhere in the boundary of Station 2 and 3. The best news, they still had 1 room left. Hurray!
Accommodation
Trafalgar Cottages was apparently famous for European backpackers. We were their only Filipino guests while we were there. Julia, the owner, I think she is Swiss, was very accommodating; personally showing us to our room and acquainting us with some things about the island. Hey, we were first-timers while she practically lived there.
Clean bedding, fresh towels neatly folded, steady flow of water pressure, clean bathroom, air conditioner in good working condition, all marked check. Our room was even cleaned daily while we were out. A wall cabinet with several cloth hangers was also available. Guests were also welcome to use the common kitchen outside and were allowed to borrow kitchen utensils. A long dining table was also provided, which was really great because it was where the free wi-fi had the strongest signal. One thing I would miss most was the hammock in our porch. Yes, every cottage had one.
Trafalgar Cottages is a three to seven-minute walk to White Beach and just a stone throw away from the main road. It’s located beside a market that sells souvenir items. They call it the original Talipapa. The other Talipapa or D’Talipapa, where you can buy fresh seafood and have it prepared as requested, is in station 2, near D’Mall.
If you can survive without a cable t.v. and a hot shower on your vacation, then you might like to give Trafalgar Cottages a try. Even though the location is not beachfront, the owner and caretaker are really helpful and welcoming and keep the place clean. As we stayed there on a super peak season, when all hotels in Boracay, hostels included, marked up 25% of the regular room rates, it was significantly more expensive. And oh Trafalgar Cottages only accepts cash, as of this moment.
Flight & Transfer
As Sky and I got a flight to Kalibo and not Caticlan, we used the Island Star Express for our transfer to Boracay. It’s easy to spot them inside the airport terminal. The P300 one-way bus fare include boat fare and shuttle service from Cagban port – the point of entry in Boracay, to your hotel. Environmental fee and terminal fee, which you are required to pay upon entry at the port, are not yet included.
Otherwise, there are lots of vans for hire going to Caticlan outside the airport in Kalibo. The P200 one-way van fare, also includes boat fare.
Personally, I would recommend using the Island Star Express. Their air-conditioned bus is comfortable and service is hassle free.
Better yet, fly directly to Caticlan. Travel time from Kalibo to Caticlan is nearly 2 hours. Sitting in a cramped van the entire 2 hours…well, you get the picture. If you do decide to go with the Island Star Express, just make sure to book your return ticket ahead. They sell pretty quickly.
Getting Around the Island
When people say Boracay is crowded, they’re not kidding. The place seems to be teeming with tourists, 10% locals and 90% foreigners. But really, only White Beach is congested, not the whole island. Interestingly, crowd watching in White Beach is quite enjoyable. When we have a go at it, Sky and I would invent words while mimicking their actions and then burst out laughing. Now, that is a whole new level of random fun.
If you do want to escape the crowd, hiring a tricycle costs P30 within the downtown area, while the E-Cars cost P60. Going to Puka Beach is P150 one-way. Getting back from Puka Beach is not a problem as there are tricycles lining up just outside its entrance. Meanwhile, there are several ways to reach Mt. Luho. You can rent a bike, ride an ATV or a buggy car, or even a horse. For us, we hired a tricycle. Normally, the trike ride going up there costs P150, but there was a road repair the time we went up, so the driver asked for an additional P50 as he had to use a longer route. On the other hand, White Beach to Cagban Port is P100.
Activities
There are really plenty of things to do in Boracay, but we opted to miss most of those. Er, we decided not to compete with the foreign tourists. Well, at least we now have a valid excuse to visit the place again. Yes, I really quite enjoyed our stay, surprisingly. The island weaved a spell on me. Good food, cocktails on the beach, the crowd, its truly amazing sunset, the fire dancers, soft white sands, moonlit walks, and the island vibe, tropical paradise kept popping in my head. We really had a whale of a time.
We would have liked to try the ATV ride going up to Mt. Luho, but when we saw the route…ah never mind. I think the ATV Ride in Carmen, Bohol, where you navigate through rough tracks at the foot of the Chocolate Hills, was so much more exciting.
Most days, we just laze around on the beach, swim, listen to music, eat seafood, drink mango juice, and talk just about anything under the hot summer sun, and take loads of pictures of course. Now nights in Boracay are really something. It’s hard to put into words. You have to be there and experience the magic. Sure there was more crowd at night, people seemed to be going in opposite directions at the same time, live bands here and there, side vendors who kept bugging you with their service or trying to sell their merchandise, and yet…
Food & Drinks
If there’s one thing I would miss in Boracay, it has to be the food. I love seafood, especially Sinigang na Hipon, spicy prawns and baked oysters with garlic butter. We also had loads of mango juice while we were there. Almost all restos along White Beach offered it on their drink menu and those we tried were all yummy.
D’Talipapa. The tastiest spicy prawns I tried was in one of the carinderia in D’Talipapa. Not exactly a carinderia in the normal sense as they didn’t sell any viand. They only offered cooking services. Cooking service for spicy prawns was P150. Baked oysters with garlic butter was P250. Steamed oysters was P100. Soup was P100.
Puka beach. There was one eatery in Puka Beach, at least one where you can dine on the sand. Another dining place can be found near the beach entrance. Price range per viand started at P250, otherwise it was per kilo. A plate of Adobong Kangkong cost P250. (gulped) What? Yeah, that’s right! Mango juice at Puka was P150. They used fresh mango though, so I think it was worth the price. Coconut juice straight out of its shell was P100.
Hakuna Matata. If you’re like us and love “silog” combinations, –fried rice, egg, and your choice of meat, I would highly recommend you try Hakuna Matata House of Sizzling Foods in Station 3. Their store was rather unassuming and would likely be missed. It had a small space, but you could request to dine outside and they’ll set up a table for you on the sand. We went there twice for their sizzling sisig. It was also a nice place to hang around before sunset. That part of the beach was quieter and less crowded. Their sizzling sisig cost P180.
Pirate’s Arm Bar. There was also this bar called Pirate’s Arm, which we ended up hanging out two nights in a row. I was surprised the bartender smiled at us on our second visit. Oh, he remembered us. Sweet. The bar was next to Paradise Garden Resort Hotel and just along where foot traffic was heaviest. But we didn’t mind. Didn’t I say we enjoyed crowd watching? There was also some live music nearby, but it was not intrusive. We could still hear ourselves speak. Blue Margarita cost P150. Piña Colada was P200, while a bottle of SanMig light was P110.
Sands. We also enjoyed our time with Sands. Excellent view for sunset watching. No complaints with their drinks either. And service was very good, with a personal touch. They had this “banig” -a sleeping mat which are usually made out of abaca fibers, laid out on the sand with a low table adorned with colorful throw pillows. Made me think of Arabian Nights, so romantic. Sorry wasn’t able to take note of the prices. We were there a long time, from dusk ’til almost midnight.
One of our favorite resto, Pancake House, was also at D’Mall. I just had to have their roast beef special set.
Side note: We did attempt to try all those dining places recommended from other blogs. Unfortunately, all those places were super crowded, and we would have to wait a long time to be served. Perhaps, on our next visit.
The following is a photo essay of our 4-day stay in Boracay
Sun, sun, sun…here we come!
Nobody really dared to brave the waves that day at Puka beach, except perhaps some local guys. Okay, I did come in once, but had to get out after just a couple of minutes and got a grazed knee for my trouble. After that, I just contented myself with the Beach Boys.
She sells seashells on the sea shore.
Since Puka beach is famous for its puka shells, local vendors abound the place. Didn’t wanna go home without having a piece of these multicolored strings. Ended up buying 3 bracelets; 2 made out of puka shells (P150 & P100), the other one made out of shark’s bone (P250). She gave me the anklet for free. Well, I did buy 2 puka shell rosaries for both our moms (P200 & P250). I employed my rusty haggling skills and lowered the price down a bit.
The tropical storm Basyang came the next day. It rained intermittently the whole day. Luckily, we had our waterproof camera with us. You think it would stop us from spending the day at the beach? Quite the contrary actually. White Beach wasn’t empty either. People were bringing umbrellas and wearing jackets and raincoats. As for us, we sampled the beach from Station 3 to Station 1. I have mixed feelings with Station 2. It was the most crowded part of the whole stretch of White Beach.
The next day was my birthday and the sun came out from wherever it was hiding. Yay! I begged Sky to spend our day at Puka beach, again. That beach has really a charm of its own. As much as I like White Beach, I still prefer somewhere tranquil.
After our lunch, I was ready to hit the water. Some sunblock on, first.
Just had to have coconut juice before heading back to White Beach to catch the sunset.
and the heavens bid farewell in style
On our last day in Boracay, we decided to go up to Mt. Luho. The view of Boracay and its neighboring islands was worth the hot climb.
Going down, we decided to take the route going to Bulabog Beach on foot. Bulabog beach is on the other side of the island, accessible also from White Beach. I was kinda hoping to watch the windsurfers, but there was no wind and the sea was calm. Thirty minutes later, we reached downtown.
Couldn’t resist taking a dip one more time. Bye bye for now! ‘Til next time.
