Dumaguete x Apo Island Hits

Together with my family, I had a quick yet fun weekend trip in the beautiful City of Gentle People - Dumaguete City that is. Then we took a sidetrip in Siquijor - a province that has been in my bucket list for sooo looong. 😬

I have actually no plans of travelling by the end of this year but when my mom told us about the travel promo she was offered here, without hesitations, I said yes. Haha. Imagine, it's only 3,700 PHP each to Dumaguete City, with hotel accommodation for 3D2N via Cebu Pacific and with a tour. Who won't say no to that? Right? Hihi.

Moving on.. here's what took place during our fun weekend getaway in Dumaguete City:

We landed in Dumaguete City in such a sunny day. Kasabay ang sobrang daming estudyante from different schools in Manila. Parang naki-sali lang kami sa field trip nila, ganun yung nangyari. Haha.

Here's my mom looking as bright as the sun. Hehe. ☀️

Dumaguete City's airport and their cute carousel. Hihi.

In less than 5 minutes, we were in our hotel already. 😬

We stayed in Sunshine Villa during our 3-day stay in Dumaguete City. I wasn't actually expecting something nice for our accommodation because like I said, we only paid less than 4,000 PHP for almost everything in this trip. But blimme, it was such a blessing knowing that the place is so neat and instagrammable. What a plus plus points! Just scroll down below so you'd know what I'm talking about. 😬

We arrived at around 9am here in Sushine Villa. Super duper early for the 2PM check-in. That's why we just asked the receptionist about the activities we could do while waiting for the check-in time. And these were what she suggested:

Guess which one I picked?

It was Apo Island! Since Apo Reef was in my bucket list, of course, I opted to go to Apo Island rather than going to Manjuyod Dolphin/Sand Bar. At first, I really thought that Apo Reef and Apo Island was the same. But I remember Apo Island being famous for its beautiful marine life. So, let's go there!

On the way, we passed by St. Paul Dumaguete which is pretty special to me since I was a Paulinian from highschool until college. When I was in highschool, St. Paul Dumaguete was really famous. We've heard a lot of good stories from this school back then. Most especially from the sisters that were assigned to our alma mater.

Going back, we traveled about 45 minutes to Apo Island port via land. We rented a van for it. Back and forth, it costs 3,000 PHP. The driver waited for us at the port while we were enjoying Apo Island. He also took care of our boat booking and everything.

Malatapay Port.

Going to Apo Island, we were asked by the boatmen if okay lang ba sumabay si kuya with the red bag. Of course, okay lang naman. Apparently, he's an army who's stationed in Apo Island. Whoa. Amazing!

It took us just about 20-25 minutes to Apo Island.

After that 20-30 minutes soaring at the sea, hello Apo Island na. Yeyyy!

Honestly, when I saw this shoreline of Apo Island,  I told myself.. huwag mag-expect okay? So, the whole day, that was my mantra.

Once you step down of the boat, somebody will assist you. They'll tell you to register first and so on & so forth. The registration fee is perhaps for the maintenance that they're doing for the island, which I guess is okay naman. Though the shore is malumot, the island remained clean actually.

I was only surprised knowing that the island is a residential area. I can't imagine how hard the food, water and electric supplies here are. Nonetheless, the people here looks so happy living here naman. Mind you, they are all friendly. Also, there were lots of pets in the island. Hayyy.. kay saya! 😬 Hehe. 

Kuya Nice, me, Donelle and Don before we snorkeled.

Then get ready before scrolling. I have a little surprise for you! Hihi. 

Say hello to this friendly tortoisesss! Hehe. 🐢🐢🐢

Look at how cute he is! Hihihi.

TRIVIA: Tortoise breaths every 9 minutes. And look! We were just able to catch him doing that. Haha.

Of course, I had to have a picture with the friendly tortoise we just swam with. This was taken by our island tour guide. BTW, having a tour guide is required for first timers like us.

And here's one of my favorite shots of my sister. 💕

Love this the most! Lakas maka-Oakwood Studios (One of the wedding photographers that I'm a fan of. Google them! Hihi.)

With our kind and informative island tour guide - Sir/Kuya Emedel.

Then our lunch company. Meowww! Hehe. 🐱

Our after lunch faces under the heat. Hehehe.

Goodbye for now, Apo Island! Until we meet again! 💚💚💚

Going back to the port, we took time to visit and buy from these artsy souvenir shops there.

These ref magnets are looove! Kakaiba yet ang gandaaa! 💕

My gulayyy! I'm in love on how artsy they are! 😍😍😍

These dream catchers though. 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

The last souvenir shop that we visited is actually owned by a couple. The guy was from Bacolod City while her wife is originally from Negros. They make the ref magnets that they sell out of an epoxy. (I thought they were made from wood!) Amazeballs, grabe! Haha. I appreciate that the artist disclosed that because some won't really. Ang bait pa ni kuya, hindi rin siya madamot sa discount. Hehe. Talk about being blessed! 😇

Then after spending half of our day in the beautiful Apo Island, we just went back to the hotel and rested. We took shower and took a nap --- napa-sobrang nap to be exact. Haha! When we woke up, it was already dark outside and we no longer want to go out to have dinner. Hahaha. Kaya nauwi kami in eating cup noodles. LOL. Bawi na lang the next day for our day trip in Siquijor. Yay! Super exciting because Siquijor has been in my bucket list for so long. Isa sa mga places na inugat na sa bucket list ko. LOL.

That's why I'm sorry that there's no pictures to follow anymore. Hihi. 

Meanwhile, let's not forget the most important thing about this trip, THE BUDGET. Haha.

DAY 1 EXPENSES:

5.00 - environmental fee at the port (per head)

100.00 - registration fee in Apo Island (per head)

200.00 - lunch (served per plate - rice, 3 different big parts of chicken Adobo with veggies) (per head)

100.00 - snorkling gears rental (per head)

100.00 - life vest rental (per head)

60.00 - tour guide fee (per head)

35.00 - a 1.5L bottle of Coca Cola (per head)

700.00 - boat ride (per head)

600.00 - van rental (per head)

TOTAL: 1,900.00

We gave tip to our tour guide because he's very kind and takes good pictures. Haha. I can't remember lang how much we gave him. Pero ayun, hope we always give tips when we travel! Most especially if their service is a 5 star! It's always good to give back without hoping for anything in return. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So, that's all folks! See you in my Siquijor blog! 😬

Happy holidays,

Dona <3