Our Boracay Trip 2016

Our short stay in Boracay was all about rest. Lol! Since we arrived around 4pm in our Hotel, our main goal was to take a good rest (physically, mentally, emotionally etc) since we all have a very short sleep the night before. 

I would have to consider that Jami felt so tired as well so I opted to stay in our hotel for almost half of our time there. I will blog about Royal Park Beach Resort in a separate post for sure. 

We arrived late in the afternoon on our first day since our flight was behind the schedule for one hour. Our transfer was great (except for the van) so I got no problem with that. I made an itinerary for the entire duration of our stay but failed to follow it through since it was scorching hot and that Jami wasn’t really fond of beaches and the sand. Since our hotel is situated in Station 1, we have to walk our way going to Station 2 for 5-10 minutes to look for a restaurant for our lunch or dinner. 

Although we had the chance to try the hotel’s menu, I wasn’t really happy with their Sinigang kasi hindi malambot yung meat. Yun pa naman ang pinaka ayaw ko sa lahat. Lol!

We ate in several restaurants in Station 2 although I forgot their names! I think one of them was in Hapag? We also tried one near D’ Mall pero nakalimutan ko talaga ang name ng resto. Lol! So next time, I would really have to blog about them at least 1 week after no?! Hehehe. It’s just now that I had the time to do so. Anyhow, what I can tell is, ang mahal talaga ng food in Boracay. For two person with a minimum of 1 main course with 3 cup of rice, you’ll spend Php500-700 for it. So expensive! Well yes, I always try my best to cook food at home so alam ko kung magkano ang prices ng ingredients sa palengke. Hahahah! Well, I would have to accept that traveling costs money so you really have to make sure meron kang enough on your pocket. With that, we won’t travel for the next couple of months. Probably next year na lang ulit if our finances allowed :D

Anyway, our stay was filled with happiness in dipping into the sea specially in the early morning and the late afternoon to avoid the dangerous heat of the sun. 

Jami loved the sea later on since the waves weren’t that strong compared to previous beaches we’ve been too. We stayed indoors and enjoyed each other’s company. 

I am so glad that we had this chance to at least relax and have a family bonding. I am looking forward to more of these (in a year’s time). I am really glad that our experience wasn’t as stressful as I thought. With a toddler in tow, Boracay is definitely a place to be. 

 You know, I realized that we don't have so may pictures when we were there. Honestly, sobrang lazy ako mag take ng picture because I have to mind Jami and our things. I am also in charge on our transfer and where to eat so I really don't have the energy to take pictures anymore. Wala pa naman akong talent in photography so I can't take kahit snapshot lang na maayos. Lol! Add in the fact that phones camera wasn't that good either. =( But then, I know these memories were captured by the best camera and film in the world - my eyes, mind and heart. Lol! ;P

Boracay Transfers To and From Kalibo International Airport

Boracay is a small  island situated in the province of Aklan. It was a very known island because of its fine white sands. I tell you, this place is very much a kid friendly place to visit. That's the main reason I chose this over many beautiful places here in the Philippines. The very next was, it was what I found as the easiest place to travel to with a toddler in tow. We could just lounge all day and swim to our hearts content.

Source

Well, there were two ways for you to consider when visiting the island. Boracay can be reached thru plane rides to Kalibo International Airport and Caticlan (Boracay) Airport. These is one of the things that you have to consider planning your itinerary or before booking your plane tickets. Of course you want to be prepared with all the pros and cons while traveling with your kids.

Caticlan Airport is a lot closer to Boracay. From the airport, it will be 10-20 minutes ride from the port where you would get on a boat to bring you to the island. On the other hand, Kalibo requires a land transfer from the airport to the port then a boat to Boracay. You have to bear in mind that going to Boracay thru Caticlan is a lot expensive (airfare) than in Kalibo. So what did I actually chose and why? Well, for the sake of airfare, I chose Kalibo. During a seat sale, I was able to score a plane ticket for the three us (including Jami) for only Php3,500. It was a very good deal I guess since it would take the same amount for one person per way if we'll take Caticlan.

Now the Why's.

Well, Jami is 2 and a half years old and is very used in long drives. He can be easily told of what he has to do so it wouldn't be so much of a hassle  for us. I anticipated that Jami will wake up very early and that would mean that he'll be sleeping in the entire time of travel. Alas! That's what happened on the day of our travel, lol!

The first time I've been to Boracay, we took Caticlan going there while we tried Kalibo to Manila route on our way home. It was a long time ago and even hired a private van from our hotel since there were many of us back then. Now that we were only three, I'm sure I can't afford to pay the whole van just to take us from Kalibo to Boracay and vice versa. Although I was told by my sister that there were travel company outside the airport that offers transfers to and fro, I just don't want to risk ending up without a transfer at all with Jami in tow. Of course I am up to convenience too somehow. I know it could cost me fortune if we didn't get a transfer ahead of time.

I also google'd some options that I found online and even tried a mock booking at Southwest Tours Boracay Webpage. I hesitated somehow so I have decided to call the hotel and ended up choosing their mode of transfers so I would only be paying at once. The transfer that was quoted to us by the hotel was Php600/pax/way. So that means, it's Php1,200/head which was actually the same fare that the Southwest Tours has. Kids 2 years old and below are free. Oh well, one of the perks in traveling with younger kids - they are free. lol!

The day that we were waiting for came. We arrived in Naia Terminal 3 at least 45 minutes before our scheduled flight just so to make sure that we have ample time. Jami was so energetic at this point although he had a very short sleep from last night. We had our web check in in one of their kiosk and lined up on one of their counters to change Jami's seat allocation. Everything was a breeze including our check in baggage. Oh I forgot to tell you that I bought a baggage allowance of 15kgs for almost Php220/way. I bought for each flight since I am not sure how much baggage allowance we have and to avoid the hassle of over baggage for carry on baggage. Besides, I would rather have our luggage checked in so we don't have to worry about it while waiting for boarding than chasing toddlers while carrying a baggage. hahaha!

It took almost forever before we were called for boarding. No, the flight wasn't delayed yet at this point, we were just there really early. I was so excited for Jami's first airplane ride, I can't keep myself from smiling. I have been telling Jami that; "sasakay ka kay airplane, seatbelt ka lang kay airplane." In that way, he'll be ready and knows what he's expected to do. True enough, he was sitting the whole time. Take note, our flight was delayed for 1 hour.

Waiting for our take off

We spent an hour seating inside the cabin for that long because of air congestion in Naia. We have done so much at that moment, taking videos, pictures, looking in the window and ended up on the lavatory kasi he pooped na. Grabeng delay yun! So sad, good thing that when the plane took off, Jami fell asleep! Lol. We were all asleep until we landed in Kalibo. Yess.. No drama! =)

Knocked out! :p

Taking back our luggage was a breeze too. We waited outside the airport and was waiting for our hotel to pick us up. Yun pala, they have arranged another tour bus to pick us up buti na lang, we checked those tables across the exit. I saw my name listed as one of the guests although wrong lang ang last name. Hahah! We ended up riding a SouthWest Tour Bus going to the port. The bus was like an airconditioned bus here in Manila but way cleaner and has a better AC unit. I was so glad that the bus didn't have to be full packed before leaving. We were given a sticker stub to be placed on our shirt to be recognized by their staff.

We arrived in the port in schedule and there were staff who assisted us. We were asked to fill up a form and was directed to take a seat. I was so glad that they are very efficient and organized. We waited not very long until we were ushered to the port and rode our boat to Boracay. It only took 5-10 minutes and we have finally set foot in the island! Almost there.. but not.

Just woke up look! :)

We waited for couple of more minutes (around 5 minutes) before our land transfer to our hotel to be ready. What I didn't like though is that the L300 van that was used in transferring the passengers are quiet old, airconditioning is worst! We have to open the windows dahil mas malamig pa sa labas kesa sa loob ng van! That's the only part of the transfer that I didn't like at all. But then, thank you for driving us to our hotel safely.

The transfer going back to Kalibo was kinda same. This time, we have learned that we should open the windows of our van so we'll feel a little presko. Well, that's aside from the fact that we just took a bath diba? Lol.

My final thought was, I actually don't have any complaints if the Van has a great air conditioning unit. People are sure tired from the long travel so it is better to make sure that you get what you paid for. Overall, I'll rate Southwest Tour Transfer a 7 out of 10. That was because feel na feel ko talaga ang summer during our van ride hahaha! But I have to commend the staff for being efficient and friendly. =)

Planning our Boracay 2016

Last summer, My family went to Boracay for our "yearly getaway". I actually want to make this a yearly tradition where we could go to different places. It's a goal I listed last year which never happened because we replaced it with our Photo shoot. I then listed it down for this year since I have plenty of months to get this to reality.

In January, I saw a seat sale at Cebu Pacific website and alas! I still have spare money to use to pay for the fare. I paid a total of Php3,500+ for the three us. I was thinking kids can get a discounted fare pero hindi pala. Lol! Maybe because they sure are occupying a seat and can't be sitting on my lap. Uncomfortable yun for sure and for our safety na din. Anyway, I think I got a good rates for the three of us. Oh! I forgot to mention that our flight was Manila-Kalibo and vice versa so it was really a lot cheaper. Although seat sales were out during weekends, I have decided to get the weekdays since its 4 months before our flight so surely, I have plenty of time to file for a vacation leave. Which I did. Yey! So we’re going ahead with our trip!

I was pretty excited honestly. What stressed me out was finding a nice but not that expensive hotel. I have been aiming for the wonderful hotel around the island but then, I can’t spend Php 4,000 per night for a hotel room. Being the frugal me, I have kept on checking on line with the best deal so far. One of the safest site that I felt was Agoda.com. I have been checking all the hotel in the island but still find them expensive even after the discount. Luckily, after couple of days of looking, I found Royal Park Resort that’s situated in Station of Boracay. I looked in to Google Map to see if the area was crowded or malumot. I was so glad to see that it wasn’t where the lumot stays (because there was a part of the island na nadaanan namin that has a lot of lumot. As in ang lansa na ng hangin because of that). Although there can be a lot of small boats in front, the bigges part was allocated to swimming area. =)

For our transfers (coming from Kalibo), I’ve read blogs about it and found some Do-It-Yourself. I wasn’t just ready with all the hassle since may kasama nga kaming toddler. I checked online and found Southwest Tours Boracay that has plenty of options for transfers. They could transfer you Door to Door (meaning to your hotel), Bus only, Boat only or both where you’ll be dropped of in D’Mall. I made a mock booking and got a total of almost Php1,250/each to and fro. I also called the Hotel and checked the price difference which only was about Php100. I have decided to book from our Hotel so to make sure that we don’t get lost. Our scheduled of arrival in the island is at 3pm and I don’t want to be left in the dark with Jami with us. The hotel charged us Php1,200/each to and fro. Jami was free of charge for transfers.. yes!!.

Initially, I have set an itinerary to follow. With a toddler in tow, I have to make sure that scheduled trips will be comfortable for him somehow. Well, this is lame that I can't find the itinerary but I'll sure update you with that on my next post. Lol! =)

Well, that's pretty much how our Boracay plan went. I'll update you as much as possible of our stay there. =)

Hoping you are having a wonderful start of the week.

*credits to Ate for always helping me with the itinerary =)