Sunday, June 26, 2022

Boracay ~ Land Tour (Day 2)

One of the reasons of our Boracay travel is to take my senior citizen parents on a getaway, having been confined at home due to Covid for such a long time. 

We have decided on a Boracay land tour as it was easier for seniors than island hopping (hoping on and off a motorized banca).  

I found a local tour guide ("Alex") in one of Boracay DIY groups, that I have joined online preparing for our Boracay trip. Alex is such a sweet heart.  He is our driver, tour guide and photographer rolled into one.   He is pleasure taking to and it was apparent that he really loves his job.  We enjoyed our tour and did not feel rushed at all.  A big plus, he also takes real good pictures! The only problem though is he has taken hundreds of them (all beautiful), it was so hard to edit and decide which ones make it to my social media pages.   

You can contact him through FB Messenger>>> Alex Canindo

We started our tour at 8am, after a hearty buffet breakfast "Two Seasons".  (Breakfast starts at 7am, so we have an hour to fill our tummies and dirty our feet with a short beach walk as we waited for Alex).

(Check here my review of Two Seasons Boracay by clicking the link below>>> Boracay ~ 3 years after (Day 1)

Our Itinerary included: 

  • Tambisaan Beach
  • Mangrove
  • Sinagpa Beach
  • Diniwid Beach
  • Keyhole - Boracay New Coast
  • Puka Beach

We reserved two e-trikes (my parents, my sister and her family shares the other one).  TIP: If you are travelling with seniors, request for lowered rides, so they can hop on easily.




So many pictures ~ can't decide which to post :D

Our first stop is the Tambisaan Beach

At the Mangrove Park



Bulabog Beach




Sinagpa Beach is about 10-15 minutes picturesque stroll.  
You can see Station 1-3 from here. 
Note: It will be a bit difficult for seniors to walk as some of the steps were steep and will be slipper when wet. 



Keyhole ~ New Coast Beach


Puka Beach



We ended our tour with lunch at Sugba de Boracay at Station 1.

Our Tour Highlight... (hahaha)

This was a good way to end our day's tour.
Good service. Food fresh and delicious!  
This restaurant is A++ approved by my family...


Part 2 of our Day 2 is a Sunset Cruise.  

For this trip, we left the 60+ at the hotel to relax and recharge; and enjoy the white powdery sand of Boracay.



Now about our Sunset Cruise ~ for this tour we travelled via e-trike to Bulabog Beach where our cruise awaits.

I booked a sunset cruise, but unfortunately (yes, you read that right) got upgraded to a Party Cruise, with cocktails, beer, cheese and crackers to go.  I was told it was a lot more expensive than our original planned tour, but it was also loud with lots of young party people on board...  And we just wanted some quiet time ~ gazing at Boracay's beautiful sunset (which I think got scared of all the chaos on board, and did not show).  

There is a market for this kind of tour, but it was obviously not ours.  This tour left our eardrums numb :D



Alas, no Sunset too...



The tour ended 6pm and we took an e-trike back to our hotel. Ordered room service for Two Seasons' Four Cheese Pizza and Fruits shakes while we dipped and relaxed by the resort's pool.  

If you missed our Day 1 >>>>> Boracay Day 1

Follow my blog for our Day 3 in Boracay.  

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Boracay ~ 3 years after (Day 1)

This Boracay Trip has been three (3) years delayed due to Covid.  

We originally booked a family trip for my parents, my sister's family, my brother and his wife (who were coming from the States) and my family of 4.  It was supposed to be a quadruple celebration,  our Parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary which was same day as my husband's birthday, our Wedding Anniversary the day after and my brother's Wedding Anniversary on the same month. We were crestfallen, Covid 2019 lock down took away what should have been a grand celebration.

An all paid for vacation turns to "travel fund".   

So when borders eased up this year (2022) ~ we booked our flight, called our hotel and went!  Unfortunately, my brother and his wife were not able to join (sad...).

Here enters Boracay....



Sharing here our 4day/3nights Boracay Adventure (near Post Pandemic style):




We left Manila via AirAsia for Boracay noon time and arrived at Caticlan at about 2 in the afternoon, it would take another hour and half to reach Boracay Island.  Transfers to Two Seasons from the airport was part of our package so everything was smooth sailing.

Though we had meals on board, the long travel made us all hungry :P 

So first order of business is FOOD!!!

We are staying at the Two Seasons, so it was a given that our welcome meal upon arrival was at the Bar Lo Restaurant.  


WELCOME TO BAR LO RESTAURANT

We ordered their much celebrated and Instagram famous Four Cheese Pizza, which many swore by as the best in the island.  Did I say we were hungry?  So we got 2 of those (finished everything), got their equally famous Oyster Sisig (which my mom can't stop raving about), a couple of Pasta sharing size (which were okay) and Calamares.


For dessert we ordered Halo-halo and Mais Con Yelo
I really liked both, but preferred the mais con yelo more.



How cool is this... with the white sand and beach as your view! #sarap

Be warned though that in our 3 nights stay at Two Seasons, the queue of guests eating at the BarLo Restaurant is no joke.  As we were hotel guests, getting seats was easy, however, can't say the same for the walk-ins.  Be ready for long wait!



OUR ROOM

We got 3 rooms for our group of 9 pax.  My parents stayed on the ground floor next to our room, while my sister got a room at the 2nd floor.  

We have a family suite with 3 queen bed (with one of the beds in a private room) with direct access to the pool.  The pool is just a dipping pool though, but was a welcome respite after a a busy day of beach frolicking.


The rooms are clean, linen and towels soft and nicely laundered. Beds were firm and comfortable to our liking.  The rooms and bathrooms are spacious. However, I find the rooms poorly lit and the fixtures a tad old, but it was not a big issue as the rooms were obviously well maintained

Hotel staff were friendly and courteous but not nosy. Room service was fast and efficient. 

That being said, I am generally happy with Two Seasons, location was perfect and that is all we really need.  

After we have rested, we took a walk from Station 1 to D'mall, portions of our walk barefoot and all! After all, this is why we came to Boracay!


At the D'mall in the hunt of Halo Mango ~







We can't seem to get enough of this fine stretch of white sand... 
(Me, my husband, plus my eldest walked our way back to the hotel, 
while my sister took the trike)




Click here for my post on our Day 2 - Land Tour >>>> Boracay Day 2 ~ Land Tour and Sunset Cruise

Visita Iglesia ~ via Laguna Loop

The Visita Iglesia refers to one of the Filipino Catholics' popular traditions of visiting at least seven churches during Holy Week on ...