I know I've already done a blog post about Boracay a long time ago but some close friends and I visited recently and we had loads of fun! I can't resist sharing stories about a very good trip. So here it is, things we did at Boracay!

Parasailing

The last time I went parasailing, it was done by pairs so I was a bit worried that one of us might have to go solo (I had two friends with me). Lucky for us, it was possible for three to go at a time!

I wonder where the boat is here in this photo

Once at the top, you get to take in an aerial view of the island and man, is it beautiful! Sure, we screamed our lungs out every time the wind threaten to unchain us from our harness but it was worth it. Our parasailing experience was incredible (and not to mention, safe). Definitely enjoyed our 15 minutes up in the sky.

I would have loved to upload our videos but I fear that your ears will come off from all the high-pitched screaming

Hell yeah we had a great time!

Helmet Diving 

Since I've already done this before, the magic was no longer there for me. But it absolutely wasn't for my two companions who braved the deep waters for a glimpse of the schools of fish who have long forgotten what the normal food chain is and have depended on us humans for their daily sustenance.

Yes fish, get in that photo

Most people change their mind and don't go through with this unique experience because of how the pressure in the ears suddenly changes. For any first timers out there, this is quite normal. It is explained, after all, during the orientation before you dip in the water. But I do understand that the pressure could be quite shocking.

What shocked me though was how handsy our attendant was. I wanted to feed his fingers to the fishes

Snorkeling

If you avail any island hopping packages, snorkeling at a certain area is one of the activities that will be included. If you've been to places like Palawan or Puerto Galera, I'm afraid the snorkeling experience here will not measure up. The area in which we swam in was all floating bread pieces and little to no marine life at all. I didn't even get to explore much because of the time limit.

The two girls didn't accompany me underwater

Where all the fishes at?

Puka Beach

Puka Beach was also another item on our list during our Island Hopping activity and it was beautiful! The sand is fine and the water is very clear. The waves could get a bit strong though. My friend and I were getting massacred by the waves at the shore when her GoPro escaped her grip. Her life flashed before her eyes and I quickly grabbed her action camera before the waves took ownership of it.

Look at those GoPro-murdering waves

Too bad we could only stay for 45 minutes. That's the disadvantage of going Island Hopping with a big group. It's cheaper but you only get to stay on the islands for an allotted time.

You can chill on those mats for free if you buy some beverages, which is a little bit expensive btw

That's it, my little duckling, walk towards that beautiful body of water

Breaks my heart that we could only stay for a couple of minutes

Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove is this one developed island that you can explore for an entrance fee of 200php. It's pretty big and there are coves, a bird park and a tower from where you can enjoy a view of the ocean.

The Baywatch tower

We were given an hour by our boat guide which was so not enough. By the time we got down from the Baywatch tower, we were running as fast as we could back to the beach because we could see our boat with all our fellow passengers in it, ready to get going.

It's a long walk between the islands attractions

They have coves that you can visit

in between land and water

huts everywhere

ATV

We got to try the ATV and drove to the Ocean Tower. It was a 15-minute ATV ride to the tower.

Driving the ATV was easy enough. Also, you'll be driving on concrete so that makes it easier. You'll just have to be careful when driving through populated areas.

The area, BTW, is a bit far off from the beach. So you'll have to ride a vehicle to get to the ATV spot. Allot maybe around 20 minutes for that.

Ocean Tower

The view is amazing

Beach Bumming

If none of these activities interest you for some reason or if your budget is not as cooperative as you would like for it to be, you are very much welcome to spend your trip lounging about in the powdery white sands of Boracay.

Enjoying the sunset from Station 3

Basking in the morning sunlight at Station 1

If you want your beach algae-free and with a relatively small crowd, go for stations 3 and 4. If you like your water chock full of algae, hang out around stations 1 and 2. The algae flocks Boracay around the summer season and melts away during the rainy season. We've been told that the seaweeds melt and turn into sand. I have yet to verify the validity of that information.

Visited the grotto at Station 1

Thought we'd be one of the first at the Grotto because of how early we left the hotel. Turns out we're not early enough

I don't know about you but I think this is the true measure of friendship #friendshipgoals

Totally not faking this candid shot

If I've known my friends won't actually use the zoom on the zoom lens I've just attached to the SLR, maybe I wouldn't have walked that far into the water.

Okay, that's a little better

Same with what we did on my first Boracay trip, neither of this was prepared beforehand. We found ourselves an agent roaming around at the beach area and went with whatever offers were available.

Sun Garden Hilltop Hotel

For accommodations, we  booked ourselves a room at the Sun Garden Hilltop Hotel. They weren't kidding about the Hilltop part. The hotel was a 10-15 minute walk from the beach and there were these stairs, these stairs that drained a quarter of our soul every time we had to return to the hotel.Well, I exaggerate but the reason it felt like that was because we were so exhausted from all the activities and are eager to take a much deserved break. So having that flight of stairs between us and our hotel room is a total nightmare.

Oh the horror

If you are going to go somewhere other than the beach, it would be wiser to take a tricycle to some places (like D-Talipapa and Station 1) then walk. Trust me on this. My friends and I have since then regretted our decision to sacrifice our feet and rumbling tummies in order to skimp on some tricycle fare. The hotel is a 3-minute walk away from the highway anyway.

The hotel itself is good and clean. The rooms and its toilets are spacey and spotless. I wish the outlets weren't placed on the back of the beds, though. It was difficult to reach.

Our room

Bat ako nag-eemote dito?

Breakfast is served around 7 in the morning. But you can request to have it earlier like we did

But what makes this place truly special is the amount of cats roaming around the area! They should rename their hotel to Cat Garden Hilltop Hotel.

I simply cannot resist the cuteness

They lingered during breakfast

Some were friendly and some were shy

Southwest Tours

For land transfer from and to Kalibo, we availed a package from Southwest Tours. Some of the hotel staff said that Southwest Tours was expensive but my friends and I found it to be very convenient. Our trip was smooth from when we landed in Kalibo up to our Hotel doorstep. They even operate 24/7 so you don't have to worry if you booked a flight too late in the night or too early in the morning.

So that's it. A run-over of our trip to Boracay. I have a travel itinerary here that I made some time ago if you're interested. You can check out my old Boracay blog posts from there as well.

Hope you enjoyed this post!


Photo credits : Abi Minto, Alis Alcain

Our final day at Boracay is made up of fruit shakes, sunburns, and lots of jump shots. :))

Despite the exhaustion brought about by our second day in Boracay, we had to wake up early so that we could spend more time at the beach. After the friends and I decided to extend our stay at the hotel (see costs here), we got in our beach wear and began the walk to the grotto (not sure if that's they call it).

Grotto

Are we there yet?

Finally!

so powder. much white. Also, guy in the bg running

So much powah!!

I find this to be the most interesting one

we have a thing called the Abbey Road jump shot. You can obviously see why

In my head, I call this the United Nations because it looks like what a first grade would draw for a United Nations-themed poster-making contest

If you look closely, you can see the agony in Rhey's (guy in leftmost) eyes. I don't know why.

Behind the scenes

When everyone got tired of jumping, we went out into the water.

If you're wondering what that green thing is, it's seaweeds. Apparently, they flood the shores every summer

Took photos at the grotto

I didn't expect to see fish by the beach

Hah! I bet you thought the jump shots were done!

No, it aint!

We tried the hair flip thing. It was... difficult.

Look at me go!

We went back to the sand after all that hair-flipping and began the beach bumming. We had Jonah's fruit shakes while we were at it.

Jonah's Fruitshake Snackbar

Avocado shake for me and Banana rum shake for the gentleman

My dear goodness, their avocado shake is out of this world

After chilling out and posting everything we can post on Facebook and Instagram, we shook ourselves of the sand and headed back for lunch. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets.

The staff is nice

But I was blown away by how pricey their meals are! I was not ready for this.

Some of us went back to the hotel to clean up and the rest of us passed by D-Talipapa to do some shopping.

D-Talipapa

They've got bags

clothing

sand art keychain

magnets

cute slippers

and cats

Rem and I decided to go back to the travel agent booth to get our CD from the Helmet diving activity. It was so far away and we had to walk. We were sick of walking so we rode a pedicab back to the hotel for php50.

But before that, I made him took a photo of my OOTD because IM Presa circle shawl looks really cute as a skirt.

When we got down the pedicab, someone approached us and offered us free dinner at Crown Regency. This was actually the second time we've been approached. The first was Astoria. I'm guessing this is for promotional purposes? Whatever the reason, it's too bad we couldn't try it because there wasn't any time. Next time, perhaps.

It's for two people only though

After the hold-up, we returned to our room and began the packing.

Last minute photo sessions at the room

The guys ready to go home

We waited for Island Star Express to get us at 4pm (we were informed by the front desk the day before). They arrived on time. Everything we rode going there, we rode going back. L300 van, then boat, then bus, then plane.Our flight was scheduled at 11pm so we had to do a little waiting at the airport. I was knocked out by then I couldn't keep my eyes open during the flight. We all arrived at NAIA safely. We then found ourselves a taxi who, of course, ripped us off and we got off along EDSA and went our own ways.

And that, folks, officially ends our Boracay trip. We weren't able to do a lot of stuff that were on our list but that means we have reasons to come back. Goodbye for now, Boracay.

Day 1: Pub Crawl
Day 2: Island hopping, cliff diving, parasailing, helmet diving, Talipapa
Itinerary and Expenses



Photo credits: Wendy Fraginal, Rem Calumba