AKLAN | Three Weeks In Boracay ~ What To Do… And What We Actually Did
Monday, June 12, 2023
Wake up at eight. Have a hearty breakfast. Go out to the beach and swim until our tummies clamor for lunch. Eat somewhere cheap. Take a nap and wake at around four. Head over to the beach. Lay on a blanket until the sun sets. Find a place for dinner. Rinse. Repeat.
So goes our daily routine for our three week-vacation in Boracay—well, twenty two days to be exact.
| THREE WEEKS BORACAY VACATION TABLE OF CONTENTS ~ WHAT’S INSIDE?
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GETTING TO BORACAY
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| TRAVELING TO BORACAY WITH A TODDLER |
We flew to Boracay from Manila via Cebu Pacific Air, taking an early morning flight.
Landing in Caticlan, we booked a transfer from the airport, straight to our lodging. It includes the mini-bus from the airport to the Tabon Port, the boat ride to Tambisaan Jetty Port, and finally the van ride to our hotel. It was way past lunchtime when we arrived in our lodging. Good thing we anticipated this and bought Jollibee burgers with us onboard the plane just in case everything got delayed.
WHAT TO DO IN BORACAY FOR THREE WEEKS
Three weeks in Boracay? What indeed are you gonna do there for such an extended period of time? Well, if it’s your first time n Boracay, quite a lot.
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| PUKA SHELL BEACH IN BORACAY |
First is the beaches. Boracay has a total of ten easily accessible beaches. If you plan to visit and swim on all of them on a daily basis, that’s already more than a week’s worth of your time. Some of these can also be accessed if you avail of a Boracay island hopping tour.
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| SNORKELING IN BORACAY |
Then there are the water activities on the island—banana boats, UFOs, jet skis, crystal kayaks, paddle boards, diving, helmet diving, parasailing, and windsurfing. For those not that comfortable in the water, there are land activities on Boracay too—ATV and buggy rides, cable cars, ziplines, a Boracay oceanarium, and if you have overflowing money, a helicopter ride across the island.
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| WILLY’S ROCK AT BORACAY WHITE BEACH |
But it isn’t really our first time in Boracay.
So what we did was simply live the island life—wake, go to the beach in the morning, eat, nap, go the the beach in the afternoon, eat, sleep. Repeat for twenty two days. Uhm, insert a bit of drinking in there too, right before turning in for the night, lol.
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| BULABOG BEACH IN BORACAY |
Our three weeks in Boracay can actually be divided into two parts.
The first two weeks were spent near Bulabog Beach. So our beach of choice right after breakfast was, naturally, Bulabog Beach. In fact, we already found the perfect spot on that side of the island—the beach in front of Aqua Boracay. It’s very clean, free of debris and stones—both along the shore and in the water.
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| A PADDLE BOARDER AT BORACAY WHITE BEACH |
The latter part of our stay was spent on the Boracay White Beach. So, we bid our goodbye to our mornings at Bulabog Beach, and said hello to mornings at Station 2 of White Beach. To be honest, I enjoyed our Bulabog mornings more, since there were less people on the beach.
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| BORACAY TWILIGHT | OUR SON PLAYING AT THE BEACH |
Our afternoons, during the whole three weeks, were usually spent at White Beach. Us, laid back on our beach mat, and our son, A, happily playing with his beach toys on the sand. We’d stay at different spots of the White Beach, depending on our mood, and wait until the sun sets before looking for dinner.
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| DINIWID BEACH AND PUKA BEACH |
On some days, we also tried walking to both ends of the White Beach. On the north side, to Lambros Point, then Diniwid Beach. And on the south side, to Angol Point, past the cave portal on Station Three. We also visited Puka Beach, even if we’ve been there numerous times, well, just because. We have three weeks after all.
WHERE WE STAYED
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| OUR ROOM AT FERRA HOTEL & GARDEN SUITES |
FERRA HOTEL & GARDEN SUITES
Ferra Premier is where we usually bed down for the night when in Boracay, but this time, since its sister resort has opened, we tried the new Ferra Hotel & Garden Suites. It has the same superb service and genuine warmth as Ferra Premier, but with much more beautiful rooms and a rooftop pool. We stayed there for a little more than a week.
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| LONG TERM APARTMENT ROOM NEAR BULABOG BEACH |
BULABOG APARTMENT
My wife, Blissfulguro, has a friend working remotely in Boracay. We were lucky that she needed to go back to Manila when we went, and she temporarily lent us her place. It’s a simple air-conditioned room with an en suite toilet and bath and a balcony located some steps away from Bulabog Beach. It has a fridge and a make-shift kitchen by the balcony. We spent about a week there.
Places like these can be found at Boracay Long Term Rentals Facebook Group, with prices ranging for about ₱15,000.00 a month, inclusive of electricity fee.
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| BORACAY GOLDEN PHOENIX HOTEL IN WHITE BEACH |
GOLDEN PHOENIX HOTEL BORACAY
Our final accommodation in Boracay was at White Beach. We originally didn’t plan on staying there, since resort prices at White Beach are quite prohibitive, but we chanced upon a good deal on an app for Golden Phoenix Hotel— ₱1,200.00 a night with breakfast. It’s a steal, right? So, we got to stay at Station 2’s beachfront for almost a week before going back to Manila.
WHERE WE ATE
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| CHEAP FOOD IN BORACAY |
Food was one of our main concerns during our three-week Boracay trip—well, in terms of budgeting, that is. So during our stay, we usually just eat at affordable restaurants in Boracay—which are mainly carinderias, and a few times at Boracay’s go-to place for cheap meals, Andok’s.
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| THE LIND BORACAY | OYSTER SISIG FROM BARLO RESTO |
While we tried to keep our food cost down, we also did experience a bit of luxury when one of our friends treated us to dinner at The Lind and lunch at Two Season’s barLO Resto.
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| BUFFET SERVINGS IN BORACAY |
We also splurged a bit during our stay, it’s not every day that you’re in Boracay anyways. We tried two buffet restaurants in Boracay—the popular Henann Regency Resort buffet at Sea Breeze Café, and the cheapest buffet in Boracay at Sunset View Restobar buffet.
WHERE WE DRANK
Boracay used to be our party island, but now that we have a toddler with us, we shifted our nights a bit from partying to just chill drinking. We didn’t really drink every night like we used to, somewhat limiting our alcohol intake—well, we have a kid to take care of, after all.
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| HAPPY HOUR AT SUR BORACAY |
We found the cheapest beachfront watering hole at Sur during their happy hour—₱400.00 for a bucket of Red Horse Beer—so we spent a few afternoons there. Plus, they allow guests to buy from passing street food vendors—so that takes care of our cheap bar chow or pulutan.
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| ISLAND VIBE AT COCOLOCO BAR BORACAY |
During the last week of our stay, we moved our usual beer haunt to Cocoloco Bar, it being closer to our resort, and well, we just fell in love with its quiet and chill island vibe.
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| DRINKING IN BORACAY | TWO BROWN BOYS BORACAY |
We also got to have a few bottles of beer at Two Season’s barLO Restaurant, which have superb food, and at Two Brown Boys—which is one of the most fun bar we’ve visited during our trip.
MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR LONG TRAVEL IN BORACAY
Money is indeed one factor to consider when having a long vacation, especially on an expensive place like Boracay. So, we thought of a few ways to shave down our expenses.
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| INSIDE THESE LUGGAGES ARE PACKS OF CANNED GOODS AND A RICE COOKER |
First thing on our list is food. So to cut down, since we already have a checked in baggage for our flights anyways, we maximized our food stock by bringing our pantry stock with us—luncheon meats, sausages, corned beef, noodles, and even snack and chips.
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| CHEAP BUT DELICIOUS FOOD FROM BORACAY CARINDERIAS |
We also brought a small rice cooker with us—which fit perfectly in our suitcase. So for dinner, we usually just buy viands at eateries and pair it with freshly cooked rice inside our room. This rice cooker also served to fill us for quick snacks like instant noodles, hard-boiled eggs, and such.
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| THE MAIN MARKET ON THE ISLAND, BORACAY TALIPAPA |
The borrowed apartment we occupied has a mini kitchen, so we took advantage of this by cooking our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And when the supply we brought with us ran out, we searched for the cheapest place to get our food—which is at the local talipapa near the Balabag Wetland Park [GPS MAP: 11.963103, 121.927617] which is within the vicinity of our lodging in Bulabog. One can also get cheap supplies at the Boracay Talipapa—the legit local market on the island—but we would’ve needed to take an e-trike to reach that place, so that would probably negate the savings we would’ve got.
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| WALKING IN BORACAY |
Island transportation also took a backseat during our trip. We can count on a single hand the times we actually hailed an e-trike. Boracay is very walkable, so walk we did. To keep our route interesting, we usually stroll along the beach instead of the road parallel to it.
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| DRYING OUR SEA-WET CLOTHES ALONG BULABOG BEACH |
Another thing worth considering is doing your own laundry. We actually bought only a week’s worth of clothes. However, since all the accommodations we stayed on is lacking when it comes to drying areas, we weren’t really able to save up on laundry fees—utilizing the local laundromats in our area instead.
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| FAMILY FRIENDLY TRIP TO BORACAY |
Also, since we’ve been to Boracay numerous times, we did away with the usual island hopping and land tours, doing everything DIY instead.
FINAL THOUGHTS
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| HAPPY WITH OUR THREE-WEEK VACATION IN BORACAY |
We relished the whole three weeks we were in Boracay. We took a relaxed and unhurried pace—enjoying the island’s beaches more than any of the usual paid activities. We woke as late as we want. We ate what our money can afford—splurging a bit from time to time. We drank moderately, as TV commercials recommend we do. And we beached ourselves until our skin were golden brown. We didn’t feel we’ve overstayed at all and would’ve stayed a few days more, given the chance—and the budget, of course.
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