Oslob, Cebu

4 things we did in Oslob
December 15, 2015

1. Whale Shark Experience
2. Sumilon Island
3. Snorkeling
4. Food Trip

Notes

• Oslob Day Tour Package for 5 pax includes van for 12 hours, hotel pick up and drop off, all entrance fees, boat fees, environmental fees, Sumilon Island side trip, Tumalog Falls side trip, Cuartel side trip.  Arranged by Cebu Gen Travel and Tours - P11,000

Photos

December 15

We arrived in Cebu City last night from Bohol via Oceanjet.  Checked in at Castle Peak and had our dinner at Ayala Town Center.  Went back to the hotel early to rest and prepare for our first destination tomorrow here in Cebu. 

Whale Shark Experience.  This is the main highlight of our Cebu adventure.  We were picked up from the hotel at 4am for a 3 hour ride to Oslob.  Arriving at 7am, we did waste no time, got ourselves changed and started our whale shark experience.  An orientation is conducted for your safety and how to behave with the whale sharks.

Waiting for our turn to get on the boat and head for the whale sharks.

....And off we go.  We are so excited about this.  Approaching the site, we can already see the big mouths of the whale sharks wide open sticking out of the water as if they were catching the krill being thrown by the boat man.  This is how they make the path of the fish to swim beside you, but you are not allowed to intentionally touch them.   

These gentle giants seems to have adapted already swimming with people.  Although we are in open sea, they looked like tamed by the boat men.  Maybe that's why they have 100% whale shark sighting in Oslob everytime.  Anyway, tamed or wild, it's still an awesome experience to swim with them.  You are only allowed to stay in the water for 30 minutes and then you're done.

@0:42 Our whale shark experience.

Time is up, gotta go back to the beach to let others make the experience.  This was so much fun, an unforgettable moment.

Sumilon Island.  This is a great side trip if you want to spend your time in a white sandy beach when you're in Oslob.  The coast of Tanawan is lined with rocky beaches specially where the whale shark watching is.  About 30 minutes of boat ride, you will reach Sumilon Island for your beach bumming moments.  A sand bar forms at one spot on the island where the entrance to Sumilon Bluewater Resort is also located.  I think there's a P10 entrance fee for the sand bar and if you want to get in the resort and use their facilities, they offer day tour packages with lunch.

Aside from the island, there is also a snorkeling area just a few meters away from the sand bar, you can ask the boat man to take you there and go for a swim.

Bad luck has struck us in Sumilon Island.  Our boat broke down and we were stranded at the snorkeling site for more than an hour.  Boat men doesn't want to talk to us, we just knew there's something wrong because they were all busy in the engine bay and we could hear it starting hard.  This caused us valuable time and the cancellation of our side trip to Tiumalog Falls and Cuartel because we have to be back in Cebu City by 4pm.  We also can't get some compensation from the travel agency for the lost time.  They still want us to pay for the time beyond 4pm we might consume.  Oh well, to avoid ruining our day further, we just let this one slide.

Finally we are back at mainland Cebu.  It's already 1pm so we looked for a place to eat.  I got my food at Chez Anton French restaurant.  My companions chose a native restaurant that serves fresh seafood and Filipino dishes.  I forgot the name of the place but their food was awesome, mine wasn't.

We were all dried up when we finished our lunch so we didn't bother to wash ourselves before we leave.  We'll just do it in the hotel in Cebu City.

Along the way, we passed by the town of Carcar, the place is famous for their chicharon.  So we stopped by the line of chicharon stands along the roundabout to buy some.  When we got off the van, vendors swarmed us.  We ended up at Luis' because they have some fresh chicharon and you can feel it was still hot.  We are supposed to take it home in Manila but we already started munching on it when we got into the van.

  

We arrived in Cebu City at around 5:30pm and paid an additional P450 for the time beyond our 4pm cut off.  

Oslob adventure is history.  The next day was our Cebu City tour.

Check out our Cebu City trip here.