Canyon Cove Trip

6 things we did in our Canyon Cove trip
July 26-27, 2014

1. Lunch at Leslie's in Tagaytay
2. Swim at the beach
3. Swim in the pool
4. Dine at Max's Restaurant
5. Unwind in our room
6. Lunch at Antonio's Grill in Tagaytay

Trip Notes

• The resort is in Nasugbu, Batangas, 3 to 4 hours away from Metro Manila. 
• Prepare some cash for toll fees for using South Luzon Express Way (SLEX).
• Our room cost P5,800 a night. 
• No other dining in the resort other than Max's and the price is higher than usual.
• You can't bring food and drinks inside.
• Check out the resort site here.
• Municipal town is 5 minutes away. 

Trip Photos

Boracay Adventure 2014

15 Things we did in Boracay
April 6-10, 2014

1.  Willy's Rock
2.  Helmet Dive
3.  Island Hopping
4.  Banana Boat Ride
5.  Beach Combing
6.  Zipline
7.  Zorb
8.  ATV and Buggy
9.  Mt. Luho Viewpoint
10. D'mall
11. Jet Ski
12. Parasail
13. Wave Rider
14. Fire Dance
15. Food Trip

Photos

Boracay Adventure 2014 Music Video

Trip Notes

• Manila-Kalibo round trip airfare is P4,007 via Airasia with 20 kls baggage and insurance.
• Caticlan Airport is a better choice for Boracay but air fare is more expensive.
• Hotel booking at La Carmela de Boracay via Agoda for four nights is P26,098 for Premier Ocean View and P14,079 for Executive Deluxe, both rooms max 4 persons with breakfasts for 2.
• Kalibo-hotel round trip transfers was arranged through La Carmela for P1,150 per pax including environmental and terminal fees, boat and public coaches.
• Booking your transfers with La Carmela is a good idea because they have their own boat and terminal at the port so you don't have to queue and wait for scheduled public boats at the main Caticlan port.  Other hotels have this kind of service too.
• Kalibo to Caticlan port takes 2 hours by bus.  Boat ride and van from port to hotel is approximately 15 minutes each.
• Main transportation is tricycle, tourist fare is P20 and P10 for the locals.  Take the ones passing by the high way, not the ones in terminals 'cause they charge more.    
• Try to avoid the guides offering activities along the way, they are legit but their prices are steep.  For water sports activities, they have their desks in a tent at station 1, in front of Astoria and station 3, just after Sands hotel.
• Advantage of having a guide, hand him your camera and let him cover for you.
• Boracay is not a good place for snorkeling and helmet diving. Poor sea life and fish are scarce.  
• US$1 = PHP45.

Lakbay-freak: Wave Rider Crown Regency Boracay

Wave Rider.  It's a man made wave with continuous powerful flow that mimics the moving waves of the sea so you can ride or glide on the surface with a board.  It's a fun and great way for tourist to learn and experience surfing without the hazards of the real thing.  It's fresh water, you are stationary, continuous flow and fall with no worries of getting hurt.  Since we are newbies in surfing, we'd rather try this one first.   They offer a 30 minutes and 1 hour rates including instructors fee and boards.  We did this for 30 minutes non-stop and we were pretty exhausted to make it to one hour.  You can pay for it afterwards so that you can stretch your time to one hour rather than paying P1300 again for another 30 minutes.  It's a first come first serve basis so weekdays are a better choice to avoid large crowd.

Some of our best rides @0:07 and bloopers @6:23.

• It cost P1300 for 30 minutes and P1500 for 1 hour.
• In house guest rates are cheaper.
• Pay after you surf so you can upgrade your rate to 1 hour for P1500 instead of paying for 30 minutes first and then pay another 30 minutes if you wish to extend.
• Operated by Crown Regency located at Main Road cor. Sunset Rd. of Station 2.

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Lakbay-freak: Parasail and Jet Ski Boracay

Our day 3 adventure....

Jet Ski and Parasail.  Still up for some adventure, we went to station 3 where the water sports desks are and tried the parasail and jet ski.  It's already 5pm and we thought they will not let us to through but luck was on our side, we were the last ones.  Me and my brother went for the jet ski and 4 others for the parasail.  It's a perfect time to do these things, it's not so hot and with the sunset on your sight.  

• Jet ski cost P2000 for 30 minutes per unit.  My brother and I shared the ride.
• Parasail cost P1500 each person for 15 minutes.
• Operated by Diamond Water Sports

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Lakbay-freak: ATV and Buggy Boracay

Our day 3 adventure....

ATV and Buggy.  After our zorb adventure we were dropped off at Zetro.  Only 3 of us tried this and the rest went back to the hotel.  I rode the ATV and my brother and nephew were in the buggy.  It is a 1 hour ride with guide and 20 minutes stop over at Mt. Luho.  

• ATV cost P350
• Buggy cost P700 
• Mt. Luho entrance fee is P120
• Operated by Zetro
• hotel transfers included

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Mt. Luho Viewpoint

Lakbay-freak: Zorb Park Boracay

Our day 3 adventure....

Zorb.  Instead of returning to the hotel, our zipline shuttle dropped us off at Zorb park.  This one is not included in the package so we paid for ourselves.  The only available ride is the hydro zorb, you ride inside a zorb with water.  You will get wet here so bring extra clothes.  It cost P350 each and it can do up to 3 persons at a time depending on your size.  Hotel transfers included.

Allan and Me

Camille and Mike

Janet and Agnes

Zorb Park Video

This is my second time to do this here in Boracay.  When we arrived at Zorb Park, I asked our guide to bring us to Ride The Zorb because I thought it is better.  But he said it is closed already.  But when I checked online afterwards it is still open.

Difference of Zorb Park and Ride the Zorb

• Ride the Zorb has 2 types, hydro and harness.
• Ride the Zorb has longer track and slower but Zorb Park is steeper and faster, both has about 10 seconds of roll time.
• You don't end up in a pool at Ride the Zorb.
• Zorb Park put's too much water, you won't be able to scream, open your eyes and breathe for a while.  I drowned a bit here.  At Ride the Zorb, we enjoyed our roll downhill and still aware of what's happening.
• Prices are just about the same for the zorb rides but Ride the Zorb has combination promos with other activities in the island.

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Lakbay-freak: Fairways and Bluewater Zipline Boracay

Our day 3 adventure.....

Fairways and Bluewater Zipline.  It's 10am and everybody is up and kicking, we met our guide in front of the hotel for the last activity of the package.  We were picked up from the hotel to the location.

Agnes and Janet who also tried the zipline but without video.

• This is longer than Mt. Luho's but only goes one way. 
• Takes 20 seconds to reach the other side.
• Spectacular view of the beach.
• Don't know how much it cost because it's a package, but I believe it's P700.
• Hotel transfers included.

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Lakbay-freak: Banana Boat Ride Boracay

Our day 2 adventure....

Banana Boat Ride.  Our third activity for the day, the banana boat ride, operated by Diamond Water Sports.  It cost P250 per pax minimum of 5 and ride time is about 15 minutes.  Flipping over is not allowed anymore.  We are using a banana boat with 2 main tubes and it's more comfortable to sit in between.

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.

Lakbay-freak: Shingley Helmet Dive Boracay

Our day 2 adventure....

Helmet Dive.  We started with helmet diving first.  The operator is Shingley, this is a different operator from the first one I tried 5 years ago, White Blue Water. Between them, White Blue has better helmets, with Shingley's, we have to hold down our helmets to keep them from tilting back.  Unlike the other, their helmet has a bigger visor and is sitting perfectly on my shoulders that I can use both of my hands to feed the fish and make crazy antics.

From the beach, they will take you to the site via boat where you will have your orientation and the helmet dive itself.  The whole experience is about 30 minutes and about 15 minutes walking under the sea and feeding the fish.  Photos and video included.

I'm not in the picture....:(

Shingley's Helmet Dive

This was my White Blue Helmet Dive 5 years ago.  We paid P700 each for this one with photos and video.

White Blue Water Helmet Dive

Check out our Boracay Adventure 2014 here.