It's been a decade plus of not being able to visit this place as Bantayan Island used to bring not so good memories relating to Holy Week, hassle-full processing of accommodations back then and actually going back to Cebu City a day earlier than expected because the event we paid for flaked on us..but that's on a totally irrelevant story.

I live in a place quite far from Bantayan Island and traveling for a total of 6 hours (car+boat) with a hyper toddler in tow might take a toll on us so we decided not to go just yet. Bantayan Island is so beautiful-so much so that a 3D2N stay is not enough. When you can, stay for a week to make the most out what this island has to offer.

 

..so when the invitation from Cebu Provincial Government and GMR Group came in 2 days before the scheduled departure (this after only staying in Cebu for 4 days since I was at Manila for a week prior) came as a lovely and welcome surprise. Like most laagans out there, we weren't really expecting to fly out-or be given travel opportunities anytime this year til the second half. I confirmed within 15 minutes of receiving the invitation and my giddiness doubled when I read the first paragraph of the itinerary saying that we will be flown out of a chartered plane from Mactan Cebu International Airport to the island and the travel time will only take 30 minutes. It couldn't get any better but then I knew Janine (@offdutymama) and Dee (@deeexplores) are also coming so we haven't been really talking about anything since.

 

 

I am an early morning fly out person. Aside from the fact that it's the safest, flying gives me an adrenaline rush that makes me energetic for the most of the day. When I'm traveling, I only get 4 hours of sleep max because my thoughts race of the places I have to go to, people I have to meet, food I want to eat and the experiences a place has to offer..so in turn, my skin usually suffers because they get patchy and I always have a breakout after 5 days of this body abuse 😅

Going back, I met the two at the MCIA Malasakit Desk (grabe baya tag hugot aning malasakit desk) at 5AM and I think it was already a sin to be perky and alive this early. Everyone at the airport was still groggy but I guess you can't contain us 😂 For me, it's time to make new and beautiful memories in this beautiful island.

 

Should you plan to fly (and SAVE LOTS OF TIME) from Cebu to Bantayan Island, send an email to reservations@airjuan.com for plane rates with dates as I have checked their official website upon landing there and they are still updating it.

Apparently, ours was the inaugural flight. What a historic moment! After booking your flights, don't forget to download the TRAZE app so that our local government can do their standard contact tracing in the most hassle-free possible; All you have to do after installing and signing up is to scan the qr code in places where you are and then you are automatically tagged as having been there. Checking in only takes seconds I swear Cebu City and other provinces should re-align and use this too.

As of November 29, 2020, here are the requirements upon entering the island

Bantayan Island Requirements

Here are some of the shots my friends and I took:

Virgin Island first timer 

 

 

low-key obsessed with this lifeguard area 😆

 

also, dragged them along 😅

@offdutymama

@deeexplores

           my photographer can't really see the shots she's taking but i love this! 

Thanks bae! 

Kota Beach during mid-afternoon

Beach trip is uncomplete til I can lounge and get my much-needed tan

weekend crew

Evening soiree with Bb. Pilipinas contestants

This Bantayan Island Escapade is conceptualized as a scaled and controlled model of how the new tourism normal will be. With this island's pristine white beaches, picturesque setting, warm community spirit and conveniently-located airport, Bantayan Island is the ideal place to showcase a safe, curated and integrated, worry-free experience. 

 

In lieu of the upcoming Holy Week, I think that it's appropriate for me to post a place for you guys to go to during this time. No Cebuano can ever claim that he's a Cebuano at heart til he hasn't been to Bantayan Island for the Holy Week. Just a heads up, prices for EVERYTHING at this island doubles every Holy Week.

We were supposed to stay at Sugar Beach Resort (again), but due to the conflict of interest between us and the organizers of the event for the Holy Week there, we decided to transfer somewhere else (out of topic by the way, that same organizer is the same organizer of the annual Summer Sunscream here in Cebu City, which garnered A LOT of complaints because of it's overpriced tickets)

See me so psyched about the idea of spending Holy Week at Bantayan Island. Apparently, this picture also served as the last picture of me clearly having fun at Sugar Beach Resort.

As soon as we were able to transfer to Sunday Beach Flower Resort, we decided not to spend any more time wallowing on our unfortunate incident at Sugar Beach and went beaching

There was a net in front of the shore since this was in preparation for the triathlon the next day

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a pic of us swimming since there wasn't really anyone willing to stay at the shore while everyone else was having fun at the beach. The cold water of the Bantayan beach makes it so worth it to stay under the sun for the whole afternoon.

We got hungry so we decided to explore the food from other resorts. Unfortunately, Sta. Fe itself doesn't offer much option for budget travelers. On the poblacion of Sta. Fe itself, the only food you can eat without paying for a tourist price is the local barbecue, deep fried chicken and some grilled fish. 

We decided to keep our options open and decided to explore this restaurant which is just a walking distance away from where we are staying

Needless to say, we all found the name of this food place appropriate. Like all other food places at Sta. Fe, this restaurant is friendly for tourists only.

Come to think of it, the only highlight of my visit was that I got to see my best friend at the island and 

 ...we got to drive around from the nearby port until Sugar Beach.

And, to somehow commemorate the Holy Week, we went to the city itself and visited the church.

  

Basing from this entry, I wouldn't recommend going to Bantayan Island anymore during Holy Week since the events way back 2009 (i.e, Bikini Open) and all the lewd happenings there are all banned. If you are looking for a place to be unholy during Holy Week, you might want to check out other places.. either that, or you might want to check your morals first as to why of all the times you choose to be unholy, you'd choose this week.

Oops, I think I struck a nerve there.

If you weren't able to check out my first entry about Bantayan Island here, again, here's how to get to Bantayan Island :

1. North Bus Terminal -> Hagnaya (100+)

2. Hagnaya Pier-> Bantayan Port (170+)   

3. Bantayan Port -> Sugar Beach Resort (25-30++) for the whole tricycle.