This is actually my 5th visit
to Boracay. But this time, I’m with my
family (My Mom, my sister, my two nieces, and one nephew). Our ticket only costs 550 Pesos roundtrip
each. This was actually my last booking
with Air Asia Philippines (PQ), and they were consistent in ruining all my
bookings. After their very disappointing
cancellation of our Macau flights, and changes
on our replacement flights, then a month before our flight, they moved our
flight to 7 PM. So this time I
questioned them, why reschedule it to a useless time, if we arrive Kalibo by 8
PM, then we still have to travel 2 hours to Caticlan and to Boracay. Who would cross the island at that time
knowing that we already had our hotel bookings. So the only solution is to rebook the flight a
day earlier. Then I requested for an overnight
accommodation so we can travel the next day to Boracay. But the request for accommodation was denied
because according to them it is only valid if we are already at the airport at
the time of cancellation. So in order
not to ruin our first family vacation in Boracay, I had to book an overnight accommodation in
Kalibo. Luckily I found a very cheap yet
nice hotel. On the date of travel, we
went to Trinoma and from there we took the Bus service at the Clark Airport
Lounge. The fare costs 200 Pesos each
way. Because our departure time is 6:45
PM, we had a heavy snack before we check-in at the airport. We boarded the aircraft on time but had to
wait more than an hour inside the plane because according to them, there is
congestion at Kalibo
Airport so we are waiting
for their clearance. We finally departed
past 8 in the evening so we arrived Kalibo at past 9 PM.
We stayed at Bee bee lodge. From the airport, we hired a tricycle to the
hotel for only 150 Pesos. It is located
in a quiet area, yet only a few minutes walk to McDonald’s and a convenience
store. The rooms are clean and spacious. We booked
two triple rooms for only 750 Pesos Per night each room. The other room has 1 double bed and 1 single
bed while the other had 3 single beds. There
are built-in tables outside each room where you can have your coffee or to eat.
Since this is a budget hotel designed
for overnight stay only, do not expect too much service, it does not have free
breakfast, and if you need hot water, you have to go down and get it for
yourself. When we arrived, almost all
stores are closed except for McDonald’s. We only bought rice and dessert from there and
ate our packed dinner at the hotel. Yes,
because we knew that we are arriving late, we had adobo in our baggage and some
bottled water. Since our official trip
begins on the next day, we had to save since we are only in Kalibo for an
overnight stay.
 |
| Outside Clark International Airport |
 |
| My Niece enjoying her inflight snack |
The next day comes our official Boracay Tour. We woke up early and ate cup noodles and
flakes. At around 9 AM, our tricycle is
already waiting outside, we arranged a service to the Van Terminal going to
Caticlan. The service costs 100
Pesos. From the terminal, it only costs
100 Pesos to Caticlan Jetty Port. This one
proved to be faster than taking a bus which costs 175 to 200 Pesos each. Our travel time only took 1 hour and 18
Minutes. It is around 2 hours when
taking a bus. At the Caticlan Jetty
Port, you have to pay the usual Environmental Fe (75 Pesos for Adults, 60 Pesos
for Senior Citizens amd students, Free for 12 years and below), Terminal Fee
which is still 100 Pesos each( Free for 5 years old and Below),and the
Fastcraft ( 30 Pesos). You can also take smaller motor boats worth 25
Pesos, however, it is more convenient to take a fastcraft because it is bigger
and air-conditioned, although waiting time is longer.
 |
| Our tricycle service to the Van terminal. |
Upon reaching the island
of Boracay, we took the
tricycle which will bring us directly to the hotel. On our way to the hotel, we
saw “Chooks to go” along station 3, so I decided to use my Gift Certificate to
get 1 whole grilled chicken for free. We
reached our hotel almost 12 o’ clock in the afternoon. Check-in time is 2 PM; luckily there was an
available room already so we were able to check-in early.
We stayed at La Carmela de Boracay Hotel. Our room is located a few steps away from the
restaurant which is a few walk to the beach area. This was my second stay at this resort. I chose this one because it will be easy for
kids to reach the beach area since this establishment is beach front. It is also best for families since it is away
from the party area so kids can enjoy a more pleasant beach experience.
 |
| Their first dip at the beach. |
On our next day in Boracay, we woke up early to have our
buffet breakfast and went our way to station 1.
There, we visited the grotto and enjoyed swimming around. We stayed there for a couple of hours before
we finally went back to our hotel to take a shower and change clothes. We went back to Station 2 to have our lunch at
Mang Inasal before we went shopping. My
family enjoyed their souvenir shopping and went hungry again, so this time we
tried Halowich, this is halo halo with a twist!
We ordered the largest bowl and it was worth it. It costs 399 Pesos per order, god for 6 to 8
persons. It includes fresh fruits such as mangos and bananas filled with
flavored ice of your choice, and with lots of soft ice cream around the bowl
topped with a cherry. The serving is
really huge and mouthwatering. After
that very delicious snack, we went back shopping and walked our way back to our
room.
For dinner, we decided to eat at our resort’s buffet dinner
at the beachfront. There were many food
selections so we enjoyed our dinner very much.
We had a contest of who will create the best Mongolian noodles, and to
our surprise, my 7 year old nephew had the best tasting while his 13 year old
sister had the worst! After than heavy
and fun filled dinner, we walked along station 3, we had our photos taken at a
photo booth for only 75 Pesos, printed on a waterproof photo paper. Station 3 had the reputation of having the
cheapest hotels in the island; however, there are now many 5 star resorts here
such as Sand and Crown Regency. And
according to some people there, the most expensive resort is Asya Premiere
Suites, which is also located in station 3.
More and more resorts are being built in the area, maybe because this
area wider, almost unaffected by the erosions which affected station 1 greatly.
 |
| Our photo booth picture |
On our last day in Boracay, we decided to spend the entire
morning at the beach. We checked out at
exactly 12 o’clock in the afternoon and left our luggage at their luggage
storage for free. We again walked our
way to station 2 for our lunch and last minute shopping. Afterwards, we hired a tricycle back to our
hotel and claimed our luggage and headed to Cagban Jetty port. Here, a terminal fee is also collected aside
from the ticket. Upon reaching Caticlan Jetty Port,
we saw an air-conditioned van service to Kalibo at the Port’s exit. Fare to Kalibo Proper is only 100 Pesos and
only 150 Pesos to Kalibo
International Airport. Since our flight is still tomorrow, we just
paid 100 Pesos going to Kalibo, Luckily,
the van passes through Ati-atihan Festival Hostel, this is were we had
our reservation.
 |
| Last minute shopping at D' Mall |
 |
| Time to Leave Boracay1 |
Ati-atihan Festival Hostel is one of the best places to have
an overnight stay in Kalibo, the room we had was the Family dormitory. It has 6 single beds, a 6-seater dining area,
a living room with 29-inch TV, a mini refrigerator, and 2 shower rooms and a
separate toilet. The place is only a few
walk from the public market and Gaisano Capital Mall. But since we are at the annex building, the
water dispenser is too far away from us so we bought our own water, although they provide complimentary bottled water upon check-in. A small yet clean eatery can also be found
along the side of the hostel which serves affordable and delicious food. Before we slept, we uploaded our photos on
facebook using their fast wifi which comes free.
 |
| We all have our own bed. |
 |
| There are 2 shower rooms and a toilet |
 |
| The dining area |
 |
| The living area |
Due to limited time, we were unable to explore Kalibo. They say it best to visit Sampaguita Gardens
and the Mangrove eco Park. We should have went straight to Kalibo upon
check-out in Boracay. Here, prices are
almost 50% cheaper so we were able to buy more pasalubong. The hostel also has their own Pasalubong
store and items are packed in a nice paper bag for a more presentable look.
 |
| Gaisano Capital Mall in Kalibo |
Outside the hotel are tricycles waiting for passengers. You can hire it for only 100 Pesos to the
airport. We waited at the second floor
to take a shot on departing planes. A
duty free shop selling affordable items can also be found at this section. Our plane departed on time and we reached Clark also on time.
 |
| Zest Air taking off at Kalibo International Airport |
But the happy vacation went irritating as the bus service as
stated on Clark-Trinoma Airport Lounge’s
schedule didn’t came. I called the
lounge and they told me to wait for the bus which already departed, the Genesis
bus should arrive by 5PM but it was already 6PM when we found out that the bus
did not proceed to Clark
Airport because they had
no passengers. That was so annoying
because why did they post about schedules from Clark
to Trinoma if it will depend only if they have passengers from Trinoma. Because of that we were forced to hire the
entire air-con jeep to Dau bus station for 500 Pesos because if will wait for
other passengers, it will take us another one and a half hour for the next
plane to arrive. We took the Victory
liner Bus to Cubao and asked the conductor why they discontinued the free
shuttle to the terminal, and they said they lost the bidding. So that boils down to another question in my
mind, why choose Genesis Bus with poor service against other bus companies who
have a proven record of good service to passengers to Clark. I think Victory liner is much better because
they have a bus station very near to Clark
that can act as feeder services for scheduled passenger services. I think the Clark Airport Management should
reconsider their partnership with Genesis Bus which may later make their lounge
useless.
Well except for the hassles that the Airport lounge service
gave us. What is important is we went
home safe after several changes with heavy luggage. I’d love to take my family elsewhere someday
and hopefully it will be sooner.
No comments:
Post a Comment