A Peace of Me: Leisure Travels in the Philippines

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to travel to several different places around the many Philippine islands (there are 7,107 islands here!), and have a few favorites. Two in particular that stand out as most memorable are my trips to Bohol Bee Farm on the Island of Bohol and my island hopping adventure on the Caramoan Islands on the island of Luzon but the Bicol Region. Both of these travel destinations take a bit travel to get to but once you are there, it's pure relaxation for the duration of your stay!

(Please keep in mind that we traveled to Bohol in July 2013 prior to the massive 7.2 Earthquake that occurred in October 2013. Our prayers are with all who were affected)

Bohol Bee Farm, is a resort situated on the island of Panglao with a beautiful ocean view, from which one can see the islands of Siquijor and Mindanao in a distance. Bohol Bee Farm is largely known for its organic food and beverages served in the restaurant, it's livelihood and productivity centers and of course the bees that help make this happen! The establishment offers tours of the venue and an up close and personal look at the bees. There is a spa on site as well as offers guests the opportunity to do some snorkeling and diving. The meals are reasonably priced (about p200 for a meal, p80 for a shake/ice cream) and they offer plenty of souvenirs in the shop along with bee products (honey, honey soap, spices, etc.). Its a wonderful, quiet, one of its kind venue to relax, and enjoy oneself. There are plenty of pools and outdoor space to walk around or lounge. Great for older persons, the youngs ones and everyone in between.

In order to get to the Bohol Bee Farm, you have several options. You can fly into the Tagbilaran airport in Bohol and the Farm offers shuttle service to the venue, which is about a 30 minute ride from the airport to the tranquil resort. Another option is to fly into the island of Cebu and take a ferry over to Tagbiliaran at which point the shuttle will arrive to take you back to the resort. I did the latter since I traveled with my friend who lives in Cebu! Amelia! So without further ado here are some pictures from our vacation.

(Please keep in mind that we traveled to Bohol in July 2013 prior to the massive 7.2 Earthquake that occurred in October 2013. Our prayers are with all who were affected)

Here is a family vacationing. On the wall is a picture of the Bees in the colony. Also if you look closely you can see the wall is made of coconut shells. This is something new that they are trying out to see its durability and will try this on new construction projects in the future.

Here is a look at the Bohol Bee Farm Productivity Center. Here a woman is weaving a mat from material found on a coconut tree. The material is dyed to the color choice and decorated.

A look at the herbal garden that is kept here for the organic products. They use a small concentration of chili peppers and water to keep the bugs off of them. also they have a special plant just for the insects to eat to keep them off the other plants.

This is a look at our room which was "Carmen" good for at least 3 people with a balcony.

Another view of our room!

Our trip to the Caramoan Islands took a bit of work but is well worth it! This is the site where Survivor Philippines has been filmed for the past seasons. We started our journey by all meeting in Naga City, Bicol. From there we rode a bus (or you can take a van) to a distant barangay. The name slips my mind at this time. Then there was a 20 minute trike ride to the pier. Then we took a 2 hour boat ride to Caramoan. At which point our tour guide escorted us back to the resort we stayed. We paid about 200-300 each way for transportation. Once we made it to the resort our tour guide escorted us on the private boat to each island. (day trips)