Bantayan Island, Cebu

If I can only stay longer, I will. It is one of the places that you dont want to be developed (that sounds very selfish). You are so happy and contented just the way it is. Even during the super peak season, it feels like its only you and a few others. Its has a good mix of locals, fisher folks and tourist. During low tide, so many sandbars become visible and so are the seashells. During high tide, there is the calm sea in front of you.

Going to Bantayan Island from Cebu City takes time. One has to travel by land for at least 2 hours going North and then an hour ferry ride to the island. I went there with my family using private car. There are overnight parking space in the port area which are considerably safe to leave your cars while relaxing in Bantayan.

The fun part is buying your ticket for the boat ride. There are ticket booths owned by the ferry companies that goes to Bantayan, better to buy it directly rather than from touts in the entrance. The ferry that will leave in the next hour will be sell the most expensive ticket, but if you are going to wait a while like 2 to 3 hours, some company offers it for free or for half the price. But who will avail that right?All of us wants to get to the island, fast. Now. Pronto. Cant wait. So as impatient travelers, we bought the tickets that will allow us to board the 1st ferry to the islands. When are onboard already, to our surprise, you can actually buy the ticket in the ferry itself and the price is much lower at the official booth. Now if only someone told us about it or if only I have it read in a blog somewhere.

It took us an hour to get there. The ferry is big and it can do cargo. You are traversing in an open sea. It may not be that safe to travel here during the rainy season but the waves has the potential of getting big. From afar, the white sand will tease your eyes already, building up the excitement for a nice relaxing holiday.