Bohol Beach Club
This is my second and final installation of ‘Best of the Philippines’ where I sum up all I’ve learned in the last 21 months of living here.  I know you’ll put it to good use and I encourage you to pass it along to other ‘newbies’ in town.  Click here if you missed the first installment, Best of the Philippines Part 1: Food and Services.  Thanks for your continued readership – I love writing for you!
Enjoy, Sarah
Travel
Best 3 Day Weekend Getaway = Bohol (Must Sees: Bee Farm, Chocolate Hills)
CLICK HERE FOR MY BOHOL PHOTO GALLERIES: Gallery 1, Gallery 2
Most Undiscovered Gem = Batanes
CLICK HERE FOR MY BATANES PHOTO GALLERY
Most Beautiful Beach = Boracay
CLICK HERE FOR MY BORACAY PHOTO GALLERIES: Gallery 1, Gallery 2
Most Unique Experience = Swimming with the Whale Sharks, Donsol
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF US SWIMMING
WITH THE WHALE SHARKS
CLICK HERE FOR MY DONSOL PHOTO GALLERY
Swimming with the Dolphins at Subic’s Ocean Adventure
Best Experience with Animals = Ocean Adventure in Subic
CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF US SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS AT OCEAN ADVENTURE PARK
Best Day Trip = Hidden Valley Springs
Best Overnight Trip = San Pablo (Villa Escudero, Sanctuario de San Pablo, Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden, Sulyap Cafe)
CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF SAN PABLO
Best First Trip (Before You have a Car) = Coco Beach (They will pick you up at the Diamond Hotel by van)
CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF COCO BEACH
Best Historical Site = Corregidor
Best Food Excursion = Tagaytay (Antonio’s, Sonia’s Garden, Bag of Beans)
Most Life-changing Experience:
Tour of Tondo with the Philippine Community Fund
CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PHOTOS OF THE TONDO TRASH DUMP WHERE 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE
Products & Experiences
Best Place to Buy Pearls = Greenhills/Dam Good Stuff
Favorite Greenhills Pearl Vendors =
- Jawahir (stand 71) for strings of pearls
- Taslimah (stall H) for pearls combined with silver
Favorite Chaise Lounge Maker = CMG Rattan
3rd Floor Furniture Bazaar, Market Market. Â Good for custom made rattan and abaca furniture. Â Reliable and reasonable, Tel (+632)3850654 Mobile: (+63)09157570022
Best Bargains = Divisoria
(Note: Take a veteran with you – lots of pickpockets and hard to navigate)
Best Bazaar = USEC Bazaar AND the AWCP Bazaar
Best Place to Get Filipino Handicrafts = Kultura
Best Pottery = Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden
Best Photography Class for Beginners = PhotoWorld Manila’s Basic Photography
Best Photoshop Class for Beginners = De La Salle’s Photoshop Short Course
Best Videoke = Redbox
Best Sunset = Roxas Boulevard Boardwalk
Best Calm Oasis Where You Can Forget You’re in Manila = The American Cemetery
Most Unique Golf Course = Intramuros Golf Course
Most Fascinating Outing = The Chinoy Cemetery Tour
Best Gym = Fitness First
Best Mall = Greenbelt
Favorite Places to Volunteer =Â Friendship Home, Carewell
Best Movie Theatre: IMAX Mall of Asia
Most Unique Movie Experience: Director’s Club Mall of Asia
Best Hospital Ambiance = St. Luke’s
Best Hospital Care = Makati Med
thanks for helping us promote our beautiful country, I hope I can meet you and share travel experiences in the future… your blog is really inspiring for a travel blogger like me:)
Thank you Melo – I love telling people about what a fantastic place the Philippines is! I appreciate you reading…
We need to plan our first trip STAT!
And did you know Karl and I met at karaoke? (I’m not very good, he is actually pretty impressive.)
Yes you do! And very cool about the Karaoke, you’ll have plenty of opportunities (for work and play)! :)
You’ve got lovely pictures at Coco Beach Resort and because of that, I’m planning to visit the place. :) Would you recommend the place?!! And how about the food, is it reasonable or a bit pricey?! What is the price range of the food in there?!
I know, you avail their transport service, but I’m planning to travel on my own. The only thing that bothers me though is the boat trip from Batangas pier going to Coco beach. Do you have any idea how much will it cost?!
Hope you could give me some insight that will be helpful before I place my reservation. Any suggestions or recommendations will be highly appreciated.
Thank you very much and hope to hear it from you soon!
I’m sorry, we went so long ago now that I don’t remember the costs (it was our first trip, so I didn’t have a sense of what things cost yet anyways!) I don’t remember it being that expensive… I’m sure you’ll have a delightful time though!
I’m glad you had a swell time in our country. Hope you could visit the Southern part of the Philippines, where a lot of hidden treasures can be found. ;p