hasytraveldiaries

After my Camiguin trip with friends, I went ahead to Cebu for another trip, but this time with my family. I had a great time enjoying the summer and life after college.

If you are looking for a place to relax and chill, Plantation Bay offers that kind of treat. They have great facilities and excellent customer service. They have different kinds of pools which you would really enjoy (especially those kids at heart like me!). They also have lots of fun activities where you could have a great time.

Saltwater Lagoon

Pool near our room

Family Room

You could have a great time exploring the place by riding bicycles that they usually lend to their guests. You could also explore the area by riding a “Kalesa” or a golf kart; or you could just enjoy walking around the resort.

I opted for a bike to explore Plantation Bay. They offer a variety of activities that you’ll enjoy it for sure. They have outdoor wall-climbing, archery, tennis court, and golf pitch-and-putt. They also have indoor Firing Range, as well as a gym for those people who wanted to stay in shape while enjoying their vacation. They also have arcade for their guests. If you are travelling with toddlers, they have nursery room for them, where they could enjoy playing with the assistance provided by the staffs.

After roaming around the place and trying out activities they offer, you can enjoy a dip in their pools. I went pool hopping with my sister. You can still enjoy swimming at night – saltwater lagoons and freshwater pools.   There is a “cliff diving” part in the resort where you can just dive there. During our stay, the beach area was closed temporarily; I did not have the chance to explore their beach.

And if you are hungry, you can just go to their restaurant. They usually serve variety of delicious dishes while enjoying the great view.

The resort gives their guests complementary drinks which would be redeemed at the “intergalactic” themed bar.

Whale watching guide

After Plantation Bay, we went to Oslob for whale watching. Oslob is located at the southern part of Cebu. It is best known for its beautiful beaches and the gentle giants – the Whale Sharks. You can take a bus ride going there or you can rent a van (advisable for large groups).

How to get to Oslob…

From Cebu City, go to South Bus Terminal,  choose a bus going to Oslob. After that, just ask the “condoktor” to drop you off the Oslob whale watching area (Tan-awan, Oslob). The whale watching area is just beside the highway, so there is no reason for you to be lost. Just ask politely the “condoktor” to drop you off at Oslob whale watching area.

From Mactan Airport, you have choices: taxi or MyBus. Take a taxi from the airport going to South bus terminal. If you opt for riding MyBus, from airport MyBus, which has usually three stops – Parkmall, SM Cebu, and SM Seaside. Just take the route of SM Cebu and from there, go directly to the “Jeepney” Station and choose 12-I.  Tell the driver to drop you off near South Bus Terminal (they usually drop you off at a gas station in front South Bus terminal).

*PS: Please do not confuse yourself with North Bus Terminal, which is located in Mandaue. You will know if you are near South Bus Terminal because you will see landmarks – E-Mall and ACT school.

…FOR people who wanted real Cebu commute adventure

If you want to escape the heavy traffic (especially in Mandaue-Mactan bridge) you can choose Ferry Boat. From the airport, just ride taxi and tell the driver to drop you off at Ferry Boat, Opon – located at the back of Birhen sa Regla Church. And from there, buy a ticket (14 pesos) and another fee of 1 pesos. The ride is usually convenient and the fastest way going to the city. Once you arrive in the Port of Cebu City, you can hire taxi or “jeepney” route number 02B going to South Bus Terminal.

If you are from Dumaguete, you can take the bus going to Cebu (Oslob) and tell the driver/conductor to drop you off Tan-awan, Oslob.

Oslob whale watching…

The local boatmen will guide you going to the deep waters so that you could enjoy watching the Whale Sharks passing around the area. Locals there usually feed the Whale Sharks from 6 am to 12 noon. At this time, many whale sharks gather around to eat. After 12 noon Whale Sharks will usually go somewhere else. That is why it is advisable for you stay there a day before the event or just be there earlier than 7 a.m.

Whale Sharks are not caged and are free enough to roam around the deep waters. There were licensed drivers (who were also marine biologists according to the boatman I interviewed) present during the whole Whale Shark activity. They are the one who monitored the whole whale sharks activity for safety purposes.

There will be a 15-minute orientation before you could see with the whale sharks. The orientation usually done by batches and there are interpreters (Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) for you to understand the rules for whale watching.

Please be guided that you should not apply sunscreen if you want to swim with them. According to the guide, it could cause harm to the whale sharks. You should stay about 6-12 feet (or more) away from the whale sharks and you are not allowed to touch these whale sharks. But if these whale sharks would go near you (which happened to me) just go away from them.

We went to Oslob a day before the whale watching. We stayed at BCD’s Place, for a night only. We woke up early to catch the gentle giants of the sea. There were a lot of tourists at that time (because it was peak season). It costs 500 pesos per head for a 30-minute viewing. If you do not have action camera with you, you could a rent it for 500 pesos. You can claim the pictures after 30 minutes and while waiting for the pictures, you can enjoy swimming around the area and buying souvenirs.  Sumilon sandbar is just a 15-20 minutes boat ride, so after whale watching you can enjoy island hoping at Sumilon Island.

During the whale shark watching activity, my cousins and I enjoyed almost one hour of it. It was around 9:30 in the morning, under the extreme heat, when it was our turn to watch the whales.  But at some point, I was really disappointed at some tourists who were there to witness the whale sharks. Some of them did not really follow those instructions stated during the orientation. There were tourists who were chasing the shark whales and touching the tail, which is a very big NO. You are not supposed to chase them nor touch them or even go nearer. It was a very clear rule during orientation that no one should be 6-12 feet closer to the whales. Aside from staying away from them, avoid splashing the water and turn off camera flashes. On that day, I interviewed our boatmen and asked them why there were only two shark whales present. The boatmen stated that some of the shark whales usually go off somewhere to look for food and place to stay during summer season.

We can still enjoy watching the whales but just be mindful about the rules imposed. Let us be a responsible enough so that there will be no harm done (which might be one of the reasons why it will be shut down for good). This would affect the local tourism as well as the livelihood of the locals.