Mabuhi!
As a birthday gift for Hubby we decided to spend it together in an adventure. And so with a lot of research and planning we chose stand-up paddle boarding at Loboc River, in the town of Loboc, Bohol.
Getting There
Well, first things first, you need to be in Bohol. From Manila, you can take a one and half hour plane ride to Tagbilaran Airport, the lone airport here in Bohol. From Cebu, there are lots of options, so I'll just state the easiest one. You can take a two hour fast craft ride from Cebu Port Terminal 1 to the Port of Tagbilaran.
From the airport/seaport, you may take a motorized tricycle to Dao Integrated Bus Terminal. As a local, this is what I usually do when I'm at the Port of Tagbilaran, I'll take a 2 minute walk to the entrance of the port and from there I'll ride a motorized tricycle to the Multicab Terminal for Dao IBT (west side of Jollibee-Alturas).
Rates (Motorized Tricycle) :
(Airport/Seaport to Dao IBT) --- Php30.00 per head
(Seaport to Multicab Terminal) --- Php8.00
(Multicab Terminal to Dao IBT) --- Php8.00
At Dao IBT, take a Ceres bus or any bus that is going to pass the town of Loboc. As for us, we took the Ceres bus going to Talibon via Carmen. Don't be afraid to ask the locals, they will be more than glad to help you.
Rate:
Ceres Bus (Non-Aircon) --- Php25.00
Hubby needs to travel from Changi Airport to Mactan and was supposedly at the Tagbilaran Port by three o'clock in the afternoon but due to Cebu's heavy traffic, it was already evening when he reached Tagbilaran. So since I am not familiar with the location of the hotel where we are going to stay in at Loboc I need help from Google Maps. Of course you can always tell your conductor to drop you off at a certain place but just to be sure I need to use Google Maps' Directions.
It's a 26 minutes bus drive from Dao IBT to Camayaan Road, Loboc. To my surprise, Google Maps was very accurate even in a rural place like this.
From there, we enjoyed taking a 3 minutes leisure walk under a starry sky from Loay Interior Road to Loboc River Resort.
Loboc River Resort
We checked in at Loboc River Resort. Too bad we missed our planned activities for that afternoon, biking and kayaking. So for those coming from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, please take note of the traffic.
Situated beside the Loboc River, we had a peaceful dinner at the resort's resto.
We need to take our breakfast very early the next morning for our SUP Tour at 8AM.
SUP Tours Philippines
SUP Tours Philippines' Whole Day Stand-up Paddle Tour starts at eight in the morning. So be there at least 15 minutes before 8AM for the necessary pre-tour briefing such as signing of documents, trying on of booties, rash guards and personal flotation devices that suits on you and of course the SUP lessons.
Rates:
1 Hour Loboc River SUP Tour --- Php800.00
Half-Day Loboc River SUP Tour --- Php950.00-2,000.00
Full-Day River and Waterfall SUP Tour --- Php1,500.00-2,550.00
Inclusions:
- Use of SUP board and equipment during lesson and tour
- SUP Lesson
- Tour guide for the SUP tour
- Municipal Fee
- Cold water
- Lunch with Fresh Young Coconut Milk (for Full-Day Tour only)
Essentials:
- hat/cap
- long sleeve rash guard (especially during summer season)
- sunglasses
- sunscreen
Tips:
- If you stay at the SUP Tours Philippines' Fox and the Firefly Cottages located inside the Center you'll have a 10% Discount on their SUP & Mountain Bike Tours
Flat-Water SUP at Loboc River
We handed our camera to our wonderful tour guide, John Ray, and it was so thoughtful of him to take our pictures during the tour. There were sceneries that I wanted to capture like the tall limestone cliffs and hills along the river, so if you have waterproof cameras, it would be wise to bring it along with you during the tour.
Flat Water SUP at Busay Falls
We took a short stop here at Busay Falls and explored the waterfalls.
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| Visible right above Busay Falls is Loboc Eco-Tourism Adventure Park's zipline. |
We headed back to the Paddle Center for our lunch, but before we reach there, we took another short stop at Loctob Cold Spring. Yes, it was very cold and the water was very clear. John Ray says the water there stays clear even if the river is flooding due to mountain rains.
We had our sumptuous lunch beside the river together with other guests
At two in the afternoon, we resumed our tour down the river.
One thing that amazed me was seeing locals in baruto (small boat) picking up garbage in the river.
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| Passing by at Loboc River Resort. |
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| We had a stopover here for another round of young coconut milk. |
SUP at Loay Beach
This was the last leg of the Full-Day SUP Tour, stand-up paddle boarding in rough water. Yikes!I admit, it was very challenging doing SUP with strong winds against you.
Our tour ended at a beach area in Loay. We were pick-up by a multicab back to the SUP Tours Philippines Paddle Center at Barangay Valladolid, Loboc.
After taking a bath and eating dinner at the center we are finally heading home. From the Paddle Center we need to take a 3-5 minutes walk to Loay Interior Road. If you are heading to Tagbilaran City or to the Eastern part of Bohol like us, you need to wait for a bus at the waiting shed adjacent to the Petron gas station. Now, if it's already evening time and buses are already scarce you may ride a motorcycle taxi to Loay Interior Road and Bohol Circumferential Road crossing.
Rate:
Motorcycle Taxi --- Php30.00 per person
Well, that's it guys, it was definitely a fun-filled day! A day where you will be one with nature. Where you will stand in awe and feel the challenge to protect it's beauty. A day where you will get exhausted but will certainly enjoy every bit of the adventure.
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