Arrival

• Singapore’s direct flight to Kalibo via Tiger: almost 3 hours 40′ (11am – 2.40pm)
• Kalibo airport to Caliclan port: 1 hours 30′ @ 1,000 PHP for a private cab including free boat tickets.
  Apparently, they have 2 different pricing for tourists and locals. So it’s cheaper if the local buys tickets for us (which cost only 25 Peso per pax). They also have a door-to-door package for 1,500 PHP, which seems quite over-priced.
  It will be cheaper – just 250PHP per pax – if you take a van instead.
  But actually it’s not that expensive considering we can ask the cab driver to stop us for lunch, which you can’t if taking a van. He took us to a small yet seemingly popular restaurant called “Ramboys” & was nicely willing to wait for us. The food here is quite nice & cheap as the portion is quite big. Recommended!
  

  Only 700 Peso for this meal!

• At Caliclan port, we need to pay certain fees ourselves:
  • Terminal fee: 100 PHP per pax
  • Environmental fee: 75 PHP per pax
• We’ve gotta pass through something like a “net ladder” with our luggage to reach the boat. It is a small boat – just big enough for everyone to have a seat. There are enough life jackets for everyone though.
• After reaching Boracay – Cagban Jetty port, we need to take a tricycle from the port to our hotels. Somehow the first driver didn’t know about our hotel. We walked outside the gate and found another. After a few minutes bargaining, we settled it down from 150 to 100 Peso which he agreed. After 15-20′ drive, the guy seemingly & unfortunately mistook our hotel. He gotta make a u-turn a few times!? He became frustrated as the time passed by. At the peak of his frustration, he even told us to get out and walk – claiming the hotel is just 30 meters away & his tricycle couldn’t go in while in reality the lane seems big enough for even 2 tricycles.Eventually he asks a local motor rider to lead the way. The correct lane to our hotel is actually the next one.
  At that lane, he once again refuses to go in with us saying the same reason then asks for another 50 peso for the motor guy which we refuse to pay as we haven’t seen our hotel yet and not sure if this is the correct way. After some arguments, the tricycle driver just left without taking any money… LOL. We’ve gotta carry our luggage – following the motor rider guy through the small lane and reach our hotel after 5-10′ walk. We ended up giving him 120 Peso. We don’t mind giving them more tips if only they served us a lit bit better.

Departure

• We’re advised by the hotel staff to go there 5 hours before the flight time. We’re leaving at 10am.
  Take a tri-cycle from our hotel to Boracay – Cagban jetty port: 250 Peso in total shared with another couple – 125 Peso per couple.
• Right at the port, we buy a Boat + Van ticket from J’JAD tours: 250 Peso per pax. Remember to keep your receipt for inspection later on the van.
  
  • The “Boracay Express” boat is like a huge tourist yacht compared to the small boat we took 1 week ago – more spacious & less people – only around 10 people on our trip. There is even very strong signal WIFI available though the distance is very short. Overall it’s a very pleasant 15′ ride.
• We also need to pay 100 Peso per pax for the Terminal Fee at Cagban Jetty Port
• After reaching Caliclan port, we needa walk a bit to the bus terminal where there are “Boracay Express” staff who will be looking for you. It’s important to wear the provided sticky tag so that they can recognize you quickly.
  Taking the van is actually not that bad as I thought. It’s a very smooth journey. There are just enough seats – no one has to stand though it takes slightly longer than the private cab we took – almost 2 hours – as they sometimes stop along to the way to fetch people and there is another stop before the airport, where all the locals stop here.
• At the Kalibo airport, we’ve gotta pay a surprisingly high International Passenger Terminal Fee for 700 Peso/pax
• Our flight lands around 30′ earlier than scheduled (~3 hours in total). We reach Singapore at 6plus in the evening.

Lessons Learned:

• Never EVER EVER change money at the airport (be in on the departure or arrival). It confirms even much worse than the tourist destination’s money exchange rate.
• Be early! Prepare for the unexpected!

Impressions:

• First time to see a beach’s water on 3 different colors! Nice!
  
• Just like in BKK, the police and their stations are everywhere so if something happens, I know where I can go. They even stay up until very late 2-3 in the morning. I felt pretty safe!
• Filipino are relatively nice people. Most of them can speak English pretty well!
  We didn’t encounter any “cheating” though there were case where they accept the bargained price then up-sell or ask for more money after that. Anyway, since the amount is too small. It’s alright.

Recommended places & activities

• We pay 5,000 Peso for Parasailing (15′), Jet Ski! (30′) plus a free sailing trip to see the sunset (they said 30′ but the trip was actually very short only 5-10′ – partially because we were late), which is considered cheap (~130 SGD). But apparently, we could get even cheaper tickets if buying directly from the sellers (somewhere in the middle of White Beach) – ~1,300 for the Jet Ski alone.
  • Very much enjoy Jet Ski & Parasailing! Miss out the ATV though
  • Separate those activities into 2-3 days; 2 in a day at most. We enjoy it very much that way. Otherwise, it’s really overwhelming. We see some people almost vomit after taking Fly Fish and Parasailing after one another.
• Kolai is a local restaurant around 5′ walk from D’Mall – nice & cheap local food! (P200 to 400 for 2 persons’ meal)
• Quite like the mango milkshake @ Jonash’s Fruit Shake (Station 1) – long queue though. The beach there is nice too. I like how the restaurants there sits just a few meters above the beach. The scene is so beautiful!
• Enjoy eating fresh seafood @ D’Talipapa Market (20-25′ walk from D’Mall). We’ve gotta to buy seafood from the opposite market first before getting them cooked at the restaurant, who only charges their cooking fee. Needa bargain twice though the people there are nice!
• Puka Beach looks stunning with huge & high waves – arguably even more beautiful than White Beach. Only 150 Peso from D’Mall to the beach. Remember to bargain.

Pretty enjoyable trip!