Philippines Travel Portal

How would you like to go on a boat trip, chasing dolphins for your birthday? Well, that is exactly what I did to celebrate my birthday last year, dolphin watching in Panglao Island, Bohol. It sure was a lot of fun plus the seeing the diverse natural underwater creatures of was a sure treat.

From Manila, I started my journey to Bohol through an hour flight to Tagbilaran, the city centre of Bohol. From there going to the beautiful island of Panglao is a mere 30 minute car ride from the airport. You would need to hire a private car or van as buses passing through Panglao are hard to catch. Incidentally, these car rentals often come with drivers who are licensed tour guide of Bohol. They offer whole day tours ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 pesos for a whole day tour of the city before bringing you to the beach paradise that is Panglao. I booked my driver in advance when I read about his good service in a travel forum. Don’t worry, if you haven’t found any drivers from your long search in the Internet, there sure are a lot of them waiting just a foot step away from the arrival area of Tagbilaran Domestic Airport.

The first thing that came into my mind when I first saw the beach of Panglao is “heaven”. It was the best thing place I’ve ever laid eyes on. The vast blue skies with the perfectly laid out clouds, light blue waters, tropical trees just behind me, the texture of the light colored sand on my bare feet, not a lot of crowd obstructing my view of the paradise, it was heaven indeed. After taking a dip, eating my tropical dinner and watching the sunset, I retire for the day anticipating dolphin watching in Panglao Island, Bohol the next day.

It was five in the morning when I woke up to get my breakfast. It was still dark and there were very few people walking around. After having enough food in my stomach, I sat by the beach waiting for my boatman Kuya Emil. He was recommended by my tour driver. As it was my birthday and I am not afraid to tell everybody that, I got a discount for the half day island hopping and dolphin watching tour. Usual rate for boat tours go from 1,800 to 2,500 per boat. This includes the fee for the boatman and the spotter. Good thing for me, Mang Emil is both a seasoned boatman and spotter all in one.

At 6AM, just as the sun is rising, we are off to chasing dolphins. The waves are not so big, but it isn’t call either. So if you get sea sick, don’t forget your medicines. Thirty minutes passed and there is not a single dolphin in sight. Another 15 minutes and there is was, a pair of dolphins swimming from not so far away. We chased them and not long after the first sighting we found about hundreds more. I’ve never seen this many dolphins at ones. They look so cute and they are literally just beside our boat. There were even 2 dolphins who are a natural entertainer, jumping out of the water occasionally to do somersaults. I was laughing and every time a dolphin rises from the sea and shows a little of its head and body, I rise on sit in anticipation of what it would do.

The dolphin “show” lasted for more than 2 hours. Dolphin watching in Panglao Island, Bohol was all fun and excitement for me. One that really made my birthday, the best ever!