BUGGY ride in Boracay

To complete our package we had a choice of an ATV or BUGGY ride. Unanimously, we chose buggy ride. 

Haven't tried this before (only ATV), so my excitement is undeniable. At least I can try how to be a four-wheeler driver for an hour.

 

Driving a buggy is as easy as buying candy. But of course at first you'll have some adjustments. I was even warned to be careful when I started it and almost bumped into another buggy. But trust me it won't take 3 minutes to learn it. It's that easy. I'm not a driver so that experience is truly priceless and made me think to learn car driving someday.

We drove all the way to the Ocean Tower which is not new to me too. (Went there last August riding ATV). I was not excited to go up to the tower coz I know passing those steps up and down is so tiring. It's the buggy driving that got me so excited. Driving it is risky, there's cliff, blind curves, cars and other vehicles passing and overtaking, plus other ATV and buggy riders too. Just imagine local road, that's the trail we had to pass riding the buggy.

Risky. Challenging. Exciting. Fun. Sum it up, it's a must try.

Once at the tower, you'll see the entire Island's view. Very refreshing and perfect for sunset viewing. 

We took time to goof around with our camera from the different side and angle of the tower.

This experience is not new but the fun I had with the company of friends is what matters the most. Every trip is a new experience. Experience that becomes memories, kind of memories worth reminiscing.

Oh how I love traveling.

Note: Thanks Hazel and Julius for the pictures I've stolen from your FB account.

Second day in Boracay

Our second day is merely activities that the island offered just like my first time. We had helmet diving, flyfish ride, island hopping, snorkeling and buggy riding. We've got all those rides for P850 plus we gave additional P50 each to our package dealer for being so good and patient with us throughout the activities. He'd been our official photographer and videographer too and is soo good at it. You may contact him at 0939-1373473 (Michael Miro).

Enjoy snippets of our activities.

We tried helmet diving first, only 6 of us go through with it. The other 2 got scared. (Spell LOSERS, that's the two of them LOL peace to-both-of-you-who-must-not-be-named) This helmet diving will only last around 10 to 15 mins down there.

The helmets

The shirtless guy briefed us what to do

Before you'll go through with it, an instructor will give you lectures of the do's and don'ts of it. Make sure to learn the proper sign language once underwater to avoid confusions. There are 2 divers guiding you in going up and down and once your group had been settled let the fish feeding and picture taking begin. The challending part of this helmet diving is in going down when you have to battle the pressure of the water. But with proper execution to equalize the pressure everything's just fine. You can breathe normally once the pressure's gone. Then you'll enjoy those colorful fishes, savor the crystal clear water and be amazed the beauty of nature underwater.

Next stop is fly fish. My second time too.

I wonder where are my 3 companions in this picture. It looks like I'm the only one riding here

Then island hopping. Our first stop is at Ilig iligan where we had our lunch. While waiting for our food we had swimming under the sun. We don't mind the heat, the water is just so inviting to be ignored.

We had group pictorial at this sand castle after our lunch. Just give a small tip to the person incharge who will also take pictures of you.

Then we were brought to a certain spot for snorkeling. The small boat was anchored in the middle  of the ocean and from there we had snorkeling and swimming again. Buko juice vendor came, we were so amazed how resourceful Pinoys are in terms of livelihood. We bought some buko to satisfy our thirst and to help that vendor to earn money too.

It was indeed a wet fun filled activities. Tiring yet so much fun and laughters. It's always good to enjoy with friends, share memories and experiences with them. These are things with no price tags.

Nirvana Beach Resort, Boracay

Booking a hotel is not that easy especially if you are on a tight budget. We spent so much time browsing the net before we decided what resort we'll go for. We tried travel tour packages but was not confident enough to confirm our booking, there's no way we can tell if it's authentic or not or affiliated to that specific hotel we choose. Since booking requires advance payment, we opted to browse the hotel website itself and call their contact numbers posted in it. I don't have personal experience with travel agencies and I'm not against them. But we have options whether we go for them or not. With us we opted to go directly to the hotel website and look for contact information for our inquiries.

There's a lot of hotels to choose from. I'm no travel expert but I'd like to give you tips in choosing a hotel in Boracay. One, make sure you know what you are looking for in a hotel. Two, before booking make sure to read reviews about that hotel. Look for blogs featuring it, these bloggers have personal experiences in the said hotel so they knew what they're talking about and they have pictures as proof also. Don't just rely on one review though, read 3 or more to avoid being bias. Trust me this helps a lot. Three, book ahead of time to get more choices of hotels and possible discount.

After countless phone negotiations we settled for Nirvana Beach Resort for only P1,900 per person good for 3 days and 2 nights.

We paid 50% to confirm our booking and deposited the money through their BPI account. Once money was deposited you have to call or text them the amount you deposited and your email address. After a while they'll send you email for your voucher indicating the amount you paid and the period of your stay. This voucher will be presented upon arrival. The remaining balance will be settled upon check out.

During that time all beach front affordable hotels were fully booked. Nirvana is non beach front but only 3 to 5 minutes away from the beach. Going to the shore you'll pass a mini market and part of D' Mall too, somehow that's a plus factor.

Upon entering the entrance of Nirvana we saw a peaceful place, a long line of condo/apartment type units,  a mini pool     and a resto.

After giving our voucher to the front desk personnel, we were then ushered to our unit (since we were 8 in the group we booked 2 units, per unit is good for 4). It's a 2 storey unit, downstairs is equipped with a living room and a cable tv in it, bathroom, kitchen complete with utensils and dining sets plus  a mini ref. 2 bedrooms with connecting bathroom and a small balcony are located upstairs. Never forget that it's also a wifi zone, for  us being active in any social networking sites, surely that's a bonus. Seeing our accommodation, we knew we made the right choice.

The place is clean, water is ok, aircon is fine and the fact that we can cook anytime we want  is an advantage. (have no decent pictures of the 2 bedrooms uptairs but just trust me when I say it's spacious enough and clean).

If you value so much your privacy then this place is for you. I would highly recommend this place if you are in a big group, this resort  is meant for family and barkadas. It's definitely the meaning of a home away from home.

About the resort's personnel, they're friendly and easy to deal with. They allowed us to use their tables and chairs at the pool side to eat our breakfast without buying anything in their resto. (Resto is at the pool side) The check out time is 12noon yet they allowed us to leave our luggages in one of the units until 1:30pm while we had a last minute pasalubong buying at DMall. The only thing they didn't allow us was to use the pool before 10am, though we are sad bout it but we knew they're just following instructions (pool will only be open from 10am to 10pm).

Again, I'll recommend this place if you want a peaceful atmosphere and if you are in a    big group. Take note this is not a beach front resort that means you have to walk for a few minutes before seeing the beach.