The Nisa Traveller's Hotel Experience

          As I was looking for cheap hotels and inns in Tagbilaran, I found out about Nisa Traveler's Hotel, people were raving about this place in TripAdvisor. Price of the place you'd be staying in (or sleeping in and store your stuff) is something that you would really have to consider when traveling alone. This place offers a relatively cheap but with excellent value for your money,  The place was clean and smelled clean, the ambiance is good and I felt safe. The staff I must say were simply awesome.

          When I got to Tagbilaran Airport I asked my tour guide to drop me off first to Nisa Traveler's Hotel so that I could check in and change clothes and drop my stuff too. Without any reservation, I was lucky there were vacant rooms at around 10:00 AM. I just had to wait 30 minutes or so for my room to be ready, I didn't really mind waiting, I was lucky to be able to get a room this early and with a check out of 12:00 PM. Sweet deal for Php 500.00 with free breakfast and bottled water upon check in. I got a non air conditioned room for 1 night. It just has the basics, clean room and it smelled clean, clean sheets and comfortable bed, a desk, a fan and corner to hang your clothes and most importantly a socket for charging my stuff. The restroom was common with hot shower which I didn't really mind because they kept it really clean. The hotel is pretty straight forward with what they have to offer. They don't offer lunch or dinner but they have free breakfast. They have a snack counter where you could get noodles and some chips and they would suggest that you go for food delivery instead for a minimal fee they could order what you want and have it delivered to the hotel. They have free WIFI too! <3

          After getting a room and changed clothes, I left for the Countryside tour which took the whole day. I only got back to the hotel at around 6:00 PM and dozed off. I missed the free coffee and tea afternoon in the hotel :( I didn't have to use the fan because it was cold that night, good thing I didn't asked for an A/C room. In the morning I had my mind set that I'd be leaving Tagbilaran around 8:00 AM to go to Anda, but the bed was not letting go. I stayed up till 10:00  ^_^ I got the free continental breakfast which is just toast and scrambled egg and banana, unlimited coffee or tea :) I accidentally deleted the picture of my breakky :( It was not much but it was good. I took a hot shower after then checked out. 

Couldn't Agree More <3

Beam me up Scotty! uh nope that's an elevator, sorry wrong movie.

My room

Open air dining terrace

My favorite place - Where  you can get your coffee or tea! :))

A place to chill
Open air dining terrace, free computer use and a mini library.
I loved that the place had a strong WIFI connection

          One thing I have to mention in this blog is that the front desk officer, her name is Ivy,she is a super duper amazing person. From the time that I checked in till I checked out, she was consistently very nice, friendly, approachable and accommodating. I know its her job to be, but I was just amazed at her consistency. My room was adjacent to the frontdesk with the top part of the room open so I could almost hear people outside, I can hear her friendly tone. When I was waiting for my room when I checked in, I could see that guests would come up to the front desk and ask her for where the places are like this one foreigner asking where he could get gas for the motorcycle he rented and she happily gave him instructions. I also asked her how I could get to Anda from Tagbilaran and she got her map and showed me how far the place was from Tagbilaran and gave me detailed instructions on how to with complete details. I was afraid that I'd forget the instruction that she gave me, I asked if she could write it down, and she did. I love her! Kudos to Ivy! :)

          If ever you will be in Tagbilaran, Bohol you can't go wrong choosing this place, I highly recommend it. Super budget friendly and really nice staff.


NISA TRAVELLERS HOTEL
14 C.P.G. Ave., Tagbilaran City 6300
Phone: (038) 411-3731
Celphone: +63932-5581177
http://nisatravellershotel.com


This blog post is part of my Wandering through Bohol article. Check it out by clicking on the title link.
Thanks so much! ^_^

IG: ohhmygeeitsme

Facebook: /OhMyGeeItsMe

Behold Bohol Day 1: Countryside Tour

Day 1

          After my shift and without any sleep yet, I went to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 all giddy and excited, Im on my first ever solo trip! ^_^ I thought that I was not good at planning trips, I didn't have to do it before,  I relied on friends for itineraries and I just tell them the important stops I want to make, but this one is all new to me, I made all the plans and researched the places that I would go to and stay. One thing i failed to do was to make hotel reservations ahead of time which kind of worked to my advantage anyways so that I would be more immersed in the "backpacker" culture or atleast a part of it. :)

          Arrived at Tagbilaran airport at around 10:00 AM, I asked the Airport Guard where the Tricycles are at and he pointed me to the direction where the Tryc (Tricycle) terminal was. I asked the tryc to bring me to Nisa Travellers Hotel and since I saw that there was an ad on his tryc that he does tours as well I asked how much for the COUNTRYSIDE TOUR, He was giving it to me for Php 1800 for the whole day and I haggled, after all its just me! :) We got settled with Php 1100, I had a feeling that it could still go down to Php 900 if I begged with tears.. (haha :P ) The guy I was talking to referred me to Kuya Victor my then tour guide. He was nice and really helpful all throughout the trip. His contact info is in the very first picture of this blog if you want to reach out to him for a tour. :)

   
          First stop is at Nisa Travellers Hotel so that I could check in and drop off my bag. Remember I told you I didn't have any reservations, I had to wait a good 30 minutes for them to clean the room that I'd be staying in. I'm not complaining, they accept early check ins so yeah I LOVE NISA TRAVELLERS HOTEL! :) hehe nope aside from that this place is awesome its not a 5star hotel but it served its purpose to me. I'd make a separate review for the hotel. After that since its almost lunch time Kuya Victor told me that we'd visit the Blood Compact Shrine and Baclayon Church before heading to Loboc River Cruise and Floating Restaurant so that I could get lunch there. I was a bit hesitant to get lunch from there because I heard that its so overrated. I dunno bout' you but I enjoyed every bit of the Loboc River Cruise and floating restaurant.

          Check out my Countryside tour below.

Roadtriiiiiip!My sweet ride for my Tagbilaran Countryside Tour

Blood Compact Shrine

The Sandugo was a blood compact, performed in the island of Bohol in the Philippines,
between the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol on March 16, 1565,
to seal their friendship as part of the tribal tradition

Baclayon Church
this church is considered to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines

A beautiful church destroyed by an earthquake back in October 2013

Restoration in progress

Loboc River Cruise and Floating Restaurant.

          Right now, its literally a River Cruise "and" a Floating restaurant. Its so bummer that you eat lunch at the Floating Restaurant then after your meal you transfer to another boat for the cruise. Oh What a joy it was if it was the same thing as before :(

Buffet style set up for Lunch

          The buffet in the Floating restaurants have different offerings I was not able to take a picture anymore so sharing here with you is my plate. They have different viands that consists of different vegetables, they had pork, chicken and seafood. I didn't notice any beef in the buffet. They have seaweeds which I liked best paired with the crabs and make your own salad from the vegetables available. For dessert they have fresh fruits.All for Php 450.00

River Cruise.. with me baby... <3 hehe

Natives Performs for you at one of the stop during the cruise

          Even if I was alone in this trip and the guy singing in the cruise sang mostly love songs from the OPM genre to the oldies song, I didn't feel sad, in fact I enjoyed this part of the trip. Just chilling with music in the background and the river. I found myself singing with the people in the cruise and just having fun. I know its weird but I cant really explain it. I was happy. :)

          Had I known earlier that this place is NOT AN OFFICIAL TARSIER SANCTUARY, I would've asked my guide to bring me to Tarsier Research and Development Center in Corella, Bohol also known as The Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary instead. I felt bad because knowing how fragile this little fellow is they should be well taken care of as there's not much of them left. Please help conserve these cute lil creatures and go to the official Tarsier Sanctuary where we know they are safely kept and taken care of.

..and all along I thought they were tiny creatures :P

Pardon the picture of the Tarsier my phone could not really get a good picture of this cute lil creature.

Bilar Man-made Forest

          Bilar Man-made Forest is a 2km stretch of red and white Mahogany trees, located in the border of Loboc and the town of  Bilar. This place is hard to miss, especially if you are heading for the Chocolate hills. You'd know that you are now entering the place because lush green trees would envelope the road and once you are inside this Man-made forest it would be a lot cooler inside. I love the temperature in this area.

Buwis-Buhay Shot! ^_^

Bohol's most famous tourist attraction

Chocolate Hills

It would've been  a much more epic scenery if they were all brown
<3 from someone who love chocolates ^_^

The viewing deck is still being restored because it was badly destroyed by an earthquake.
Nonetheless the view still took my breath away. Figuratively speaking and Literally speaking.

This is what I meant when I said the Chocolate Hills view "Literally" took my breath away upon reaching the peak and energy too! It was a long climb. So if you're someone who doesn't exercise regularly, this is your heads up! :)

          Just a tip before heading to this place make sure you got yourself a bottled water as you would need it. Im not kidding,  its a really long climb. They sell water before you enter the place and also inside the place for Php 50.00 so if you want it cheaper buy one before you go here. Luckily I got a bottled water from my hotel which I stashed in my bag before leaving ^_^

Shiphaus

          Shiphaus is another attraction in Bohol, It is a uniquely shaped as a shipping vessel thus the name. It is said to be owned by Capt. Gaudencia Dumipias who came from Butuan and became a successful mariner. You can actually tour the inside of the Shiphaus but because I was running low on energy and I was tired from the trip, I had to pass.

Bohol Habitat Conservation Center

          Bohol Habitat Conservation Center previously known as Simply Butterflies Conservation Center is a Butterfly Sanctuary where butterflies are enclosed in a net structure free to feed on plants, play and breed. The place and the tour was short and sweet and a memorable one. I had Wendy for my guide and she was very entertaining all through out the tour. She was very proactive with taking my pictures and adding filters too! (I just had my Iphone during this trip) She can't believe that I was all alone in this trip. She was really bubbly and pretty to boot! I super enjoyed this trip here. Php 40.00 well spent! :)

          The Bamboo Hanging Bridge is what they say a tourist trap. Its just 2 long stretch of bamboo bridge for Php 20.00 entrance fee, at the end there will be a souvenir shop and some photographer who would offer to take your picture. I had to pass on it since I have Kuya Victor as my official photographer/driver/tourist guide for this trip. Its a bit scary to cross the bridge because it moves with every step you make and also if there are other people on the bridge too, All along I thought that this wasn't sturdy as I held on to the railings for my dear life carefully placing my feet so as not to step in any crack or open space. Then I found out that below the bamboos was a base made of metal so it was sturdy after all. Kuya Victor also told me that infamous "Buko King" lives in this area and sometimes would be seen stripping coconuts using just his teeth.

          There were a few parts that I had to skip from the countryside tour:

• Largest Python in Captivity - Snakes. Nope. Ktnxbye.
• Danao Adventure Park (Zipline)
• Chocolate Hills ATV ride
• Firefly watching - which I totally regret not going to but I was really dead tired from all of the day's adventure. (Aside from the beaches of Bohol, this is one of the reason why I'am coming back)

          Kuya Victor dropped me off at my hotel after today's adventure. I got back to the hotel around 6:00 PM. Too tired to even get dinner I dozed off comfortably in my room at Nisa Travellers Hotel. Day 1. Success!





Check out my Instagram (ohhmygeeitsme) for more pictures.
This blog post is part of my Wandering through Bohol article. Check it out by clicking on the title link.
Thanks so much! ^_^

IG: ohhmygeeitsme

Facebook: /OhMyGeeItsMe

Wandering through Bohol

          Last January I did something for the first time,  I went to Bohol on a solo trip. It was both scary and exciting for me, its something that I have never thought I'd be able to do on my own until I've done it.  I did my first solo airplane ride last year when I went to Davao. But this is very different. Its just me, myself and I on the whole trip, and I must say, I did a good job. I am so proud of this lil' achievement. ^_^ Check out my adventure below. I'll share with you my DIY sort of guide to Bohol. Below is my itinerary, please click on the active links to check out the per day activities and reviews. Please note that there are not time stamps, this is because I've got all the time in my hands. No one to wait for and no one waiting for me. :) Chillax trip :)

@ohhmygeeitsme: Today I'll be trying out something NEW.
I'll be going on my very first solo travel.
Hopefully It'll be a success ^_^

  

Day 1
Tagbilaran Airport to Nisa Travelers Hotel
Check in to Nisa Travelers Hotel
City Tour
     Blood compact shrine
     Baclayon church
     Loboc river cruise
     Tarsier Conservation Area
     Man Made Forest
     Chocolate Hills
     Shiphaus
     Butterfly Sanctuary
     Bamboo Bridge
Back to Nisa Travelers Hotel

Day 2
Tricycle ride going to from Nisa Travelers Hotel to Dao Integrated Bus Terminal
Brunch at Dao Integrated Bus Terminal
Dao Terminal to Anda (Van Ride)
Check in to 1Peace Beach Resort
Late lunch at the Resort and Chill at 1Peace Beach Resort

Day3
Motorcycle ride to Quinale Beach (Public Beach)
Buffet breakfast at Anda De Boracay beach resort
Chill at Quinale Beach Bar
Lunch at Anda Food Center
Tricycle back to 1Peace Beach Resort
BBQ Dinner

Day4
Check out from 1Peace Beach Resort
Tricycle to Guindulman
From Guindulman hail a van going to Tagbilaran
Lunch at Tagbilaran: Gerarda's
Jeep from Tagbilaran going to Panglao
Check in to Bohol Coco Farm
Tricycle to To Bohol Bee Farm
Tricycle to Alona Beach, Panglao
Dinner at Oasis Resort
Tricycle back to Bohol Coco Farm
Chill and get dessert at Bohol Coco Farm

Day 5

Motorcycle ride Dumaluan beach
Dumuluan Beach Resort Entrance
Motorcycle ride back to Bohol Coco Farm
Check out from Bohol Coco Farm
Tryc to Tagbilaran
Buy Pasalubong then Tagbilaran Airport.

Oh hello Tagbilaran ^_^

Baymax at Tagbilaran Airport

Expenses Breakdown:

Day 1
Php 1100.00     Tagbilaran Airport to Nisa Travelers Hotel (including Countryside Tour)
Php 500.00/night     Check in to Nisa Travelers Hotel
                            Countryside Tour
                            Blood compact shrine
     Php 50.00     Baclayon church    
     Php 450.00   Loboc river cruise  (buffet lunch and cruise)
     Php 50.00     Tarsier Conservation Area    
                            Man Made Forest
     Php 50.00     Chocolate Hills   
                             Shiphaus
     Php 40.00      Butterfly Sanctuary    
     Php 20.00      Bamboo Bridge    

    Php 2660.00


Day 2
Php 30.00          Tricycle ride going to from Nisa Travelers Hotel to Dao Integrated Bus Terminal
Php 75.00          Brunch at Dao Integrated Bus Terminal
Php 130.00        Dao Terminal to Anda (Van Ride)
Php 400.00/night x 2     Check in to 1Peace Beach Resort
Php 215.00       Late lunch at 1Peace Beach Resort (Pesto Pasta + Coke)
    Php 1250.00


Day3
Php 50.00        Motorcycle ride to Quinale Beach (Public Beach)
Php 200.00      Buffet breakfast at Anda De Boracay beach resort
Php 50.00        Mango Shake at Quinale Beach Bar

Php 75.00        Lunch at Anda Food Center
Php 100.00      Tricycle back to 1Peace Beach Resort
Php 150.00      BBQ Dinner

Php 50.00 x2   Tryc to and from 1Peace Beach Resort for dinner 
    Php 725.00

Day4
                          Check out from 1Peace Beach Resort
Php 30.00        Tricycle to Guindulman
Php 150.00      Van From Guindulman to Tagbilaran
Php 330.00      Lunch at Tagbilaran: Gerarda's

Php 9.00           Tryc to Jeep Terminal near Bohol Museum
Php 20.00        Jeep from Tagbilaran going to Panglao
Php 350.00      Check in to Bohol Coco Farm
Php 200.00      Tricycle to To Bohol Bee Farm & Alona Beach, Panglao
Php 50.00         Ice cream at Bohol Bee Farm
Php 350.00       Dinner at Oasis Resort (Pizza and Coke in Can)
Php 150.00       Tricycle back to Bohol Coco Farm
   Php 1639.00


Day 5

Php 20.00        Motorcycle ride Dumaluan beach
Php 25.00        Dumuluan Beach Resort Entrance
Php 50.00        Motorcycle ride back to Bohol Coco Farm
                          Check out from Bohol Coco Farm
Php 257.00         Food and Drinks
Php 20.00           Towel Rental
Php 300.00      Tryc from Bohol Coco Farm to Tagbilaran Airport and pasalubong stop
Php 650.00      Pasalubong
Php 100.00      Airport Terminal Fee: TAG- MNL 
   Php 1422.00


TOTAL: 7696.00

        

          This is more or less what you would be spending when you follow my itinerary, there were things that I missed doing and splurged on. :) Plus my accommodations were all dorm type so its a lot cheaper compared to hotels. Bohol is an awesome place to visit especially for solo backpackers, The place is beautiful, people are friendly and there's a lot of budget friendly places that you can go to for accommodation. Best of luck and enjoy! :)

P.S.
Take Nothing but Pictures, Leave Nothing but Footprints, Kill Nothing but Time.

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