🇵🇭 Bohol and Panglao: Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, Balicasag and where to stay
Guide to Bohol and Panglao: Chocolate Hills, the right tarsier sanctuary, the Loboc river, the rice terraces, snorkelling with turtles at Balicasag, Alona versus Dumaluan and the best areas to stay. How to get there from Cebu, prices and how many days to stay.
Bohol is one of the most varied islands in the Philippines: hills that look drawn by hand, rivers with spotless water, terraced rice fields, the smallest primate in the world and, a few minutes away, one of the country's finest coral reefs. Nearby Panglao, connected by a bridge, is the base almost everyone explores it from.
Inland Bohol is bright green jungle, quiet and well kept. Panglao, on the other hand, has turned into a commercial tourist destination over the years: at Alona Beach most visitors come from Korea and Japan, and resorts, buildings and restaurants have taken the place of local homes. Knowing that in advance, you choose better where to stay.
🗺️ How to get to Bohol
- By plane: Bohol-Panglao airport (TAG) has direct flights from Manila and from some Asian cities. From there Alona is 20 minutes away.
- By ferry from Cebu: about 2 hours to Tagbilaran, 800-1,000 PHP. It's the most common way. From Tagbilaran to Panglao it's 30-40 minutes by tricycle or van.
- Ferries to Siquijor and Dumaguete also leave from Tagbilaran, plus the overnight boat to Camiguin via Jagna.
📅 How many days to spend in Bohol
2-3 days: one for the interior (Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, Loboc), one for the sea (Balicasag), one to ride around on a scooter or do nothing at all at Dumaluan.
🛏️ Where to stay in Bohol and Panglao
Alona Beach
The tourist centre: restaurants, bars, dive centres, life in the evening. Lively and chaotic. The problem is that there's almost no beach left: the strip of sand is narrow and full of boats. It works if you want everything within reach and you're out on a boat every day.
Dumaluan Beach
A few kilometres from Alona, white sand, calm clear water, family resorts and far more peace and quiet. If you're looking for a beach to spend the day on, this is it.
Loboc or Danao
Inland, on the river or among the hills, deep in the jungle. Perfect for a night in the green, with eco-resorts on the banks of the Loboc where you can rent kayaks and SUPs.
🌄 What to do in Bohol: the interior
Chocolate Hills
More than a thousand dome-shaped hills, covered in grass that turns brown in the dry season, hence the name. They're the symbol of Bohol and one of the most famous views in the Philippines. The main viewpoint is at Carmen, an hour and a half from Panglao. They're almost always visited on an inland tour that also includes the tarsiers and the Loboc, around 2,000 PHP (30 €).
Tarsiers
The tarsier is the smallest primate in the world, the size of a fist, with enormous eyes, and it lives only in this part of the planet. There are two places to see them, and they are not the same. The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella is run by a foundation that protects them: the animals are free in the forest and you see them with a guide, in silence. The places along the Loboc road are more touristy and the animals look like they've been put there for the visitors. If you have a scooter, go to Corella on your own: entry costs a few pesos and the experience is far better.
Loboc River
A boat trip with a buffet lunch along an emerald-green river between palms and jungle. Touristy but pleasant, 850 PHP (12 €). To do it without the crowds, sleep in one of the eco-resorts on the banks and take a kayak out at dawn.
Man-made Forest
A tunnel of mahogany trees planted by hand in the 1960s, along the road to the Chocolate Hills. A ten-minute stop for a photo, very photogenic.
Cadapdapan rice terraces
In the Candijay area, to the east, multi-level rice terraces with one of the finest views on the island and almost no tourists. You get there by scooter or tricycle, and the Can-umantad falls are nearby.
🐢 What to do in Bohol: the sea
Balicasag Island
A small island half an hour by boat from Panglao, ringed by a living reef: sea turtles almost guaranteed, wildly colourful fish, healthy corals and, with a bit of luck, dolphins on the crossing. It's among the best snorkelling and diving spots in the Philippines. Boat tours from 2,000 PHP (30 €), with a possible stop at Virgin Island, a sandbar.
Sardines at Napaling Reef
A coral wall you can reach from the shore, north of Panglao, where you swim in the middle of a huge shoal of sardines for 300 PHP (5 €). The spot is less known than Moalboal and quieter.
The beaches of Panglao
Honestly, they're not the strong point. Alona is the most famous and the most chaotic but has little real beach left. Dumaluan is much better: white sand, clear water, room to spread out. Doljo, to the west, is quiet too and good for sunset.
🛵 Bohol by scooter
Inland Bohol is perfect to explore by scooter: good roads, little traffic outside Tagbilaran, green landscapes everywhere. In one day you can do Corella, Loboc, the Man-made Forest and the Chocolate Hills at your own pace, spending less than the tour and stopping wherever you like.
💡 Things to know before going to Bohol
- In Panglao a lot of the businesses are run for Korean and Japanese tourists: menus and prices are set for them, and Alona is pricey. Outside Alona prices go back to normal. 👉 How much it costs to travel in the Philippines
- The best time is November to May; the Chocolate Hills are actually "chocolate" in the dry season, from March onwards. 👉 When to go to the Philippines
- Panglao has ATMs and shops: stock up here before Siquijor or Camiguin. 👉 Withdrawing without fees