Dumaguete Itinerary (Part 1 of our 8-day Dumaguete, Siquijor, Cebu Trip)

Busy and I together with our friends and my brother went on an 8-day trip to Dumaguete, Siquijor, and Cebu.

8 days is not enough but we did our best to make the best out of it.

Get ready! This is long! Hahaha 🙂

You can check the end for the summary of our contact persons 🙂

Well not that long, I summarized it, you can click on the link on some restaurants, hotels, or tourist spots to see further reviews 🙂

So here we go! These will be 3 parts and we’ll start with Dumaguete Itinerary (Part 1 of our 8-day Dumaguete, Siquijor, Cebu Trip). Here is our itinerary!

Our trip started in one of the morning of February, during Cebu Pacific’s Piso sale.

I immediately searched where to go, so from there I saw Dumaguete, and I thought of going all the way to Cebu. So I ended up booking our very cheap plane tickets:

Manila to Dumaguete

November 6, 2017 7:00AM

Php 425.12

Cebu to Manila

November 14, 2017 12:10AM

Php 540.12

Plus 515.20/person for 15kg check in baggage, round trip

This is the first time that I will plan a very long trip hahaha so I started early, upon booking our tickets, I immediately planned on our itinerary, how many days should we stay in Dumaguete, Siquijor, and Cebu, what are the tourist spots, what are the activities, and a lot! Hahaha so I ended up with the following itinerary. I hope this can also help anyone who are planning to go to the provinces.

Please take note that I failed to log on some of the actual time during our tour, so the time here are just estimated 🙂

Here we go!

DUMAGUETE – CITY TOUR

Day 1 – November 6, 2017, Monday

8:30 AM Arrival in Dumaguete

We were picked up by Kuya Anton through his van

Contact number: +63 955 180 9110

Please contact him directly for the rental fee

He was our driver for 2 days in Dumaguete. He is very friendly and his van is a plus! USB chargers are available, and the seats are allotted per person and are very comfortable.

If you do not want to rent a van, you can easily go around the city via tricycle. Tricycles are everywhere.

Usually it will just cost Php 10 per person per way.

 

8:40AM

Even though it is still early, we tried to check in our hotel

Island’s Leisure Boutique Hotel & Spa

Address: Hibbard Avenue, Bantayan, Dumaguete City, Philippines

Contact number: +63 915 349 1132

Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/IslandsLeisureHotels/

https://www.facebook.com/IslandsLeisureHotel/

The Red Fountain in the middle of the hotel

We booked the duo pad rooms via Agoda, it just costs around Php 1,000 per room per night! (breakfast not included)

Book through here:

The duo pad has a sharing bathroom, 2 rooms is to 1 bathroom.

The hotel is small, but it has a Bali vibe. Very IG worthy!

You can also contact them directly to book.

Upon our arrival, we were immediately entertained, we were lucky that our rooms are already available so we left our things in our room and we started our city tour.

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Island Leisure Boutique Hotel & Spa through this link: https://happyandbusytravels.com/islands-leisure-boutique-hotel-spa/ 🙂

 

9:30 AM

Start of city tour

In this tour we just took our time to relax, no rush in each places.

Silliman University is all over Dumaguete City, so we went to their campus.

Silliman University

 

A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Garden

Silliman University’s Mini Zoo

Entrance: Php 5

There is a lot of animals, especially the deer. There are also birds, snakes, crocodiles, and monkeys, but it seems that the zoo is not well maintained.

Spotted Deer - Siliman University's Mini Zoo
Philippine Spotted Deer. He’s friendly, keeps on following us, and he eats all of the leaves that we give him. I think he’s hungry.

 

Silliman University’s United Church of Christ in the Philippines

Silliman University’s United Church of Christ in the Philippines

 

Silliman University’s Anthropological Museum

Address: Hibbard Hall, Silliman University, Dumaguete City

Schedule:

Monday – Saturday        8AM-12PM & 1:30-5PM

Sunday and holidays      via appointment

Entrance Fees:

Mon-Sat             Sun and holidays

General Admission        50                        100

Senior Citizen                 40                        80

Student                             20                        40

Children below 15          20                        20

 

We saw different ancient things, and some crystals and stones inside, however there are no picture because it is not allowed to take photos inside. So, here is just the picture of the entrance 🙂

Silliman University - Anthropology Museum

 

11:30AM

Early lunch at Chapters Café

Address: Sta. Catalina street, cor., San Jose street, Dumaguete City

Operating hours: 7AM – 10PM

Contact number: +63 35 422 5688

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChaptersCafePH/

I love the decorations!
Photo courtesy of Michael Sarabia

Based in our itinerary, we were supposed to eat in another restaurant, however we were attracted by the design of the entrance of the café.

The café is heavily decorated (in a positive way) The theme was Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland, and traveling around the world! The theme fits us! Haha we are currently traveling and we would like to travel all around the world.

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Chapters Café through this link:  Chapters Cafe

1:00 PM

Dumaguete Cathedral and Belfry

Dumaguete Belfry

Dumaguete Cathedral
Inside the cathedral

 

Tierra Alta’s Clubhouse

Entrance: Php 50

Address: Palinpinon Valencia, Negros Oriental 6215

Contact No: +63 917 133 4385

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tierraaltaresort/

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Panda Ice Cream (fried Ice Cream)

Quick snack, we thought the ice cream looks like the panda.

The desserts are not shaped in to panda, it’s the other food.

We passed by  Quezon Park, Rizal Boulevard, and Freedom Park randomly the whole day.

 

3:00 PM

Sidlakang Negros Tourism Village

We went here for souvenirs. Not the cheapest souvenirs, but it was ok.

Chinese Bell Temple

Chinese Bell Temple

4:00 PM

Back to hotel to freshen up. Almost all of us did not sleep the night before the trip due to excitement, or work. So, we felt like we had to go back to the hotel hehehe.

We thought it will take us the whole day to tour the city, but we can do it in half a day. Sadly, we still wanted to go to Casaroro Falls but we failed to include it in out itinerary.

SUGGESTION:

I suggest, go on a half day city tour, and proceed to Casaroro Falls in the afternoon.

 

6:00 PM

Dinner at Hayahay Treehouse Bar and View Deck Bar

Address: Flores Ave., Piapi Escano Beach,

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HayahayTreehouseBar/

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Hayahay Treehouse Bar and View Deck Bar through this link: FOR UPLOADING 🙂

Hayahay Treehouse Bar and View Deck Bar
Sinuglaw – Kinilaw topped with griled porkchops Php 365

7:30 PM

Back to the hotel, buy bread at Bread Camp for early breakfast.

Bread Camp is a bakeshop all around Dumaguete, you can find it in most of the busy places.

 

DUMAGUETE – APO ISLAND

Day 2 – November 7, 2017, Tuesday

5:00 AM

We had our breakfast and we prepared for the day. We did not take a bath because we are going to swim today!

6:30 AM

We went to Harold’s Diving Center via tricycle (Php 10/ person)

Address: 205 Hibbard Avenue, Dumaguete City

Contact numbers:

+63 917 302 4455; +63 939 925 6322; +63 917 783 5172 ;  +63 977 739 3662

+63 35 422 3477; +63 522 0144

Email address: [email protected] ; [email protected]

Website: www.haroldsdivecenter.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haroldsdivingcenter

 

We booked their Apo Island snorkeling package for just Php 1,200 per person.

This includes the boat, instructors, gears (snorkeling mask, fins, life vest), unlimited tea and coffee, Banana, Bread and different jams, and lunch (our lunch is Pancit Canton and Watermelon)

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Harold’s Diving Center through this link: https://happyandbusytravels.com/snorkeling-around-apo-island-philippines/ 🙂

 

6:40 AM

We signed our waivers and we gave our payment. Payment is not required for booking.

We also fit and picked up our gears. Make sure to get the gears which perfectly fit you.

7:00 AM

Ride from the diving center to Dauin.

9:00 AM

Around this time, we arrived in Apo Island.

Our instructors informed us that the people who will dive will go first, then those who will just snorkel will go to the ocean after them. The life under the ocean is great! There is a lot of fishes and there are turtles!

We were informed that there is a 100% chance that you will see turtles, they did not lie! Hahaha There are turtles bigger than me!

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Apo Island through this link: https://happyandbusytravels.com/snorkeling-around-apo-island-philippines/ 🙂

4:00 PM

We went back to Harold’s Diving Center, returned the gears, and we headed straight to our hotel to freshen up.

6:00 PM

We went to Citymall to buy some groceries, we also ate our dinner in their food court haha

Then we went to Tarbush to east Shawarma. Their restaurant is located in a corner that’s why the restaurant always gets our attention.

Tarbush Restaurant

Address: Brgy Piapi Hibbard Ave and Yala Building, Calindagan Road, Dumaguete City

Contact Nos: +63 35 422 8639; +63 917 987 6524

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Tarbush Restaurant through this link: FOR UPLOADING 🙂

Tarbush Restaurant
Shawarma! Buy 1 Take 1!

9:00 PM

We went back to the hotel to take a dip in the pool.

 

DUMAGUETE – BAIS BAY & MANJUYOD SANDBAR

Day 3 – November 8, 2017, Wednesday

3:00 AM

We prepared early and ate breakfast, we did not take a bath again because we are going to swim in the ocean.

4:00 AM

We were pick up by Kuya Anton again and we headed straight to Bais City

The ride to Bais City will just take 1 – 1.5 hours from Dumaguete City.

5:00 AM

We met Rannie Rebuya for boat rental. We rented his boat for just Php 3,500 for dolphin watching and Manjuyod Sandbar. He is the contact person for the Two Sisters Boat Rental

Contact No.: +63 906 686 1502 ; +63 975 466 8847

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rannie.rebuya.1

He is very responsive in all of my queries, and he offered to buy the ingredients for our lunch.

Take note that there is no available food in Manjuyod Sandbar. You can rent other tour packages with food but it will be more expensive. His boat is large, good for 12 people I think? And it has a comfort room. He has  a lot of boats so you can just message him to choose from his boats 🙂 Here is the boat that we picked:

Boat from Two Sisters Boat Rental
picture c/o Kuya Rannie

We immediately proceed in the docking area of the boats and we rode the boat that we requested.

We were informed that in the past few days they do not see any Dolphin because of the strong winds (which causes the big waves), but we pushed through hoping to see them.

We arrived in Tañon Strait and waited for Dolphins, however after several hours, there is no Dolphin. Well we are looking for them in the wild so there is really a big probability that we will not see them. So we just headed straight to Manjuyod Sandbar.

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Manjuyod Sandbar and Dolphin Watching through this link: FOR UPLOADING 🙂

Manjyod Sandbar
The tide is here… the sandbar is disappearing…

We were greeted by the sellers, they sell coconuts, sea urchin, scallops etc. We bought 8 pieces of big scallops for just Php350! It’s so cheap! They cooked it and delivered it to us. Our boatman also cooked our food so we can have our early lunch. We had our photo opportunity in the sandbar and we enjoyed the beach and ocean for a while. If you just want to have a relaxed day, you can have it here in Manjuyod Sandbar. You can also rent the cottages here through their local tourism department.

 

12:30 PM

We went back to the docking area and we went to Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park.

Address: Negros Oriental

Contact Nos.: (+6335) 421-0325

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/balinsasayaotwinlakes/

Entrance Fee: Php 50 per person

Driver’s entrance fee: Php 20

Car parking fee: Php 40

 

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park is not usually in the top tourist spots when you Google Dumaguete, but this place should be included in the top. The park is located in a high place thus, the temperature is colder than in Dumaguete City.

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park

We rented a boat to go to the twin lakes and the falls. The boat costs Php 250 per hour, there is no minimum number of people in a boat.

We enjoyed the scenic view of the lake and the Olayan falls. Lucky for us, we are the only group in the area, it looks like we rented the place!

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Balinsasayaw Twin Lakes Natural Park through this link: FOR UPLOADING 🙂

Olayan Falls
Busy beside Olayan Falls

5:30 PM

We ate our early dinner at Azalea Mountain Inn

Address: Cambaloctot, San Jose, Negros Oriental

Contact Nos.: (+6335) 422 6196

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Azalea-Mountain-Inn-287518258053298/

This is a resort and there is a sign that they only serve meals for those who are checked in, however they entertained us very well even though we do not stay there. We have a Vegan friend, he enjoyed their restaurant because there is a lot of Vegan friendly options.

For a detailed review, please visit my blog on Azalea through this link: FOR UPLOADING 🙂

Bicol Express
Bicol Express Php 160

 

7:00 PM

We were back at the hotel to freshen up. We planned to go out and buy Sylvanas, however we were tired haha so we have decided to take a dip in the pool again. Busy always wanted a hotel with a pool because whenever there are long waiting hours, or times like this wherein we are tired, we can just go to the pool to take a dip.

This ends our Dumaguete Trip, the next day we are heading to Siquijor!

NEXT DAY: SIQUIJOR (PART 2 OF DUMAGUETE-SIQUIJOR-CEBU TRIP)

You can view my blog about our trip in Siquijor through this link: https://happyandbusytravels.com/siquijor/

 

 

Dumaguete – Siquijor – Cebu Trip links:

PART1 – DUMAGUETE – This blog 🙂

PART 2 – SIQUIJOR –  https://happyandbusytravels.com/siquijor/

PART 3 – CEBU – https://happyandbusytravels.com/cebu-2/

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Contact Persons

Van

Kuya Anton +63 955 180 9110

Hotel

Island Leisure Boutique Hotel and Spa +63 915 349 1132

Restaurants

Chapter’s Cafe +63 35 422 5688

Tarbush Restaurant +63 35 422 8639; +63 917 987 6524

Azalea Mountain Inn (+6335) 422 6196

Activities

Snorkeling around Apo Island – Harold’s Diving Center

+63 917 302 4455; +63 939 925 6322; +63 917 783 5172 ;  +63 977 739 3662 ;
+63 35 422 3477; +63 522 0144

Manjuyod Boat – Rannie Rebuya

+63 906 686 1502 ; +63 975 466 8847

Balinsasayaw Twin Lakes Natural Park

(+63 35) 421-0325

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