Just came from our Iloilo trip. I was not able to get a look again on my previous post due to my uber busy sched. Anyways, here was our itinerary:
Day 1 - Mar 27: Iloilo-Estancia-North Gigantes
-Arrival at Iloilo International Airport via Cebu Pac around 5:30 am - in fairness, this is a very nice airport. Sana ganoon kaganda/kaayos yung ibang airports natin (outside of NCR).
-Travel to Estancia, Iloilo via Ceres bus from Tagbak terminal - left the terminal at 7am. We had our breakfast inside the bus. The travel took 3 hours. We passed by towns which were struck by Yolanda, which are now gradually recovering.
-Tambay & lunch at Pa-On Beach
-From Estancia Port, boat ride to North Gigantes Island - left the port at 2pm. The travel fare cost P80 plus terminal fee of P5/head. Travel time was 2 hours.
-Dropped our bags at Arjan Beach. Toured the island via motorcycle (Fee: P50/motorcycle). Went to the lighthouse, the giant coffins, and the big pile of shells (sorry forgot the exact name).
* Fan room lang kinuha namin, with CR; no tv. Cost P200/head per night. Meal price is P150/head per meal, kasama na ang drinks & it's home cooked. Magsasawa kayo sa iba't ibang luto ng scallops. But enjoy naman since doon lang kami nakatikim ng ganoon klase. They usually served seafoods; no meat, fruits & veggies.
* Globe Telecom has weak signal (& occasionally, no service) in this area. Not sure about Sun. Probably, Smart has better signal.
Day 2 - Mar 28: Island Hopping at North Gigantes
- We joined another group of ladies (7). The usual rent is P1500/boat. But since madami kami, we paid P1000.
* For me, the best was Tinagong Baybay.
They also have a sandbar, but Snake Island Sand Bar (El Nido, Tour B package) is better. And they have a smaller version of Coron's Kayangan Lake.
Day 3 - Mar 29: Iloilo then Guimaras
-We left North Gigantes at 8 am; landed at Carles, instead of Estancia. The travel time was shorter - 1 hour only for the same fare. However when we landed at Carles, Ceres bus was not available. So we took the risk of travelling to Balasan. In Balasan, we ended up riding on the van.
-Had lunch at Iloilo and went to Guimaras. Coincidentally, another couple who was with us in North Gigantes had the same itinerary, so we just formed 1 group. At Guimaras, we took the tricycle & checked-in at Villa Igang Resort. Ramjen Resort was full. The boys took the cellphone number of our tricycle driver to fetch us the ffing day. The fare cost us P250, one way (per couple, fee was P125).
* Villa Igang accomodation fan room P1000 per night (expensive, in my opinion). You have to order your food ahead of time, so that you don't have to wait long during the meal. They do not serve mango shakes.
Day 4 - Mar 30: Island Hopping at Guimaras then back to Iloilo
-Usual fare is P500/hour per boat, then P150 per additional hour (parang taxi). We spent 3 hours island hopping plus snorkeling which what we spent most of our time doing. The fee was P800 but hubby & I paid P400. En route back to Jordan wharf, we stopped by at Brgy. San Miguel to buy Mango pizza, and drink Mango shake. Again, we paid total P250 for the trike fare. We ate the mango pizza sa public boat. The other couple was headed back to Manila that day. Due to time constraints, we were not able to buy souvenirs in Guimaras.
-Between 2-3 pm, we were back in Iloilo. Stayed at Ong Bun Pension House (aircon, matrimonial bed, with cable tv, own shower, wifi access inside the room worth P750/night). Already started our church-hopping at Jaro then to Molo, Iloilo. Had dinner at Ramboy's Lechonan & Resto in Molo (best seller - Liempo!).
Day 5 - Mar 31: Church hopping & Back to MNL
-Started at past 6 am; took jeep from Iloilo Central Market to San Joaquin, then to Miag-Ao, then to Guimbal. Headed back to Guimaras for souvenirs at GTIC, Trappist in Brgy. San Miguel, Jordan. But this time, we rode the jeepney back & forth, which was cheaper & faster than tricycle. We planned to go to Santa Barbara, Catanauan but we cancelled it due to time constraints.
-Check out of Ong Bun then to SM City Iloilo. We stored our luggages at their tourist lounge area then strolled in the mall. We bought souvenir shirts in the department store. And we also bought mango ketchup there.
-Back to Iloilo Int'l Airport via Cebu Pac. Again, how I wished Cebu, Caticlan, Bohol, Puerto Princesa, Busuanga had similar airports such as theirs (well, wish ko lang naman).
