Country > Philippines > Bohol > Panglao
Date > 2024 > April
Activity > Freediving

April 23, 2024

Freediving in Panglao with Haka Dive Center

Location : Haka Dive Center, Panglao, Bohol, Philippines

"Stay Another Day"
Joan asked me to stay a day longer after the Bohol Yoga Festival. I thought there was more to do. Yes, but it was about fun diving with friends from the festival as curated by owner of Haka Dive Center, Brylle. The day was choc-full-of-FUN !!!!

Brylle
Brylle is the hands-on owner of Haka Dive Center - a full-on PADI 5 dive center. I met him at the festival and had a fleeting conversation with him. Common friends had only nice things to say about the guy - a stand-up guy with no BS, a fair dealer and simply positive. I later validated all of that during the dive. He took care of us with full attention to detail. He runs a tight ship with his operations, dealing with his staff fairly and respectfully. I got the feeling his staff likes working there - that says a lot.

getting things sorted out at the Haka Dive Center

with return clients, Brylle is getting a bigger space for the center

Chilling on the Platform
The coral reef is practically just off the coast. It was a short land trip to the shore where a pumpboat awaited us. From there, we were taken to the floating platform - wide enough to do ballroom dancing. It was something new to me. Usually, in between dives, the divers sit on a narrow boat and while away the time for the next dive. But with the platform, it's a wide open space where you can even walk around. Brylle provided us with fruits, cold beer, hot coffee, etc. It felt pampering.

The Reef
We all opted for freediving while Sharon went for 2 dives. Visibility wasn't good and I couldn't go deep. But going under the water again was a wonderful experience already. After my failed cliff dive in Dauis in 2018, I've always experienced an imploding head on a freedive - but not this time. Maybe with more practice, I can go back to my deepest freedive - 20m.

chilling out on the wide anchored platform

Ending Thoughts
I haven't fully decompressed from the yoga festival and now I'm partying again. Bliss this good with wonderful people doesn't happen every day so I'm stoked to tag along for the magical ride.

Thank you, Joan, Fred, Brylle, and the rest of the wonderful people I'm beginning to refer to as 'my tribe'.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

Teaching 'Energising Yoga' at Jing Yoga & Wellness

(April 23-28, 2024) As synchronicity would have it, by the time my participation at the Bohol Yoga Festival ended, Jing, an Ashtanga Yoga teacher, invited me to sub for her classes for a week and house-sit for her. Wow, I get to stay longer in beautiful Panglao, I get to share my yoga, make a little money, and have a roof over my head. Is my universe telling me something about Bohol?...more »»

Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

Danao Adventure Park - zip lining, cable car ride, caving, river rides/trekking, off-road buggy ride, root climbing, rappelling and ultra-glide rides
Alona Beach - hub for tourists with hotels, resorts, restos, bars and dive shops
Chocolate Hills - hills side-by-side shaped like giant Kisses chocolate
Tarsier - pocket-sized marsupia looking like a monkey
Balicasag Island - one of the best dive spots in the Philippines
Loboc River - river cruise on a boat
Anda Beach - fine white sand beach with resorts, restos and cottages, 3 hours by bus from Tagbilaran
Cabagnow Cave Pool - brackish water pool about 5ft deep inside a limestone opening on the ground, 8 feet deep, P50
Lamanok Island - walk on a 100m bamboo bridge on stilts to a resto area to take a boat tour to caves and nearly attractions, P300
Combento Cave Pool - cave pool with underwater cave system, P20
Can-umantad Falls - long narrow drop until it hits a bulbous mound spreading it into a a curtain-like water canopy and down into a splash pool
Canawa Cold Spring - deep refreshing cold spring with developed pool area
Firefly Tour - evening boat ride into the river to watch fireflies

hotel

Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
Baranggay Valladolid, Loboc, Bohol
Bohol Tropics Resort - seafront location, manicured surroundings, swimming pool, resto/bar
0133 Graham Avenue, Brgy. Cogon, Tagbilaran, Bohol 6300
Oasis Resort - Alona Beach location, dive center, resto / bar
Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol

yoga

Jing Yoga - health & well being through yoga
The Courtyard - Airport Road fronting the church
Bohol Meditation and Yoga Center - 2nd Floor Lim Magtajas Bldg. CPG Avenue

Bohol Travel Info/Tips

Bohol FYI / Tips

the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located within the Alona Beach area
the tourist attractions in Bohol are far apart and spread-out. It would be difficult to visit them all using public mass transit. Better hire a van (P3500/day) if in a big group, or rent a motorcycle (P400/day + gas)
Bohol relies on its tourism for revenue. As expected, everything they can capitalize on from tourism is extensively used and developed

Tagbilaran Port to Panglao

You can charter any tricycle from the port all the way to Panglao (~P300), but if you want to do it on the cheap,

don't take the tricycles lined-up inside the port. Walk past the port gate and immediately outside, you'll see many tricycles. Take one to the bus terminal in Dao (~P15)
in Dao, take the jeep that plies the Panglao route (~P20)

Tagbilaran (Bohol) to Cebu City by boat

** schedules and rates keep changing, call for latest schedule

Weesam Express - departs 6:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM
one way: Economy (aircon) P500.00, Economy (non-aircon) P400.00, First Class P600.00
round trip promo (at least 2 days advance booking): Economy (aircon) P600, Economy(non-aircon) P500, First Class P1200
round trip promo (1 day or on the day booking): Economy (aircon) P800, Economy (non-aircon) P700, First Class P1200
Ocean Jet - departs 6-7:05-8:20-9:20-10:40-11:40AM, 1-2-3:30-4:20-5:30-6:30PM, 2 hours, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
Open Air / Tourist Class P800, Business Class P1000
+63(32)255 7560 / +63 (32) 255 0115 / 0917 638 0000
SuperCat (2GO) - departs 5:50-11AM, 3:45-5:25-8:15PM, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
P 500.00
+63 32 233 7000

Things to do, Places to go in Bohol

Chocolate Hills - this is a clustering of more than 1200 hills within a 50km² area. They range in height from 30-50 meters. What's unusual is their near-perfect conical shape resembling an individual chocolate chip. No one knows how they were formed. Entrance is P50/pax.
Tarsier Conservation Area - located Upper Bonbon, Loboc. The tarsiers are no longer being played at by tourists as circus props, but instead, visitors now view them in cordoned-off areas in their natural 6ha habitat. As they are territorial and nocturnal, they are predictable on where they can be viewed. P50/pax.
Alona Beach (Panglao) - Alona Beach is the tourist hub of Bohol. It has 1.5 kms of white sand beach lined-up by bars, hotels and restos. Alona is also the jump-off point for Balicasag Island, a world class dive destination.
Danao Adventure Park - located in Barangay Magtangtang, 72 kms (2 hours ride) from Tagbilaran. Adventure activities include river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock climbing and ziplining.

Bohol Blogs

Bohol blogs