Snorkeling at Apo Island

Based from research, I know Apo Island is best for snorkeling because of its big turtles which you can see even near the shore.  There are also nice corals and marine sanctuary that can be found here.  This is why we had to include this in our trip to Dumaguete/Siquijor.  Besides, Apo Island is quite accessible coming from Dumaguete.  But we opted to come from Siquijor going to Apo Island since we availed Coco Grove Beach Resort's, the place we stayed in Siquijor, package trip.  You may read more info about it here. 

The resort's package tour to Apo Island costs Php 1,600 per person which includes boat transfer, entrance fees, lunch, snacks, snorkeling gears, aqua shoes and tour guides.  This is quite expensive compared to DIY from Dumaguete to Apo Island.  But it doesn't matter to us since we prefer to stay in Siquijor a bit longer and we no longer need to worry about anything since everything will be taken care of the resort.

Coco Grove's nice boat

Their boat was quite big which I think can accommodate to up to 20 pax.  It has an "indoor" and "outdoor" lounging area and with small restroom.  We aboard the boat at around 8am.  Travel time from the resort to Apo Island is about 2 hours.  The travel was not a smooth sailing because of the waves but still safe since the boat is quite big.  Upon reaching Apo Island, we walked our way to Apo Island Beach Resort, which we heard was Coco Grove's sister resort.  We just left our things there and proceed to the registration for snorkeling activity.  Snorkeling area was just near the registration area.  It is said to be called "the village" where locals stay.  It is also the area where big turtles can be found even near the shoreline.

Registration Area

Apo Island Beach Resort

Apo Island Beach Resort Accommodation

Apo Island Beach Resort on the left end of the beach

Rock formations surrounding Apo Island Beach Resort

Now feast your eyes below on what we saw :)

I don't know what this is. Creepy.

Turtles being fed by one of the tourist

My fiance trying to chase the turtle.  They swim fast!

See how big the turtle is!

Closer look of the turtle

Nice color of the turtle

Lunch was served buffet style at the Apo Island Beach resort.  It was a simple lunch with 3 viands, rice and dessert.  Location of the Apo Island Beach Resort was on one end of the beach where nice rock formations can be found.  It was a nice photo op location.

Panoramic view in front of Apo Island Beach Resort

When everyone is done, I thought we were already heading back to Coco Grove.  But it turns out, we were off to another snorkeling area!  Not far from Apo Island, our boat stopped and let us snorkel again.  I wasn't able to ask what the location is called.  I'm not sure if this is what they called the Marine Sanctuary which is located at the back of the village.  Anyway, these are what we found.  Not so clear pictures but the corals were beautiful!

Going back to Siquijor was a more "dizzy" ride.  Aside from its already raining, the waves were stronger and some waters were coming in our boat.  But again, it wasn't so scary since the boat is quite big.  And by the way, even if the travel time is quite long, you will not get bored since Globe data signal is strong even in the middle of the sea!  You can just browse Facebook and post status while cruising.

Visiting Apo Island is really worth it, most especially to those who likes snorkeling or even diving.  I heard there are a lot of diving spots in Dumaguete including those in Apo Island.  I would surely want to explore those someday. 

If you want to know how to plan your Dumaguete, Siquijor and Apo Island trip, you may read my previous blog post for some details.

Ocean Jet: The Fastest Ferry

Well my title on this blog may be biased as I haven't really tried all the ferries here in the Philippines.  I'm more referring to our experience in riding a ferry boat to and from Dumaguete/Siquijor.  We arranged our ferry transfer care of Coco Grove Beach Resort, as initially instructed to them, I told them we prefer a ferry boat that is the fastest going to Siquijor from Dumaguete.  Since I do not have any idea on the various ferry boats available and its schedule, I let Coco Grove decide.  You can check my previous blog on the ferry schedules they have provided me.

From the schedule they provided, it seems that GL Express is the next ferry that could take us to Siquijor for just an hour.  We will be arriving in Dumaguete at around 8:30am so their 10am schedule is just right.  Ocean Jet is listed but their schedule is 1pm, already too late.  When we came back here in Manila, I read from Girltalk forum that Ocean Jet have early schedules, like 9am, from Dumaguete to Siquijor but the port will be at Lorena, which is quite far from Coco Grove Beach Resort.  But there was no such schedule indicated in Ocean Jet's website so I'm not sure if that's true.

Dumaguete Port

Jay Lann Jeziel

As mentioned in my review on Coco Grove resort, they bought ferry tickets from Jay Lann, with an hour and 15 minutes travel time.  But in reality, it took us 1 hour and 30 minutes! I am used to long ferry travels like going to Camiguin from CDO, to Caramoan from Naga and to Calaguas from Daet.  But maybe I expect a short travel time to Siquijor that I really got bored and almost pissed.


So by the time we asked again Coco Grove to book us a ticket in going back to Dumaguete, I make it clear to them that we wanted the fastest ferry, whatever the its cost is, and they offered Ocean Jet.  That time, I'm not really familiar again with the various shipping lines but I told the receptionist that we do not want to ride Jay Lann again.  Our schedule was at 2pm so we settled at the lobby area before 1pm.  Coco Grove's jeepney service will drive us to the port.

Siquijor port going to Ocean Jet

This is the Ocean Jet

Seeing the Ocean Jet, we were quite relieve as it is bigger and air conditioned!  We thought even if the travel time will be again longer, at least we will be relaxed with its quite comfy seating and of course the air conditioned ferry.  But to our surprise, it took us only less than 1 hour to arrive in Dumaguete port.  That was fast!  With that, we learn to love Ocean Jet!

Picture before boarding

I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures inside the ferry but aside from it has air con, comfortable seats, it also have LCD TV and rest rooms.  I wasn't able to check if the rest room is clean.  The ferry was quite big and life vest was already provided under the seat.  The ride was smooth sailing, you wouldn't even feel the waves, if there was any or maybe because it wasn't strong at that time (it was summer!).

Inside Ocean Jet

Ocean Jet operates mainly in Visayas and a few routes in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin - I didn't know this before).  They offer various class to suit the passengers' preference and budget.  With their motto: "taking you there fast and easy", with our experience, it was indeed a fast travel, convenient, safe and easy.  I will surely take note of this the next time I needed to travel by sea in the Visayas region.  Check their website for the schedules and rates.

Enjoy traveling!