Bohol day trip from Cebu — One day in Bohol, a mysterious island of the Philippines

The Philippines has not only beautiful beaches, although this country is blessed with more than 7,000 large and small islands in which it owns many paradise islands such as Cebu or Palawan. But not so that this place lacks other landscapes that make me admire, overwhelming and amaze after my trip. Bohol is a such place, something different for visitors who only looking for beach vacations. Bohol gives me a different and fresher view of the Philippines, somewhat wild and full of excitement.

According to the tour guide, with only around 24% of foreign tourists coming here every year, Bohol is not an international destination. After experiencing this place, I wonder why, this place with beautiful chocolate-shaped hills, jungles, rich wildlife, exciting outdoor activities, upscale resorts, everything that could make this place more popular with tourists. So, what to do and where to go for one day in Bohol? Let’s check out my Bohol day trip from Cebu (Bohol day tour from Cebu) to explore best things to do in Bohol, top things to do in Bohol find out the answer!

Bohol day trip from Cebu: Getting from Cebu to Bohol Island

Catching the fast ferry at the port of Cebu to Bohol on a cloudy day, I thought the trip would be ruined by the weather. The rain that spread like a spider’s web on the glass window of the Ocean Jet ferry made me even more worried. The 75km distance is getting longer and longer when the ferry’s air conditioner was working at full capacity, every passenger was huddled up as if winter has come, I just hope the ferry will end soon.

OceanJet Ferry Ticket (One Way/Round Trip) Bohol-Cebu

You can buy tickets of many ferry companies with different departure times: Supercat, Ocean Jet, Weesam Express, FastCat, Starcraft. But the common point is that the travel time from Cebu to Bohol stays the same around 2 hours. I took SuperCat ferry for the return trip and Ocean Jet for the departure trip, overall the service is not much different. The ticket price from Cebu is 25 pesos, from Bohol back to Cebu is 20 pesos ($0.4).

Below are best things to do in Bohol, top things to do in bohol to spend one day in Bohol on a Bohol day trip from Cebu.

Best things to do in Bohol: Visit Magnificent of “Chocolate Hills”

Almost an icon of the island of Bohol, the area is a cluster of closely spaced hills shaped like Hershey’s Kisses chocolate. At first, I also mistakenly thought this was a famous cocoa growing place, so it got such a name, but actually this place grows mint, no wonder the strange shape of the hills has created this name. It includes nearly 1,776 hills, spread over an area of 50km2 and at about 120m high.

From Tagbilaran City Tourist Port, you have to crossing 1 city and 4 small towns to get here, this 40km distance is long but it is amazing that you can climb directly on a “chocolate” hill and enjoy the view this wonder for yourself.

One day in Bohol: Spotting Tarsier

Another Bohol icon is the Tarsier. These tiny primates can be held in your hand, their eyes are so big, as big as their brains. This animal is a nocturnal animal, eating insects, so when the group said it looked like a baby monkey, the tour guide quickly denied it. Simply, Tarsier belongs to the primate family. In Bohol, this is almost the only place in the Philippines to see this animal. You can go to the sanctuary near the town of Corella on the island to see these tarsiers.

Baclayon Church

This is the oldest church on the island of Bohol. Although there are larger and more beautiful churches on the island, Baclayon Church plays an important role in the island’s Catholic history. The whole architecture was built without cement, using sand mixed with dead coral and egg white. It is recommended that you should go inside (no photography area) to visit the museum and see the ancient Catholic treasures with an entrance fee of 50 pesos.

Address: JWF6+4XW, Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines
Architectural style: Neoclassical architecture
Opened: 1727

Bohol day tour from Cebu: Sailing on Loboc River

We stopped for lunch at Loboc. The interesting experience in this place is to eat buffet on the boat and cruising along the Loboc river. On the boat diners can enjoy live music, and in addition, going along the river will stop at a point to listen to the choirs singing and dancing. This tour will last for 1 hour and costs from 350 – 450 pesos. The experience of sailing through the river into the vast forests of this place is like sailing on the Amazon River.

One day in Bohol: Man-made forest of Bilar

Going from Chocolate Hills down to the village of Carmen, the tour guide stopped by the forest and introduced this man-made forest from the mid-20th century. It was surprising to know that nearly 20,000 hectares of forest land here have been restored during the Philippine government’s campaign. The rows of tall mahogany trees that shade the midday sun made me feel like I was walking through forests that have been here for centuries.

You can book this tour via Klook here.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Bohol you can refer to

• Bohol Countryside Tour
• Bohol Day Tour from Cebu
• Private Bohol Countryside with Panglao Highlights Tour
• Bohol-Dumaguete OceanJet Ferry Ticket (One Way and Round Trip)
• Bohol-Siquijor OceanJet Ferry Ticket (One Way)
• OceanJet Ferry Ticket (One Way/Round Trip) Bohol-Cebu

Are you looking for more top things to do in Bohol: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here. And another paradise island in Philippines. Let’s check out Iloilo island: Iloilo travel blog (Iloilo blog) — The fullest guide for a great trip to Iloilo, Philippines.