A BEAUTIFUL STOP OVER...

Every time I go to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental I take the bus in South Bus Terminal in N. Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City. The bus ride takes about 3-4 hours depending if the bus had many stops along the way but I always try to arrive at the bus terminal before 6am so I would arrive in Santander, Liloan by 10am. If I arrive with plenty of time before the wharf leaves then I take my first meal of the day. The wharf takes about 30 minutes going to Sibulan, Negros Oriental and you can take a ride there via tricycle, taxi or the public utility jeep going to Dumaguete City which takes about 20-30 minutes.

There are plenty of options to go to Dumaguete City. You can take the van (instead of the bus but it stops at another port), plane or the fast ferry. There is a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu and from Manila or check any local airlines if there is a direct flight from where you are from. Oceanjet is the only fast ferry who has a Cebu – Dumaguete trip with Bohol stop over. I choose the bus trip because I get to take a breath taking view of the beach along the South Cebu shoreline. It is beautiful! If you love white sands and clear blue waters, then I suggest you take the bus trip. There are two options for the bus trip, you can take the “Liloan, Santander” which will take a stop at the Santander Port or you can take the “Dumaguete” where they will board the bus on a wharf. You will see the signage in the front of the bus window.

Bus stops here to unload and load passengers.

Terminal information.

The Santander ferry.

So here’s the breakdown of my expenses from Cebu City, Cebu to Liloan, Santander, Cebu to Sibulan, Negros Oriental:

Bus as of April 2012 –                      Php169.00

Wharf fare as of April 2012.

Full:                        Php50  + wharf fee: 10 + municipal fee: 2  = Php62.00

Student:                 Php43  + wharf fee: 10 + municipal fee: 2  = Php55.00

Senior Citizen:      Php40 + 10 + 2 = Php52.00

3-9 years old:        Php25.00

Total

Bus +Wharf:          Php169.00 + 62.00 = Php231.00

I like taking the Santander wharf because the stop gives me time to eat my first meal of the day or take some comfort break in their station. The port is small and clean. Food is clean and tastes like home cooked meal which I love. When I have plenty of time to spare before the wharf signals boarding I get out of the port and just take a walk around. Oh, there’s nothing like a fresh air breeze and blue clear waters! Its eye-candy! I travel alone most of the time, sometimes I have to remind myself to suppress my smile because the locals very much know who the tourist are or for the awkward reason that they might see me talking to myself! XD I carry a lot of bags for work so that’s a giveaway. Haha! There are inns, hotels and diving resorts nearby like a 2-5 minute walk. I can only imagine how it is because you can actually see a school of small fish when you look down at the water! What if you go further?! I’m fond of snorkeling even if I don’t know how to swim. (I know! I know! I’ll get on that someday, I promise!).

So I’ll share some of the pictures I took so can anyone can see how it looks like. I’ll make another post on Dumaguete City because it’s another world there! I love that City too!

These are some pictures I took at Santander, Liloan, Cebu: 

Loving the breeze. Shelter from trees ftw! Someone's taking a dip! I envy!

Nearby diving resorts and inns.

Breath taking view of the beach and the sky.

That boat is like me. Surrounded with nature's beauty. :)

A fisherman on a break. 

So this is one of the favorite places that I go to. I hope I will be able to post more in the future. I just went to 5 cities in 5 days by land, air and water! Also, when you try to go to places try to look at the good things it has to offer. It took me 3 years before I was able to explore it myself. It's true when they say, 

"It's the journey, not the destination"

Have a good day everyone! ^_____^