It was a lovely morning in Boracay. We had our sumptuous breakfast at Sunny Side Cafe, and we even had a few minutes to enjoy the white sand beach.
We waited for a few minutes while waiting for our tour operator. Well, I wasn’t complaining, spending one morning at the beach is already an amazing experience. Then, we hopped on a big boat and started the awesome Boracay Island Hopping experience.
Bernie, our guide, gave a few orientations about the tour, including some bits of info about Boracay. There are many versions of the origin of the island’s name, but one of the most popular is that it comes from the local words bora and bukay (bocay). Bora means bubbles, and bocay means white. These are said to be from the description and even amazement of Ati elders, the indigenous people of Boracay, with the white sand’s resemblance to water bubbles.
It was quite an informative morning for us, an excellent introduction to a day of exploring the beautiful island. Before heading to our first stop, which is Puka beach, located at the far end of the island, we stopped in the middle for the sea for a quick snorkeling experience.
Snorkeling in Boracay
Boracay is known for its gorgeous beach but not as much for its underwater wonder, but it was nice to know that there are some remaining diving and snorkeling spots. Well, it was not as spectacular as compared to the diving spots of El Nido and Bohol, but it was still a pleasant experience. The underwater of Boracay needs time and rehabilitation to heal from its years of too much tourism activities.
The snorkeling spot is located right in front of the now-defunct Boracay West Cove Resort, which had gained popularity a few years back when the property was demolished due to environmental violations.
Puka Beach
This is one of the famous beaches in Boracay. It is not as stunning as the main white sand beach at station 1, but it has gained popularity for its more relaxing vibe.
The 80-meter long beach has some restaurants and shops located at the main entrance, which is too far from where we docked our boat. We were at the far end of the beach with some rock formations at the back.
We had no choice but just to sit and lay on the beach. Relax and let the time passed by, which is a worthwhile experience, especially if you need some kind of solitude in your chaotic and busy life in the city.
You can read my entire Puka beach story here: Puka Beach in Boracay
Crystal Cove Island Resort
You can experience some caving adventure in Boracay, and you can find that at the Crystal Cove island resort.
This is a privately owned islet in the middle of Boracay and the main island of Panay. A creamy white sand beach will welcome you as you got off the boat. You can swim, relax and do some sun-bathing at the beach, but the real adventure awaits inside the resort’s premises. There’s a 300 peso entrance fee for a day tour. It is quite expensive for a day tour, but hey, it’s not every day that you’re in Boracay, so just spend that money and enjoy it.
Inside there are spots for a quick trek and picnic, but the highlight of the island is the caving adventure. There are two caves on the island, but exploring it will depend on the wave and weather conditions. So since the weather was not that cooperative that day, we only visited one cave.
Just beside the picnic area is a hole – that is so intriguing that you might want to consider going in. Below is a cave with waves crashing onto rock formations. You have to be careful with your step, and the waves are quite intense.
READ: Crystal Cove Island Resort in Boracay
Tambisaan Beach
Our guide described Tambisaan beach as a second option. Yes, a second option as a port and as a beach. When the boats couldn’t dock at the main port due to bad weather conditions, they got o Tambisaan. As a beach, Tambisaan is also just an option to the stunning main white beach. Some beach-goers visit Tambisaan to experience a much more local vibe than the commercialized white sand beach.
Tambisaan indeed has this local vibe to it, where the beach has more local houses than commercial resorts and restaurants.
We had our lunch at Deo Anda Picnic House in Tambisaan, feasting on the boodle fight style lunch with generous seafood, meat, and vegetables.
More details here: Tambisaan Beach in Boracay
Magic Island
There are still some islands to explore near Boracay like the Crocodile Island and Magic Island. Although we weren’t able to dock and visit these islands due to bad weather, these are still worthy of exploring when time (and weather) permits.
Magic Island is an islet that boats will pass through before arriving at Crystal Cove Island. It’s filled with rock formations that have many cliff diving spots. This is an adventure island for those who want to experience the thrill of cliff diving. According to our guide, Magic island is the preferred adventure spot for many foreigners.
READ THE BLOG POST: 15 Best Beachfront Resorts in Boracay
Crocodile Island
It is obvious why this is named crocodile. No, there’s no crocodile on the island. Hahaha, Relax. This just looks like a crocodile when you get closer to the island. Look.
Aside from its shape and look, the island is home for quite good diving spots where fishes and coral abound. Again, due to bad weather, we weren’t able to do some snorkeling or diving there, but it is an excellent spot to explore when weather permits. This is near Tambisaan Beach. So if you plan to have lunch at Tambisaan, you can do some snorkeling here before a sumptuous boodle fight lunch.
Read the Blog Post: 15 Best Boracay Beaches
Boracay Water Activities
with the Azalea Boracay Marketing Team.
We ended our tour with a bang! This is technically not included in the island hopping tour. If you want to enjoy some water activities in Boracay, you need to book a separate water activity tour from the island hopping.
Good thing, our island hopping tour was well coordinated that our guide brought us to the water activity area. There are a lot of water activities to enjoy, such as the banana boat, Flying fish, Jet Ski, and UFO Ride.
Well, I was a bit tired with the entire day of the island hopping that my energy could only sustain the Banana Boat ride. After that, I’ve got nothing to give. Haha, It was a lot of fun. I suggest you try at least two water activities when you visit Boracay.
Note: This travel to Boracay was made possible through a Press Trip by Azalea Hotels and Residences Boracay. Thank you for this opportunity.
