Staying high and mostly dry in Boracay
Having found my paradise on the first full day on the beaches and getting wet in blue waters of Boracay, I would probably have been quite happy just taking the sun, the sand and the sea in, over the two more full days we were to have on the island. After all, it isn’t often that I am lucky enough to find myself in heaven on earth. However, I must say that no trip to the island would be complete without an experience of some of what we did get to do over the two remaining days that did go beyond just satisfying that urge to get really wet in Boracay.
At the top of the list of activities has to be the so called sunset cruise we took on the paraw in the late afternoon of the second day in the seas off White Beach’s boat station 3. Rocked by the gentle motions of the sail powered double outrigger Visayan boats, the cruise is a great way to spend half an hour relaxing over the waters, bathed in the late afternoon sunshine and fanned by the gentle breeze. The paraws do take up to six or seven passengers, who are provided with lifejackets.
While from afar, the paraws do not look like something which passengers could be comfortable on, the experience certainly was very comfortable – netting secured between two beams attached to the outriggers on either side of the boat allow for comfortable seating – as well as a place where one could spread out horizontally.
Next on my list is something for the pseudo thrill seeker I do admit to being to – cliff diving. This is done not exactly from the edge of a cliff, but from the end of a cantilevered plank extending well beyond the cliff face. It does give one the feeling of ‘walking the plank’ and while I do know some of my fellow bloggers on the trip did have some misgivings about the dive, it was something I was glad to have had the experience of and I did thoroughly have fun doing it.
Walking the plank at Ariel’s Point.
The location for this activity, Ariel’s Point, is actually not on Boracay itself but an hour’s boat ride south to the north-western Panay – the island Kalibo Airport is on. Getting from the boat to the dive location does make it a bit of a challenge – we did have to swim across in deep water and depending on the sea conditions, climb onto a suspended ladder or onto a rock ledge, I thought it was very much part of the adventure.
Being something that is done from a height – it is probably not something that would appeal to everyone, but if you are game, I do recommend it – if you are willing to fork out the PHP 1600 it does cost to do it (which includes the boat ride over). The planks are arranged at several heights starting from 5 metres to as high as 15 metres. It is probably important to land as vertically as possible as landing incorrectly can be quite painful.
Another thing that might be worth doing, taking some breathtaking views (whilst not screaming) of the hilly areas of northern Boracay and the seas below it, is the zipline. There are two to choose from, one from Mount Luho, the highest point on Boracay and the other from the Zipline Boracay at Fairways and Bluewater Resort – said to be the longest and fastest zipline on the island. It was the latter we did try – certainly much more thrilling than the flying foxes I attempted as a boy scout in my younger days.
Skipping down a zipline at Fairways and Bluewater.
Speaking of Mount Luho – it again is somewhere worth going up to, not least for the views you do get up there, especially of the Bulabog Beach area and beyond. A great way to go up is on an All-Terrain Vehicle, or ATV. Except for the initial stretch of dirt road, most of the ascent is on wide paved roads and from the parking area at the top, it is a short climb up to the summit where the zipline is, and also where you will find several caged birds. A lookout point gives the wonderful views I mention.
Another thing that can be done on Mount Luho, although I won’t recommend it is rolling down a slope in a Zorb, filled with a little bit of water, into a pool at the bottom. I didn’t attempt to do this as I didn’t really fancy rolling down a slope in an uncontrolled fashion – and with a few reporting bruised limbs, swallowed water and a wardrobe malfunction – it might be something to think twice about before doing.
If you are looking for unusual evening entertainment – in the form of a cabaret type show, there is the Boracay edition of the Amazing Show. The show, at 7 pm and 9 pm each evening, features very pretty dancers performing entertaining dance sequences which range from traditional dances at the start to more contemporary routines – the pretty dancers all being men! The show does seem to be especially popular with the Korean and Japanese tourists and do beware – it does include some interaction with the audience. You can also pose with the performers at the end of the one hour show – for which tipping is expected.
With the entire cast of the Amazing Show.
Last but not least, Boracay does also feature some very nice spas – one that some of us did visit was the Mandala Spa (see website for price list) – reputedly one of the best in Boracay, and one which pledges to plant a tree for every spa treatment booked. The verdicts from the bulk of the bloggers who did have a massage were quite positive. It is perhaps the experience for which makes the spa well worth a visit to – it is set amid lush greenery and the treatments carried out in a villa-like setting to the sound of crickets and in our case, the soothing pitter-patter of rain falling on the thatched roofs of the villas – which certainly made the experience more special – an experience which does make Boracay a much more complete as a destination than it just being a beach.
Information on activities mentioned in this post:
- Paraw Sail : PHP 1500 per paraw (good for 6 – 7 persons)
- Cliff Diving (with Boat Transfer) : PHP 1600 per head (minimum age 18 years)
- Zorb: PHP 400 per person
- ATV: PHP 800 per person
- Zipline: PHP 700 per person (at Fairways and Bluewater Resort)
The above activities can be reserved through Marsman Travel email: reservations@marsmandrysdale.com, Telephone: +632 8880228.
(Prices are provided only as a guide and are subject to variations and change)
The trip to Boracay was made possible by Tigerair Philippines and the Philippine Department of Tourism. Tigerair now flies direct to Kalibo Airport – for more information on flights to Kalibo, do visit http://www.Tigerair.com/ph/en/.
Getting there:
Location information:
- Philippine Department of Tourism
- Information, Guides and Maps online (My Boracay Guide)
- Beaches (My previous post on what to get beach-y about)
- In and on water activities (My previous post on how best to get wet)
This is a repost of my post on Boracay Island Escapade.
The Long and Winding Road 
Leave a Reply