Travel from Kalibo to Boracay Stress-free with Southwest Tours

The one thing I hated when traveling in Panay is commuting on the road. I once expressed my disdain about it here. But that has changed since I found out about Southwest Tours.

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Southwest Tours provides a simple, affordable and hassle-free vehicle transfer service from Kalibo to Boracay. For only 650 PHP, you get a one-way door-to-door transfer inclusive of the terminal, environmental and other miscellaneous fees.

After payment is made, Southwest Tours will take care of everything so there’s nothing else to do but to just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride to Boracay.

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Stationed at Kalibo Airport, they have buses that go to and fro Caticlan every day. You can check their bus schedule here.

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I must point out that their air-conditioned buses are clean and modern. I love how everybody gets a seat!

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About midway in transit, the bus makes a short stop at Ibajay Rest Area so passengers can relieve themselves, stretch or buy snacks.

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Thanks to Southwest Tours we didn’t have to go through the hassle of registering and paying fees upon arriving in Caticlan. We were given access to an Express Lane and just breezed through all the lines as we presented our Southwest Tours badge and tickets.

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They also have a chartered boat transfer from Caticlan to Boracay. Absolutely convenient!

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Upon arriving in Boracay, a van was already waiting for us and we were then dropped off to our designated hotels door-to-door.

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Southwest Tours made our trip easy, comfortable, seamless and stress-free! Their excellent service and unbeatable prices make me wanna travel with them again. I highly recommend them!

Be a Mermaid in Boracay with Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy

Boracay is all about having fun with the 3 S’s: sea, sun and sand. And I think the best way to enjoy all three of them is to be a mermaid! Yes, you read that right!

Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy is where anyone can be a mermaid… or merman!

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Just look for them at Fisheye Divers, Station 2, Boracay.

They have a team of experienced and professional mermaids who can teach you their fabulous “mermaiding” ways with strict adherence to safety standards, of course.

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You can rent out a mermaid tail for only 500 PHP an hour (there are a lot of colors to choose from by the way). But if you want to learn how to swim in them, you’ll need to shell out 1500 PHP.

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Being a mermaid is a lot tougher than it looks. With both feet locked together, it can feel a little constricting and any movement which involves the lower extremities would become unnaturally difficult. But with proper instruction and practice, it gets a little easier.

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It was so much fun being a mermaid that I won’t mind doing it all over again!

If you like to see me mermaiding in action and the rest of our Boracay adventure, please check out our vlog:

Breakfast in Kalibo and Dinner in Boracay

The long awaited continuation of my vacation saga has finally come!

Before I begin to flood you with photos (as I narrate about my Kalibo-Boracay experience), I must first explain why I don’t really have any Kalibo, Aklan photos…

It was with great misfortune that I was not able to realize that my camera was running on empty on Day Five. Because we were constantly on the go, I completely forgot to recharge its battery and it died on the night we arrived in Kalibo. Kill me please.

Oh well… Anyway, Behold, Day Six! 

After having had a relaxing warm bath in a tub at La Esperanza hotel was breakfast at Latte Cafe. Now, why do I have to explicitly mention that warm bath in a tub? Good question. T’was my first time. Pathetic, I know.

Okay now, moving on! Here’s how Latte Cafe looks like inside…

I can perfectly picture myself staying here on (rainy) afternoons… 
Sipping a cup of coffee as I browse through the Web with my laptop or maybe read a book.

Umm… It’s just a little strange though that they have some flip flops for sale. Really unusual for a coffee shop. Just saying! 

I haven’t tried their pastries but they sure look tasty! I do want to give them a try whenever I get the chance to visit Kalibo again. Hopefully, it’s not going to take me N number of years where N stands for Never-again-in-my-goddamn-life.

And because I didn’t post any last time…
It’s time for some obligatory food photos! YEAH! 

My morning coffee. I like my coffee cold.

Waffles topped with bacon and whipped cream. Y to the U-M-M-Y.

Some sandwich (I forgot what it’s called please forgive me!) with fried potato chips on the side. Reallllllyyy gooood beyond words, I kid you not!

Best breakfast of my entire life (so far)!

Just to fill you in, Carlo fetched us from the hotel where we stayed so we could have breakfast with him before we were finally going to take a bus to Caticalan (for Boracay). 

Note: Carlo is another friend of my boyfriend (the last time they met before this was ten years ago!). I swear my boyfriend should be crowned Mr. Congeniality because he has so many and too many friends all over the Earth that I lost count already.

If you can remember, as I mentioned in a previous post, in the Panay Island, they cram as many people in buses as much as possible. I did promise to elaborate why bus rides are quite dangerous there. So here goes…

So this bus that we were going to take only had one more seat available, okay? But they still insisted that they could accommodate more. Unfortunately, the next bus is not going to be until probably ages later. So, much to my dismay, we had to take it. Now, because my boyfriend is such a gentleman, he offered the last seat to me. He, left without a choice, had to sit in a plastic stool beside me in the middle of the bus aisle for three whole hours (so did other people who weren’t able to find proper seats anymore)! As much as I really wanted to take a nap, I didn’t. I really had to hold him real tightly around his arm all throughout the entire ride because I was afraid that he might fall over or something. Due to this, I officially abhor taking bus rides in Panay Island. Consider this as a warning.

But anyway, so much about that… Look!

This was the small boat that was going to take us to Boracay Island. This can carry up to, more or less, 25 passengers. 

Finally, Boracay! Packed with so many tourists from all around the globe! But I’m guessing like 50 percent-ish of the tourists are Koreans. 

The water is sooo clear and the sand is as fine as powder. 

Boracay transforms so beautifully at night. People who love to party will find that Boracay is the place to be.

So random and cute! 

Our epic dinner at Epic! We had Ceaser salad and lamb shank with mashed potatoes and veggies on the side.

Our dinner was exceptionally good!  

Lamb was something that my boyfriend and I never had before so we really had to give it a go (never minding the huge dent it caused on our wallets). No regrets though! The lamb shank was beyond heavenly! I could easily say that it was best meat I had in my entire life! The meat was so tender that it fell off from the bone really easily. Oh, I’m not a fan of mashed potatoes but I don’t know how they made it really good! Even the veggies and the salad were irresistible!

I can’t wait to immerse myself in Kalibo and Boracay again soon! 

And this now finally concludes my Panay Island vacation saga. Till next time!