Sipalay City, one of the best kept tourist destination that will surely make your summer vacation in the Philippines an awesome and gratifying one. This remote town of Sipalay is surrounded by Bohol-like chocolate hills made of limestone or islets suggestive to the ones in Hundred Islands.
Getting to Sipalay:
Sipalay is located approximately 200km both from Bacolod and Dumaguete and travel time is 5-6 hours via bus (with stop overs) or 3-4 hours via taxi. From Dumaguete, you can take a bus to Bayawan City then take another bus to Hinoba-an and finally hop into a Bacolod bound bus stopping in Sipalay. On the other hand, what we did was from Bacolod we took a cab outside the airport going to the South Terminal Bus Station and from there you may take the Hinoba-an bound bus that stops in Sipalay or you may also take a cab from the terminal. Bacolod to Sipalay is roughly P300.
Sipalay’s Attraction:
Our first stop was in PGA tower formerly known as Perth Resort. The place is certainly a piece of heaven for me considering that it has a very peaceful and massively breathtaking view of the sweeping Sulu sea… plus the fact that we had the pool all to ourselves. In PGA Tower the rooms are pretty basic (nothing fancy) and the resort has a restaurant of its own that opens from 6am to 9pm only.
.jpg)
 |
| it's always a good time with IanC |
Tinagong Dagat translated as “hidden sea” sprinkled with dozen islets covered with a lush vegetation.
One of the most highly visited place by foreigners is the Punta Ballo Beach that has a shoreline that stretches up to a kilometer long. This is an excellent beach that is apt for divers as there are dive shops in the area and the beach in itself is filled with corals. Take note it has fine white sands, just like the ones in Boracay.
And in less than 10-minutes boat ride from Punta Ballo takes you to Campomanes Bay. The entrance of the bay has a wide area of corals and shipwrecks, MS Jojo and SS Panay that makes it an excellent dive spot. We were told by our bangkero that Campomanes Bay was once the venue of extreme sports event.
Sipalay is not only favorable for beach bums, but for those spelunker (or those who explores caves as a hobby). Matlag Cave features remarkable cave formations while Mamara Cave surprises explorers with its underground. We also tried the Maasin Cave where snorkeling is allowed near the mouth of the bay.
 |
| in Maasin Cave |
With no hotel reservations whatsoever, we were extremely delighted to find a very nice room in Buenaventura Resorts owned by a Swiss guy named, Brian. We spent a night here and I was just so pleased with its service. I absolutely would recommend this place for having very clean rooms and an incredibly accommodating owner. Meanwhile, food was excellent almost everywhere (because most of the Beach owners which are foreigners cooks for their own resorts) and a must try are the ones in Big Bam Boo Resort and in Driftwood Village.
The following afternoon we left Sipalay to go to Bacolod (our side trip) where we stayed in LFisher Hotel. Truly a pampering stay at this very elegant hotel where we got to experience their pool by the deck and where we joined a bunch of people in the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.
For more of Sipalay, you may also contact their Tourism Information Center at (034)473-2101 or visit them at www.sipalaycity.gov.... and if you need a tour guide or someone who can fix the itinerary for you, I highly recommend Mang Dado...you may contact him at (+63)09217865615 c",)
Something not to miss in the Philippines… Sipalay is truly another sweet surprise in paradise.
