I had a list of activities lined up for the twins’s fifth birthday and one of it was an overnight stay in Tabuelan, a municipality located 103 kilometers from Cebu City, which boasts of white sand beach and laidback vibe. The goal was to spend P6,000 for the Tabuelan trip for a family of three adults and three children.
We stayed at the Golden Prince Hotel and Suites on the day of their birthday and then left for Tabuelan on a Monday to avoid the weekend crowd. I picked Tabuelan because I have always wanted to go there but have never found the time to go there.
Itinerary
Here is the itinerary of the two-day, one-night trip. We started from Cebu City to Tabuelan on Day 1 and then Tabuelan to Liloan (as we live in this town) on Day 2.
To reach Tabuelan, you need to get to the Cebu North Bus Terminal. You can reach the terminal via taxi, Grab Car or the jeepney. I do know that the 01K jeepneys stop near the terminal so if you want to travel that way then go ahead. Since Uber left the Philippines, Grab Car has been my most convenient travel option (taxi fare is now expensive and rivals Grab Car’s rates) so we took this option from Golden Prince to the North Bus Terminal.
Make sure to read ahead before you take this trip. It always pays to do a bit of research. I was told that the bus fare from the terminal to Tabuelan town center is Php 120 per person. But there are L300 vans in the area that also charges the same amount. I asked the van driver if he can take us to the resort from the town center. He agreed and asked for an additional Php 20 per person. The resort is located three to four kilometers from the town center.
The following day, we asked the resort staff to call a tricycle driver, whose trusted vehicle would take us to the town’s bus terminal. The whole trip should cost Php 120 but I gave him Php 150 because he waited for us to finish lunch. At the bus terminal, buses come and go on no fixed schedules so be patient and wait. There are regular, non-aircon buses and there are airconditioned buses as well. We took the non-aircon bus, which charges Php 90 per person. We stopped in Liloan (eskina Yati) and took a tricycle (P60) which brought our entire family back home.
Long commute! I will not do this again with three kids in tow!
Accommodation
We decided to stay at Durhan White Beach Resort upon the recommendation of friends, who said that the resort has a great beach and a place for grilling. Its website says it also has a restaurant (just in case our plan of cooking our food gets derailed because of the beach). The resort offers different rates. I was trying to save the money and stretch the Php 6,000 so we stayed in a non-aircon room. That was a huge mistake. We should have opted for the airconditioned room. I had minor issue with the resort when they told me that they will not serve outside of their restaurant because it is standard operating procedure, a total mix up that was eventually corrected when Jeff and the manager stepped in.
Would I recommend this resort?
The beach is nice but service is poor. I am not seeing myself going back there again. It was also a long way from Cebu City, our starting point for that trip. I suggest bringing a car or hiring one if you want to do this leg.
Expenses
We spent a total of Php 5,986.00! Yes within our Php 6,000 budget. We went home convinced that we should choose a closer beach destination the next time and that we should not scrimp on accommodation because WE ARE ON VACATION!
We were not able to fulfill the twins’ wish of grilling fish on their fifth birthday but… they were able to spend longer hours at the beach and they had a blast chasing dogs, playing with sand and ‘swimming like mermaids in the deep, blue sea” as Antoinette would put it. Oh, before, I forget, you can download the itinerary and expenses breakdown here, just in case you want to do it too!
Any suggestions for beach destinations closer to Liloan?
