Bohol Day Trip from Cebu with Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers and Loboc

Crossing to Bohol from Cebu

How to get to Bohol from Cebu: the simplest way is the fast ferry from Cebu City to Tagbilaran, the capital of Bohol, a crossing of about two hours over the Bohol Sea. On this tour the ferry tickets are included and our team handles the check-in, so you simply board, relax in the air-conditioned cabin and watch the islands pass by.

Bohol is one of the larger islands of the central Visayas, a green, rural province of rice terraces, coconut groves, rivers and historic stone churches. A Bohol day trip from Cebu is the most popular way to see its highlights when your base is Cebu City or Mactan, since the countryside sights lie within about an hour's drive of the port. Your guide meets you at Tagbilaran and stays with you until the return ferry.

The Chocolate Hills of Carmen

The Chocolate Hills are Bohol's most famous landscape: a sea of rounded, grass-covered limestone hills, most of them 30 to 50 metres high, spread across the interior around the town of Carmen. They formed from ancient coral deposits shaped over millions of years by rain and erosion, and they are protected as a national geological monument. In the dry months the grass turns brown, which gives the hills their name.

Is a visit to the Chocolate Hills worth the trip? The view from the main viewing deck, reached by a flight of steps, is one of the great sights of the Philippines, with hills rolling to the horizon in every direction. Plan on about 45 minutes here for the climb and photos. Afternoon light is softer, and the hills look most chocolate-coloured between about February and May.

Meeting the Philippine tarsier

The Philippine tarsier is one of the smallest primates in the world, a body about the size of a fist with enormous round eyes, long fingers and a head that can turn almost all the way round. Tarsiers are nocturnal and very sensitive to stress, so the best place to see them is a sanctuary where they live in their natural forest and rangers know their resting spots.

During the visit you follow a short path with a ranger who points out tarsiers sleeping on branches at eye level. Please keep your voice low, never touch them or tap the branches, and use no flash, as noise and light can harm these fragile animals. Sightings are usual but depend on where the tarsiers have chosen to rest. Allow about 30 minutes for this gentle, memorable stop.

Lunch cruise on the Loboc River

The Loboc River winds through thick forest and coconut palms in the heart of Bohol, its water a deep jade green. Lunch is served on a floating restaurant that drifts slowly upstream, with a buffet of Filipino dishes such as grilled fish, chicken, rice, vegetables and tropical fruit, while local musicians play traditional songs on board.

The cruise lasts about an hour, turning back near a small waterfall and passing riverside villages where children wave from the banks. It is a relaxing break in the middle of a busy day. Halal-certified food is limited in Bohol; seafood, chicken and vegetable dishes are usually on the buffet, and if you avoid pork your guide can point out which dishes to choose.

The man-made forest and Bohol countryside

Between Loboc and Bilar the road enters a dense stand of tall mahogany trees planted in the mid-twentieth century as a reforestation project. The canopy closes over the road for about two kilometres, creating a cool green tunnel, and your vehicle stops briefly so you can step out for photos.

Along the way your guide shares stories of Bohol's farming life, its rice fields and its old stone churches, several of them carefully restored after the strong earthquake of 2013. The countryside drive links all the highlights of this Chocolate Hills tour from Cebu at an easy pace, with time for a short break and souvenir shopping before heading back to Tagbilaran for the evening ferry.