Visayas Traverse: Overview

screenshot from Google Maps

Mission: Travel from West Visayas to East Visayas in a span of 2 weeks with a P1,000/day budget.

Date of Travel: 13-26 October 2013
Limitations: Backpacking style of travel (no private tours, no fancy hotels, only public transportation, only hand-carried luggage)

This October, Adventurebuddy and I are going on our most epic trip yet - a 2-week Visayas Traverse!. This trip marks a lot of firsts for both of us.

For starters, this is our first long-term travel (i.e. more than one weekend). It was originally just a weekend Iloilo trip but because I unexpectedly got out of regular employment, we decided to max out his semestral break and do a traverse to several destinations. Leyte and Samar wasn't on our original list but going all the way there seemed to be more convenient.

Second, this is the first time we are going to set a travel budget. Because the plan is to be out for at least 14 consecutive days, I figured we also needed to plan for the total cost of the trip. I set the budget at P1,000 per day per person which meant we had to be comfortable with the most basic accommodations to give way to food, transportation and activities. Surprisingly, I found rooms worth P400 for two persons with a double bed and fan. Whether these are decent enough, we have yet to find out.

Lastly, most of the places we're going to and the activities we're planning to do are definite firsts. Some examples would be Scuba Diving, looking out for dolphins, and knowing about Leyte and Samar. Basically every day of the trip is a first.

Here are the highlights of our trip for a better idea. I'm sure I'm going to conquer a lot of fears on this trip.

Travel Highlights:

- Food trip @ Iloilo City

- Mountain Bike Tour @ Guimaras Island

- Beach Sunset @ Sipalay

- Discover Scuba Diving @ Dumaguete City

- Firefly Watch @ Siquijor

- Dolphin Watch @ Bais City

- Beach Party @ Moalboal

- Lechon Lunch @ Carcar

- Island Walk Tour @ Malapascua

- Beach Camp @ Calanggaman Island

- San Juanico Bridge @ Tacloban City

- Chocolate Hills @ Carmen

- Beach Bumming @ Panglao Island

This is going to be my first post about this 2-week trip. Aside from being really excited for the trip, I also want to immortalize my thoughts and my experience.