⌛ Bike or bus?

Hi everyone, newbie here Was looking for somewhere to go to this morning for the long Nov. 1 weekend and got curious about Dumaguete. It didn't take me long to decide whether to go or not -- in a couple of hours' time, we had our tickets to Dumaguete

Anyway, a couple of questions. We're planning to do Apo Island on Day 1 (right after we arrive), Bais on Day 2, and Twin Lakes on Day 3 (leaving for Manila in the afternoon).

1. Is it better/safer to travel by motorcycle/motorbike to Malatapay and Zamboangita than take the bus? We're concerned about the availability of transport going back to the city in the afternoon. I've read in a couple of blogs that you can also rent a tricycle for the purpose? What is the usual round-trip rate for such? There are only 2 of us traveling so renting a van is not practical for us.

2. Out of all the nearby attractions, does Twin Lakes get your vote as THE must-see? Our flight is at 2:45PM but we still want to see as much as we can on our third day. Hoping for your suggestions.

Thanks in advance. I love this forum!

 

HI port80

welcome to the forum, thats a tight schedule... where do you stay?

the cheapest to go to malatapay is probably a Jeepney (Zamboangita) and then jump at Malatapay. You also can get a Tricycle, there are 1000 in town. Make sure you get one with a bigger engine. Some of them will tell you they are not allowed to go there (what is the truth, but many don't really care)
If you hire a tricycle it should be cheaper then 250 one way (I paid 200 at 3 am in the morning Duma-Malatapy) Jeepney between 15 and 20, Ceres-liner (big yellow bus the same)

Going back in the afternoon is no problem, there are Jeepneys and Ceres-liner from Zambo each couple of minutes heading towards Dumaguete.

The Dolphin season is in the final stages. But if the weather is like at the moment, you probably will be a lucky one. Make it a combination with the sandbar. Iguess you saw the pictures on the board)

Twin lakes is great, even I prefer the Waterfalls, but its always in the eye of the beholder.

cheers

Rhoody

 

Depends on what you like. Being a land-locked foreigner from the land of fresh water lakes (Canada) I didn't find Twin Lakes as interesting and nice as just the Ocean. Apo Island is gorgeous but an all day event. If you like tropical islands with beautiful beaches, I'd recommend Apo over Zambo. You can count on using a day to see Twin Lakes. It is not an easy drive to get there unless they have really fixed the road up. There's a constant flow of traffic including public transport from Dgte to Zambo and back.

 

Rent an XRM scooter in Dumaguete and be free to explore independently. Its an easy ride to Twin Lakes now, just don't forget the long sleeved shirt and sunblock.

 

Thanks guys for the quick replies

Rhoody: Yeah, I know sked is pretty tight but that's all we have given my fiance's work schedule. We're staying at Hotel Palwa. If there's no problem with transpo going back, then I guess we'll just take the jeepneys or the bus so he can appreciate the scenery along the way too. (And so we minimize the chances of getting lost if he does the driving hehe).

Yes, I saw all the pics on the board -- they're gorgeous. We just came from Bohol last weekend and saw lots of dolphins -- I hear there's more in Bais. Hope we can still catch them

Chuck: We're doing Apo Island also. We're just voting on which site to visit on our half-a-day left on Nov. 3.

Melvin: Thanks! I read it's just 20 minutes to Twin Lakes -- is this true? If it's that near, we can just rent a scooter then.

Thanks again for the replies

 

Or you take a tricycle, then you can tell the driver to stop for picture-taking whenever you want.

If you dont have a lot of luagage, you can rent a scooter for 3 days, Its easy to find Malatapay (and from there with a bangka to Apo), just follow the highway to the south and after 20 km you are there. Most of the roads are really good, so easy to drive by yourself.
Make sure you start the dolphin tour real early. Rhoody

 

^Actually, that was what we were planning to do originally (renting a scooter for 3 days). Hmmm... personally, it would be fun to bike our way around. I'll have to ask my fiance though -- after all, he's going to do the driving

I read somewhere that bike rentals cost about P250/6 hours. Is this rate still correct?

Thanks.

 

By the way, anyone has an idea how much the banca ride or kayak rental is in Twin Lakes?

 

you get scooters between 200 and 250 per day. should be below 700 for 3 days.

Banka rides to Apo have different prices, You may be able to catch a public one, or you rent one for yourself and your honey, starting from around 2000.

For Bais and dolphin, just search the forum, there are quite some articles...

cheers

Rhoody

 

Thanks so much, rhoody