Hoyohoy Villas: Your Private Tropical Retreat in Bantayan Island

17 January, 2018 by Gem Muzones

What’s your idea of paradise? For us it’s being surrounded with palm trees while inside a nipa hut-like house with the sound of the waves lulling us to sleep on a lazy afternoon. Luckily, we have a lot of those here in the tropical country of the Philippines with our 7,641 islands. Bantayan Island in Cebu, an underrated destination that we fell in love with after staying there for a week (READ: Why Bantayan Island Should Be in Your Philippines Travel Bucket List) , is one of those places and we found the perfect tropical retreat in Bantayan Island’s Hoyohoy Villas and became our home for 2 nights.

Why Bantayan Island Should Be in Your Philippines Travel Bucket List

10 December, 2017 by Gem Muzones

Kota Beach

With over 7,000 islands (7,641 to be exact), the Philippines has a lot of hidden paradise waiting to be explored. We thought we’ve already seen the best of Philippines when we traveled to El Nido and Coron, Palawan which are always listed in the top beach destinations in the world (if not number 1); but our trip to Bantayan Island, a small island north of Cebu, proved us wrong yet again. This is what we love the most about our home country and our promise to explore more of the #PhilippinesFirst, there are a ton of little El Nido’s in every corner of the archipelago that mainstream media don’t write about or are not included in coveted destination lists but are equally stunning as the ones they do.

#PhilippinesFirst Friday: Palawan is the Best Island in the World (Yet Again!)

23 October, 2015 by Gem Muzones

As part of our #PhilippinesFirst advocacy, we’re launching a weekly blog series called #PhilippinesFirst Friday where we round up articles published in the recent week that prove just how beautiful the Philippines is. This is our own little way of helping our fellow Filipinos realize how lucky we are to live in this country, feel proud of our roots, and bring inspiration to travel the Philippines first before the rest of the world.

1. Palawan is the Best Island in the World (Yet Again!)

Probably the best Philippines travel news for this week is that Palawan is once again hailed as the best island in the world in the Readers’ Choice Awards 2015 of award-winning US travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler (CNT). This is the second straight year that Palawan has gotten this recognition. You go, Palawan!

Book a plane ticket to Palawan now! Find the best airfare deals to the best island in the world here.

6 Budget-Friendly Eats in Cebu City for the Hungry Cheapskate

12 September, 2015 by Gem Muzones

We’re cheapskates even when it comes to food – Beep especially. Most boyfriends take their girlfriends to fast food joints when they’re on a budget date, Beep, meanwhile takes me to the UV Express terminal in Park Square, Makati to eat at the stalls (we’re frequent customers of Paotsin!) before heading home.

We set a PHP7,000 budget for our recent Cebu-Bohol trip, so we had to choose the more affordable dining options. While we usually eat in carinderias like the locals in our budget trips, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the highly-recommended eats in the Queen City of the South.