Cebu With Kids - 2 weeks in the Philippines

After a whirlwind stop through Singapore and a new family member joining us (Batty the Bat) we were off to the Philippines and Cebu. We spent our first night in luxury at the Crimson Resort & Spa. It was fantastic with an awesome pool and kids area with its own pools, trampoline and pirate boat with a ball pit. The snorkelling just off the beach was also impressive with lots of different fish and a great jumping platform. If I thought Singapore was hot it had nothing on Cebu. It's like being in a saint walking outside. We left Mactan, Cebu City for Malapascua. It was a 4 hour van and quick boat to a small island famous for its Thresher Sharks.

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Rob got up at 5.45am to do exactly that and also saw a tiger shark. We enjoyed a day at the hotel and some great snorkelling as we saw our little sea snake "cutie snakey". Most of our time on Malapascua was spent relaxing swimming and exploring the island. With a lot of perseverance we found Los Bamboos beach and enjoyed a beautiful beach to ourselves and just three local children who spent the time showing off their beach diving. One day when it's was a bit cooler than normal and rainy we walked around the entire island which at 3km was worth it to see all the different beaches and little villages where the locals live. The amount of plastic and rubbish is pretty sad, some beaches are covered in it while others get regular clear ups.

​From Malapascua it was on to Bohol, a much larger island off the south coast of Cebu. Here our seven days included:

• ​A day trip out to the chocolate hills and a stop to meet the famous tarsiers. These cute little animals are the smallest primates in the world and it was fun to explore the sanctuary and find them clinging to the various trees.
  
• Two dives each for Rob and I where after a small boat from Alona Beach, we were emmersed in the clearest waters and surrounded by so much sealife we were blown away. The three huge turtles at the end were the highlight of mine.
• Some absolutely fantastic meals at Barwoo and Shaka Bohol as well as delicious, authentic pasta at Tepanee, our hotel.
  
• A night kayak with Kayakasia to see the fireflys light up the mangrove trees at close range.

After Bohol we had a last night in the Philippines back at Mactan, Cebu. Here we enjoyed a AirBNB apartment which not only had the hugest pool but a washing machine to catch-up on our washing. A nice luxury farm hand washing to date. Next stop Kualar Lumpur!