Tours on Bohol, Compared – Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers & Island Hopping

Bohol has its own airport on Panglao, with domestic flights from Manila and Cebu — there are no long-haul flights straight to the island. The other way in is the fast ferry from Cebu City to Tagbilaran, roughly two hours, then 30 to 40 minutes by road to Panglao.

The sanctuary in Corella is run by a non-profit and is backed by the environment and tourism departments; the conservation area in Loboc is neither. Rules at Corella are strict — no flash, no touching, low voices, a few minutes per animal — because tarsiers are nocturnal and stressed by noise. Many tour listings say only "tarsier viewing" without naming the site, so ask before you book.

Often, but never reliably. The boats leave around dawn because that is when the dolphins feed, and no operator can promise wild animals. Treat a listing that guarantees a sighting as a warning sign rather than a selling point.

No. Tours sold under a Bohol heading cross to Oslob on Cebu — a long day with a ferry each way. The whale sharks there are hand-fed to keep them in the bay, a practice criticised by WWF among others. That is worth knowing before you book, and the tours themselves rarely mention it.

The dry season runs roughly from late November to May, and that is also when the island is busiest and prices are highest. June to October is the rainy season, with the greatest chance of typhoons in August and September. One trade-off nobody mentions: the Chocolate Hills are only brown at the end of the dry season, around March to May.

Not really. The hills are in the middle of the island at Carmen; the main waterfalls are in the east around Candijay, about three hours by road from Panglao. They are two separate days, whatever a combined listing suggests.

Most visitors do not. There is no public transport to the Chocolate Hills, but the normal way inland is a van with a driver for the day, and almost every tour includes hotel pickup on Panglao. Self-driving is the exception here rather than the rule.

For Balicasag, ahead of time: access is capped at 150 divers and 200 snorkellers a day and has to go through an accredited operator with online registration, so turning up on the day does not work. For land tours, a day or two is usually enough outside the December-to-April peak. Since almost every tour cancels free up to 24 hours before, booking early costs you nothing.