Budget or Premium Chocolate Hills Tour on Bohol: What the Price Gap Actually Buys
6 min read
For most people, the premium Chocolate Hills, tarsier and river day is the safe booking: €36.45 plus ₱500 in entrance fees and lunch paid on the day, about 9 hours with transfers, 4.7 stars from 1,259 reviews. If you want to pay less and still land on a well-reviewed tour, the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers and Loboc River day tour is €28.06 with 4.8 stars from 248 reviews. Two of the other options come with a catch, explained below.
The word “premium” in a tour title is a name, not a standard. What follows is what the booking pages actually say, and where the gaps are.
The five tours side by side
| Tour | Length | From | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers & River Experience | about 9 hours | €36.45 | 4.7★ · 1,259 reviews | most visitors; the proven default |
| Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers and Loboc River Day Tour | 7 – 8 hours | €28.06 | 4.8★ · 248 reviews | same loop, lower price |
| Budget Chocolate Hills & Tarsiers – Backpacker Special | 9 hours | €23.45 | 4.7★ · 197 reviews | travellers happy without a guide |
| Chocolate Hills & Tarsiers Experience | 8 – 14 hours | €22.51 | 4.2★ · 137 reviews | flexible plans; check what your option includes |
| Chocolate Hills and Countryside Tour | 10 hours | €39.46 | 4.6★ · 176 reviews | people who want more than the standard loop |
What the premium tour is
The premium tour is the standard Bohol loop: the Chocolate Hills, a tarsier sanctuary and the Man-Made Forest, with a stop at the Loboc River where the buffet cruise (₱1,200 per person) or a riverside restaurant is optional and paid on site. Its real advantage is the volume of feedback: 1,259 reviews at 4.7 stars. The booking page is clear that the price does not cover everything: ₱500 per person in entrance and environmental fees and lunch are paid on site in pesos. Hotel pickup is included anywhere on Panglao; from Tagbilaran or Loboc you use a meeting point. What the standard day is like hour by hour is covered in its own guide.
The cheaper way to see the hills and the tarsiers
The day tour at €28.06 covers the hills and the tarsiers, adds the Man-Made Forest and Baclayon Church, and offers the Loboc River lunch cruise as an optional extra paid on site; the ₱500 environmental fee is collected at pickup, which is within Tagbilaran or Panglao. It costs €28.06 against €36.45 for the premium day, and has 248 reviews against 1,259. Its 4.8-star rating is a good sign, not a guarantee – but it is the one we would pick if the budget matters, unless you travel with a baby under one or anyone over 70, whom the operator lists as not suitable.
The backpacker special: read the small print
The Budget Chocolate Hills & Tarsiers tour is €23.45 and holds a 4.7 from 197 reviews. Its booking page says plainly that it is a shared, transport-only tour with a driver and no guide. It visits the Man-Made Forest, the hills and the tarsiers and stops at the Loboc River, runs about 9 hours, and has no hotel pickup: you meet at McDonald’s Alona, Mario’s Café in Tagbilaran or the 7-Eleven in Loboc. Bring ₱500 per person in cash for entrance fees; lunch, with or without the ₱1,200 river cruise, is paid separately. If you like to read a sign yourself and do not need anyone explaining the island’s geology, that is fine. If you were counting on a guide to explain what you are seeing, this is the wrong tour, and the saving is not worth it.
Check the Backpacker Special on its booking page
When the open-ended tour is a poor idea
The GoPanglao shared tour, at €22.51 with 4.2 stars from 137 reviews, gives its duration as 8 to 14 hours, a range wide enough that you should ask what decides it before you book. The range comes from its options – one includes transfers from Cebu – and entrance fees for the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers are included only with some options, so check what yours covers. On a day with a long drive each way, a 14-hour day is a different trip from an 8-hour one. We would not choose it to save a few euros.
When it is worth paying more
The Chocolate Hills and Countryside Tour runs 10 hours and costs €39.46. Its description adds salt-making and paddleboarding down the Loboc River to the usual stops. That is a genuinely different day, not just a dearer one, so book it only if those extras appeal to you. For a first visit that wants nothing but the three classics, it is more than you need.
If you want your own timetable instead of a group’s, private tours start from €33.98 – see our private tour guide. The full list is on the Chocolate Hills tours page.
Our recommendation
For most travellers: the premium tour – €36.45, 4.7 stars from 1,259 reviews.
If you want to spend less: the €28.06 day tour. The same hills and tarsiers with a guide; the Loboc cruise is optional and paid on site on both, and it is not for babies under one or travellers over 70.
Skip: the GoPanglao shared tour with the open-ended duration, and the no-guide version unless you really do want to go without one.
