Bais City, Negros Oriental

We woke up at around 4:30 in the morning and prepared ourselves for our journey to Bais City.  We took a trike from our hotel to the Ceres Bus Terminal in Dumaguete City.  We hopped into a Ceres Bus bound for Bais and paid Php 40.00 per person.   Travel time between Dumaguete and Bais is one hour.

We arrived in Bais at around 6:30 am.  We then texted Kuya Anton.  Kuya Anton was our contact in Bais City.  He was referred to us by our hotel in Dumaguete.  Kuya Anton led us to our boat.  The boat costs Php 3,000.00 inclusive of lunch.  The boat was big and there were only four of us to enjoy it.  

The water was calm the whole morning...

On our boat waiting for the dolphins

Photo-op while looking for dolphins

We left the port at around 7:30 in the morning.  The sea was very calm.  There were no waves at all.  We sailed continuously to look for dolphins.  After an hour, groups of dolphins began to appear. The sight was awesome! Hundreds of dolphins swimming around and under your boat is a sight to behold. 

 

After about an hour of dolphin watching, we went to the Manjuyod sandbar for lunch.  The Manjuyod sand bar is scenic during low tide.  During high tide, the houses look like they are floating from the sea.  It is advisable to visit Manjuyod early in the morning to catch the low tide.  We stayed in Manjuyod until 11 o’clock in the morning.  We left since the water was already rising.

Starfish

Manjuyod sand bar during low tide

Exploring Manjuyod sand bar

Taking a dip in the relaxing waters

Manjuyod sand bar during high tide (actually wala nang sandbar)

I have been to a lot of dolphin watching activities in the past.  However, this trip in Bais City is the best since we were able to see a huge group of dolphins swimming and playing in the sea.  The existence of a huge number of dolphins near Bais is a testament that the locals are very conscious in preserving their environment.