How to Commute to EAT Danao Adventure Park

Ever since I found out that the highest canyon swing in the world was in the Philippines, I wanted to experience it. But because I was initially planning to travel alone, I could not afford the Php1,500/van that would conveniently bring me to Danao from Tagbilaran. Even if my friend agreed to join me last minute, it was still too expensive. So we opted to commute!

Step 1: Book a flight to Tagbilaran
To my knowledge, these are the only flights that fly to Tagbilaran from Manila:

• AirPhil Express
• Cebu Pacific Air
• Zest Air 
• Philippine Airlines

I personally prefer AirPhil Express because it's cheap and they have a legitimate 24/7 customer. The only downside to the airline is that they have limited time slots. Cebu Pacific Air has an edge when it comes to flight availability.



Step 2: Go to Dao Terminal / Island City Mall

After checking-in where we were lodged, we went to the Dao terminal, which is literally infront of the Island City Mall (ICM). We tried two ways to get there from my pension house (All reviews of hotels, attractions, et al. are on TripAdvisor.com):

• Take a Tricycle. It costs Php 30/per trip from wherever you are in Tagbilaran. Take note that regardless of how many you are in the tricycle (single, double or trio) the fare will still be php30. (source: my friend from tagbilaran)
• Take a Jeep. It costs Php7-8/per trip. Look for a jeep that has the sign "ICM" or "Island City Mall" or "Dao Terminal" and they will bring you to ICM directly.

While it is cheaper to take the latter, finding a jeep that was not full was quite a challenge for us so we often took the tricycle. But on that one lucky occasion where we found a semi-filled jeep, there was a moment when everyone just got down and it wasn't the ICM yet. We waited for about 5 minutes before the driver headed towards the mall/terminal. 

Step 3: Board the bus.

(or you can take a van. I didn't try this but the information is here: EAT DANAO Transport Service )

• Bus trips per day from Tagbilaran to Danao:
  • Morning:
    • 5:00 am, 6:00am, 8:00am, 9:00am
  • Afternoon:
    • 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 5:30pm and 6:30 pm last trip

Tips and Infos:

• Leave in the morning. It is a 3 hour bus ride from Tagbilaran to Danao and it takes around 7-10 mins to get to the park from the terminal in Danao. Go early to experience everything!
• Be there at least 20 mins before your selected time because there is only one bus per time slot so a lot of people will be rushing to get in. 
• The bus heading to Danao is at the end of the terminal.  Enter the bus terminal, turn right and walk towards the end of the terminal near a Dunkin Donuts stand. It should be the station of Danao.
• Swiftly enter the bus because seats fill out fast! Run to the side of the bus with the DANAO sign on it. It's a 3 hour trip and you do not want to stand up the whole time.
• Be ready to share seats. Because there are limited seats, it is standard to share the seat with someone else. The one qw rode at 8:00am was a tiny bus so a seat that is supposedly for just 1 person, is for 2 people.
• Bring shades or a shawl to cover yourself. It will be an open air bus. From research, there are no air-conditioned buses that travel to Danao from Tagbilaran. So the wind, dirt, and dust would be coming in and out of the vehicle.
• There will be a est. 30 min stopover at Sagbayan. The location is fairly modern, so finding a washroom or a medical boutique is nearby. Pace yourself. Here's the list of cities you will be passing by:

How much it would cost coming from Tagbilaran and the list of places you will pass by.

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• Relax and Enjoy. The bus will be passing in between the chocolate hills. The uniqueness of how the hills were forms is fascinating. There will be several chances to take a picture due to the fact that the bus will erratically stop to discard passengers along the way; although this will be done quickly.
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Step 4: Take a Habal-Habal or Tricycle
After exiting the bus at the Danao terminal, take a habal-habal to the adventure park. It won't be hard to find one because they will be swarming around the bus. One-way, it costs Php40/person and each motorcycle needs to take at least 2 passengers. The practice is, one hires the habal-habal to wait, because there will be no other means of getting down. So normally, Php80/round trip to/from the terminal. Oh, you also have to pay Php25/per person to enter the park (you don't have to pay for the driver)

My friend was scared to ride the motorcycle so we spotted the only tricycle in the area and hired him. We paid for 3 people costing Php120/one-way. We then hired him to take us back down (and to Corella - but that's another entry!)

Kuya Ben and I with his tricycle.

Contact him if you are afraid to take the habal-habal. He is from Danao. Ben (0928-408-5848). Great guy! Down to earth and really friendly.

Step 5: Enjoy the the adventure park. 
One of the signs I was fond of says, "You are not paying for the ride, you are paying for the experience." ~or something to that effect. It did cost a lot of money but it was worth it (and I saved a lot by commuting)! :-)


Step 6: Head back to ICS.
We actually didn't head back to Tagbilaran right after but as indicated in the website:

• Trips per day from Danao to Tagbilaran:
  • Morning:
    • 4:00 a.m., 5:30 am, 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:30a.m.,
  • Afternoon:
    • 1:30p.m., 4:00p.m., 5:00 p.m last trip
    
    
    

Overall, it was a great experience. It was probably my most challenging planned trip, but it was worth it to experience the highest canyon swing in the world! 

HELPFUL SOURCES:

• I was guided and assured by Weina (0917-302-1700), an employee from the EAT Danao park. She was patient and kind when answering all my inquires. Thank you.
• http://www.eatdanao.com/
• Coming from Cebu?
• http://kathangisip.com/2009/09/e-a-t-danao-in-bohol-a-review/
• http://streetsmartgirl.blogspot.com/2011/03/day-2-danao-adventure-park.html
• http://www.calvinshub.com/2011/02/took-the-plunge-at-e-a-t-danao/

*I do not know these bloggers but they all contributed to my knowledge and confidence to commute.