90 km northwest of Cebu City lies the sleepy town of Tabuelan.
How do you transport yourself to Tabuelan?
Ticket for the minibus
Oh, how we wish we could be at one place or another just by snapping our fingers. But getting to Tabuelan without your own car AND missing the only Ceres bus (which leaves at 4AM from the North Bus Terminal) can be a nightmare, especially if you have no other choice but to take the killer minibus. Lucky if you catch a v-hire (van) going to Tabuelan. We only found one whose schedule is at 9AM from Cebu (and 4AM from Tabuelan) from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, they only run from Tabuelan to Cebu at 1PM.Did you say killer minibus?Yes, the killer minibus, not because the driver is reckless, but because it can kill you with its snail's pace. The first hour was spent crawling from North Bus Terminal to Canduman in Mandaue City, a short 10 km distance (my grandma can run faster than this)! The slowpoke took four hours to travel 90 kilometers, twice as long as any normal drive would take!
Why would you want to go to Tabuelan?
For the beach and nothing but the beach!
Photo by Paupau Alvarez
Hi ho, hi ho! To the beach you go...
The bus will drop you off at the Tabuelan market. From there, take a habalhabal (motorcycle) to the beach.
...with an overnight bag.
You can stay at either Durhan White Beach or La Familia Resort 0928 755 8301 / (032) 461 9075 / (032) 461 9110. Photos below are of La Familia where I stayed in the two times that I have visited Tabuelan. Durhan is just next door.
And then what?
Laze around! Relax! Go for a swim...at high tide (when the tide is low, it is really really low... you can walk far from the beach and the water would still be up to your shins)! Roll in the sand, build a sandcastle, explore!
One must eat to have energy to swim or explore.
La Familia has a restaurant but if you're on a tight budget (their food is a bit expensive), you might want to bring your own food, a cookset and a burner. Have some money to spare? Go to the market (3 kilometers away) and ask the caretakers to cook for you (at a cost).
So your weekend is ending...
...and you are dreading that bus ride from hell (yes, it can be hell in that minibus for they pack the passengers in like sardines and move the sardine can on wheels ever so slowly). If you'd rather spend an extra 45 pesos than be sardines on wheels, try your luck and ask the resort's caretakers if they know of any v-hire (van) going back to the city (we were lucky one was leaving at 1PM and the vhire came to pick us up at the resort!).
How a weekend at Tabuelan bore a hole thru Mustachio's pocket:
Minibus from North Bus Terminal to Tabuelan Php 90
Habalhabal (motorcycle) to La Familia Resort Php 15
Room at La Familia Resort Php 1000
V-hire (van) from Tabuelan to North Bus Terminal Php 135
