After several months of planning, I finally made it to Donsol. Actually, I didn’t really make any plans or did any research. I just signed up for a trip already organized by Owen, from my PEX mailing list. (He’s also organizing a couple of trips to Coron, Palawan. Anybody interested?) It was great to just show up at the airport and have somebody else tell me where to go. Given the busy weeks I’ve had, I haven’t had the chance to read about Donsol, except for that small bit in the Lonely Planet Philippines book.
The trip wasn’t *that* cheap. It could have been much cheaper if: 1) I bought my ticket during a Cebu Pacific promo and not one and a half weeks prior to departure; 2) We moved to the Donsol town proper or to Legaspi for cheaper accomodations on the second night, and; 3) I went for cheaper food options in Donsol. Of course, this is when I realized that I *am* a flashpacker, and not a backpacker, as I’ve always said I was. Indeed, I am just a backpacker wannabe.
| Donsol Whale Shark Experience | ||||
| February 23 - 25, 2008 | ||||
| Cost | Actual | |||
| Air Tranfers | (for one person) | |||
| Cebu Pacific | ||||
| Regular Go Fare | Php 2,690.00 | Php 2,690.00 | ||
| Manila Domestic Terminal Fee | Php 200.00 | Php 200.00 | ||
| Legaspi Terminal Fee | Php 30.00 | Php 30.00 | ||
| Accomodation | ||||
| Amor Farm Beach Resort | ||||
| Php 1,200/night/room | Php 2,400.00 | Php 1,200.00 | 1 | |
| Aircon room ensuite toilet and bath | ||||
| Without breakfast& transfers | ||||
| Transportation | ||||
| Manila - To and from Airport | Php 435.50 | Php 435.50 | 2 | |
| Donsol/Legaspi - To and from Airport | Php 205.00 | Php 205.00 | 3 | |
| Food | ||||
| Lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks | Php 851.50 | Php 851.50 | 4 | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||
| Firefly Tour | Php 1,100.00 | Php 220.00 | 5 | |
| Whale Shark Interaction Fee | Php 100.00 | Php 100.00 | 6 | |
| Whale Shark - Boat and Guide | Php 3,530.00 | Php 530.00 | 7 | |
| Snorkel Mask | Php 150.00 | Php 150.00 | 8 | |
| Books | Php 225.00 | Php 225.00 | 9 | |
| Souvenirs | Php 295.00 | Php 295.00 | 10 | |
| Total | Php 7,102.00 | |||
| 1 There were two of us sharing the room, so the room cost was divided in two | ||||
| 2 I took a combination of jeep, bus, mrt and taxi to the domestic airport in Manila. Go me! | ||||
| 3 This involved a tricycle ride and an hour-long ride inside a van with no airconditioning | ||||
| 4 I hardly left Amor. Food in their restaurant costs an average of Php125 per meal | ||||
| 5 One banca costs Php1,100, arranged by the nice people at Amor. Since there were five of us in the boat, the cost was split 5 ways | ||||
| 6 Filipinos pay Php100, foreign visitors pay Php300 | ||||
| 7 The Php3,530 includes a boat, boat crew and one Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO). Only seven passengers are allowed in one boat. You can easily ask other tourists to share the boat with you. Since there were 7 of us in the boat, we only had to pay Php530 each. | ||||
| 8 Snorkel mask and fins are readily available in almost all of the resorts and in the tourist centre. In our resort, the mask costs Php150, the fins another Php150 | ||||
| 9 National bookstore is ebil. | ||||
| 10 I bought Php240 worth of pili goodies, and one butanding magnet | ||||
Download: Donsol.xls (14k)
There you have it. If you have any questions about the budget or the trip, just post them in the comment section 
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[...] Daily Online Shopping Specials, Unique Gifts, Fashion Accessories & Home Decor - Delight.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt After several months of planning, I finally made it to Donsol. Actually, I didn’t really make any plans or did any research. I just signed up for a trip already organized by Owen, from my PEX mailing list. (He’s also organizing a couple of trips to Coron, Palawan. Anybody interested?) It was great to just show up at the airport and have somebody else tell me where to go. Given the busy weeks I’ve had, I haven’t had the chance to read about Donsol, except for that small bit in the Lonely Planet [...]
hi nina. it’s time that i came across your site. we’re going to legaspi/donsol next month. how was your butanding enounter?
what’s the firefly tour?
*i meant it was good timing that i came across your site
i also do accounting for every single trip of mine. Lol just so i know where ive spent my money 
Hi Lizeth! The butanding encounter was awesome! It was overcast that day, so visibility was poor. Luckily, the whaleshark was swimming fairly close to the surface, so we were able to see it clearly.
There’s no guarantee that you will see a butanding. We were really lucky. There were about 20 boats out at the same time, and not all of us were able to see the whaleshark. Everybody in our boat saw the butanding, but other boats weren’t able to, even if we were in the same area
Have you settled on your accomodation yet? Amor is a good choice, I recommend them
Another good choice is Vitton, which is right next to the Tourism centre. The resort is fairly new and looks great. The restaurant service was really slow though, according to people who stayed there.
If you have other questions about Donsol or Bohol, just ask!
hi nina! lucky you… we spent 6 hours at sea but seen only its shadow. we’ll schedule another trip hopefully in summer. (i’m the one you met at the airport with owen & arranged the boat)
Is that you, Sarah/Chara/Ciara/ Idon’tknowhowtospellyournameright?
It’s really such a shame that you weren’t able to see the whale shark 
Ang weird no? Or maybe our guide was always so gung ho about jumping off the boat 
Goodluck on your next butanding watch! Hopefully, the weather would be so much better then
You saw a whale shark? I AM SO ENVIOUS!!!
Your entire weekend getaway, including airfare, hardly cost more than one stinkin’ snorkel or scuba boat dive here in Hawaii… where there’s nothing to see because the reefs are all dead from sediment runoff and pollution.
I hope you continue covering beach getaways with snorkeling and diving.
David: Not only did I see them, I swam with them
Yes, there will be more beaches, snorkelling, and quite possibly, diving to come. I’m focusing on going to the places in this list, and maybe more. Now, if only I can stop myself from buying Pinky St dolls and manga and eating out so much…
Hey Nina,
I sent you a PM at CS before finding my way here. He he. So disregard it nalang.
Li
Hey Li! I saw the CS message before I saw this. I replied there na rin
Ok, so this is on the list of places to see as well. It’s really cool you got to see the whale sharks! I wonder if there’s a time when it’s good to go see them, like in bohol its suppsedly most advisable to go dolphin and whlae viewing in April-May.
Hi Ryan! Donsol is a very relaxing place. This is the season for whale shark watching. January - April/May is the best month to visit daw, because there’s plenty of sunshine and visibility is quite good.
Congrats, you made it! Pictures? Yeah, pictures!
yeah, pics pics pics!!!
Uy! Great timing din. Will be going to Donsol sometime in April as well. Thank you for this breakdown
Hi Nina!
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help and emailing to make sure I get your reply.
A bunch of colleagues from work went to Donsol during the 3-day weekend at the end of February, so I was able to ask stuff too. We are going to book at Woodlands. I heard that visibility was poor during their trip too. Sayang! I hope it’ll be better this month.
Nina, what’s the firefly tour?
Thanks a lot!!
Liz
ang mahal pala. buti na lang when I went there with my staff a few years ago, libre kami :-)
Ajay and Dyanie: Pictures coming up! But I wasn’t able to take any photos of the whale shark though
Ferdz: Uy, have fun in April! Take lots of photos of the whale shark ah
Lizeth: The firefly tour is just a boat ride up the river right after sun down. May mga trees right by the river na sobrang pinupuntahan ng mga firefly. Para syang tree na may Christmas lights.
Estan: Ehehe, magastos lang talaga ako. Haha. Pero you’re right, walang tatalo sa libre!
[...] nina: Ajay and Dyanie: Pictures coming up! But I wasn’t able to take any photos of the whale shark though
… [...]
[...] trip to Donsol, Sorsogon for the Whaleshark experience. Previous posts in this series includes the budget for this Donsol trip (download Excel file here), and my musings about being back in Bicol after almost 6 [...]
hi nina! yep, you got it right.
wow you have a long story to tell. I’ll write my own hopefully next month, we are so eager to go back. Now, we know better. We have to book a more experienced guide in advance. The tourist center declined when I asked them but apparently, it is possible. ;D
Haha, ganun? Ask for our guide, BIO Jun
And good luck on your next trip! Gusto ko rin nga bumalik eh, pero siguro next year na 
Nina, my trip was unbelievable! see my blog, I’m still up for Donsol 3!
Freeze: Okay, that is just extremely annoying! Sana matuloy na talaga kayo soon!
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