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<\/a>, from my PEX mailing list. (He’s also organizing a couple of trips to Coron, Palawan<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n
Donsol Whale Shark Experience<\/strong><\/td>\n| <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | February 23 – 25, 2008<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | Cost<\/strong><\/td>\n | Actual<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Air Tranfers<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | (for one person)<\/em><\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Cebu Pacific<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Regular Go Fare<\/td>\n | Php 2,690.00<\/td>\n | Php 2,690.00<\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Manila Domestic Terminal Fee<\/td>\n | Php 200.00<\/td>\n | Php 200.00<\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Legaspi Terminal Fee<\/td>\n | Php 30.00<\/td>\n | Php 30.00<\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Accomodation<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Amor Farm Beach Resort<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Php 1,200\/night\/room<\/td>\n | Php 2,400.00<\/td>\n | Php 1,200.00<\/td>\n | 1<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Aircon room ensuite toilet and bath<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Without breakfast& transfers<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Transportation<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Manila – To and from Airport<\/td>\n | Php 435.50<\/td>\n | Php 435.50<\/td>\n | 2<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Donsol\/Legaspi – To and from Airport<\/td>\n | Php 205.00<\/td>\n | Php 205.00<\/td>\n | 3<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Food<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks<\/td>\n | Php 851.50<\/td>\n | Php 851.50<\/td>\n | 4<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Miscellaneous<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Firefly Tour<\/td>\n | Php 1,100.00<\/td>\n | Php 220.00<\/td>\n | 5<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Whale Shark Interaction Fee<\/td>\n | Php 100.00<\/td>\n | Php 100.00<\/td>\n | 6<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Whale Shark – Boat and Guide<\/td>\n | Php 3,530.00<\/td>\n | Php 530.00<\/td>\n | 7<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Snorkel Mask<\/td>\n | Php 150.00<\/td>\n | Php 150.00<\/td>\n | 8<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Books<\/td>\n | Php 225.00<\/td>\n | Php 225.00<\/td>\n | 9<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Souvenirs<\/td>\n | Php 295.00<\/td>\n | Php 295.00<\/td>\n | 10<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | Total<\/strong><\/td>\n | Php 7,102.00<\/strong><\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/td>\n | <\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 1<\/sup> There were two of us sharing the room, so the room cost was divided in two<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 2<\/sup> I took a combination of jeep, bus, mrt and taxi to the domestic airport in Manila. Go me!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 3<\/sup> This involved a tricycle ride and an hour-long ride inside a van with no airconditioning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 4<\/sup> I hardly left Amor. Food in their restaurant costs an average of Php125 per meal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 5<\/sup> 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<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 6<\/sup> Filipinos pay Php100, foreign visitors pay Php300<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 7<\/sup> 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.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 8<\/sup> 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<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 9<\/sup> National bookstore is ebil.<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 10<\/sup> I bought Php240 worth of pili goodies, and one butanding magnet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||