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PANGLAO ISLAND is one of the Philippines’ top tourism locations – a not unproblematic situation, which I discussed to some degree in my Manila Times column for Sunday, Feb. 15 – and lies just off the southwest side of the larger island of Bohol in the central Philippines. Bohol Province is itself a popular tourist spot, featuring well-known attractions such as the Chocolate Hills (which are honestly not as impressive as they look in most photographs, but okay, I guess); the Philippine Tarsier Reserve (which is cool as hell, if other visitors would refrain, as multiple information signs ask them to, from being noisy assholes and disturbing the little critters); and a large number of 17th- and 18th-century churches (which I find fascinating).
Although there are a number of lovely beach areas around Bohol, Panglao is the hotspot for that. There are a number of beach areas on the island, and it is a popular diving destination, featuring a wide area of reef flats off its western end. Due to its popularity as a tourist destination and its close proximity to the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City – the island is separated from “mainland” Bohol and the city by a channel that is only about 900 yards across at its widest point – the main international airport for the province is located on Panglao.
I have been to Panglao once before, in April 2023, when we stayed in the popular Alona Beach area. Our visit to that part of the island this time, which was just for a couple of hours on Saturday, Feb. 7, was rather shocking, and inspired (not in a positive sense) the aforementioned column from Feb. 15, which I will repost here later in the week. For this visit, we chose the slightly more remote and laid-back Doljo Beach on the northwestern end of the island, lodging at the excellent Modala Beach Resort.
Getting there
Panglao International Airport is served by multiple daily flights from Manila by the three major airlines in the Philippines (Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and Air Asia Philippines), and is “international” in the sense that it has six or eight daily flights to South Korea (Incheon and Busan), both by Philippine Airlines and Korean budget carrier Jeju Air. Flight time from Manila is about an hour and ten minutes.
My explosive hatred for Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is well-known, which is why I recommend Philippine Airlines (PAL), even though tickets will cost more than budget carrier Cebu Pacific’s (whose slogan is “hey, at least we get you there”). This is because PAL flights use Terminal 2, which resembles an actual airport; it’s not great, but it’s tolerable. Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, uses Terminal 3, which is a soul-sucking shithole that would make Satan weep. On the flip side, the smaller Panglao airport is quite pleasant, clean and well-organized.
Where to stay
Home away from home on this four-night trip was the lovely Modala Beach Resort. I don’t know if it has an ‘official’ 5-star rating, but it does as far as I’m concerned. The resort has all the bells and whistles, a well-trained, friendly staff, and about a half-mile stretch of beachfront. Rooms are spacious and well-appointed, and the in-house restaurant is definitely a few notches above what one would usually expect in terms of quality. The resort is attached to a shopping arcade called the Moadto Strip Mall, which houses several restaurants, two bars, a couple of souvenir shops, and most handily, a 7-11.
One interesting aspect of our stay was having to ride out the passage of Tropical Storm Basyang (international name Penha), from late Thursday afternoon until Friday evening. The resort staff did a good job of keeping guests comfortable and updated on the weather situation, and most of the attached establishments actually remained open during the storm to give visitors something to do while waiting out the weather. As I mentioned in one of my columns, that meant taking some pictures and videos of the foul weather, and then parking my ass in the bar. Wouldn’t have wanted to do anything different.
The large herd of Koi fish is a colorful addition to the resort lobby area. Apparently, this is actually a sort of fish farm.
Having a printed copying of the latest weather bureau update about the approaching tropical storm available in the room was not on my bingo card, but well, here we are.
We had a beach view room overlooking the pool. At this point (midafternoon on Thursday, Feb. 5), the weather was already beginning to fall apart, hence the choppiness of the sea beyond. After the storm passed, the water was quite calm.
The beach in better conditions. This is as much activity as I planned or desired while I was there, but besides features such as the pool, a gym, and a spa, the resort offers a full range of recreational activities. There is a dive shop onsite, with a number of excursion packages, as well as kayaking, wave runner rental, horseback riding, and organized tours to many of Bohol’s popular attractions.
Where to eat
As anyone who knows me well can attest, this is absolutely the most important part – and in some cases, the only part – of the trip for me, and this excursion did not disappoint. I only had one kind of meh meal the whole time, which is a pretty good outcome as far as I’m concerned. Here are the standouts:
Modala Beach Resort: As a rule, the place where I am staying is usually not the best place to eat, but this was an exception. Free breakfast, either in a la carte or buffet form, has become standard in almost every place in the Philippines, but I would put Modala’s among the top 5 I have had on business or pleasure trips around the country, and maybe in the top 3. In addition, we ordered lunch off the menu on Friday afternoon at the height of the storm, and it was first-rate. Again, “resort food” is usually my Plan B, but it absolutely was worth it in this case.
Just a couple of snaps of the breakfast buffet; I don’t know if they do the baking in-house or not, but wherever it comes from, the baker has a god-like talent.
This was something new, a Tuna Carpaccio that I ate for lunch on Friday. I swear to God, had I known, I would have ordered 6 of them.
The Buzz Café by Bohol Bee Farm: The Bohol Bee Farm is one of my favorite attractions on Panglao. It is a large social enterprise, employing a large number of local people – the majority of them women – to produce all manner of bee-related products, one of the most popular of which is their honey-based ice cream (the charcoal flavor is my favorite; it doesn’t taste like charcoal, it tastes like waffles). When we visited the actual Bee Farm in 2023, we learned that it is no longer a “bee farm” per se, as the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic prevented them from importing queen bees to maintain their flock. Flock? Herd? Parliament? What do you call a large number of bees? Anyway, they switched over to buying the supply from local bee farmers in the mountains around Bohol, which somehow seems even better.
I had wanted to make an excursion to the Bohol Bee Farm during the latest visit, but to my everlasting delight, I discovered that it has a shop and restaurant located in the Moadto Strip Mall adjacent to the resort. The food is not only first-rate – I ask you, where else are you going to find fish & chips made out of swordfish? – but it has a wonderful collection of products in the shop.
A French-fry container made out of a fried cassava tortilla, are you friggin kidding me?
I don’t remember what kind of fish this was, but this plate was not only super-healthy, it was so pretty.
Eno Mann Bar: Just a quick mention of this one, which is located a couple of doors down from the Bee Farm café, because it has the local craft beer from Island Brewers on tap. It is a comfortable and friendly bar, but does not have a food menu, just some basic snacks. Nonetheless, the beer is worth a visit.
Guess who.
Middle Road Bar & Restaurant: Although we only spent a little time there, this was the most fun I had during the entire trip. It is an American bar located along the Panglao-Daius Road, featuring a delicious menu of food that will make your arteries start slamming shut just by looking at it, a couple of pool tables, and music from the 70s and 80s. If you’re a middle-aged American guy, you will have found your tribe. If you’re anyone else, they will make sure you have a good meal and a great time.
I have not had a patty melt in 20-some years. Not only did I get one, they put bacon on it, too. It is not outside the realm of possibility that I may plan another trip to Panglao to go to this place specifically, and stay until they have to cart me back to my hotel in a wheelbarrow. I’m not even kidding.
What the hell is a “diet?” I see at least 6 food groups here.
This is actually a Filipino snack called “Dynamite,” deep-fried Serrano chili peppers. They put cheese in them, because of course they did.
