I have been traveling to Bohol now for 27 years. It's amazing how much I haven't seen. Thanks for sharing this video. It will give us so many things to do.
I should have researched Bohol more before we traveled David as there is a lot to see and do there and we could have easily spent another week exploring.
@@AmazingPhilippines1 It's really surprising. There was still NPA activity when I was living there back in the early 90s. I was living in a nipa but in the hills near Talibon and speaking the lingo. The people were afraid that I might be targeted so they really discouraged some of my adventures. I did experience living and traveling with the "real' people which took me to some odd locations.
Hi Rod, yes there are a few expats with small lifestyle farming blocks there on Bohol, whom i follow on You Tube. Joseph Seeley, Brian Smith, Terence and Beth, Dan (Blind Owl Outdoors) Anthony and Lyn, and one or two others. Thankyou for this very informative doco of Bohol, Rod my friend.
I met Dan about 3 years ago I think when I went to Bohol to meet him and I spent about 4 days there so this trip helped me get a better feel for Bohol Bob.
Fantastic video. So comprehensive, you covered everything from soup to nuts. Love the map work, too. You are, by far, the most informative PI vlogger IMO.
Your videos always provide lots of good info. Plan to spend my Canadian winters in Bohol once I retire. Summer in Canada because I love to go fresh water fishing in the lakes and rivers we have in abundance here . Also the Canadian government regulations for our health care system requires I spend a certain amount of time in Canada every 12 months in order to receive benefits. I do have some health issues that I must continue to monitor. Your videos on hospitals and health care plans in the Philippines are good info. Once I retire plan to try fishing in Bohol. Lucky for me my wife likes to do the same things. She owns a lot just outside of Talibon, our plan is to build a small home there. You're right about having a person you can trust, when I first met my wife she saved me a lot of money those first years in the Philippines. I can calculate the exchange rate in my head but I always get her opinion on costs. Going to Cebu to buy the things you might not find on Bohol. My personal thing is finding good Rye bread, even in Cebu City I've been to bakery after bakery. Thanks again for another good video Rod.
Thanks Brian. I understand about the pension and health care system in Canada. Australia has some penalties also if you are out of country too long. I do miss a little fresh water fishing and hunting as well but not the cold I grew up in Minnesota.
Thanks for the very informative video. Lots of useful information and very insightful, as usual, and I will certainly be looking at your Bohol video playlist again. I too am considering moving there with my gf. She tells me it's cheaper to live there than in the city. Would you agree? I'd also be interested to learn what are your reasons for saying that you could live on Bohol.
Thanks Frank. Bohol offers the benefits of being close enough to Cebu City with cheap transportation that you can get many items quickly if you cannot find it in Bohol. You have hospitals, malls, an airport, and several ferry ports around the island. You should be able to live pretty cheap if you discipline yourself and keep control of your money. Good luck with your plans Frank.
According to a local, Bohol gov't doesn't allow high rise buildings to prevent collapse in case of earthquake. The highest that can be permitted is up to 4th floor. That expains why there are no tall buildings in the island.
Nice one Rod. Am visiting Bohol October so great to see these areas, will certainly factor in some of these locations. After seeing one of your Camotes vids I visited that island back in March & wasn't disappointed.
Thanks Michael. Camotes is a nice small island. I have heard the electric rate is very high as they use a diesel generator until they get "hardwired" in to a power plant on another island.
I had a blast in Bohol enjoyed the ride thru the hills and the Christmas display in Carmen was unbelievable,in tagbilaran I found great food at the bee hive if you are looking for a quiet beach you can’t beat anda
Bohol is a beautiful place! My wife grew up in Bohol, around Mabini, and we are building a house there that we will eventually be putting on AIRBNB until our retirement. I don't know that I could live here year round, but definitely several weeks to a few months at a time. Filipinos are a wonderful people and will do anything for you. I have yet to learn the language, but will be working on it shortly. You will NOT be disappointed in BOHOL.
Camotes is a nice smaller island. There are some limitations with what you can buy there so many expats who live there make 1-2 trips to Cebu City each month. I think the electric rate is quite high still as the island runs off of diesel generators MrBrew.
FYI, Loon is two syllables pronounced Lo-on. You would have found some nice resorts on Cabilao island which is the #2 dive destination in Bohol. My experience has been 400php getting from the tagbilarin pier to Alona beach.
In Tagbilaran there is a Pizza Hut close to the McDonald's and there is a Shakey's Pizza in the City Square plaza across the street from BQ. There is also a KFC in the Island City Mall.
theSTAR70 I carried a Globe pocket wifi with me and it worked well and pretty fast. I found the wifi in hotels usable but not fast. I don't think many places offer free wifi other than hotels and come coffee shops perhaps but not sure.
Thanks again Rod, i appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos, very informative and definatly helps me look at Bohol as a viable option to retire to in a few years.
Thank you so much brother bringing back memories gonna be back to Bohol drove that same street you passed by good bakery and the mall I was inside shit load of people in the mall there's a supermarket a lot of people in a small area
for many westerners i am sure you are the voice of the Philippines for them, no frills just do it and say it as it is, I think many would miss your input without doubt. and you still manage to stay diplomatic which you have to do in many countries in Asia.
Thanks Trevor. I consider that a very nice compliment. Every day is an adventure and part of the journey. I am learning and just passing on what I see.
High volume on sounds is not a big deal, just ask the driver to lower it down. Western food is not a problem either, the groceries mall has an aisle for westernian food.
I was trying to sleep in my hotel room Randy when I was awoken by that awful loud noise....more than once. The western food isle even in the big mall stores have limited choices so I usually shop at S&R or Landers for those types of things.
Thank you for all your good movies. I really like them. My wife is from Ormoc City and my last visit was in september 2018. Regards// Fredrik from Sweden
Have you been to Samar island? A lot bigger island, more wild and cheaper. But probably less conducive to live as it's more rural and near the typhoon belt.
I like Bohol but would not want to live there when the big quake hit late 2012 or early 2013 parts of Bohol cracked open and raised up as high as 13 ft. I was living in Mandaue at the time and it cracked our concrete wall but the ground did not open up so I'll take my chances in Mandaue the next time one of those big puppies comes rolling through.
Amazing Philippines You do have a very unique voice & accent, very well suited for this type of vlog. Keep on vlogging, trekking, tracking & trucking. Don't forget dining, eating, drinking Never mind womanizing 😆 Cheers, here's a Tanduay for the Road of Rod! 😆
I lived in Bohol for 4 month prior of moving to Cebu and it gets really boring there as you running out of places to go. This is just my opinion. I have a friend there and he said he’ll be moving to Cebu soon.
I didn't feel "unsafe" in any of my 3 trips there bb. You don't want to insult and confront Filipinos as then you will have many enemies as they are very family/clan oriented. Your cost of living depends on what you need and want. You can live very cheap if you are disciplined with your spending.
Rod just curious to ask you this, what is the biggest reason why expats want to live in Bohol in your opinion or from what they tell you? Thanks, I enjoy your videos Rod
I think many want to be close to a big city like Cebu City but still live in a smaller town or in the country Wayne. You can get most of what you might want from the stores and malls and enough conveniences to satisfy many. I have heard there are several vloggers on Bohol as well so that gives people a comfort level about the area.
@@AmazingPhilippines1 A few years ago, (April 2017) there was a firefight between Abu Sayyaf members and police and military in Inabanga, Bohol. Three soldiers and one policeman and 5 terrorists were killed. Six terrorists escaped. They were said to travel to Bohol for kidnappings. Those foreigners who are blogging are possible future targets. It is just a matter of time until they get a rude wake up, but by then it will be too late for them. The bloggers I have seen in Bohol tell exactly where they live. Stupid is as stupid does.
@@winter7946 The "targets" were Finance Ministers from around Asia that were attending an ASEAN meeting at a resort in Bohol. The people of Bohol quickly noticed something was amiss and informed the AFP and PNP who took care of the entire situation in a matter of days. Your tsismis about foreign bloggers being targeted are just that... tsismis. If you search Bohol in any news aggregators, you'll find fascinating stories of town board meeting, and a very occasional story of a minor drug arrest of someone selling drugs to tourist on Panglao. The news from Bohol is quite boring.
Randy Jepsen That's odd, the cost of living in Bohol is higher than Cebu : Gasoline is P5 more per liter compared to Cebu Jeepney fare is P1 more, Some grocery items are higher than Cebu, Lots of grocery items not available here that are quite common in Cebu LPG tank almost P200 more per tank than Cebu Hardware materials definitely higher than Cebu even if you factor the cost of transporting the goods yourself via slow cargo boat
Thanks Mark. I suspect there are nipa huts to rent but I don't know the details. I have seen pics of nipa cottages at resorts. You might check out this resort. Video URL ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-keXr66THg5c.html
Wonderful share, very nice indeed. It's a beautiful island. Anda I think caught my eye the most. Want to ask a question, nothing negative meant. Mindanao according to the US state department because of Muslim extremist is considered not safe. Heard from other vloggers that theirs an increase of Muslim extremist moving in Bohol Island. Have you heard that or have an opinion. What I'm asking is how safe did you feed?
I enjoyed your bohol series but I was hopping to cover some of the negatives of the island. I keep hearing about the drought. idk if that's just in bohol or other areas of the PI. When I visited the island I would never have guessed that there are 1.4 million ppl living there.
The drought is affecting many areas of the Philippines. Places like Talamaban just on the north side of Cebu City have water only a few hours/day for instance. The reservoir here and near Manila are very low also so hopefully we will get more rain soon.
WelcomeHome76 One of the negatives of the island of Bohol is the high cost of living (triggered by tourism), sub-par infrastructure, dusty & filthy city (Tagbilaran; once outside the city it is clean but still dusty), corrupt government, questionable water supply (in Tagbilaran), unstable power supply, UV index mostly at extreme level, lots of hospital in the city but few good doctors around to man them. Western grocery items comes & go, beach resort in Panglao very crowded with people. Other than that it is a relatively peaceful city even though Bohol is ranked #5 in the country for drug related crimes
No. All three trips to Tagbilaran City I have heard it and it is spreading here to Cebu City also Tom. There are a very few annoying trike drivers who outfit their trikes with a speaker and they turn it up loud as they travel. Maybe they think it draws customers. The average Filipino will not complain so they don't know that many do not appreciate it.
Rod, could you cover money for those in the U.S. that are coming to the Philippines. Where is the best place to get money exchanged. I know that once you touch down in the Philippines, one will need money for a cab. Also what would be a good amount just to get going until more exchange is needed a few days later. Not going nuts or bar hopping. Love your use of the maps. Having been a truck driver for 29 years , I sure do appreciate the reference.
@joeblow I'm a truck driver also but when I landed in cebu from LAX I just pulled 5k peso's from the airport terminal atm then the rest I got from the mall with a better exchange rate
Dieselman40 Always have several P20, P50 & P100 bill handy as P500 & P1,000 bills will give you problems when paying for small items/amounts on small stores around the Philippines. And some P1 coins for public (jeep or tricycle) transport & beggars 😆
I have a little bit of video of our trip out on Panglao Wendy and may put it up in a week or so. I have a backlog of other videos to edit also. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Good question Geoff. I think I have seen several of the big brands down at the airport. Hertz, Avis, Dollar, etc but I don't have any information about their program here. You might check their online sites for info and requirements. Safe travels.
I guess it depends on what area you live in Barry. The tourist areas on Panglao Island are more expensive, although one should be able to find good deals when tourism opens back up.
I think it tastes about the same but I am not sure where it comes from Gary. The first time I ate at Burger King I tasted a bit of a difference but have eaten at several since and they are just fine with me.
I believe the meat of McDo Philippines comes from Australia. One thing I noticed after eating McDo in USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines - they taste exactly the same : *lousy* ! 😆
I can never figure out the mentality of Westerners who come to live in these places..... then complain because "it's not like home" ??? What did they expect? I'd say the attraction was that it is "not like home"...
@@AmazingPhilippines1 I have traveled to over 20 countries so far. I have seen and heard so many things by expats that just amaze me. Americans in Norway cursing because the supermarket won't accept their US dollars, British in Africa complaining because they can't find 'fish and chips' , people getting mad at simple storekeepers because they don't speak much English.... Maybe travel is too easy these days and people just don't appreciate that they are going to a place with a totally different culture/ language etc. I don't know ... I have even been complemented on my skill of the English language - not sure what language they expect a Scotsman to speak (yes, he was American again :-D )
I like that idea Rod. She wants us to stay in Manila for 2 days so she can show me around. The to her family’s home in Asingan Pangasinan Province. After that not sure where yet.
Keith Hogg You won't see much view like this in Luzon (the north island of Philippines). Travel down to Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Panay) to see this kind of places
Keith Hogg You can have Cebu City as your base of operation because from there it's only a short plane or boat ride to Bohol, Boracay, Palawan (El Nido & Coron), Dumaguete, Siquijor, Camiguin. More than enough place to bankrupt you, lol 😆 Enjoy your trip!
You might work on your pronunciation...lol as a start...its not TAGbilaran as in playing tag, a long A, it is a short A as in water. I guess we are in the small farm group, lol with a farm in Guindulman and a house in Anda.
LOL. I understand Nate. I am trying to teach my gf more "American" English pronunciation and she is trying to teach me Bisaya pronunciation. 80% of my subscribers are "westerners" also. I am afraid my pronunciation will end up somewhere in the middle and no one will understand me.
@@AmazingPhilippines1 I like your matter of fact approach- it's plain spoken and an easy listen.. As much as you might welcome Filipino viewers, RU-vid knows who is coming to a channel and they will pay accordingly- they want as many wallets showing up as possible.., right? I'm thinking you are not a Spanish speaker- if so, it helps in learning the languages here.
@@reggiecordial hehe ito ang di alam ng karamihan na walang fault line ng lindol sa Palawan.. At never nmin nararanasan ang lindol mula pa sa aming ninuno at hanggang sangayon. Search mo kung lahat ng lugar sa Pinas ay may lindol.. at malalaman mo sagot kung bakit walang lindol sa Palawan
Amazing Philippines Bohol seems to have it’s share lol.... i do my best to avoid expats when i visit every year....i usually stay in Luzon, Quezon Province and Bicol