Last week, I had the opportunity to head over to Bantayan Island for a night.  I choose to stay at Tristan’s again.  It was my second time to stay overnight at Tristan’s.  It is hard to improve on the experience at Tristan’s.

That's me relaxing at Tristan's Resort. Love that cool ocean breeze.

The owner of the resort is Nancy and she is attentive as they come.  If I’m hot, I get a fan turned on.  The food is fantastic and they take great care in the presentation of it.  I had some breaded pork chops that tasted of butter.   Just like the last time I had it, it is one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.  It is just unbeatable to me.

My pork chops and Jessie's soup. Enough food for four normal people.

Tristan’s has these wonderful bamboo reclining chairs that I love too sit in for hours and soak up the cool breeze off the Visayan Sea.  Tristan’s is right on the beach except at high tide when the beach sometimes is replaced with water licking the steps of the resort.

Rusty and Joe enjoying the view and breeze at Tristan's Resort

Tristan’s is all about a peaceful place of rest.   If that’s what your looking for this is the place to be.

The cost of Tristan’s is quite low.  If you can get room one or two, you might pay a little more for those but they have a ref (refrigerator) and air con.  I think all of their rooms have air con though.   They don’t have hot water but I’ve never been there or any where else on the island where that is needed.  The water is warm right out of the tap.  On this last trip I paid only P800 for the room.  During peak season the price will be higher.  During Holy Week the price will be much higher, if you can get a room at all.  Unless you book it well in advance, you will not be able to get a room at all any where on the island during Holy Week.

Beth, A Pretty Filipina at Tristan's

If you visit Tristan’s please tell her that Rusty sent you.  I would make a reservation if at all possible and you should make arrangements if you’re going to be later than 1pm but check with Nancy about that time.

Her nephew is the cook and its obvious he’s had some training as its not your normal meal in the Philippines, it will always be presented nicely.  Jessie loves the pizza there but I’m more inclined toward those breaded pork chops.

For this visit, I spent only P2500 for my overnight stay.  That’s around 50 bucks and that includes the meals.

Tristan’s now has a boat to take guest to nearby Virgin Island, the captain is included for P1500.  I hope to give that a try on my next visit.  There will be the opportunity to go snorkeling as well.

If you do make it to Tristan’s Resort, please tell us how things went for you.

Contact: Nancy Fernan. Tel #: (032)438-9041. Mobile #: 09195371536

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Kids all over the Philippines make sail boats out of whatever materials they have. When we went near the beach at night, we spotted these kids playing with the sail boats they crafted from discarded items. Jessie hopped the retaining wall and grabbed this picture of one of the two boys playing with their sail boats. This may serve them well when they are older, especially if they become fishermen.

Children playing with Sail boats. A common site in the Philippines

The pool, as I said before was a very nice added bonus that sets this resort from most others. I enjoyed getting out of the ocean, using the outdoor shower to get the sand off me and then heading to the pool. To continue reading please visit the NEXT PAGE.

A local artist had painted some of the walls around the pool. I’ve seen pictures of sea life at Tristan’s Resort as well. I think from the same artist. True to Philippine form, they are brightly colored. The Philippines is a colorful place! While homes are often toned down in color, most every thing else screams “Look at me!”

Jessie, being of the competitive type, unlike me, we ended up having swimming races in the pool. Funny, that I managed to pull muscles in my shoulder in chest when I’m not competitive at all. Of course I am, just as much as she is. I think she beat me but she says I beat her. Well, other than the time I went off course and swam across the pool rather in a straight line. She clobbered me that time. Looked like she go o the other side first but she says no. I guess it was a photo finish. She tried to get me race again the next day but I resisted, as hard as it was.

The time in the pool has renewed my interest to join the local beach club so we can go swimming when we like. Today it is 33C/91F which is quite warm with the humidity levels we have here. I had hoped it would be cooler today as we had a good deal of rain last night. This is the hottest part of the year. After June, it should start getting a little nicer with highs around 30C/86F

Live Band

Tickety Boo has a live band on Friday and Saturday nights..  The name of the band is d’ Everlast. They are quite capable, good musicians and a good singer that ads his flavor to the songs they cover.  The owner of the band is also a member of the band.  On the night we were there though, she did not perform with them.  I don’t know how often she takes part.

For me they played too many ballads but the girls love those.  They did from time to time play some more up beat tunes and a little hip-hop too but with a rock flavor as they do have guitars!

I would have been able to enjoy it more if it had not been so hot.  The bar is air conditioned but it didn’t open until 8pm and they didn’t turn the aircon on before that time.  I tried to wait it out but finally it was just too hot for me to enjoy myself.  So I went outside.  There were picnic tables just outside the window.  When the waitress saw me out there she opened the windows.  The staff at Tickety Boo is very attentive and often very pretty too!

A few issues during my stay

The only complaint I have about Tickety Boo is that they have a severe shortage of fans.  Once I left their restaurant without ordering mostly because it was too hot for me.  Now I have more problems with heat than most people, even most other Westerners.  Out on the Balcony of the restaurant was cool enough but they didn’t have tables out there for a full meal.  With more fans, I could have stayed.  Instead I went to Tristan’s and ordered a Pizza.

One other issue that was note worthy was a frozen beer they brought me.  The beer was frozen solid, she should have returned it and brought me something I could drink.  It was completely undrinkable, once it thawed a bit, it tasted like water of course.  Perhaps I could have told her to take it back but based on other experiences I’ve had, I would have been expected to pay for it anyway.  I’m sure the waitress didn’t know what to do but she should have known.  She did know it was frozen.  I have no compliant about the waitress.  She was very pleasant and attentive.

The toilet in our room didn’t function properly.  I’m not sure what the issue was but it filled so slowly.  So slowly at one point that it wouldn’t flush at all.  They were quick to respond but it still filled very slowly.  It never worked as it should.  It wasn’t a huge issue but it was an issue.  The toilets should be working without flaw.  We managed though.

One other minor thing was the steps provided to get to the beach.  There is a necessary retaining wall between the resort and beach.  In order to get to the beach, you must walk up these short steep steps.  There is no railing and each step requires a bigger step than normal…  The chance of a fall is too great in my opinion.  Again this is not a deal killer for me.

{Note:  the issues above were resolved.  Kudos to the management of the resort for acting on this!  Shows they really care.]

No place is every perfect and you also have to consider the price being paid.  For $30 a night for a room we got a lot.  I will stay there again and I would recommend it to my friends.  The great staff, the surroundings the pool were more than enough to make up for the few issues that were less than perfect.

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Contact Information:  Owner Thess Charlton
Telephone Number: 63-(032)438-9105
Cell Phone: 63-920-749-0743

It is my goal to stay at each beach resort on Bantayan Island at least twice and give you the inside information on each one. I would like to go every month but I probably wont be able to do that unless you want to take me! Well, I can dream. Last month I stayed at a resort with a modern, active feel.

Tickety Boo Beach Resort

In March I had the pleasure of staying at Tickety Boo Beach Resort. Its nestled back off the road a bit. Its quiet with an exquisite garden and well landscaped courtyard. The first thing that got my attention was they had a swimming pool at the resort and that is a major selling point for me. I didn’t find any information on their web site that they had a pool so I was surprised to see it.

Tickety Boo Bar and Restaurant

Accommodations

The room was spacious but nothing extravagant. Simple rooms are what you should expect in most places within the Philippines. The cost for these is much lower than you might expect. Our room with an air conditioner (aircon) and a good size bed and an extra bed for our friend cost us P1750. A two person room with aircon would be P1500. They also have rooms without aircon for a bit less. You can get twin beds or queen size bed.

Don’t expect a full size mattress any where in the Philippines unless you ask before hand. Most places will have a foam mattress and inch or two thick and they are more comfortable than they look. Some places have full size mattress but you should ask for that if it is important to you. And ask before you get there.

The Resort Staff

The staff was awesome through out the resort. Very friendly and quick to respond to request. They met us at the dock with a Bantayan Island style limousine. Okay, I jest. Its a small truck commonly called a multi-cab in the Philippines. The more expensive resorts offer fancier vans but this was fine for us. After a year of living in the Philippines, I’m use to the less than extravagant amenities. They provide transportation to the resort.and it was much appreciated. They found me as soon as I got of the ship.

Tickety Boo Beach Resort Restaurant

Once we were settled into our room we headed to the restaurant. It has a view with an awesome view from the balcony. It over looks Santa Fe Bay and onward to the Visayan Sea. The resort has an umbrella like canopy provided by the coconut and palm trees.

We had a snack of calamari which is similar to onion rings except there are no onions. Instead of onions the batter surrounds squid. Jessie and Jean had Mango juice. Its a bit too sweet for me but that’s partially becomes I so rarely have anything with sugar in it. Natural sugars or otherwise. Even non-diet soft drinks are way too sweet for me.

Calamari Rings At Tickety Boo Beach Resort

Jessie drinking Mango Juice

After our snack we went exploring the island for a bit. On our return we went to the beach and into the water. First into the sea. To continue reading and to see pictures of the beach, please visit the NEXT PAGE.

During my March 21st visit to Bantayan Island we stumbled upon the floating bar.  We had seen it before but had not been close enough to actually visit.  This time we rented a multi-cab and drove as close to it as we could.   There was a boat that took us out to the bar.

This was a really hot day but out on the Floating Bar there was a nice breeze making it very comfortable there.  I loved it there.  If you do get hot, you can jump in the water!  I couldn’t because I had a camera and a phone.  Not sure how to handle that, not to mention a billfold!  There were not a lot of people out there but there were a few and they had no problems getting into the water.

We decided to go back to our hotel and go swimming and then come back to the floating bar to eat.  The restaurant at our hotel was just too hot.  And this place was perfect with very friendly waitresses.  I had the feeling they were open to dating some of the single expats that were there.  Lots of giggles and such.  Of course, when one goes fishing in unknown waters they should be very careful.  You might catch a barracuda or something even worse!

They don’t cook on-site they take your order and send a text to a kitchen who prepares your food then they send it back via boat.  We ordered a pizza for Jessie and myself.  I don’t remember what Jean got.  The pizza was good but too small for my liking.  Still that was okay, I gained five pounds while on the island in March.

The service was on time and friendly.  I’d give the place five stars out of five. I don’t know how they could do anything better.  They also played a lot of rock and roll but later went to cheesy pop.   I would be sure to include it in my plans.  Its a great place to hang out during the hot part of the day, the only better place would be the water.

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I failed to get the owners name but he was very friendly.  They advertise this site as “very wheelchair friendly.’  Since the owner is in a chair, I’m certain that he would be an expert on this.  The rooms were all large with lots of free space in them.  At least the rooms I saw.

They’re was one bird that I was particularly fond of  His name is Paparroti that took a liking to me.  I know a little bird body language, and I do mean a little but he seemed to appreciate my head bobbing hello to him.  I never owned a bird but I picked up just a little from friends and my visits to bird stores.

It wasn’t long before he flew onto my shoulder.  When Jessie tried to talk to him too, he fussed at her and basically said get away.  Then he flew onto my head!

We plan to stay there on our next visit and will give a more detailed review then.  The place is enclosed with coconut trees that tower over the edges of the compound with palm trees providing shade over the cottages.

The rooms are cottage style  which is very appealing to me.  Not crowded, not noisy.   A very nice place to walk through.  I’ll have to stay there before I can give it a proper review.  The resort is situated on the white sand beach with white sand. leading directly into the sea.

You can contact the resort directly by calling or sending an SMS text message to 63-917-963-6162.  The resort is located on the north side of Santa Fe Wharf where your boat will come in if you arrive by boat.  The only other choice is by private plane.  Room rates are start at P750 per night or P1000 for a room with Air Conditioning.

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