Bohol

Most visitors stay on Panglao, the small island joined to Bohol by bridges, and beach life is why. Alona Beach is the busy strip of fine white sand lined with resorts and dive shops. It is narrow, and at low tide the water goes shallow and weedy. Dumaluan and Bikini Beach to the east are wider and quieter, and Doljo in the north-west is calmer still. The sea is around 28°C all year, clear and gentle inside the reef.

Boat trips go to Virgin Island, a sandbar that shows at low tide, and to the coral walls of Balicasag. On the main island the long, quiet stretch of white sand at Anda in the south-east suits travellers who want space more than they want bars. The drier months, roughly December to May, are the most reliable for sun.

Eating here is simple and seafood-led: grilled fish, squid and kinilaw, the Visayan vinegar-cured raw fish, eaten with rice at roadside places and in small town eateries. Tagbilaran has the local markets and canteens, and Alona Beach has a long row of restaurants serving pizza, Korean barbecue and other international dishes for resort guests.

Local sweets make good souvenirs, especially calamay, a sticky coconut confection packed in coconut shells, and the peanut kisses shaped like the Chocolate Hills. Lunch buffets on the floating restaurants of the Loboc River are part of the standard tour, but they are more about the river than the food. Visitors who care about eating will find the island pleasant but thin.

The island's own heritage is a line of Spanish colonial churches built of coral stone. Baclayon, one of the oldest in the country, and the large church at Loboc on its river bend are the best known, and Dauis on Panglao and Loon on the west coast are also worth a stop. Several suffered badly in the earthquake of 2013, which is part of their story. The Blood Compact monument outside Tagbilaran marks a 16th-century treaty between a local chief and a Spanish explorer, and there is a small national museum branch in the capital. The churches can all be seen on a one-day loop, and few people come to Bohol for its sights.

Going out happens almost entirely along Alona Beach, where beach bars put out tables on the sand, play music and sometimes hold fire shows or a dance night. It makes a sociable evening after a day on the water, but the crowd is mostly divers and couples, and most places quieten well before the small hours. Tagbilaran has karaoke and a few local bars. The rest of the island is asleep after dinner.

The Chocolate Hills are the island's signature: well over a thousand grassy limestone mounds across the interior around Carmen, which turn brown in the dry months. The Philippine tarsier, a tiny wide-eyed primate, lives in protected forest near Corella and Loboc. Along the road inland are the Loboc River, which visitors paddleboard or float down, the planted mahogany forest at Bilar, and waterfalls and caves, with Can-umantad Falls and the caves around Anda the best of them.

The sea is the other half. Balicasag Island has steep coral walls and sea turtles. Cabilao is known for macro diving, and early boats from Panglao go looking for dolphins off Pamilacan. Bohol has no high mountains, and the walking is short rather than serious.

Once the countryside loop is done, there are few separate places to go. Fast ferries from Tagbilaran take about two hours to Cebu City, with its old Spanish quarter and big malls, and to Dumaguete, a relaxed university town on Negros. Siquijor, an island known for folk healing and quiet beaches, is a long but possible day by boat. Closer in, island-hopping boats from Panglao stop at Balicasag, Pamilacan and the Virgin Island sandbar, which are good outings but have little to see on land. Anda and the quiet south-east coast make a pleasant day's drive.

Families mostly base themselves at a Panglao resort with a pool and shallow water in front. Dumaluan and Doljo are calmer for small children than busy Alona. The standard countryside day works well with older children: tarsiers, the Chocolate Hills viewpoint, a river float with lunch, and the zipline and adventure park at Danao for teenagers. Filipinos are warm and patient with children everywhere. On the downside, there are no theme parks, zoos or aquariums of note, the tropical heat is constant, the drives inland are long, and hospitals are basic outside Tagbilaran.

Bohol is a place for hired drivers, scooters and tricycles. The international airport sits on Panglao, a short ride from the beaches. The roads around the main island are paved and fairly quiet, so a van with a driver for the countryside loop is easy, and the drive to the Chocolate Hills takes about an hour and a half. Local jeepneys and buses exist but are slow and hard for a visitor to use. Alona Beach can be walked, but very little else can, and the heat makes even short walks along the roads tiring. Boat trips leave from the Panglao beaches, and ferries to the neighbouring islands leave from Tagbilaran port.

Shopping here is souvenirs and practical things. Antequera, inland, is known for woven baskets and mats, and the stalls at the tourist stops sell native crafts, calamay and peanut kisses. Tagbilaran has ordinary malls for groceries and pharmacies. Nobody comes to Bohol to shop.

Day-to-day costs are low. Local eateries, tricycles, massages and simple guesthouses are inexpensive by any Western standard. Panglao is where the bill rises: beachfront resorts, Alona's restaurants and private drivers are priced for visitors, and diving and boat trips are the largest costs. Staying a short walk back from the sand, or on the quieter main-island coasts, makes Bohol a very affordable beach trip.

There is very little to attend. The Loboc Children's Choir, known across the country, sometimes sings for visitors in its home town, and folk dances are performed on the river cruises and at resort dinner shows. The Sandugo festival in Tagbilaran brings street dancing once a year. Beyond that there is acoustic music at the beach bars and no theatre or concert life.

Bohol is a slow place, and that is much of its appeal for unwinding. Massage is cheap and everywhere, from simple huts and mats under the trees at Alona Beach to full spas in the larger Panglao resorts, where the treatments draw on traditional hilot technique and local coconut oil. The quieter coasts at Anda and around Doljo suit travellers who want long days of reading and sea views. There are no thermal baths or bathing traditions, and a restful stay here means good massages, a calm resort and early nights.