Happy Steps travel blog

Road trip: Bacolod (Negros Occidental) to Dumaguete (Negros Oriental)

We recently had a road trip to the “City of Gentle People”, Dumaguete, in the south-eastern part of the Negros Island. It’s my first time ever to visit this capital city of Negros Oriental and so I really didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking that Dumaguete is just like Bacolod or Iloilo or some of the capital cities in the Visayan region.

We had to attend a community event in the afternoon so we left Bacolod City at about 5:00AM. We’re thankful that we started out early as we didn’t encounter any traffic delays despite some of the roads being repaired along Bago City. Over all, the road trip was great, especially with well-paved roads going to Dumaguete, even as we passed by the winding and mountainous roads along the municipality of Mabinay. We were also treated to refreshing sights along the way as we passed by tree-lined roads, beautiful mountain scenery along Mabinay and the coastal views of Sibulan.
Continue reading… »

Bacolod to Cebu bus trip via Don Salvador Benedicto

During our recent Cebu trip last week of October, we took the Ceres bus going there. The trip started from the Ceres Liner terminal at Shopping, Bacolod City at 7:15 AM. The bus was air-conditioned and the travel time was about 2 hours and 30 minutes as we arrived at the San Carlos City port at 9:45 AM.

For Bacolod to Cebu bus trips, we usually take the Don Salvador Benedicto route because of the scenic views along this municipality. Even though I lack sleep, I didn’t even doze a bit because I enjoyed clicking away with my camera. Here are some of the photos I took behind a closed bus window while we were speeding by. Continue reading… »

Sky-high amusement rides at the Crown Regency Hotel &Towers in Cebu

At 40 stories high in Fuente Osmena, Cebu City, the Crown Regency Hotel &Towers stands out not just as another high-rise building. What makes it unique is not only the breathtaking city view it offers but its exciting sky-high amusement rides for thrill seekers as well. Aside from being recognized as a towering hotel among its neighboring buildings, it is also known as the home of the Edge Coaster, Sky Walk Extreme and the upcoming Insanity Orbit. These weird-sounding names are actually the thrilling amusement rides as part of the Sky Experience Adventure.
Continue reading… »

Bacolod-Cebu and Cebu-Bacolod Ceres Bus rates and schedule

Updates on bus schedule and rates are posted on this tag: Ceres bus updates (http://www.happysteps.net/tag/ceres-bus-updates/)

Due to insistent public demand *wink*, here are the rates and schedule for Ceres buses from Bacolod to Cebu and Cebu to Bacolod as of January 17, 2009:

Bacolod to Cebu:

Route 1: Bacolod to Cebu (Toledo port) via Don Salvador Benedicto
Rate: Php350.00
Departure:
6:00 AM
7:00 AM

Route 2: Bacolod to Cebu (Tabuelan port) via Escalante
Rate: Php370.00
Departure:
8:00 AM
11:00 PM

Continue reading… »

Bacolod-Cebu trips via buses and barges

Being a native of Negros and having studied in Cebu with my siblings, we regularly traveled with Bacolod-Cebu buses via the San Carlos-Toledo route which goes like this:

1. Get onboard bus at the Ceres terminal in Bacolod (make sure it has the Bacolod-Cebu trip pasted on its front windows, LOL)

2. Bus departs as scheduled (passing through towns and cities such as Talisay, Silay, Victorias, etc.) until it arrives at the San Carlos port in the eastern part of the Negros Island facing Cebu. Estimated travel time: 3 hours

3. The bus is then loaded in an inter-island vessel or barge. Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours

4. Bus arrives at the Toledo port (in the western part of Cebu) and is unloaded from the barge and resumes its trip (passing by towns such as Naga, Minglanilla, Pardo, etc.). Estimated travel time: 1 hour

5. Bus arrives at the Cebu City south terminal.

Alternate routes for Bacolod-Cebu:

1. Via Escalante (Negros Occidental) to Tabuelan (northwestern part of Cebu)

2. Via Don Salvador Benedicto to San Carlos which is the fastest route since this is a cross-country trip from Bacolod to San Carlos passing through the mountains of Mt. Kanlandog. Estimated travel time from Bacolod to San Carlos: 1 hour