Getting off the plane in Boracay, you enter a very tiny airport where one person from the party is required to fill out an arrival card and the hotel reps are standing around waiting to transfer you. Boracay has several beach areas or "stations", and I wanted to try staying in a couple of different areas, so we decided to hotel hop. Night 1 would be somewhere at Station 2, the night-life area, but we hadn't booked in advance opting to see the place first before committing and try bartering for a discounted walk-in rate. Night 2, we had reservations in Station 1 (the quieter, more exclusive area) at Discovery Shores, which is one of the best hotels on the island and winner of a bunch of awards.
To actually get to the island, you have to go from the terminal to the ferry station (walk or take a tricycle/van, it's a very short distance), then take a ferry for about 10-15 minutes, then take a tricycle or van to the area you want to want to stay in (about 15-20 minutes to Station 2/D.Mall, the midpoint). Since we didn't have a hotel, we did the transfers ourselves. On the return, our hotel handled everything.
Arrival at the Boracay Pier
We had heard good things about Boracay Regency, and after looking at a few other places, decided to stay there. It was more expensive than other options, especially farther down towards Station 3, but it was right in the middle of everything and we were ready to start our evening after the long delay at the airport.
Part of the D.Mall strip
We decided to eat right on the beach at one of the large buffets. Live entertainment and a coordinated dancing chef routine of about 25 people.
Yum!
Stuffed, we wandered the D.Mall shops, walked the beach, watched the fire dancers, and headed back to the hotel.
The beach itself is incredible and not overhyped. Sure, there are people trying to sell you things everywhere - but that's pretty normal in any tourist area.
White sand, turquoise water, shallow grades.
And a nice pool when you want a change.
The breakfast buffet at Boracay Regency was also incredible. Tons of variety, fresh fruit, fish, steak, and so on.
What can I say, I love bacon.
We called Discovery Shores and they sent a van over to pick us up at noon. It's about another 8-10 minutes to get from Station 2 up to Station 1. I had high expectations, because this hotel was rated highly and cost almost $400/night (in an area where 3-star hotels can be as little as $40-50/night).
Check-in was interesting, since they don't have a lobby, just a desk in an outdoor seating area. And, of course, it's hot! But we were greeted immediately by name and the agent walked us directly to our room to check-in there. I never have a problem communicating in the Philippines anyway, but this agent was not Filipino and his English was either native or he'd studied very hard to make it perfect. Our room was very nice, I appreciated the fact that they let us check in two hours early without even having to ask, and we opted to have our complimentary foot wash immediately.
Welcome snacks and drinks
