I have encountered a lot of clients when I was working as a travel agent in Dubai who would tell me that they don’t want to have a beach holiday since Dubai already has a good beach. I would always look at them in disbelief and would ask them quite frankly, You call that a good beach???? Seriously???
Forgive me for a very blunt reaction if you’re reading this blog post with the same thought in mind – that the beaches in Dubai are great but you have to know where I’m coming from. I’m a girl from the islands of the Philippines where a normal beach is a magnificent stretch of white sand with palm trees surrounding you. That’s the image of a beach in my head when I was growing up – not the ones in Dubai with buildings surrounding it. I don’t know about you but I would like to have an endless view of the sea in front of me when I’m being lazy by the beach and I don’t really prefer to see a construction site at the horizon. In my 7 years of living in Dubai, I have never ever set foot on any of its beaches as it just doesn’t feel right for me.
Our country may not be blessed with financial capacity to be considered as a first world country but I take pride on the fact that we do offer some world-class tourist destinations which unfortunately, our very corrupt government cannot promote to the rest of the world quite freely. Dumaluan Beach in Bohol is just one of these places. It may not be as popular as the other beaches around the Philippines but it has its own unique beauty which can easily be enjoyed by anyone.
I think if not for the fact that the neighboring Alona Beach is much livelier at night with the myriad of restaurants in it, I would probably enjoy staying in Dumaluan beach more. The shore is much bigger and it’s not as crowded as Alona beach.
Dumaluan beach was our last stop when we did our very short Bohol day tour and it really is a good place to see the last for the day. We paid an entrance fee of PHP25 per person to access its public beach but there are some resorts around the area where of course you can stay in and you’d have access of the beach for free. One of which is the Bohol Beach Club, the first resort in the island.
We didn’t stay for long in this beach, we just had one beer each and went straight to our hotel to freshen up for our dinner. It is worth the stop though for anyone who’s going to Bohol.
Beautiful! My husband would like to go to Bohol to visit relatives. Maybe a day trip here would be great.
Bohol is an incredible place. You should definitely visit it next time and yes, Dumaluan beach is outstanding! 🙂
Unfortunately I am one of those people who haven’t been in these great beaches of the archipelago so I’m really curious. Although typically I am not a beach person, but I surely would love to see the long stretches of white fine sand and turquoise waters. Dreaming of PI holiday again.
Worth a Thousand Words
I’m not a city person myself that explains why I’m always by the beach or the countryside. Lol. But visiting the Philippines without going to the beach is I think quite impossible, with the thousands of islands to explore there – it’s kind of hard not to encounter one during your travels. :p
Um, where in Dubai is that good beach located? Please let me know. Haha!
Hahaha! I thought you were serious at first. Lol.
I don’t really like swimming in the beach (I’m more of a pool person) but I do love lounging by the shore and relaxing with a good view. And yes the beaches in the Middle East can never compare to the ones back home.
I wasn’t really a big fan of swimming in the sea too but that was before, I was influenced by the sea-loving creature – The Greek Mister. I was happy with just being lazy on the shore then. :p