A Day Of Fun At Sta. Elena Fun Farm

Last February, the Department of Education declared that Educational Tours (or Field Trips) are temporarily banned.  Following that decree, Neo’s school no longer scheduled an Educational Tour for the school year.   And since the school year is one activity down, the PTA (Parents and Teachers Association) decided to make an activity that would be memorable for the kids.  Enter the Family Camp.

The Family Camp is a fusion of the Educational Tour and Family Day.  Students, together with their parents, teachers, and school administrators went to Sta. Elena Fun Farm, where the Family Camp was held.  Sta. Elena Fun Farm is located inside Sta. Elena Golf Club at Cabuyao, Laguna. 

Sta. Elena Fun Farm is full of activities catered to kids.  There is an entrance fee of Php400 (both for kids and adults) good for 4 hours of stay at the Fun Farm.  This includes payment for usage of facilities, use of pavilion, and for trying different activities.  Two years old are free of charge.

Now, let me list down to you the different activities you and your kids can try at the Fun Farm.

There are different obstacle courses located at a huge area at the Fun Farm.  The kids and adults can have an enjoyable time finishing several obstacle courses.

Several Rope Course are located inside the Fun Farm.  This is a nice way to build those leg and arm muscles while having fun.

The Sand House is perfect for little kids who can’t participate in some activities.  Just be careful with the sand as it can be a bit rougher than the ordinary sand.

Relax around the Fun Farm while riding the Carabao-pulled cart.  We weren’t able to try this as the Carabao was eating during our time to try it.  No one should disturb meal times hahaha :D

You can also try Horseback riding inside the Fun Farm.  Their horses are huge but very tame and the caretakers are nice.

Be one with the animals by feeding them.  You can feed goats, rabbits, and guinea pigs.  The staffs will provide you with grass for thee goats, and carrots for the rabbits and guinea pigs.  They are generous in giving out grass and carrots for animal feeding.

The kids can enjoy the mini row-boating.  The mini boat will sail in a small pond that’s just perfect for kids to enjoy and for moms not to worry.

You can also try Mini Fishing.  They will provide you a fishing rod with worm as a bait.  The fishes are small and the ones you caught will be thrown back to the pond.  The kids will surely have a nice time here while they learn the art of patience.

Last but not the least, kids and parents can do a tandem zip line.  It was my and Neo’s first time to try the zip line.  It was honestly very low with the maximum height of 3 meter (perfect for kids), but was very fun for us.

That’s me and Neo after our zip line.

Those are the activities Sta. Elena Fun Farm offers.  But you need not be limited by those activities.  Since the place is so huge, you can create family bonding and team building activities.

Just some notes though.

·         Sta. Elena Fun Farm doesn’t have any restaurant so you need to bring your own food and drinks.  They sell drinks at the admin office and a drinking fountain is available at the Pavilion.

·         It is a private place inside Sta. Elena Golf Club and there is no public transportation available.  You need to hire a private transport to go here.

·         It is open for walk-ins but reservation is highly encouraged.

Sta. Elena Fun Farm is a very nice place for family bonding and team building.   The place is good for recreation and relaxation. With all the activities and facilities you get to enjoy, the fee (for me) is very cheap.  You get your money’s worth and more.

Sta. Elena Fun Farm is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 8AM – 4PM.

Japan 2017: How To Save On Transportation?

Japan is one of those countries with the best means of transportation.   Their trains and buses are efficient modes of transporting you from one tourist spot to another.  These trains and buses are clean, well-maintained, and it leaves on time.  Aside from that, these modes of transportation have courteous and polite staffs.  However, every nice thing comes with a price.  Transportation in Japan is expensive.  So how can you save on transportation when you travel in Japan?  Here are some tips.

·         Japan offers tourists a lot of options on how to save on transportation as its way of attracting more tourists.  All these passes were made to help ease the cost of transportation for tourists visiting Japan.

o   One of which is the JR Pass, a nationwide access to all JR operated trains which cost JPY 29,110 for 7days.  We didn’t avail the JR pass as for this to be maximized; you should travel from one region to another, back and forth – which we didn’t do.

o   Also available in Osaka is the Osaka Amazing Pass which gives you unlimited rides to all subway, and access to different Osaka Attractions. 

o   Tokyo has a Metro Pass and Metro Subway Pass which also offers unlimited rides to subway and Toei lines. 

·         Going to Tokyo from Osaka using the Shinkansen will cost you almost JPY 14,200. Use the overnight bus instead.

·         Still want to ride the Shinkansen?  You can still ride it by using a shorter distance.   Like we did.  We rode the Shinkansen from Osaka to Kyoto.  A Shinkansen ride within a region is still a Shinkansen experience.

·         Walk.  Walking will save you money.  As Japan has a cold climate, you won’t feel very tired while walking.  You will not perspire a lot.  But make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and socks.

·         Avoid taxis.  They cost a lot.

·         Research a lot and use Hyperdia.  Japan’s railway system looks like a spaghetti to me.  It is so confusing.  Download the Hyperdia app once you arrive in Japan as it will help you navigate Japan railways and subways easier.

Tokyo’s train map (both subway and JR lines).  Looks like a spaghetti, right? (photo from JR website).

These are some tips on how to save on transportation when you travel to Japan.  Enjoy your trip! J

Villa Excellance Resort at Tanza Cavite

We are a family who bonds mostly through eating and swimming.  If there’s an occasion, we either eat out or go on a swimming escapade or both.  Father’s Day this year was no exception.  So even though it was already the rainy season, we decided to go swimming to celebrate Father’s Day.  We initially planned to go to Pansol, a famous place in Laguna for hotspring resorts.  But due to some minor issues, we decided to just celebrate at a resort in Cavite.   We found ourselves at Villa Excellance Resort at Tanza.

Villa Excellance Resort is a big resort with several swimming pools and a beach area.  It has a lot of day tour cottages that can cater several guests.  Overnight accommodations are also available for night swimmers.   Prices vary depending on the size of cottage you will rent.

The wave pool is the highlight of Villa Excellance swimming area.  During our stay, the wave pool generates waves more than 3 times and as long as almost 30 minutes per wave batch.  The wave pool is enjoyable but there are areas in the flooring that is quite rough. 

There’s also a small kids’ water-park at the swimming area.  Neo had so much fun in this area.  I think we all had. J

There’s also a small Jacuzzi-like area, a small lazy-river, and a small pool that is 5 feet deep.

Entrance to the beach area is Php75 per person, while entrance to swimming pool area with access to the beach area is Php250.  

There is nothing to rave about the beach area.  Tanza beach is along the same shoreline as Manila Bay.  The sand is black, the water isn’t clear, and the beach area is not so clean.  So I suggest you pay for the swimming pool area with access to the beach. 

There are cooking and grilling areas (because grilled foods are the best during swimming outing).  The comfort rooms and shower areas are clean too.

Our experience at Villa Excellance is a nice one.  The swimming pools are all nice and clean.  The entrance fee is not too high.  Cottage fees are not too pricey as well. What makes this swimming outing nicer is that we went there during the start of the rainy season; therefore, the place was not too crowded.  So for your next outing, you may want to try Villa Excellance if you want to stay close to the metro.

PS:  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are mine.

Azure Urban Resort Staycation

Our family is not a fan of staycation.  Vacation for us would always include transport to somewhere far and checking out several tourist destinations in that said area.  However, when Holy Week 2017 came and we don’t have any plans yet, we decided to try doing a staycation.

Hotels would be the best choice for staycation, but since we have been hearing nice reviews on Azure Urban Resort Residences, we gave it a try.  Azure Urban Resort is located in Paranaque.  It is a condominium residence with a lot of units; some of which are being rented out to guests.  Azure Urban Resort boasts its wonderful swimming facilities with man-made beach and wave pool.

We rented a unit at Azure Urban Resort through Airbnb.  It is a one-bedroom unit with complete amenities.  It has cooking and dining utensils.  It air-conditioned with television and cabinets.  It has everything you need for an overnight stay away from home – except for washing your clothes.  The unit we rented out has an overlooking view of the man-made beach and wave pool area.  Parking fee is not for free for guests. Unless the unit you rented has its own parking space. 

We arrived in the afternoon and decided not to swim yet and just do so in the morning.  We roam around the area where guests are allowed to enter.  There is the Paris Beach Club where a restaurant is located.  We went to the nearest 7/11 (which is still far from Azure) to buy our food as the restaurant offers only few choices and we have cooking amenities in our unit.

We ended the day early so as to hit the swim area early the next day.  I woke up early to take a photo of the beach area from our unit on the 10^th floor of one of the buildings.  I wanted to see how the swim area looks like without people as it is open from 7am to 7pm only.  This is my photo taken around 6am.

To be honest, I was quite disappointed with the look of it.  It doesn’t look clean right?

After eating breakfast we head down to the registration area.  The access to the wave pool and man-made beach is Php20 when we went there.  You need to bring your guests ids to be able to register to access the swim area.  Swimming attire is also a must.  Life guards are very vigilant in reprimanding guests that do not follow the swimming attire policy.

There are three swimming pools in Azure Urban Resort.  The wave pool which generates waves every 11am and 5pm; the man-made beach which has the kiddie playground – both of which can be accessed by condominium guests.  The lap pool can only be accessed by homeowners.

As of May 22, Azure Urban Resort’s fee for swim area access is Php500 – to maintain its exclusivity.  I am not a homeowner, but I quite agree to this given the state of the wave pool and the man-made beach when we visited this place.  

Overall, it was a fun staycation.  We might include staycation as a yearly activity.  It’s a good stress reliever. J

Casa Nicarosa at Malate, Manila

Last year, we were fortunate to watch a football game live at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.  This is place is really far from our home, and since the game starts at 8PM and would last for 3 to 4 hours, it is only logical to spend the night in a hotel.  But as a practical mom, I would not like to spend so much on an overnight accommodation as we won’t be maximizing our stay.

So I searched the internet for affordable place to stay overnight.  I used several online booking sites, and Travelbook.ph gave me the best rate for that night.  It’s a small inn in Malate, Manila area called Casa Nicarosa.  I have Travelbook.ph credits and I used it to book our stay.

We arrived at Casa Nicarosa almost 1AM the following day.  There was only one guard in the entrance guarding the small driveway leading to the inn’s parking space, which was surprisingly spacious.  We rang in reception bell to call the lone attendant.  Since it was past midnight, we didn’t have any problems in checking in.

Christmas decors since it was Christmas season that time. 

Our room was really spacious.  It looks like a condo unit with one bedroom.  The room has a living area with sofa and center table.  It also has a dining area with a four seater dining set.  It has a lavatory where you can wash dishes. 

Now we go to the bedroom that has a queen size bed, a dresser, a cabinet, a small LED TV, air-conditioning unit. 

Please excuse the little boy as he was asleep when we checked in. 

The bathroom is inside the bedroom.  It is clean with towels, and some toiletries such as soap and shampoo.  It also has hot and cold water.

I would really recommend this place for overnight stay if in case you need one.  Not for staycation, of course; but for a more practical one such as what we needed that time.  The overnight stay cost us Php1314.oo.  Very cheap, right?  And because we used credits from Travelbook.ph, we only paid Php52.oo in cash!  And that is what I will be blogging about next time. J

Tips When Traveling As A Family

Traveling is one of the many things I am passionate about.  One of my life goals is to travel as much as my energy and finances can accommodate.  If you are a follower of this blog, you would know that I sometimes travel for work, but mostly I travel with my family.  I find so much joy in building memories with my family.  As a young kid, I was given a chance to travel but only in limited places like my mom’s province or a relative’s place.  So the moment I started working, and was introduced to booking hotels or flights online in the Philippines, like Traveloka, and outside the country, I began my travelling journey.  But I became more passionate about traveling when I became a mom. 

As a mom to a young child, I want to build as many travel memories as I can with my little boy.  I want to explore the world with him (and his dad too, of course), and make sure that he will remember that Mama and Papa was able to give him as much travel memories as we could.  I want to grab every opportunity I can to travel with my family as much as my body (because I won’t be as energetic as I am now), my time (because we have limited time in this world), and our finances (we need to save more) would allow us.

Traveling is something we all love however it comes with lots of preparations.  I am no expert in traveling but let me share to you some tips when you are traveling with your family.


BOOK IN ADVANCE.  One of my Tipid Tips topic before is about online booking particularly airfare.  Airfare takes a big chunk of the travel budget if you were not able to book in advance.  Saving on airfare (or any transport fare) can be a big help on your overall travel budget. 

SEARCH FOR THE BEST ACCOMMODATION.  There are a lot of travel websites offering discounted prices for hotel accommodation.  Make sure you check them.  But most importantly other than the price of the hotel you will stay, make sure you search for reviews (with s, meaning as much reviews as you can) on the place you will be staying.  Whenever I plan a vacation, I always search for the cheapest hotel or hostel bearing in mind that we will be out the whole day exploring the place, but I always end up booking a much better hotel.  This is after careful deliberation that traveling is a part of vacation.  After all, we don’t want to tire ourselves the whole day traveling, and then go back to our hotel and be stressed out because we chose the cheap one.  At the end of the day, cheap doesn’t equate to value for money.

PACK THE ESSENTIALS.  When traveling with my family, I don’t travel light.  I make sure to pack each and every little item that my little boy would need.  I pack a lot of extra clothes, I pack medicines, I pack a lot of snacks, I pack toys, I pack everything I can think of that we need.  I suggest you create a checklist of items you need during the travel.  This will aid in preparing your things and also to make sure you don’t forget to pack the essentials.  This can also help you avoid spending on items (such as toiletries) that you might forget.  Also, don’t forget to pack important documents such as birth certificates (if you’re travelling with kids without IDs) and health cards as they will come handy for emergency cases.

PLAN A RELAXED ITINERARY.  Traveling as a family means you will be with a lot of people.  A relaxed itinerary will help you enjoy your vacation more.  When we traveled abroad with Neo’s grandparents, our itinerary was one-tourist-attraction-a-day and good thing it was because if we squeezed in a lot of attractions in one day, we will not be able to go to all of them. This is because more people means more time in preparing, more time in waiting, and more time in discussing.  No disappointments will happen if you have a relaxed itinerary.

LET GO and ENJOY.  Finally, once you are travelling, please do enjoy every moment of it.  If itineraries and plans are not followed, let it go.  Don’t stress yourself on simple details.  Travelling with kids in tow can sometimes bring about some parenting issues as some children tend to be uncomfortable when they are not familiar with the place.  So as a parent, don’t forget to bring with you a lot of patience.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.

RECORD THE MEMORIES.  Not everyone is financially blessed to travel to same places twice.  So don’t forget to record all the memories.  Take lots of pictures.  Bring home souvenirs.  Create a journal of your travel memories.

And since you’ll be taking a vacation as a family…

ASSIGN SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER YOUR HOME.  A lot of us forget this.  If you’re going away on a vacation, make sure to inform trusted relatives who live near you that you will be away.  This way they can check your house from time to time to ensure that no wrongdoers (thieves and the likes) will enter your home.  And if you have pets, you can assign someone, a neighbor perhaps, to feed them.  But of course, don’t forget to bring something for those people who helped took care of your house.

These are some of the tips I have when you are traveling as a family.  I may not be able to cover everything, so if you have other helpful tips, please be my guest and write it down in the comment section.  We may be able to help other traveling family to be prepared and enjoy their travel more.

Bohol 2016: Marcelina’s Guest House

Our Bohol itinerary was really polished except for the fact that we have to be out of Tagbilaran by 8AM on our 4^th day.  This means, we have to stay one more night (our 3^rd night) in Bohol and that equates to additional expenses on accommodation.  We don’t want to spend so much; therefore we searched online on cheap hotels/inn near Tagbilaran airport.   

We found Marcelina’s Guest House.  It is located just a few meters away from Tagbilaran airport.  It is one of the cheapest and most modest of the inns I found online.  We booked our room when we arrived on our first day at Bohol and reserved at Triple Room costing PHp1200 overnight, with no breakfast.

Room – 4 out of 5.  Other than the small area, the room is equipped with everything a traveler would need in a hotel room.  Clean beds, air-conditioning unit, small LED TV, hot and cold shower, and basic toiletries. 

Amenities – n/a.  Since Marcelina’s Guest House is like a normal house with rooms for rent, there really is no available amenity just like any hotel would offer. 

Staff – 3 out of 5.  This is a guesthouse; therefore no roaming staff can be seen.  The only staff we saw was the receptionist who wasn’t so friendly and wasn’t so snob either.  When we checked-in, someone helped us bring our luggage on our room, but when we checked out, it was all us.

Food – n/a.  No food was offered in the accommodation.

Location – 5 out of 5.  Since this guesthouse is just 50 meters away from Tagbilaran Airport, we didn’t have to (1) get up to early to prepare for an early flight and (2) spend so much for commute to the airport as we only walked.

Value for Money – 4 out of 5.  Marcelina’s Guest House served its purpose for us – an affordable accommodation we can spend the night before an early travel.  We just need a clean room to stay and no frills whatsoever.

If you’re looking for an affordable overnight stay near Tagbilaran, try Marcelina’s Guest House.  It’s a practical choice we made and I can highly suggest.

Bohol 2016: The Itinerary

Bohol 2016: Panglao Island

Bohol 2016: Bohol Divers Resort

Bohol 2016: Tourist Spots ~ Part 1

Bohol 2016: Tourist Spots ~ Part 2

Bohol 2016: Tourist Spots ~ Part 2

Here’s the continuation of the city tourist attractions we went to at Bohol:

Loboc River Tour and Lunch – Buffet Lunch with tour: Php450.  Loboc River Cruise includes lunch.  Ric-ric, our driver, went inside the office to get our tickets.  After 10 minutes wait, he gave us our tickets for the cruise and lunch.  We were so lucky because we didn’t have to wait in line (since there’s a long line for waiting tourists).  The lunch was just okay, nothing extra-ordinary.  What really is amazing was our seat in front of the boat where we get the view of Loboc River.  In the middle of the cruise, some locals entertained us by dancing and singing in a platform by the river.

Tarsier Conservatory – Entrance Fee:  Php60.  Tarsiers are cute creatures.  Tiny nocturnal mammals with big round eyes captured our little boy’s heart.  Since tarsiers are known to be suicidal when disturbed, only few tarsiers were sent out for tourists to see.  Neo had so much fun looking for them.  J

Habitat Bohol – Entrance Fee: Php45.  Habitat Bohol is a conservatory for butterflies.  Here I learned that there are 3 genders of butterflies: male, female, and beki-fly (half-male, half-female).   Only few butterflies can be seen in this place.  If you want to see more butterflies, I suggest you go to Paradizoo at Tagaytay.

Chocolate Hills – Entrance Fee: Php50.  Hundreds of hills form the famous Chocolate hills of Bohol.  Once you’re up in the viewing deck, you will really marvel and be in awe of God’s perfect creation.  You can try the ATV that will bring you the foot of the hills, we didn't though because Neo won't be able to try it, and waiting for us might not be his idea of fun. 

The Shiphaus – No entrance fee.  This is a house that was designed to look like a ship because the owner is a ship captain.  We just took a picture of this “attraction”, because I don’t consider it as one since here in Cavite you can see houses, schools, and even water refilling stations designed as a ship.  Nothing extraordinary.

Bilar Manmade Forest – No entrance fee since this is a highway.  The attraction here is to take your picture while trying to avoid the incoming vehicles from a blind curve.  Really a buwis-buhay experience.

Our buwis-buhay shot.

Bamboo Hanging Bridge – Entrance fee:  Php20.  This is a bridge made of bamboo.  It sways every time someone moves/walks.  Papa and Neo weren’t really so pleased or scared since it was just a bridge.  I think it’s a nice experience because you don’t get to cross a bamboo bridge a lot of times in your life (only metal bridges hehe).

We toured all this Bohol attractions in 10 hours, 8AM to 6PM.  Kuya Tatsky’s vehicle-for-hire in Bohol is really efficient.  Aside from saving a lot of time, there is no need to hire for tour guide because your driver is your tour guide (except for tour guides inside the attractions which you will have to tip) who will help you acquire tickets, take your photos, and even suggests where to buy affordable pasalubongs J

Bohol 2016: The Itinerary

Bohol 2016: Panglao Island

Bohol 2016: Bohol Divers Resort

Bohol 2016: Tourist Spots ~ Part 1

Bohol 2016: Marcelina's Guest House