Bacolod City to IloIlo City - Navigating the fast boats to make a trip and some great food finds while you are there!

After my previous post, we spent a bit more time in Negros Occidental, and we took a quick boat ride over to Ilo-Ilo. So here are some practical details on the boat trip, some food options we tried while in Ilo-Ilo and of course more food in Bacolod.

Just Been There Art

Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. 

Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site.

 

Piggy's Favorites

All art copyright by: Christine Ong-Dijcks 

Bacolod City to IloIlo by Boat

The simplest and likely cheapest way to get from Bacolod City to IloIlo City is likely by boat. Here is some basic information on our recent return trip.

To and From the Harbor Terminals 

Unfortunately, unless you have friends and family other either or both sides, you will need to use Grab, or get a taxi at the terminals. There will be plenty of them waiting. Most taxis do use the meters, but being with a local makes it all a bit less stressful. In general however, we found that as long as you can give the drivers specific addresses and get them to map it, you'll get where you want to go for reasonable cost.

The Bacolod Simplicio Palanca Seaport Terminal in Bacolod is just north west of the Ayala Capitol mall in downtown Bacolod and right next to SM:

If you are looking for a place to stay, either the Park Inn by Radisson, or the Seda Capitol Central are good options, close to the terminal on the Bacolod side.

Tickets, the boats, and other stuff

The schedules are published on most of the carriers' websites. Unless you know your exact return times, book a single fare as the rebooking / refunding looks a bit cumbersome, certainly online. Singles also let you pick any of the carriers, as their schedule fits yours. And there is no money saved by booking a return... the return is simply charged as 1,300 pesos where the single is 650 pesos...

As an example, we did the Bacolod to Ilo Ilo trip on Ocean Jet, but the return trip on Weesam Express (schedule link here). It also looks like the fairs online are more expensive than at the ticket office. Online is 800 pesos, whereas we paid 650 for one way business class.

Ocean Jet has the more modern boats, at least on this route. Tourist class if perfectly fine, but if you insist for a bit more space, then this is Business Class:

Business Class seat on Ocean Jet

Without trying to be SeatGuru, the Ocean Jet seats are nicer than the Weesam ones. First row is nice because of the leg space, as you can see. Weesam Also runs their boats with 3 seats in a row / section in business class. On both the cabins are enclosed and come with air conditioning and seats are numbered and assigned.

If you want to save some money and sit outside, this is the outside seating on the Ocean Jet boat we were on:

Open Air seating on Ocean Jet

You can take bags on board, and check them with similar rules as on an airline. Business class enables you to take bags into the cabin, so check the websites for the rules. Many moons ago we did take the boat with bags, and as a larger group, we all just checked out "regular airline carry-ons" without issues.

I would also recommend bringing water, and some snacks, as the ride takes a bit of time, with Ocean Jet going faster (some 20+ minutes) and making the journey in about 90 minutes or so. And if you forget your water, no worries, they'll sell snacks and bottled water on board.

Weesam Express Fast Boat at Ilo Ilo

All in all, other than that you end up at the harbor, these fast boats make for a simple, efficient, and cheap way to go from island to island in relative comfort. One additional benefit, the security checks and "time before arrival" are a lot less long than when you fly.

Tickets and various fees...

Oh some other practical things. Yes, those 6 pesos "temporary pedestrian passes" are a real thing. Think of it as a harbor tax or permit. And no, you are not being taken advantage of. So, just go with the flow on this one.

IloIlo City Coffee and Food

On our trip, we spend a couple of hours in IloIlo, and did some errands. As part of that day, we were in need of coffee and lunch, and based on local recommendations, here is where spend out time.

Coffee and light breakfast

This one is offfff the beaten track. It is a small store in a small strip mall in a regular neighborhood. In fact, we had to make our way via taxi past the subdivision guard station. It's not a problem, just let the taxi driver know that you are going to Amore Coffee.

It is not too far from SM IloIlo, but, it is off the beaten path. Once there, you will find a cozy, modern, and light spot with some really nice coffees. 

Amore Coffee

We did the coffee of the day as our grind and had some of their fancy drinks! Here is my take:

• Pastries (croissants and danish) are really nice, flaky, crunchy crusts. Rich flavors. Very nice!
• I had an Army Warm, with fresh milk, and I liked it. And that is from someone who goes for espressos...
• The other drink was a Spanish Latte with Caramel and Salt... the verdict was that this was ok... so I would not recommend this one

Pretty Drinks at Amore

Despite the slight disappointment of the one drink, we definitely recommend this place if you have a way to get there and are looking for coffee choices, fancy drinks, and really nice pastries.

Lunch

For lunch we stopped by this place called Y2K Talabahan, with Talaba being the Ilongo (or as Google Translate insists - Hiligaynon) word for oyster. So, this is a local seafood place, a short walk away from SM Iloilo. You may see signs that say, Y2K carwash, which apparently is an alternate name.

You can read a series of reviews on TripAdvisor here. The thing that is the thing there, is native chicken adobo... Go figure, eating chicken at a seafood grill. Now, the locals may disagree, but I would skip that dish. native chicken are small and scrawny, and the adobo doesn't come with sauce, it is dry. So, not too much meat, lots of bones. Hmmm. Not my thing, even though the taste is good with loads of garlic...

All in all, when at SM, it may be worthwhile wandering over and eating something a bit more local. The rice, the bangus, and the squid were all tasty. So, beats mall food and you chalk up a local experience while in Iloilo!

Back in Bacolod City - Some more food options

After our day in Iloilo, we were back in Bacolod City, uncovering some more dinner options in this lovely city. 

Jin Long Hot Pot... all you can eat hotpot. Bustling place, where you choose your broth, and then order the meat you want to add. Grab loads of veggies, fish balls, imitation crab, etc. to cook your own broth. The sauces are good, I mix my own, but when in doubt grab the pre-mixed ones. Here is the link to the menu (a Google Drive link!). Oh and as a drink, the red iced tea is quite nice!

El Ideal in Silay. Ok, technically not in Bacolod City, but close enough to include it here. We actually stopped after a trip to Ilaya Mountain Resort which I mentioned before in my post on Negros. Now, everyone will tell you about El Ideal's Buko pie (coconut), but we learned something new on this trip: "Guapo Pie"! 

It is Guava and Apple in a nice crust. And for those who speak some of the languages, guapo also means handsome... and so it is! Yummy and I guess handsome, that Guapo Pie.

And last but not least, for this post, we close out with a longstanding restaurant in Bacolod: Inaka Japanese Restaurant.

New at Inaka Japanese Restaurant

As with most Japanese restaurants, this place is not cheap, but the food is of great quality. Nice tuna sashimi (or salmon), and the rolls on the menu are tasty! We enjoyed to seared tuna maki roll as well as the kani maki rolls. Definitely a recommendation. Just one thing, parking is tricky, but that seems to be more of the rule than the exception.

That's it for this trip, enjoy the Philippines!