The Chocolate Hills are 1,776 grassy hills in the centre of Bohol Island that turn brown during the dry season, hence the name, and look a hell of a lot like the hills in Super Mario on the Super Nintendo. They’re nice to look at, but you’ll probably be a bit bored of them after a look from the view point and quick wander around near them. To make this more fun, and to go more towards that Super Mario vibe, ride around them in quad bikes with a guide – way more fun
Some tips:
- Rent a taxi for the Chocolate Hills Loop – it’s easy to follow the Loop from Tagbilaran or Pangloa area. To give yourself more independence, and to generally avoid the mass-tourism tours, rent a taxi and make your own way round
- The Quad Biking – there will be people offering quad biking near the entrance to the Chocolate Hills main viewpoint. Expect to be away for an hour or so
- Make sure on the Chocolate Hills loop to visit the Tarsier Sanctuary where you can see the smallest, and very delicate, primates
- Stay on Pangalao Island – Tagbilaran didn’t look too appealing. We splurged a bit and stayed at the South Palms Resort, which was great and would recommend
- If staying on Panglao Island, make sure to do some diving or snorkelling at Balicasag Island, just 6km to the west of Pangalao. Some gorgeous tropical reefs there and more info in this post Diving off Balicasag Island
- Getting to Bohol from Cebu City is relatively straightforward, but its not a bad idea to ask your hotel / hostel to help you with getting the ferry tickets you want