Blue Star Dive and Resort

The Blue Star Dive and Resort is a resort perched on a ridge 40 meters above the sea in Anda town. Situated high up, the resort then has a command view of the open sea and the neighboring island of Camiguin as well as the contoured outline of the towns of Guindulman, Duero and Jagna.

The resort boast of six (6) bungalows, a complete dive center, a restaurant and bar, and its own boat for scuba diving trips and island tours. The beach, which is of pure white sand, is 68 steps down from the resort with a background of rugged cliffs and caves, formed by centuries of battering by the sea.

This bungalow resort is owned by Mr. Lorenz Wenger and Gianni Parrino.

Location

The Blue Star Dive and Resort is located at Sitio Ipo, Barangay Candabong of the municipality of Anda in Bohol, Philippines. It lies on the south-eastern coast of Bohol in the Bay of Anda, close to the outskirt barangay of Guindulman and only an hour and a half drive away.

Facilities and Services

Accommodation

The resort boasts of six (6) spacious bungalows that are built and furnished in typical Philippine style with private terrace that commands a spectacular view of the beach fringed with coconut palm trees and the blue expanse of the sea. The rooms are equipped with king-sized beds complete with pillows and linen. Mini-bar, toilet and bath with hot & cold water are also provided.
Where to Wine and Dine

Blue Star Dive and Resort boasts of a restaurant that serves Asian and European cuisine. All food is painstakingly prepared from selected fresh ingredients that are available from the local market. Vegetarian or diabetic meals, if desired, will be attended to.

Dive Center

The Dive Center lies directly above the beach and connected to it by 68 steps. The center has a shower/toilet, a training classroom, a repair shop and a drying room. It consists of two compressors, 32 tanks with adaptors (optional DIN or INT) and rental gears for diving and snorkeling.

Deco Bar

Divers can relax and unwind at the Deco lounge which is outfitted with tables and chairs. Wine and other spirits are available and food will be prepared upon order.

Medics

The resort is primarily concerned with safety. It provides a medically trained staff (by Emergency First Response-Standards) and has oxygen reserves.

Transfers

The resort offers airport and seaport transfers to the extent of reserving a room for at a hotel in Cebu for any eventual stop-over or overnight stay and provides assistance and escort on your way to the resort.

Resort Activities

Aside from the simple activities of swimming, boating and snorkelling, the resort also arranges for scuba diving trips. Diving spots, especially a species-rich house reef, are only a few minutes away by boat. Currents are from medium to medium-high with good to very good visibility and temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade.

The Anda waters are blessed with untouched reefs and coral gardens with spectacular drop-offs, caves and grottos. One will encounter nudibranches and lots of crabs, shrimps, gobies, schools of mackerel and tuna on a daily basis. There are also sightings of turtles, a napoleon or whale sharks between the months of February and April.

Diving Courses

All diving courses are given by a qualified PADI instructor according to PADI-Standards. The indicated course durations are approximate values and are, depending on the number of participants, adapted to individual needs.

Introductory Dive (1/2 day)

After a short theoretical introduction, students will experience their first breaths underwater accompanied by an experienced diving instructor. The house reef right in front of the resort provides optimum conditions for the intro dive.

Discover Scuba Diving Course (1 day)

A one-day exploration: emphasizing practical experience accompanied by a minimum of theoretical background. If the experience is ok and one decide to continue, this course may be credited to further courses.

Open Water Diver (4-5 days)

This course emphasizes the fundamental skills a diver uses and which allows him to dive safely to a depth up to 18 meters/60 feet and carefully feel ones way through the underwater world. Theory may be studied at home so that one can concentrate on the practical part during the holidays. After a few exercises, one can dive and explore other spots while accompanied by a trainer.

Advanced Open Water Diver (2-3 days)

The course covers lessons on boats, buoyancy, drift, reefs, navigation, night diving, deep diving, and more. The 2-day course will deepen ones confidence and security. The course includes 5 relaxed dives, combining practice and theory.

Rescue & Emergency First Response (4-5 days)

Students are trained to help others by simulating different scenarios of potentially dangerous and emergency situations in diving. With this training, one will be able to timely identify such situations and to correctly interpret them. The emergency first response includes a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course which is a prerequisite to the Rescue Diver Course. The Emergency First Response Course takes 1 day and the Rescue Diver Course from 3-4 days. The combination of both provides the entire knowledge of a fully trained Rescue Diver.

Dive Master (at least 4 weeks)

This course is for those who want to be professionals in this field and be able to train others. One will learn how to correctly brief divers, how to lead them above and underwater and to take over a role model function with responsibilities. The duration of the training must be agreed in advance and done individually. A combination with the Assistant Instructor Course is possible.

PADI-Specialty Courses

Peak Performance Buoyancy (1 day)

Feel like a fish in the water. With this 1-day specialty course, one will perfect buoyancy performance within two dives and enable one to move excellently in the water and to fully enjoy zero gravity. This course is a must for all submarine photographers.

Night Diver (2 days)

A dive after sunset opens new perspectives: other marine mammals, different colours and utterly new experiences. Learn how to communicate correctly underwater at night, how to navigate with the compass and get to know the particularities of these adventures. After this training, one will feel entirely safe during future nocturnal submarine explorations.

Deep Diver (2 days)

A substantiated education allows one to dive beyond the 30 meters/100 feet limit. Learn more about decompression theory and combine it with 4 safely accompanied dives down to the maximum 40 meters/130 feet limit of sports diving.

UW Navigation

This course will teach how to become good friends with the compass, learn how to optimally orientate underwater and find ones way home thus avoid swimming long distances on the surface and from embarrassing searches for the boat or the way out.

Diving Packages

The resort offers different diving packages ranging from packages of 10 or 20 dives, a 1-day house reef or 3-days explorations. Diving packages are non-transferable.

Excursions & Activities

Various activities and excursions are available at the resort. Guests can go on boat rides through mangroves, do island tours, visit other white sandy beaches, explore caves, and do trekking to see waterfalls, enjoy lunch at a river cruise, tour heritage monuments and more. The resort staff will gladly help you set up the activities that you want to undergo.

Room Amenities

King-sized beds, pillows, bedcovers, blankets, mini-bar, toilet and bath, hot & cold water

Resort Facilities/Services

Room accommodations, restaurant, dive center, 18meter-Bangka (traditional Philippine catamaran), deco bar, medics and transfers.

Overview

The Blue Star Dive and Resort is situated in a quiet neighborhood. Perched above the rugged cliffs of this side of Anda, it commands a spectacular view of God’s bounty: the crystal blue expanse of the sea, the island of Camiguin in the far distance, and the contour of its neighboring towns: Guindulman, Duero and Jagna.

The resort is ideal for those who seek peace and quiet for it has a serene ambiance and relatively isolated from other resorts and quite distant from the populous areas of the towns of Anda and Guindulman.

The Straits Anda and Guindulman are now known for its dive sites and for years has been the haunt of Germans and Swiss since most of the resorts are owned by fellow foreigners married to local maidens.

Contact Info

website: www.bluestardive.com

BlueStar Dive & Resort
Ipo, Candabong
6311 Anda Bohol
Philippines
Phone: +63 919 453 60 90

BlueStar Swiss Office
Mettlenstr. 2
8488 Turbenthal
Switzerland
Phone: +41 76 412 09 39
E-Mail: dive [at] bluestardive [dot]com

Bohols Dapdap Beach Resort

Bohols Dapdap Beach Resort is situated on a short stretch of white sandy beach with cliffs on the sides. It is so called because the place was once filled with Dapdap Trees. The beach is dotted with small bamboo and nipa thatched huts surrounded by Bermuda grass under coconut trees while some huts are on the cliffs with a beautiful view of the bay.

For overnight stay, cottages are provided. These cottages are made of bamboo and amakan with nipa thatched roofs provided with verandas while others are concrete buildings though with thatched roofing. Some of the cottages are elevated a bit with a few stone steps leading down towards a well-kept tropical garden of bougainvilleas; San Francisco’s and palm trees. Others, especially the standard and deluxe cottages, are on flat ground facing the garden and the sea beyond.

Location

Bohols Dapdap Beach Resort is located at Candabong, Anda, Bohol, Visayas, Philippines. The municipality of Anda is located in the eastern part of Bohol, 99.3 kilometers from Tagbilaran City, the capital and lone city of the province of Bohol. It takes more or less one and a half hour ride from airport or pier to the Resort.

Facilities and Services

Room Options

Nipa Hut

As called, the nipa hut has thatched roofing made from nipa leaves with bamboo framings and floors and amakan walls. It is a typical native Filipino hut with ceilings made from amakan. It is provided with an electric fan; has 2 twin-size beds made of mahogany wood and equipped with mattresses, bedcovers and linens; has a cabinet, a private bathroom and a porch.

Standard Room

Standard room is a concrete building with nipa thatched roofing, windows with jalousies, and a porch facing the garden with a view of the sea. It is provided with air conditioning, 2 twin-size mahogany beds with mattresses, bedcovers and linens; a dining area with vanity table, curtained windows, a cabinet, a divan and a private bathroom.

Deluxe Room

The deluxe cottage is slightly bigger and more spacious than the standard cottage. It is a concrete building with thatched roofing, curtained windows with jalousies, a private bathroom and porch facing the garden. It is provided with air conditioning, a king and queen-size beds with bedcovers and linen, a dining area with television. A big cabinet, table, mirror on the wall are provided. Walls are decorated with big native fans.

Superior Room

The superior room is spacious and provided with one (1) queen-sized bed and one (1) twin-sized bed with air conditioning, cable TV, refrigerator, chandelier lighting, beautiful native decors, wood tiles for flooring, and a private bathroom and front patio. It also has a dining area, a vanity table, and has a breathtaking view of the garden and the ocean beyond.

The Big Room

The Big Room is huge and very spacious to accommodate about 16 persons with 2 private bathrooms ideal for a big party or a clan reunion. The room is air conditioned and provided with 8 double-deck beds with mattresses and pillows. The cottage is a wooden structure with thatched roofing, windows with jalousies, walls partially made of decorative amakan and wooden-tiled floors.

Functions

Function halls are available for rent for weddings, receptions, meetings, reunions, conferences and many more.
Scenic Tours

The resort staff is able and willing to help set up tours to Chocolate Hills, Sagbayan Peak, Loboc River, historic churches, dolphin watching, cave explorations and others.

Overview

Anda and Guindulman are neighboring towns that boasts of a 14 kilometer long unspoilt coral reef teeming with colored and varied marine life. The resort is a real oasis where guests can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, boating and scuba diving. With its native-inspired cottages amidst a beautiful garden, basic modern facilities, white sand and cool blue waters, it is truly a vacation haven.

Contact Info

website: www.boholdapdapresort.com

Address

Bohol’s Dapdap Beach Resort
Candabong, Anda
6311 Bohol
Philippines

Phone: +63-38-528-2011
Mobile: +63-921-833-2332
Mobile: +63-921-833-2315
Email: wecare [at] boholdapdapresort [dot] com

Anda White Beach Resort

Anda White Beach Resort is a newly developed resort built on 0.5 hectare of beachfront property with a wonderful view of the ocean. The island of Camiguin can be seen on a clear and sunny day and also the contour of Bohol from Guindulman to Jagna and onwards.

Facilities such as the five (5) room accommodations, restaurant and bar are housed under a contemporary building. A swimming pool with whirlpools is in the open and overlooking the white sandy beach and the sea beyond. There are landscaped terraces and steps lead down to the beach which is only a short walk away.

All rooms are of high quality standard, very clean, spacious and comfortable. They are equipped with modern amenities to assure guests of a comfortable and relaxing stay. Services include room, laundry, wake-up call, and transfers.

The resort is blessed with fine white sand and crystal clear blue waters that are unpolluted. The beach is fringed with tall coconut palm trees, adding up to a truly tropical look. Fenced in, the resort is secure and has a very serene setting.

Location

Anda White Beach Resort is located at Barangay Bacong, Sitio Dagohoy, Anda, Bohol. It lies on the northern part of Bohol Island and is one and a half hour drive from the city of Tagbilaran. From Tagbilaran you will pass by the towns of Baclayon, Albur, Loay, Lila, Dimiao, Valencia, Garcia Hernandez, Jagna, Duero and Guindulman.

Reaching Guindulman, turn right on a junction road at barangay Trinidad. Follow the road until you reach the town of Anda. Road signs will lead you to Anda White Beach Resort.

Facilities and Services

Rooms

The rooms at Anda White Beach Resort are spacious and equipped with a king-sized bed; complete with soft pillows, cotton blankets and linen. The rooms are also provided with remote-controlled cable TV, DVD player and movies, safe deposit box, cabinets, writing desk, chair, bedside tables with lampshades, mini-bar, daily complementary mineral water and a split-type air conditioner.

Glass sliding doors separate the bedroom from the toilet and bath which is provided with a shower and hot & cold water. Toiletries are provided including slippers, bathrobe and a hairdryer. Rooms have private balconies where one can relax and enjoy the cool sea breeze.

Where to Wine and Dine

Anda White Beach Resort has its own restaurant that serves native and international gourmet foods that are prepared fresh and suited to your tastes and desires. The menu is varied and includes a selection of organic indigenous menus. Food is either served inside the restaurant or on the patio with a live band as entertainment during evenings.

Other Facilities and Services

Swimming Pool

The beautifully contoured freshwater swimming pool is fringed with tall coconut palm trees by the beachside. It is situated such that one will enjoy a panoramic view of the ocean and the islands beyond and the glittering white sandy beach. Two whirlpools are provided at the swimming pool’s side.

Parking Space

Ample parking space is available to accommodate all types of vehicles.

Airport Shuttle

A vehicle is available to ferry you to and from the airport or pier of Tagbilaran City. Tours to the well-known beautiful spots of Bohol can also be arranged.

The resort staff will gladly help you arrange for activities such as boating, scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming and others.

Room Amenities

Air Condition, king-sized bed, pillows & linens, balcony, coffee/tea making facilities, DVD plaer, In-room movies, mini-bar, safe, cable TV, toilet and bath, hot & cold shower, voltage 220/240

Resort Facilities

Bar, Beach, Outdoor Swimming Pool, Restaurant, Whirlpool, Airport Shuttle, Parking Space

Resort Services

Airport Transfer, Room Service, Laundry, Wake-up Service, Tour/Activities Arrangement

Overview

If you are in search of true relaxation, a place “far from the madding crowd” so to speak, then Anda White Beach Resort is for you. It is far from the bustling city of Tagbilaran, truly isolated yet near enough for it is only an hour and a half drive away.

Service here is excellent, prompt and professional. The owner is both a good host and an excellent cook, very organized and friendly. Everything you need will be taken cared of in a jiffy.

And the sand . . . . . it is pure white and powdery! And the water is so cool and refreshing, crystal clear and unpolluted.

So why not try it!

Contact Info

website: www.andabeachresort.com

Anda White Beach Resort
Sitio Dagohoy, Bacong
Anda, Bohol

Phone: +63 915 541 05 07
Email: cornelis [at] andabeachresort [dot] com

History of Anda

The Municipality of Anda was formerly known as Quinale and was a barrio of the municipality of Guindulman from the early part of its civilization up to the later decade of the 19th century. At the onset, Quinale was basically uninhabited with plenty of uncultivated lands and its shores were swampy with lots of mangroves and hardwood trees.

Through the years the population of Quinale grew and the people mutually agreed for independence from Guindulman. On July 8, 1856 they petitioned for independence and the petition was endorsed by the Assessor General of the Government to the Governor General of the Philippines on September 3, 1856. Yet their petition was denied for the reason that they could not meet the required number of 500 tributes or taxpayers.

Undaunted, they again petitioned to become an independent town on December 30, 1872. The petition was addressed to the Provincial Governor of Bohol and endorsed by him to the “Consejo de Administracion de Filipinas (Council for Administration of the Philippines), the Father Provincial of the Recollects and the Archbishop of Manila.

The town has progressed at that time. Public buildings and their church were improved and roads created leading to Guindulman. But in spite of these developments, their petition was again denied on the grounds that their total taxpayers reached only 400.

Still persistent, Quinale again filed their petition on March 27, 1874 and subsequently denied due to the same reason of lack of taxpayers. A few months later, on September 23, 1874, the people again made another petition but now using a different approach and reasoning.

Yes they were denied for the same reasons yet they pointed out that births in the town of Quinale far exceeded the number of deaths but the people migrate to other places because of lack of supervision and opportunities. To answer this need, the officials want their barrio to be made into a town to have proper supervision and leadership. With these, the people will not leave and the number of taxpayers would surely reach 500.

Provincial Politico-Military Governor Don Joaquin Bengoechea, was amenable to their line of reasoning and suggested that the people make a petition for separation of Quenale in the civil aspect only since the requirement of 500 taxpayers was for becoming a separate parish. So the September 23, 1874 petitioned for becoming a town in the civil aspect only.

More than six months passed before the Consejo de Administration finally recommended that Quinale be separated in its civil aspect only. Delay was due to the religious authorities’ reluctance to approve it.

Finally on March 12, 1875, the Governor General Don Jose de Malcampoy y Monje issued the decree creating the new town of Anda and it being separated from the town of Guindulman in the civil aspect only in consonance with the desire of the religious authorities. Confirmed by the Archbishop of Manila, the order of the separation was published on April 1, 1875.

With the approval, the local officials of the new town of Anda and the mother town of Guindulman gathered to discuss and determine the boundaries of the two towns on May 3, 1875. With the decree, the people were still given the opportunity to till their lands wherever they may be located, in Anda or Guindulman.

Subsequent years saw Anda’s growth in terms of population. People did not migrate anymore and eventually the number of taxpayers increased until they qualified to be a separate town in the religious aspect. On July 18, 1885, Anda became an independent parish from Guindulman and become a Diocesan Parish on March 19, 1885 and dedicated to the Santo Niño or the Holy Child. Royal approval was given on January 6, 1885 and finally implemented on July 18, 1885 with Fr. Julian Cisnero as the 1st Parish Priest.

The line of Spanish priests serving the parish of Anda was not broken from 1885 up to 1937, even after the end of the Spanish Regime and thru the American era. At the end of the Spanish regime, many Spanish priests fled but not Fr. Hilario Lopez. Even after the American era, priests from the Order of the Augustinian Recollect continued to serve the people until 1937. The last Spanish priest was Fr. Luis Llorente.

Why “Anda” was chosen

The decree on the separation of Quinale from Guindulman did not explain why the name “Anda” was chosen but the accepted explanation was that the name refers to Governor General Simon de Anda y Salazar who was Governor General of the Philippines from 1769-1770. Simon de Anda was a member of the Royal Audiencia in the Philippines who did not surrender to the British in 1762.