Renting a motorcycle in Bohol

Michael Zabate and Ethelyn Albano on the scooter

It was 3.30pm when we reached Tagbilaran port, the sun was still shining and we could really feel the summer heat already consuming our excitement.  Before the boat made a complete stop most of the passengers were already standing and ready to disembark.  I thought it was ridiculous because we all have to disembark anyway.  It seems that everyone was doing it, except for us and some few foreigners who were also wondering what people were doing.

We waited until most of the people left the boat and we didn’t have to get into a line to get out of the boat.  Once we were outside, there were many people with signage greeting us, representing their hotels/resorts.  We still didn’t know where to stay so we just completely ignored them and headed to the exit.  Along the way there were people who were asking us if we would like to hire a van, taxi or tricycle.  Our minds were already made up and we wanted to hire a motorcycle.

Some part of the port is under construction, so I wasn’t sure where we can find a motorcycle for hire.  There were a line of tricycle and drivers were also hanging around waiting for passengers and I asked some of them where we can hire motorcycles.  They pointed me to the security guard at the port, a little hut in the middle of the road before taking a turn to the port. 

Me and Joey Carey

The security guard was very polite, and when I asked about the motorcycle rented he immediately told us he will call someone.  When he did not get an answer he told us he will just go and pick up his friend that owns the motorcycle.  We waited about 5 minutes and he showed up with the motorcycle and the owner.  My partner negotiated the price and we got 2 scooters for 500 Pesos per day each.

It is easy to rent a motorcycle in Bohol, all you need is to sign a paper agreeing with the price per day and leave a valid ID and pay the total amount.  And we were off driving to Panglao.  I was a bit worried that the scooter did not come with helmets, but in Bohol you can drive around without it.

The route is also easy either you asked the locals how to get there, get a local map from the Port or activate your GPS.  Google map is a big help, but if your phone is running out of battery, you can opt to use an app called MAPS, it doesn’t consume as much battery compared to google maps.

The motorcycle that we rented had no gasoline included so we had to stop at the nearest gasoline station on our way to Panglao.  We had it full for 100 Pesos.  20 Minutes later we reached the beach area of Panglao, it is much cheaper to rent a motorcycle than to commute.  And you have all the freedom to go anywhere you want, anytime you want.  Our next task was to look for a hotel by the beach.