Boracay: the Kuripot's Diary about Paradise Part 2

Without Glad Kitchen, that Boracay Trip would not have been possible.  I tell you, we've saved P14,000+ for the accommodation for three days and two nights at Alta Vista.  Considering that it was a perfect accommodation for a family, that amount really made a huge difference.

Ganyan ang kwarto namin. Promise!
(photo credit: www.interaksyon.com)

This Kuripot Mom was able to have a blast in Boracay by her sheer "katipiran".  How? Let me count the ways. (hehehe)

1. Checked out airline promos.

We got our tickets at P2,200.00+ each for round trip airfare from Manila to Kalibo via Tiger Airways. We bought it almost three (3) months before.  What's nice about Tiger Airways is that the terminal fee for Manila to Kalibo is already included (Kalibo to Manila terminal fee is not included, which is alright since the fee is only P40.00).  We couldn't find a promo flight to Caticlan so we had to contend with the Kalibo Trip.

2.  Was prepared for delayed flights.

Our flight to Kalibo was delayed for 8 hours.  Good thing, we had "baon" - rice and corned beef for hubby, chicken with rice and gravy with Yakult and Zest-o Choco for the little boy,  and bread and water for me. At least, we didn't spend a fortune buying food in the airport, which, I tell you, is not worth the price that you'll pay for it.

Tiger Airways flight was delayed for 8 hours:
Eto na ang mukha ko nun

I'll give you an example.  My little boy loves pastillas. He saw a store inside the airport boarding area selling Goldilocks products and other items, including pastillas in microwaveable containers.  He told his dad he wanted it.  The dad, not minding the price, bought him one for P120.00.  How many was the pastillas? Around 30 1x1 inch pieces. Huh! Branded???

Ganito kaliit ang pastillas na ginto na nabili sa airport

We originally scheduled our trip for 4 days and 3 nights (Monday to Thrusday). But since the flight was delayed, I forced the Tiger Airways representative to rebook our flight for Saturday, instead of Thursday free of charge. Ayaw pa nila, eh nabawasan ng isang araw ang bakasyon namin!  Finally, they relented.  The fare at that time was no longer discounted and I chose the more expensive fare. (Para makaganti lang sa pahirap nila sa amin.)  So nakatipid pa rin kami. Kasi kaya yun ang original schedule namin eh kasi mahal na yung pa-weekend. At dahil sa delayed flight, napahaba ang bakasyon namin at di na kami nagbayad ng mas mahal na ticket!

Pero Tiger, di pa ako tapos sa 'yo... Di ka pa nagrereply sa customer feedback form ko... Two weeks na. Baka gusto mong mag super sayan ako!

So for 3 days/2 nights, we stayed at Alta Vista and for the remaining days, we chose a little room at a very cheap price. (P1,275.00 per night only with A/C and cable TV). I didn't take any pictures there, kasi masisira ang image namin... Ang porma-porma ng Alta Vista, tapos mapapadpad na kami sa kawawang kwarto diba?

3. Joined promotional activities for free buffet dinner.

If you are invited by staff of hotels plying the beach, offering free lunch/ dinner, then by all means, agree to join. Imagine lunch/dinner buffet for two persons, free of charge! That's at least P500.00 savings that you could use for other activities in the island like the ATV, which was offered to us at P300.00 per head for an hour.

The catch: You have to listen to their "90 minute presentation" offering you membership to their club.  Well, the 90-minute presentation turned out to be 2 1/2 hours because it included a tour of the hotel facilities and more computation for the payment terms.  (Which for me, was outrageously expensive since I'm kuripot nga!)

May sobra ka bang P800,000 sa wallet mo?
Magmember na, sayang naman ang over-eager nilang spiel na,
"Magagamit niyo po ba? Welcome to the club!"

4.  Used our GCs.

My brother gave me GC's from Starbucks for Christmas. Good thing the barista accepted them even if they were a little bit  soggy! (The waterproof container - thanks Tsa Sin Mi! -where I put my wallet wasn't closed tightly kasi)  I didn't use it right away and saved it for our Boracay Trip. Kaya, sosyal ang kape namin sa Boracay!

GC's!!!

5. Used the microwave!

Ask if your hotel has a microwave so you can bring a microwaveable cup like this (Thanks Reb!)  A pack of chicken noodles can fit in here and it retains the heat inside longer than those ordinary microwaveable containers. Instead of eating out for breakfast, we brought and later on, bought bread, noodles in packs (not the ones in cups because they're more expensive) and even pancit canton. Cooking was a breeze!

Microwaveable Cup: so handy and useful!

6.  Tricycle Style.

If you are going to ride a tricycle because you are tired of walking from one station to another, don't ride in the tricycles that are in the "pila".  They cost thrice as much as a regular fare if you would walk a bit further from the line.  If you are in a "pila", the trip to the port would be P100 to P150 whereas if you ride a tricycle that's just passing by, it only costs P20.00 per head.

Remember: 'Wag pumara sa pila. Maglakad ng konti para mura.

7.  Tawad galore!

If you are searching for activities, don't ever forget to haggle. That's H-A-G-G-L-E! We're Filipinos! We should be experts at haggling.  Hubby and I were able to go scuba diving for only P2,000 each, all-in, with CD (for photos and video footage of ourselves).  The normal price for the scuba is P3,000-P3,500.  It was a dream come true! If we didn't get that deal, my dream to scuba dive would not have become a reality. (Thanks hubby for being super kuripot like me and for being a "Tawad Guru")

Dream come true!

8.  Cocktails all you can.

We saw a "cocktails all you can from 5-9 pm at the Astoria Hotel in Station 1.  I told my husband, to try it.  But on our way there from our room, we passed by Bom Bom Bar which offers buy-1-take-1 cocktails for P130 from 4 pm to 8 pm! Hmmm, mas mura! So that's where we went with the little boy.   Lasing na kami, isang glass pa lang.  So we paid less than P400 for our drinks.  I'm really not much of a drinker. I don't know if the more expensive cocktails taste as icky as the ones we drank.  If the point is to listen to music and looking at the setting sun while getting drunk, then this is the place to go!

9. Prioritized.

Prioritize on what you really need to do while on vacation. Do you want to lie down in your hotel bed for 3 days and 2 nights and just enjoy lying down, or would you want to experience the different activities that the place offers? Once you've identified what you really want, then adjust your budget according to how you want to spend your vacation.  From there, you would know what to splurge on and what to skimp on.

For me, I told myself  that I want to relax and swim and try to do at least one activity in Boracay. Since the scuba diving was one of my ultimate dreams, the savings I made from scrimping on the above made it possible for me to try scuba diving despite the steep price (though I'd love to try the helicopter ride but it's P10,000.00 for the three of us, pffft!)

A vacation can really be expensive.  But little savings here or there really matter.  So if you're on a budget, and not a very picky person, try the tips I gave you and let me know if you still enjoyed and were able to save too.

Cheers to Kakuriputan!!!

photo credit in order of appearance: (salamat po)
1. earthtimes.org
2. kgpanelo.deviantart.com
3. internationaltimeshareexchange.com
4. bluecloud1003.blogspot.com
5. shopgetorganized.com
6. excurshionista.net