TINUY-AN FALLS, BISLIG CITY, SURIGAO DEL SUR: My Story and Review
Please Click Here for My Complete Tinuy-an Falls Travel Guide
We went to Tinuy-an Falls via Butuan City. Since we got out of Butuan airport at 9PM the previous night, we needed to sleep in the city (Please click here for a list of Butuan City accommodation) and woke up early the next day to catch the 4AM Bachelor bus going to Mangagoy, Bislig. While the road condition is excellent from Butuan to Mangagoy, the long ride was still butt-numbing, and there was not enough legroom in-between seats. We stopped at six different bus terminals, and I thought our driver was driving at a slower-than-normal speed. The trip took 5.5 hours. I believe it would be a lot faster and would take only about 3.5 to 4 hours for private vehicles.
The bus stopped for a few minutes at Hinatuan bus terminal. When I got down to take pictures, a habal habal driver approached me and offered a Hinatuan Enchanted River and Tinuy-an Falls Combo Tour for Php1, 500. Too much! I told him that if I go directly to Mangagoy, I would only pay Php400 for a trip to Tinuy-an Falls, plus Php110 for a trip back to Hinatuan (for two persons) and another Php300 for a trip to Enchanted River. A total of Php810.00 only for two persons. While he seemed disappointed, he simply smiled and went away.
From Hinatuan Bus Terminal, it took us about an hour to reach Mangagoy. As soon as we alighted from the bus, several habal-habal drivers approached us and offered a tour to Tinuy-an Falls for Php300 per person. Since we already knew the rate, we haggled for P200 per person, one way. It took about 10 minutes before a habal habal driver agreed to Php200 per pax. Tip when haggling, while this may seem rude, it is always effective when you keep on walking as you are haggling. They’ll follow you anyway 🙂
The one-hour habal-habal drive to Tinuy-an Falls can be scary. The road was rough and the motorcycle would go up and down the mountain. I must admit, I was really scared at some points especially on those parts where the motorcycle would go up several steep slopes. One mistake and we’d end up in a hospital instead. I eventually managed to get rid of those thoughts and simply enjoyed the ride.
The first tier of the falls can be seen from the parking area. While it’s beautiful, it’s quite small. As we walked towards the entrance, we saw the big waterfall. It was tall and large, and was really amazing. It’s the most beautiful waterfall I’ve seen in the Philippines so far.
Once we entered the area, we immediately looked for a spot near the falls to drop our backpacks- where we could see our things while swimming.
The whole place is awesome. I had high expectations before the trip, and Tinuy-an waterfalls surely did not disappoint.
The highlight of the trip was the bamboo rafting where we had a shower right under the waterfalls.
It was fun and refreshing and I had a great time! Okay! I’ll stop babbling now and show you some pics!
Please Click Here for My Complete Tinuy-an Falls Travel Guide
