Wanderworld

If you search online for Manjuyod Sandbar in Bais, Negros Oriental, you’ll be greeted with hundreds of amazing pictures of the breathtakingly pristine beach that’s beautifully complemented by its famous sandbar.

True enough, once you set foot on the island, you’ll be captivated with the beach’s awesome palette: clear, turquoise waters in the middle surrounded by light blue hues.

The catch though: it’s hard to tell when you’ll get to actually see the sandbar. Some say it’s low tide in the morning, while others say it’s low tide in the afternoon. I guess it all depends on the time of your visit.

In our case though, we arrived at the island late in the afternoon, probably around 3pm already since we visited Apo Island first. Our boatman brought us to the area with shallow waters, about knee-deep, and told us that’s the best we could do for a sandbar since the tide was already starting to rise. According to him, had we arrived an hour earlier, we would’ve seen the famous sandbar in all its glory.

Though we didn’t get to see the sandbar, we were blessed enough during our trip to see a rainbow while we were in Manjuyod. It was a sight to behold after a light shower; an awesome view jutting out from the sea all the way to the clouds.

As if the sight of the rainbow was not enough, we also fortunately got to catch the sunset before we left the island. The golden rays breaking out from the dark clouds, which eventually turned to crimson gold themselves, made up for a nice send-off view for us. 🙂

How to Get to Manjuyod Sandbar

• Take a bus going to Manjuyod or Bais from Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete. Travel time is 45 mins to 1 hour. Get off at Mercado de Bais in Bais City or tell the driver/conductor to drop you off at the jump-off point to Manjuyod.

• Take a tricycle to the jump-off point/Canibol Wharf then hire an outrigger boat from there to take you to Manjuyod Sandbar. It’s better to contact a boatman beforehand though, just to be sure.

Our Highly Recommended Manjuyod Boatman:

Jesus Pancho Jr. – Contact number: 0905-344-8562 (updated as of Aug 2016)

Boat rentals: Php 1,500 for 2 pax; 2k if dolphin watching is included

Our experience:

I was in contact with Kuya Jesus’ daughter even before we flew to Dumaguete, and she was very helpful (with commuting instructions) and very accommodating.

Her mother (Kuya Jesus’ wife) was the one who patiently waited for us (because our bus ride took a long time), fetched us from Bais when we got off the bus, hired a tricycle for us, and took us to the wharf where the boatman was waiting. They were also the ones who took us to a place where we could take a shower before we headed back to Dumaguete.

Kuya Jesus’ son was also with us when we sailed to Manjuyod and he rode with us in the trike back to Bais city center where we were supposed to take a bus to Dumaguete. He and the tricycle driver even brought us to the “bayan” so we could take pictures of the revolving Christmas tree before we left. Kuya Jesus’ son even waited for us to actually get in the bus before he left. The whole family was very accommodating. I highly recommend them if you need a boatman to Manjuyod sandbar. 🙂

*Travel Date: December 2014

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