Tourist Information
Harmony Hotel is located near the famous Alona Beach on Panglao Island. Panglao is located southwest of the island of Bohol and south of Cebu City. Panglao is part of the province of Bohol and is connected to the Bohol main island via 2 bridges. The capital city of Bohol is Tagbilaran City, which is located 20-30 minutes drive from Harmony Hotel. Tagbilaran City has also a harbor. Tagbilaran new International airport (TAG) is located at Panglao Island.Click here to view a map of Panglao Island.
Bohol & Panglao
Bohol is like the philippines in miniature. It have it all, the ricefarms, the small villages, the waterfalls and animal life ( the smallest primate in the world lives in bohol, the Tarsier) and the coast with the beaches and diving. The latter you will mainly find on Panglao Island, a small island that have bridge connection with Bohol.
It is to Panglao the most tourist comes, and on panglao it is in first hand the laid back Alona beach that draws most people. The atribute is same as with Malapasqua and Boracay - white sand, crystal clear water and green palmtrees. The activites are also familier - you choose between doing nothing, snorkling, diving or go island hopping.
In Tagbilaran City, that is approximately 20 minutes by car from Harmony Hotel, you will get the necessary dose of ordinary life. Here you shop food, drinks and sunblock in ordinary departmentstore, eat cheap in the neighborhood restaurant, and stop a tricyckle as soon as you want to get back to the beach. What separate is also the nearness to magnificent nature. 1 hour by car from Harmony Hotel you will find the surrealistic landscape chocolate hills that contains 1268 high hills. If the hills a the remains of a giants tears or ancient corals shaped through centuries of erosion doesn't matter. When you have taken the 214 steps up to the viewing point you will understand that the landscape can not be understod.
Why visit Panglao?
Panglao have the lowest crime rates in the Philippines and worldclass diving, plus a whole bunch of sights such as the amazing chocolate hills, the world smallest monkey and many natural caves to explore makes more and more tourists visit the island every year.
General Information
The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 sq. m. (299,764 sq. km.). Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.Capital city is Manila.
Time Zone
Time Zone is GMT + 8 hours.
Climate
March to May is hot and dry.
June to October is warm and mostly dry, but with some cooling rain (normally at night).
November to February is cool.
Average temperatures: 25-32°C (78-90°F). Humidity is around 77%.
Population
There are a total of 76.5 million Filipinos as of the latest national census in May, 2000. Population growth is estimated at 2.36 percent annually. Luzon, the largest island group, accounts for more than half of the entire population.
Language
Two official languages, Filipino and English. Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education. Eight major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense. Filipino is that native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups. Like any living language, Filipino is in a process of development through loans from Philippine languages and non-native languages for various situations, among speakers of different social backgrounds, and for topics for conversation and scholarly discourse. There are about 76 to 78 major language groups, with more than 500 dialects.
Religion
Some 83% of Filipinos are Catholic. About 5% are Moslem. The rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhist.
Unit of Measure
The Metric System is used in most trade and legal transactions.
Electricity
220 volts AC is the common standard. 110 volts AC is also used, especially in major hotels.
Currency
The Philippines' monetary unit is the Peso, divided into 100 centavos.
Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks, and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines. International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card, and American Express are accepted in major establishments.