You can sometimes get tired of the busy life When in Manila so it’s a good thing that the Philippines’ largest national flag carrier Cebu Pacific Air has many year-round Lite fares to local and Asian destinations. Last week, when I had a few days off, we decided to go on a short trip to Butuan. Cebu Pacific Air offers flights to Butuan from Manila and Cebu for as low as P678! We also easily booked a hotel room with Agoda. Rates in Agoda are almost always cheaper compared to the regular rates you’ll find in the Hotels own websites. We decided to take the morning flight to Butuan so we could have 2 full days there to make the most out of our short vacation. To make sure we had a good hotel to stay in while we were there, I checked out Agoda for their list of hotels and I really liked the customer reviews of the Almont Inland Hotel so we booked our stay there.
The first question people usually ask me when I say I’ll be going to Butuan is “Where’s that?” and the answer is always the same: Mindanao…and then I continue with “it’s 4 hours away from Cagayan de Oro and also about 4 hours away from Davao.” And then they would say “Aaaah. Anong meron dun? (What’s there?)” and that is why, happy people, I finally came up with a list of things to do when you come to this city down South. We’ve tried best we can to compress this list to just 5 general things to do, but under those 5 things to do is another list of food, activity, sites, etc to consider when visiting this city. Here are our top 5 things to keep you busy in Butuan City
1. Go on a Food Trip!!!
You can’t go to another city and not try their local specialties. Butuan is no different. These are all must tries when in the city.
a) Baron’s – this is number one on our list. Why? Because when you go there, you’ll see the place and wonder why the heck you were brought here. The place is raw. It’s busy, it’s crowded and it is noisy. But leave your hesitations at the door (whoops! As there are no doors, leave your doubts and hesitations in the car instead). Baron’s is crowded every night for good reason. When you get seated, ask whoever assists you to bring you a plate each of everything they’ve got that would be enough for you and your group. This is going to be a Seafood party so trust me, and believe me when I say, for meat lovers out there, their grilled seafood has beat the best steak I’ve ever had in my life! And that’s saying a lot, because I love steak too! We’ve brought friends here who won’t even leave a trace of what they’ve had and could almost lick their plates clean if only that would be appropriate :p Enjoy!!
*I can’t get enough of their local fish called Gingaw, however they cook it (sugba, tinola, etc.). Also, if you can, go there early and grab yourself a couple of their grilled chorizo’s as well, because they go fast! Baron’s is only open for dinner and they stay open until their supplies last (yep, that’s why their seafood is fresh EVERYDAY).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barons/380810065380219
JC Aquino Avenue, 8600 Butuan City
Mobile num: 0905 318 1991
b) Margie’s Bakeshop
Despite other coffee shops setting up shop in Butuan, Margie’s remains to be the strongest coffee and desert place in Butuan. Proudly Butuanon, Margie’s is a favorite hotspot after dinner where conversations last well into the night. The walls are covered with thousands of signatures of guests who have come to love Margie’s too. They have also been featured in many Philippine magazines and newspapers and now also have other branches in Davao. Popular deserts here are the Nelusco cake, Midnight Silvanas, Cookie Monster, Food for the gods and their Oatmeal thins.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margies-Bakeshop/62774312837
JC Aquino Avenue, 8600 Butuan City
Tel no: 085 – 3421980
