Like the last years, we decided to go on a trip from Dumaguete to Bayawan City to enjoy the annual Tawo Tawo Festival. I went there in the past 4 years and always had a great time. This year was no different.

My trip from Dumaguete to Bayawan started early in the morning with packing and heading to the Ceres Bus Terminal, where I caught a bus right away heading for my destination. You can get from Dumaguete to Bayawan in different ways. If you are not driving with your own vehicle you can jump on a bus like I did or use a V-Hire, a van which is a bit faster.

How to get from Dumaguete to Bayawan

With the non-aircon bus, the 100-kilometer trip takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. It goes around the southern end of Negros Island and is a quite scenic drive after you passed Dauin. When you start early you catch usually a nice sunrise. If you are a bit later the sun can burn through the window, so make sure you sit on a good seat in the bus.

Busses go every 30 minutes from Dumaguete to Bayawan and set you back around 125 pesos for a non-aircon bus and 160 pesos for an aircon bus. The later is also a little bit faster, as it does not stop at each little nipa hut.

Our accommodation in Bayawan

As we were invited by the LGU we stood in a different place this year, as they book their VIP-Guests in there. The Cañamaque Royal Suites is just a stone-throw away from the terminal. The rooms are basic but spacious. The staff was very friendly and helped us with all requests and questions. We didn’t spend much time in the room anyway. I can’t say if the TV is working, we simply didn’t switch it on during our three days.

On the day of our arrival was the Street Dancing and the Showdown of the Tawo Tawo Festival 2018 and once again I enjoyed the celebrations to the maximum. However, I had some bad news and needed to shortcut my trip. So, after only one night I needed to head back from Bayawan to Dumaguete to take care of other matters. Therefore, I missed the coronation night of Miss Bayawan 2018. My leave gave Miss D the chance to come down to Bayawan City and explore the city and the surrounding areas as well as to take some short videos from the coronation night.

I just hope I have the chance next year and can stay for the whole three days. I don’t think I want to live there, but for driving from Dumaguete to Bayawan City for a few days to unwind and relax is certainly a great thing. Maybe I can even squeeze in a few days in over the next month to visit the city trying to do just nothing … Naah, that will probably never happen.