The Enchanting Loboc River Night Cruise

Most cruises to the Loboc River in Bohol take place during lunch time as part of the standard countryside tours in the island. However, I discovered that taking the night cruise is a better experience.

I remember taking the daytime cruise when I first visited Bohol. That was probably 5 years ago. Now, the government invested a lot on making the Loboc River a spectacular destination during the evening as well.

Of course, it starts out with dinner. We hopped on one of the floating buffet restaurants that was docked along the clean and organized pier of the tourist attraction center.

After dinner, we were told to move to another boat, where we would glide through the serene waters of Loboc River. The lights illuminating the surroundings were amazing. I really commend the local government for taking the effort to make Loboc more attractive at night.

The cruise was so peaceful, it was kind of boring already. Good thing, there was a folk singer with his guitar happily serenading us with both old time American and Filipino folk songs. As we approached the last of the illuminated trees, a floating hut seemed to glow brightly from a distance.

To our surprise, it was the local performance of the Loboc children and women. They danced, played their green guitars and made everyone smile as we ourselves danced along.

It was similar to the choral performance I witnessed way back 5 years ago, but this was more upbeat. The children were charming and great in dance as well, as they did some stunts in tinkling (a dance using bamboo rods).

After the performance, we headed back to the pier. The breeze was quite chilly, so I would advise to bring a jacket or sweater. We were back on solid ground, when we got curious over some rousing music from a building. It was a performance by a local orchestra made up of young teenage boys. They were amazing. The concert hall was also brilliantly designed. I was really impressed with these kids, that I would hire them eventually for an event here in Bohol.

The night cruise of the Loboc River is thus a must for tourists. It is an enchanting experience, which will leave you with the best memories of Bohol.


* The last call for the cruise is around 8PM, so it's best to be here between 6:30 to 7:00PM.