Best Places in Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental's wealth has always been in its land, its natural resources, its tourist attractions, charm in its people, and pride in its cuisine. Hereunder are some of the best places in Negros Occidental:

1. Sipalay, Negros Occidental

Sipalay is located at the southern portion of Negros Occidental. It is approximately 3 hours from Bacolod City by private car and about 4 hours when you ride a bus. Sipalay has many beautiful, clean, quiet and white sand beaches which everyone can enjoy swimming. The last time i went to Sipalay, Negros Occidental was May 2007. Read more...


2. Mambukal Resort, Negros Occidental


About 30 minutes drive away from Bacolod City lies a picturesque mountain resort managed by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental. The Mambukal Mountain Resort located in the town of Murcia, Negros Occidental lies 1,200 feet above sea level and serves as gateway to Mt. kanlaon.

The resort was originally developed by a Japanese architect named Kokichi Paul Ishiwata in 1927. The resort started as a bath house and picnic garden and has provided cool haven for Negrenses and their guests. Read more...


3. Lakawon Beach, Cadiz, Negros Occidental

At the northern part of Negros Occidental, about 1 and a half ride from Bacolod City is Cadiz City where Lakawon Beach is located. From Cadiz City, you have to take a 20 minute pumpboat ride to the beautiful Lakawon Island of Cadiz, one of the best places in Negros Occidental...Read more...


4. Caribbean Waterpark and Resortel


At the heart of Bacolod City, one can find the Caribbean Waterpark and Resortel. It is located at Goldenfield Commercial Complex, about 5 minutes ride from downtown Bacolod. Caribbean Waterpark and Resortel is one of the best places in Negros Occidental! More pics...


5. Sea Mystic Beach Resort - Cauayan, Negros Occidental


Sea Mystic Beach Resort at Cauayan, Negros Occidental is about 2 and a half hours from Bacolod City when you drive a private car. The place is cool, quiet and relaxing...truly one of the best places in Negros Occidental. Read more...

Lakawon Island Beach Resort Review

Another hidden treasure of the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines is the Lakawon Island. This one is very special to me.

Lakawon is a 15-hectare banana shaped island about 3 kms off Cadiz City. The island is not very popular among Pinoys outside the province. Even I only came to know about it when I asked my sister-in-law of places to go when Shane would come to the Philippines for the first time. That was in 2003.

Lakawon has a gorgeous white beach (that can rival that of Boracay) consisting of coarse corals. It is also covered with palm trees and in some parts dense bushes.

The island has a resort managed by the family-owner. Unlike Boracay, Lakawon Island Resort is UNcommercialised and the owner wants it just that. If you want peace and quiet in your holidays, this is where you go. If you want glamour and parties at night, you go to Boracay.

In 2003, there were only a few cottages, air con and non-aircon. There was not much activities to do in the island except swimming and some related water activities (like banana boating and lakawon-island-resort-back-part-of-island.jpgwind-surfing). There’s not much recreational facilities. The resort is purely for unwinding and relaxation. The rooms have no TV sets and radios. No electricity during the day. A generator provides power in the nights which starts at dusk and turns off at daybreak. Incidentally, we have perfect mobile phone reception so we still have communications outside the island. The island is not too far away from the mainland that cellsite coverage still reaches it. Note that it has been almost five years since our trip there so this may have changed now.

Getting there : The access to the island is via Barangay Cadiz Viejo. A motor boat owned by the resort usually takes visitors to the island. The ride is about 30 minutes.

From Bacolod City, travel by private car will take just over an hour. There are also buses plying the Northern Negros which stops at Cadiz Viejo.

So why is this place very special to me? Because this is where Shane kneeled (while I was yelling at him for immersing his fresh shorts in the water) and popped the question, “Will you marry me?” :)

source

Lakawon meets Boracay challenge

A TOURIST attraction in northern
Negros may soon give Boracay Island
a run for its money.

The challenger is Lakawon, a 15-hectare banana-shaped island
about three kilometers off Cadiz City.
Few people have heard of the island, but ''Lonely Planet,'' a book
circulated internationally for travelers, has already included the
pristine islet and its shifting white sands among the places
worth seeing in the Philippines.

''Nature has provided Lakawon with a gorgeous white beach
consisting of coarse coral sand and the island is covered with
palm trees and in places dense bushes,'' Lonely Planet says.
Lakawon, unlike Boracay, will not be commercialized, according
to Victor Puey, who manages a family-owned resort on the islet.
While more cottages have been built at the resort to
accommodate families and groups, and air-conditioned rooms
have been planned, Puey says they intend to keep Lakawon a
wholesome place to stay.

Conventions and seminars can be held on the island, but Puey
says, ''We want to keep it an island for families.''
Aside from its vast expanse of white sand, Lakawon has clear
blue-green waters free of coliform (disease-causing bacteria).
As one approaches the island in a pumpboat, speedboats and
jetskis brought in by resort visitors take a break from
high-speed fun at sea.

Other guests enjoy windsurfing. Children frolic in the sea as a
lifeguard keeps watch. A net prevents them from straying into
deeper waters.

The well-lighted beach front allows visitors to enjoy swimming
under the moonlight and to spread sleeping bags on the sand.
Many foreigners and local tourists have found Lakawon an
alternative destination to Boracay, Puey says. It takes only an
hour's drive from Bacolod City and a 15-minute pumpboat ride
from Barangay Cadiz Viejo in Cadiz to reach Lakawon. Travel
time is much longer for those going to Boracay.

Rooming rates are also a lot cheaper (P1,400 for an overnight
stay at a cottage that can accommodate 10 people) in Lakawon.
Deliciously cooked seafoods, like crabs, fish, squids and
seashells, are reasonably priced. Along the beach front are
trampoline tents that can be moved into the water by people
who want to enjoy a good meal while feeling the sea on their
feet.

Lakawon is one of those few places in the world that are free of
the boundaries of time and responsibility, says Puey.

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Lakawon Beach Resort - Photos

Cool shades, blue waters and white sands at Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Clear, cool waters at Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Clean, clear waters, blue skies at Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

White sands and cool, clear waters at Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Cool, green shades and blue skies at Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Lakawon Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines - one of the best places in Negros Occidental!

Lakawon pictures - Lakawon beach resort, Cadiz City, Philippines

Under a talisay tree at Lakawon White Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines


Under a nipa hut at Lakawon White Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines


The sky is so blue, the sand so smooth at Lakawon White Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines


The water is so clear and the sand so soft and smooth upon arrival at Lakawon White Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines


Lakawon White Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines - from a distance: The sky is so blue, the sand so white and the water so clear!