Experience the best of Tagbilaran

Tagbilaran is the capital of Bohol, an island province in the central Visayas, and its main port, with ferries across the Bohol Strait to Cebu and other islands. A monument by the shore marks the blood compact of 1565, in which the chieftain Sikatuna and the Spanish explorer Legazpi sealed a pact of friendship. The Bohol Museum holds the island's history.

Inland, the Chocolate Hills, more than a thousand grass-covered mounds that turn brown in the dry months, rise near Carmen, and a sanctuary at Corella protects the tiny Philippine tarsier. Boats on the Loboc River carry diners past palms, and the stone church of Baclayon, among the oldest in the country, stands on the coast. Two bridges link Panglao island, with its white-sand beaches and dive sites, to the mainland.

Kinilaw, raw fish cured in vinegar and calamansi, and grilled fish and squid are the everyday dishes of the island. December to May is the drier half of the year, and the wetter months from June to November bring typhoon-season rains. Calamay, a sticky sweet of coconut and rice sold in coconut shells, and peanut kisses are Bohol's famous sweets.