Kayak Firefly Watching Bohol

Seeing the fireflies at night is one of most popular Bohol tourist attractions and taking a kayaking firefly watching Bohol tour often features on people’s Philippines bucket list.

We teamed up with Kayakasia Philippines and headed off on an Abatan River firefly watching tour, one of the coolest experiences of our Bohol trip.

If you are wondering what to do in Bohol, I can definitely recommend this.

Kayaking firefly watching tour Bohol

Many people choose to do their Bohol firefly watching on the Loboc River, but for the best chance to see an abundance of fireflies at night, you need to head to the Abatan River Bohol.

The launch site for the Kayakasia firefly kayaking is just under the Abatan Bridge, just a 15-minute drive from Tagbilaran (45 minutes drive from the Loboc River in Bohol where we were staying).

Bohol kayaking tour

Upon arrival at Kayakasia HQ, we were kitted out in life jackets (they have plenty of life jackets for kids) and our guide Rey gave our safety briefing on the launch jetty, along with some top tips for efficient kayaking.

“Push with one arm as you pull with the other”, a great tip as we were about to spend three hours on the river for our firefly tour Bohol.

Abadan River Kayaking tour safety briefing

Kayakasia use inflatable kayaks, which was a hugely welcome surprise. We had been kayaking in the Philippines off our Bohol beach resort a few days earlier, and I can confirm that the inflatable kayaks are so much more comfortable to sit in.

Abatan River kayaking

We climbed aboard our kayaks – one adult, one child per kayak – and set off behind Rey who led us on our firefly kayaking Bohol tour from his stand-up paddleboard, along with his faithful canine companion, Shaker.

Dog kayaking Bohol

Given how much hard work sea kayaking is, I was slightly concerned about the prospect of spending three hours kayaking along the river.

In fact it was not hard work at all, and we soon reached the 1-kilometre point, where we had the chance to stop paddling and drift for a while, enjoying the peace and serenity of the river as Rey educated us about the surrounding mangrove forests.

Kayaking Bohol Sunset

Having been amongst crowds of tourists at all the Bohol tourist spots throughout our stay (we were visiting during Holy Week and the Easter school holidays), it was such a pleasant change to find that we had the entire river virtually to ourselves.

It must be one of the quietest places to visit in Bohol!

This, combined with the deepening evening light and beautiful surroundings, made for a magical experience.

Abatan River Kayaking

After another 20-minutes or so paddling we turned off the main river and into a tunnel of mangrove trees. Here we drifted serenely beneath more than 20 species of ancient mangrove trees, learning more about our surroundings and searching for mudskippers on the banks.

Mangrove Kayaking Bohol

If it weren’t for my kids fighting over whose kayak got to be in front, the only sounds would have been the swishing of our paddles, and the birds and insects in the trees above.

Mangrove Kayaking Bohol

As Rey talked more about the mangrove forest and his passion for helping to preserve the local eco-system, we were blown away by his genuine concern for the environment and local community.

More than just being a business, Kayakasia Philippines is a social enterprise committed to educating the local community in the importance of eco-conscious tourism.

Kayakasia employ their staff from the local village, and support them through obtaining college qualifications. A percentage of their profits also goes towards projects to protect the Abatan River and its surrounds.

Kayaking Bohol

With the sun starting to set, we emerged from the mangrove tunnel and made our way to our rest-stop to boost our energy with a well-earned snack as we waited for dark.

Kayakasia had prepared some local turon – delicious banana and mango spring rolls, but you might want to bring a few extra snacks for the kids too.

Top Tip: When alighting from the kayak, you need to walk over sharp and slippery rocks: Be sure to bring [easyazon_link keywords=”kids water shoes” locale=”US” tag=”mumonthemov-20″]water shoes[/easyazon_link]!


Kayaking on Abatan River
We enjoyed our turon as the sun sank further into the river – and then it was time for the real highlight of the Bohol firefly kayak tour: the firefly watching itself.

Nothing can prepare you for how magical this is. We came across around ten different firefly trees, all glowing in the night like the most beautiful Christmas trees you’ve ever seen.

My initial fears of kayaking at night were soon put to rest. Rey was absolutely right – your eyes do adjust and we had no problem navigating the river in the dark, even before the moon put in an appearance.

Sunset kayaking in Bohol

With the river to ourselves, we simple drifted silently under the trees and stared in awe, mesmerised by the synchronized blinking of the fireflies that made it seem like the entire tree was pulsating and oscillating as one.

Simply magical.

One firefly even befriended my daughter, landing on her hand and refusing to leave her for the rest of the journey, much to her delight!

I had worried that the kids might get scared kayaking at night, but far from it – my daughter amused herself by counting how many bats swooped overhead (she stopped counting at around 50), while my 4-year old son was so relaxed he fell asleep on the way back up the river!

Sunset Kayaking Bohol

If you are considering adding firefly watching to your Bohol tour itinerary, I implore you to choose kayaking on the Abatan River, one of the most beautiful places in Bohol.

Our experience taught us that it is so much more beneficial to the environment and to the local community.

While taking a motorboat may seem like the easy option, the waves created by these boats zipping up and down the river has a detrimental affect on the mangroves – and in turn on the fireflies who live here.

To learn more or to book this trip, visit the Kayakasia Facebook page.

You might also enjoy reading about our Bohol island hopping tour and our Bohol Countryside Tour.


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Firefly Kayaking Tour Bohol

Mum on the Move were guests of Kayakasia Philippines for the purposes of writing this review. However, all opinions as always are honest, and our own.

Mum on the Move is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

 

12 thoughts on “Kayak Firefly Watching Bohol”

  1. Looks like such a great place to go kayaking. Glad to hear it wasn’t too difficult and that the kids enjoyed it.

    Reply
  2. Hi Marianne, Bohol is a nice place for kayaking. I think Philippines is a great country for hiking. Especially, there are lots of places there for kayaking. Though I didn’t go Bohol in next winter, I will definitely make a tour towards Bohol. Thanks a bunch for sharing this great kayaking review with us. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Hey, Great tips. Flying with 4 kids that all fall asleep just before we land is never fun!!! We can’t carry them all!!!

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  4. NIce place for kayaking, nice activity to do with kids, mine are too little but I can´t wait until they grow a bit to do outdoors activities.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. wow, never heard of this place but that mangrove forest looks like a great place to do some paddling. Seems like it would be a pretty relaxing place to spend some time on the water.

    Reply
  6. Very helpful post. This is exactly the experience I am seeking, and I am so glad to have come across your blog. We will be in Bohol next month, and I am definitely adding this to our itinerary. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  7. thank you for this post I’ve learned about kayakasia. we’ve availed their services and the experience was memorable. fireflies were aaamaazzziing!

    Reply
  8. Hey Marianne, we are so pleased to have guided you in your kayaking trip in the Philippines. Fond memories on the river keeps us going on these craziness the world is currently is experiencing. And the kayaks? Well, i read a good comment about it. Well…it keeping a few of our guides afloat this time too…in a different way. =)

    From kayaks to bags — how? why? here — > https://youtu.be/d5vIMC_jMcw

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