Bais

Bais City is one of the cleanest and safest cities of the Philippines in Negros Oriental province. The main tourist draw is whale and dolphin watching in the Tañon Strait between Bais and the neighbouring island of Cebu.

Understand
The city has a population of more than 76,000 (2015). The major economic activity is sugar cane growing with a few wealthy families dominating both the local politics and economy. The central market has just been re-built as a large two-storey building of unusual design but pedicabs still ply the streets as a legacy of a Dutch NGO's project to alleviate rural poverty.

Get in
The most common route to Bais is by bus from Dumaguete, though it is also possible to reach it directly from either Cebu City or Bacolod.

By boat
Into Dumaguete from Metro Manila, Cebu City, Tagbilaran, Dapitan or Cagayan de Oro and then by Ceres Bus every half hour to Bais.

By bus
Bais is on the main long distance bus route between Bacolod, Kabankalan City and Dumaguete. One can also take a Ceres Bus from Cebu City that travels directly to Bais via a 35 min roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro} ferry between the Southern tip of Cebu island at Bato and Amlan just south of Tanjay. Other Ceres buses set passengers down at Lilo-An so they can take the faster passenger-only boat and shorter 15 min crossing to Sibulan just north of Dumaguete.

Get around
Moto-tricycles are rather confusingly termed pedicabs in Negros Oriental, and are usually underpowered by 200cc motorcycles considering that they often carry more than 8 people and sometimes up to 15! The cycle rickshaws are certainly quieter on Bais's flat streets and the commercial centre is very compact.

See

 * Central Azucarera de Bais (CAB) Established in 1918 as the first two sugar centrals of Tabacalera in the country, pioneered in the manufacture of paper from bagasse. CAB propelled the province’s sugar industry into a top dollar earner. Buildings, early machines, implements and locomotives used for hauling sugar cane in olden times are on display, making the visit truly informative and interesting.


 * Baldwin Locomotive The Baldwin locomotive rests on memories of its heyday as the dean of the hacienda workhorses. The Central Azucarera de Bais was established in 1918 and the Baldwin locomotive was integral in the stimulation of the growth of the Negros Oriental sugar industry.
 * Lag-it Beach A magnificent seven kilometre stretch of powder-white sand that disappears in the clear waters at high tide, a unique adventure for swimmers.
 * White SandBar Reef Its shoreline is a vast stretch of powder-white sand that disappears at high tide, leaving sparkling azure waters, ideal for swimming and snorkeling
 * Talabong Mangrove Park A 400-hectare protected mangrove forest which is a natural habitat and nesting place of birds and other wildlife. Talabong Mangrove Park is accessible by boat at high tide and visitors have to walk through a 5,968 split-bamboo boardwalk before reaching the park. There is a troupe of semi-wild macaque monkeys here.

Do

 * Sipong Festival held every 7 September. A spectacular thanksgiving for the fruits of labour in the hot fields and the cold sea, by the native Baisnons of a city renowned as the cradle of the province’s sugar industry and as home of dolphins and siganids (danggit). The formal Mass in the Cathedral is preceded by choreographed street dancing with colourful floats and parades that the whole city has been preparing for weeks.
 * Get a group together and hire a barca from Capiñahan Wharf in South Bais Bay for about and go Dolphin and Whale watching in the Tañon Strait. Afterwards the barca can moor for some snorkelling in the coral area beside the white sand bar.
 * Open air ballroom dancing in the Plaza in front of the new Mercado de Bais on Friday and Saturday evenings. These are family occasions and there are tables and chairs laid out to eat barbecued foods. Free!
 * Play tennis on the well maintained, municipal courts on tarmac - good floodlighting at night.
 * Play volleyball in the outside municipal auditorium - good floodlighting at night.

Connect
Bais Tourism Office.

Go next

 * From Bais City you can ride a tricycle going to Polo. The minimum fare of tricycle is and it is only 5 minutes' travel.
 * Tanjay (tan-high) is a city of 80,000 about 50 km from Bais City.