Travel PH | Great Escape in Roxas City, Capiz

My stay in Kalibo was extended and since I have already toured the place, I went to Capiz to see what (President) Roxas City has to offer.

From Kalibo, at the Citimall compound, there's a van for Roxas City. Fare costs only Php120 one way and takes two hours to reach the Van and Bus Terminal of Roxas City.  From there you take a tricycle to the town proper for Php15 each or Php75 if you want to go special.

Travel time to town proper merely takes 5-10 minutes (without traffic) and you will be in the center of things.  All sites are accessible via tricycle and there are plenty of it.

First up, the museum is just beside the city hall.  There's no entrance fee but a donation is highly appreciated.  You can also ask for a museum staff to guide you through their elaborate exhibit and its up to you how much you donate.  You will be taken through three periods, pre colonial, colonial and post war so you will see lots of items there for those times.

Half of the exhibit were these and the other half about the late President Roxas.  The presidential car is still there for display and some memorabilia.  A family tree of the Roxas clan is also on display showing its roots during the spanish era, passing though the Ayalas and the Aranetas thus establishing how rich the Roxas clan are.

Just outside the museum, a statue of the late president can be seen as a reminder of his contribution to the city of Roxas.

Walking distance away from his statue is the house where President Roxas was born.  During our visit, as this was spur of the moment, the house was closed.  Its a privately owned property thus request must be made for us to be let in and see more of the Roxas clan heritage.

Another tourist attraction in the city is the Baybay Beach.  Its a bit far from town proper and you have to ride a tricycle.  Since I was with the city tourism, I don't know how much is the fare to this place.

Baybay Beach is a long strip of coastline where one can take a dip and swim, but what makes this place famous are the number of seafood restaurants that lined up its shores.  Roxas City is known as the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines" so one should try eating at these restaurants.

For lunch we ate at RML Manokan, a restaurant that we first reviewed in Kalibo.  They have a bigger one here in Roxas City.  Seafood is fresh here and delicious.  Check out our separate reviews here - for Kalibo - For Roxas City.  Simply look at these gorgeous food here for now.

From Baybay, up next in our itinerary is Panay Church where the largest and heaviest bell in Southeast Asia lies.  Its a 20-30 minutes tricycle ride so its a bit of a stretch really.  The travel time is worth it as the church is really old.  As mentioned in my other articles, visiting old churches brings comfort to me.  The first church was established in 1774, the existing church now was constructed after the old one was destroyed by a typhoon.  The church you see now has withstood time since 1884 with modifications of course.

On our way back to the city, we stopped by Banica.  A place where you can buy fresh (?) or recently produced dried fish and other seafood products.  Up for grabs are the tuyo, squid and dilis (anchovies)  I bought about 3 kilos worth of these.  They sell these in packs or you can choose and they will weight it for you. Boy do they really taste good (watch out for our review on these).

From Banica, it was time to head back to the city.  Last stop was the church beside the city hall.  It was closed so we were not able to go inside of it.  I just said my prayers in front of it and some selfies of course.

Now for this day trip to Roxas City, best way to go around it is by tricycle.  Their version is something unique as the side car sports a metal plate of sorts on top of the third wheel.  Later I found out that this plate is a seat where one can have full view of the ride, literally.  You are not inside the cab so literally you are seated outside.  What a way to go around this marvelous city.  It may not be safe, but a great experience to travel :)

For our day trip the itinerary were as follows:

800am  - Leave Citimall Kalibo via Van Php120

1000am  - Arrive at Roxas City Terminal

1045am - Arrived at town proper (waited a bit to fill the tricycle)

1100am  - Roxas City Museum

1145am  - Birthplace of President Roxas

1220pm  - Arrived at Baybay Beach for lunch

0130pm  - Travel to Panay Church

0200pm  - Arrived at Panay Church

0230pm  - Buying pasalubong at Banica

0300pm  - Should be at the Roxas City Van Terminal to Kalibo  (last trip)

How to reach Roxas City

By Plane

You can get a plane from Manila to Roxas City.

You can also use Kalibo Airport + Tricycle to Van Terminal in Kalibo + Van to Roxas City + Tricycle to Town Proper.

By Boat

You can get a boat via 2Go to Roxas City.

You can use also Caticlan Port + Van To Van Terminal to Kalibo + Van to Roxas City + Tricycle to Town Proper