There are plenty of hotels and lodges in TAGBILARAN, the hectic port capital of Bohol, but with so many beaches and sights nearby, there's no real reason to stay here. From Tagbilaran you can be on Panglao Island in less than twenty minutes and even the Chocolate Hills, hidden in the hinterlands, are less than an hour away by road.
The only sights in Tagbilaran itself are the Cathedral, opposite the plaza in Sarmiento Street, a nineteenth-century hulk standing on the site of an original that was destroyed by fire in 1789, and the Bohol Museum (Mon–Fri 10am–4.30pm; P10) in Carlos
P. Garcia Avenue, set in the former home of Carlos Garcia (fourth President of the Philippine Republic), and containing various
presidential memorabilia and a collection of shells. The Tagbilaran City Fiesta takes place on May 1.