The early morning sun pierced through the glass windows—it was six in the morning. I gazed over to where my two boys were, and they were nowhere near waking up. I slowly got off the bed and watched as the sun slowly came up over the horizon. I prepared myself a cup of coffee and went to our private balcony to watch the sunrise. This has been my routine whenever we’re on vacation, and I still enjoy it. Nature’s Eye Resort has been our home in Guimaras for three days, and I have nothing but great memories and fun times to share from our stay there.
Our 2025 annual backpacking trip was just as random as last year's. Our Japan trip was planned ahead of time, but our trip to Iloilo, Guimaras, and Capiz came together just weeks before the actual trip. Amidst all the spontaneity and lack of better planning, our Moshi Moshi Gid 2025 trip was a success.
Before this trip, I’ve been to the island-province of Guimaras three times—2013 was the last one. But every time I went there, it was always raining or drizzling. I came back after 12 years, and this time, I was finally blessed with the perfect weather.
Many things have changed since the last time, but unlike any other provinces in the country that went very commercialized after the influx of tourists, I can say that Guimaras maintained its charm—laidback and peaceful.
We had three full days, and decided to spend the first one going around the usual spots. We asked for our favorite guide since 2011, Kuya Cherald (+639084748122), to show us around. We got to see the old spots, as well as the new ones—Guimaras’ Wind Turbines and Manmade Forest. Right after the tour, we asked Kuya to drop us off at Nature’s Eye Resort in Nueva Valencia.
Two staff members from the resort greeted us as we got off our ride. They immediately got our bags and showed us the way. There was a ten-minute hike through the forest before we reached the resort, and Akira loved it—he likes to pretend that he’s our tour guide. We actually enjoyed the hike because of the interesting plants and flowers that we came across.
We were served a glass of calamansi juice and rice cakes when we arrived. Perched on a cliffside, the reception area also serves as the resort’s restaurant. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful view from the cliffside as well as the natural soundscapes. After the yummy snacks, we were briefed on some rules and other stuff, and then were ushered to our villa afterwards.
There were only five accommodation types during our stay, and each room had its own charm. It’s best to check out which villa you’d want to stay in before booking.
We stayed at the Ocean Lower Deck—the largest room at the resort. It was very airy, with the glass windows providing a great view from the outside. The wooden furniture was accentuated with woven mats and rugs around the room, echoing the nature outside.
The huge king-sized bed was placed on a wall accentuated with a banig or locally-woven sleeping mat. There were two side tables with cute lamps on them.
A wooden wardrobe rested on one side. There was no TV in the room because why would someone choose it over the amazing view outside? Well, as for my family, we do not have local or cable TV in our house and only watch the evening news online, so it didn’t bother us at all. We connected to the wi-fi and it was fast and quite reliable.
A lounge area with a coffee table and a couple of chairs made from woven rattan was placed in one corner, along with a mini-bar with fridge and coffee and tea-making facilities.
The bathroom was huge, and I loved the shell and driftwood accents on the fixtures
A sliding glass door led us to a private balcony. As with the room, the area was spacious, and it had a hammock as well as a dining table with chairs.
I prepared some coffee for me and Christian while Akira had his milk as we enjoyed the gorgeous sunset from our balcony.
Waking up to the sound of birds and the ocean waves was always the best part for me when staying at a beach resort. I woke up very early in the morning and enjoyed my coffee uninterrupted, both from the physical world and the online world. My two boys got up an hour later, and we headed straight to the restaurant to grab some breakfast.
Breakfast was included in our stay. We were served with fresh Guimaras mangoes and watermelons.
We got to choose from local silog favorites as well as international brekkie fares. Christian had a longganisa while I had a tocino meal—our silog staples. Akira, on the other hand, chose to have pancakes with hot chocolate.
The brewed coffee was great, but what really stood out was the hot chocolate that Akira ordered—it was so good! The mangoes were, as expected, very delicious and sweet.
We went around the resort and got to see the other accommodations. I love how unique each one is, like the Cliff Villa, which had an outdoor shower, and the Sunset Villa, with an outdoor shower feel when you open up the window to the bathroom.
There’s a snorkeling area and a beach cove that looked promising, but the waves were too strong (Habagat season), so we decided to check out a local beach near the resort instead.
It took us five minutes to trace our steps back the other way to reach the Tando Beach—a local white sandy beach.
It was ten in the morning, and there was one group with us on the beach. We found a place to lay our beach mat and enjoyed the clear waters.
At one in the afternoon, we came back to the resort and had lunch at the restaurant. The in-house restaurant serves both local and international dishes, plus a variety of drinks. We had pork sinigang and grilled chicken for lunch.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach and made sandcastles. This was also the first time Akira learned how to swim—on his own. We initially planned on enrolling him in a swim school, but we also didn’t want to force him if he wasn’t ready yet, so yeah, he taught himself how to float and tread at Tando Beach.
After freshening up, we had some cookies and coffee (milk for Akira) on the balcony, and once again, we enjoyed the amazing sunset.
We had our dinner of pansit and buttered garlic prawns at the restaurant and spent the rest of the night with games of riddles/bugtong.
The next day was spent enjoying the resort and the beach. We were blessed with sunny weather in Guimaras for three full days, and everything was great.
What I loved the most during our stay at Nature’s Eye Resort was how everyone was genuinely warm and friendly. There wasn’t a time during our stay that a staff member didn’t greet us or ask us about our day, and they meant it; I actually felt their genuine concern for us. It’s not common to receive such warmth in hotels and resorts nowadays, and I dunno why, but I’m glad the beauty of Guimaras was matched by the beauty and kindness of their hearts. We'll definitely be back.
Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
+(63) 907 484 7945
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