Chalet Hills, Busay, Cebu: An Overnight Family Camping Getaway
If you follow me at this site’s fan page or my personal Facebook, you may have known that our secondhand Kelty baby carrier just arrived (review on that to come in the later days). We’ve been itching to test out how it works for us and we’ve also wanted to camp out for months now since our last camping session.
Finally, we were able to push through with our plans last Saturday, when the weather finally cleared up. We went there as a family and while it can be a struggle not having other friends to help us out with our load and with directions, it was still a fun experience for us.
Also read: 13 Must-Visit Mountain Peaks and Camp Sites in Cebu
Our afternoon began with a trip to Mountain View in Busay where the partner’s officemates were holding their Christmas party. We stayed for a few hours and, well, someone enjoyed dipping in the cool waters at the mountain resort’s pool.
We finally went our way at around 5:30pm, which was already late. We had to set up camp at our destination (which we haven’t been to yet) and we did not have any headlamp. Yikes.
My friend said it should take around a 30-minute hike to get to Chalet Hills from the Mountain View entrance. That was at his pace, of course. If you are like me whose only exercise are occasional trips from my office desk to the restroom or from the ground floor to the canteen at the third floor for lunch – and via the elevator – then it would take you twice or even thrice the time to get there.
We eventually got to the foot of the hill, thank goodness, and it was already dark. Intense concentration was definitely needed for my part. See? (I don’t really know what went on here. Haha.)
How do you get to Chalet Hills, Busay?
Simply take the same road where you can find the entrance to Mountain View, to Roosevelt Resort in Busay and to Lantaw. Walk further along — the place is located way past the Temple of Leah as well. It’s about a three-kilometer hike. You’d know when you’re there once you’ve reached the third basketball court or you could ask people around about the Swiss Chalet – with a T.
I wasn’t sure how long it took us to climb up but I do remember how exhausted we felt. Even the partner complained about feeling tired due to my frequent rests. Hahaha. Better rest than find me fainting, I tell him.
We were only a few steps from the campsite when we took our last 1-minute-ish stop. We could already hear voices from other campers who got there ahead of us.
Thankfully, there was still space for one more tent.
After setting up camp, we fed the daughter some bread (we had quite a full meal back at Mountain View) and called it a day. At 7pm. That doesn’t happen too often.
I didn’t expect it to be that cold and that windy up that hill. Our tent’s fly wasn’t taut so it kept flapping with the wind. It was pretty noisy but we were too tired to let it keep us up all night.
Also read: 8 Simple Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Love the Outdoors
And then this was what greeted us in the morning.
Then we realized we hadn’t brought any matches with us so we put our stove and butane back in the pack. Thankfully, we had a can of Spam with us. Since our future trips will only consist of the three of us, we try to avoid having to cook. We replace rice with bread and, perhaps, when my taste buds are ready, we will be snacking on fresh fruits and vegetables.
At 8am, we the partner packed up our things and we were ready to go. He asked me if I was ready to walk all the way down to JY Square but I told him no. My knees were already shaking. I was a scaredy-cat and couldn’t go down the slope normally so I sat close to the ground and “walked” my way down while sitting. I was too scared to tumble down since I had a 50-L backpack with me.
So much for trying to save money. We caught a habal-habal on the way to JY Square and took the taxi (the baby carrier was definitely not designed for commute) on the ride home.
My legs are still sore as of writing. Haha!
Also read: An Introduction to Mountain Climbing by Trail Adventours
PS. In case you decide to visit this place, make sure you wear long sleeves and long pants. I found out in the morning I had lots of gashes from the grass (I also have sensitive-ish skin haha). And bring a jacket. It’s really coooold up there in the morning.
About the Author
Pam is an outdoors-loving millennial momma who loves to hike, trek and camp in the beaches and mountains with her partner and their 3-year-old daughter. When not exploring the great outdoors, she moonlights as a freelance writer specializing in the travel, parenting, personal finance and digital marketing niches. You can also follow her via social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!
Hi there! Thanks for the informative post. Me and my friends loves adventure alot and we are heading to camp at Chalet Hills this weekend all by ourselves and all first timers of the place. I would appreciate any advice/itinerary you can give us then. Thank you. 🙂
Hi, Stella. Chalet Hills is a pretty short walk and you can follow along concrete roads — you might even want to ride the habal-habal until the foot of the hill. From the foot, it’s just a five minute walk up a hill where you can set up camp. Pretty nice for a camping getaway but it’s not so much of a challenge even for beginner hikers. 🙂
Thank you for the info Miss Pam. Good to know it’s not that difficult to climb. Anyway, we just want to camp out to de-stress and breath fresh air. 🙂
Whoa I didn’t know such thing existed! That is an awesome way to spend time and adventures with your loved ones! 🙂
You guys look like you had tons of fun enjoying nature as a family! 🙂
We sure did. Thanks for dropping by!
Wow, your sweet kid looks so happy travelling with both parents, your travels indeed look like amazing adventures and I love your lovely photos and awesome nature!
Thank you very much!
I’m not a big fan of camping but the views were worth the effort. I love that you could this trip with the kids too. Awesome!
It’s a pretty easy trail with paved concrete to get there. I just wasn’t used to the load.
Sure you have great family camping experience. Just wondering where is Busay?
Thanks for dropping by! Busay is near Lahug here in Cebu.
That view is spectacular! I love love love the colors! I actually got a bit scared for you when I saw that you guys hiked in the dark, wasn’t the trail difficult to find?
It actually wasn’t. I just didn’t have prior exercise but from the foot of the hill, a fit person could probably do it in 5-10minutes.
The climb looks so exhausting especially with the weight you are carrying. The views look really worth it though.
It’s exhausting especially for those who don’t exercise…like me. Haha!
This makes me want to try camping with the kids. We have never tried it before it look so fun!
It is a lot of fun!
Your family looks wonderful. I am so glad you had a fun time camping 🙂
Thank you. We sure had a great time. 🙂
Camping out is one of the family activities I long for. What we did usually is a one-day family outing in a local beach resort here in our place. And it is great together with your family members. It makes us feel contented, satisfied and happy.
Just going away even for a short while really does help clear the mind and recharges the body and soul, too.
beautiful views! and sounds great, away from the city and technology
It sure is. I’d love to do this every weekend if we could. Work these days have been too hectic.
wow! Lovely family! I love the family adventure you had! I wish I could do the same when I have my family someday.
You definitely should! There are a lot of benefits from travelling/going on outdoor adventures – for the young and old alike.
Oh, I haven’t been camping in such a long time. I have to do it with my family again!
That looks like a REALLY awesome baby carrier, by the way!
I think it’s a great way to bond with your family!
Camping is fun and am sure you have your own fun too. Like others have said bathroom is an issue.
It sure is but we haven’t tried multi-day trekking though so I can’t really say it’s much of an issue for me.
wow, the hike really looks tiring! and you had your little girl on your back! but the view of the sunrise is amazing! i guess that made the hike worthwhile?
That! And the cool and fresh air, too! Nothing beats the feeling of not having to worry about anything in the morning (work, etc).
I would have been so nervous hiking in the dark, however the images prove it was all worth it. Absolutely stunning!! Sim x
It was a great experience and to think we did not have a headlamp back then. Thank goodness there were other campers at the site to help us out!
Such an adventure! It’s brave of you to bring a little girl on a hike too. Such an adventurous family. The place looks really great!
I love the place and it’s also quite accessible if you decide not to hike all the way. 🙂
Wow, the Kelty baby carrier is so cool! I guess if you are able to go hiking in that, the carrier must be pretty light and convenient. Your baby is looking so comfortable napping inside!
We really do love the carrier! The backpack itself is light but when you add a baby and the daypack to it, it can be quite a load. Haha!
Just looking at your photos, I can tell how fun and enjoyable this getaway was. Awesome experience and definitely one of the most memorable ones for sure!
It was our first time to camp in the mountains with no companions but ourselves so it was definitely memorable!
The views are amazing! I know it took a lot of work to get there but it definately seems worth it
It was beyond exhausting haha! But I did love the view and the cool (and fresh) air in the morning.
Cute baby you have there! And camping already. I am not really into camping, but curious, where is Busay? Is it in Antipolo?
Hi, Fred! Thanks for dropping by and for the compliment as well.
Busay is actually in Cebu, here in the Visayas Region.
How adventurous! Never been to camping ever 🙂 Never been able to sleep in a secluded place like that.
It’s actually not that secluded, Mommy Lani. In fact, there are already houses about five minutes downhill from the campsite. It still feels a little secluded though and it’s an easy way to camp.
Hey camping looks fun! We have not tried that! But yeah, bathroom would be an issue huhu
It sure is but the entire time we camped here, I only peed once. We didn’t have company so there was no camping socials and booze involved. I would suggest emptying your bowels first before going out to camp though. Haha!
Looks really tiring but so much fun. 🙂 The view was amazing, and I love your bag with a carrier. But it really looks super heavy ha. hehe
It can be pretty heavy, especially for someone like me who doesn’t exercise/lift much. The carrier, according to its specs, is around 4kg. My daughter is around 10kg. Haha! Plus the carrier also has a detachable daypack where we put milk, food and a 1L water.
Oooh camping! My friends have been bugging us to go camping but I can’t stand the thought of not having a bathroom… will show this post to them 😀
I suggest you start out late in the afternoon, then hopefully you will be too tired from the hike to care about how you look/smell/feel and sleep right away. In the morning it’s cold so hindi ka pagpapawisan. After breakfast, you pack up and head straight home para makaligo agad. That’s basically what we did! Hahaha!