Those rounded grassy hills are a highlight of the Bohol landscape. A Chocolate Hills ATV (all-terrain vehicle) experience is one of the best ways to enjoy more than just the spectacular views.
A one-hour ATV runs about ₱1,000 and a buggy car double that, plus ₱150 per adult to get into the Chocolate Hills Complex itself. Here’s who to book with and what the ride is actually like.
Where to go for Chocolate Hills ATV
These iconic hills, with their unique, chocolate-like appearance, provide the perfect backdrop for an exhilarating ride.
There are several tour companies and ATV rental places at the Chocolate Hills. Your choice will vary depending on whether you want a guided tour or to simply rent an ATV yourself.
- Chocolate Hills ATV Rental - The rental yard closest to the hills, on Carsada Norte in Brgy. Buenos Aires, Carmen. This is the one most in-land tours drop you at, and it runs self-drive hire as well as guided loops.
- Chocolate Hills Adventure Park - CHAP sits on the Loay Interior Road in Batuan and is known for its RUSH bike zipline, rope courses and nature trails rather than ATVs. Its own website has been offline for a while, so if you specifically want an ATV here, call ahead rather than turning up expecting one.
- Graham ATV and Tour Services - The Carmen operator with the clearest published rates and the longest hours, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. They run both ATVs and buggy cars, and they are the easiest to book without going through a tour desk.
- Sotera’s ATV Rides - A smaller Carmen outfit that turns up inside a lot of hotel pickup packages from Panglao, Dauis and Tagbilaran. They don’t publish a rate card, so you get quoted on the day or through whoever sold you the transfer.
Guided Tour Option
The best place to go for a guided tour is the ATV Eco-Adventure Tour, located in Brgy. Buenos Aires, Carmen. If you're visiting the Chocolate Hills through an organized In-land tour, they will most likely already offer to drop you here.
If you're looking to see the Bohol interior anyway, then I'd suggest booking a countryside tour that includes a Chocolate Hills ATV stop.
This tour above will take you to all the highlights in Bohol, including the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary, the man-made forest, the Loboc River, and of course, the Chocolate Hills.
Those looking for a Chocolate Hills ATV ride without a guide or driver can also drive a motorbike here by themselves. It will take about an hour and 15 minutes from Tagbilaran and closer to 90 minutes from Panglao. On the public bus rather than your own wheels, budget 1.5 to 2.5 hours from Tagbilaran.
Another ATV Rental Option
If you like to have the freedom to see things for yourself, a great option is to rent an ATV or Bug Car yourself. Graham ATV Rental is located on the main road a few minutes from the Eco-Adventure Tour.
You will be given a map, safety equipment and a general overview on how to ride an ATV or Bug Car.
Chocolate Hills ATV Prices
I paid 950 pesos for a one-hour ATV tour on the day I rode here, and we took a buggy car for 1,500 pesos split between the two of us. Rates have moved since. Graham ATV and Tour Services currently publishes ₱1,000 for a one-hour ATV and ₱2,000 for the buggy, rising to ₱2,000 and ₱4,000 for the two-hour route that runs further into the hills.
| What you’re hiring | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|
| ATV | 1 hour | ₱1,000 |
| Buggy car | 1 hour | ₱2,000 |
| ATV | 2 hours | ₱2,000 |
| Buggy car | 2 hours | ₱4,000 |
| Chocolate Hills Complex entry | per adult | ₱150 |
Ask whether the price you are quoted is per vehicle or per person before you hand over any money. Self-drive hire tends to be priced per machine and guided packages per head, and with two of you sharing a buggy that difference doubles the bill. Nobody advertises which basis they are using, so make them say it out loud.
The Chocolate Hills Complex entrance fee went up to ₱150 per adult on 1 October 2025, under Carmen’s Municipal Ordinance No. 27. Children aged six to 12 pay ₱75, under-fives go free, and Bohol residents pay about half. That is separate from anything you pay the ATV operator.
What to Know Before You Ride
Graham runs 7:00 am to 5:00 pm daily, the widest window of any operator I could find. The Chocolate Hills Complex viewing deck itself opens somewhere around 8:00 am and shuts at 5:30 pm. Carmen’s own tourism page has been offline for a while and nobody publishes official hours, so treat that as a guide and start early rather than late.
Age limits are set by each operator and they do not agree with each other. One Carmen operator takes solo riders from nine and lets five to nine-year-olds ride along with guide assistance, while resellers packaging the same ride quote a minimum of 16. The "ages 5 to 100" you see on booking sites is the age range for the whole countryside day tour, not for driving an ATV. Ask specifically whether you are being told the driving age or the passenger age.
Wear closed shoes and clothes you are happy to write off. The trails throw up mud in the wet and fine dust in the dry, and there is no version of this ride where you come back clean. Ponchos are sold at the yard if the weather turns, and you will want a waterproof bag or a zipped pocket for your phone.
Bohol’s dry season runs November to May and the wet runs June to October, with the heaviest rain from August to October. The hills only go properly chocolate-brown from about January to May, so there is a real trade-off here. Ride in the dry and the hills look the part while the trail is dusty; ride in the wet and the hills are green while the trail is at its muddiest. Plenty of people book the wet season on purpose for exactly that reason.
One thing that changed recently: the wooden viewing-deck staircase at Bud Agta in Carmen was demolished, and that spot is now open for ATV rides only. If a guide offers to walk you up there for the view, that is no longer a thing.
My Experience Riding Through the Chocolate Hills
Whether you want to check out the Chocolate Hills by ATV, tour or on your own, it’s a landscape worth building a day around. By far, taking an all-terrain-vehicle through the iconic hills is the best way to explore this beautiful part of the island.
The Chocolate Hills of Bohol are one of the most iconic and unique landscapes in the Philippines. The 1997 proclamation that made them a Natural Monument counts 1,776 hills across 14,435 hectares of protected land in Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan, and they turn chocolate-brown through the dry season. You will see "over 1,200" quoted a lot online, which is an older low-end estimate.
We spent the day exploring on a day tour and the ATV buggy ride was by far the highlight. Many sections were forested, weaving in and out of exposed sections and banana trees.
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