Fly with Flyboard, Hoverboard, and Flybike in Boracay, Philippines
XTREME FUN Sports and Recreation has the coolest toys of ’em all! Know what they are? That’s right! The Flyboard, Hoverboard and Flybike.
They are are propelled by the power of the Jet Ski. The hose connects from the back of the Jet Ski to the equipment. The further the accelerator is pressed on the Jet Sky, the more water that is thrusted out of the bottom of the board allowing for flight.
As soon as I learned about this, I immediately contacted them via email to request for sponsored rides. It didn’t take them long to reply. When the owner Chris and manager Julius replied and approved, they also offered all three activities instead of one, which was very generous of them and I am really grateful for that.
Each activity has 30-minute session to it. Their promo price is 3,900 PHP (~$87 US Dollars) including instructions and demonstration. If you wish to do more than 30 minutes, it will cost you 2,000 PHP (~$44 US Dollars) per 10 minutes.
Other than that, they were very responsive in our email. We agreed to meet at Second Wind Bunk, Bed and Breakfast on the 29th between 7-11am.
I arrived in Boracay on 28th and stayed at Second Wind Bunk, Bed and Breakfast as they were sponsoring two nights stay.
Getting Some Extreme Fun!
In the morning, Julius met me at Second Wind and brought me to the shore where I boarded a banka boat and sailed to the launch pad (pontoon) with a JetSki parked by it. The travel time was around 20-25 minutes on this boat.
We headed out to the area where there was a big space designated for water sports like flyboarding, hoverboarding and flybiking. In general, water sports and activities always had been the best part of Boracay. Especially to tourists.
I met my instructor there. He was very clear, visual, and communicative. He was approachable as well and we chatted by writing to each other. It was definitely a decent conversation where I learned a bit about how he started working for Xtreme Fun. I felt like that broke the ice. He gave me a sense of comfort before I began my first water activity. He would present me with a sheet of paper with visuals of a “step-by-step” of how-to-use instructions before each water activity. Each of them were very clear and I understood the first time I laid my eyes on it.
Flyboard
As we began, He instructed me on how to control the Flyboard by bending your knees and ankles with your body in your center. He didn’t just instruct me, he showed me by bending his knees and keeping balance. He used gestures to point out what was important to keep in mind and what I shouldn’t do.
Then he did a demonstration. He hovered, swirled around like a pro and then he dove into the water and jump out like a dolphin.
“Got it?” he gave me double thumb-ups.
I nodded my head and returned a thumb-up. I got ready and put on a life jacket and a helmet.
Finally, the excitement began as soon as I was strapped to the Flyboard. I sat up at the dock and jumped onto my belly and then I turned around to float on my back. the Flyboard gently propelled me to an open section of water.
I turned around once again and floated on my belly, arms out with my GoPro mounted on a GoPole in one hand. Then I tried to rest as if I were standing in the water as the jetski will turn up their water pressure in the propels.
At first, it was kind of hard because I had to figure out the current of the water as I had to fight against it. As soon as the board propels out of the water, I was finally boarding above water. I felt like i was on that hoverboard from Back to the Future.
*Swish*
*Splash* Oh, man.
I bended one knee a little too much.
I was still trying to get the hang of the Flyboard. Testing out the board by bending my knees, raising and lowering your feet at different angles.
It took me some time, but It wasn’t long before I was raising at least a meter out of the water.
That was when I realized that keeping your body in control within your center is the easiest part, but keeping firm control of your ankles and knees was the hardest part. If you couldn’t get ahold of your ankles, it’d be harder for you to pick up on it.
Once you get the hang of the Flyboard, the rest should be easy. You’ll be hovering out of water before you know it.
It took me at least 7 falls before I finally had a steady hover. The falls didn’t hurt for me. Tt wouldn’t hurt so much as you would be wearing a life jacket and helmet unless you hover up so high and fall on your back or your front as if it were a body slam then that would be a different story. Other than that, your life jacket and helmet would do the job.
After that, I started to go higher, but I stayed in one place for a while until I start lower and raising my feet then my knees. I actually moved through the air.
It was like I was flying. I couldn’t believe it.
I would fall back into the water then the board lost water pressure from the jetski at times. The jetski couldn’t give out pressure for too long, so they will stop to allow it “rest” for a moment.
Anyways, I started to become a little more reckless with my boards when I got the hang of it almost entirely. I would dive from a short height. I would spin around and move through the air to the point where jetski would follow me to keep up with the board.
Timing was just perfect ’cause an airplane was landing and it flew close to me overhead. The view was so beautiful to look at while the airplane was heading in my direction.
After that it became easy for me to dive and jump out like a dolphin. I think I would be able to keep up with a dolphin in this. Hmmm, exaggerated, am I? You decide.
It took me merely less than 15 minutes to get the hang of it then I spent the rest of the session playing around. 30 minutes was up before I knew it.
I’m telling you. It is very easy to pick up on this. It’s all about balance and keeping control of your ankles and knees. I’ve seen few other sessions and pretty much everybody had it easy for them too. They just picked up on it like that. I’m sure you will too if you try this.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I felt like a dolphin or like I was the Iron Man. I can be both. Hmmm.
Hoverboard
This one was a bit tougher. The Hoverboard had one propeller on the back end instead of 2 facing down on the bottom of the board.
Since the propeller thrusted water from the back end, I would have to put my weight unto my back foot and lean my upper body toward the board while holding the front end. My board would be tilted up and then I would fly out of the water.
I did struggle in the beginning and I had few bad fall from tilting the board backwards just a bit too much.
In one attempt, I somehow flew out of water, but it just kept propelling upwards where it became too high, I didn’t want to go that high and get another bad fall. I actually slipped out of the straps and jumped into the water painlessly. Good thing the board didn’t hit me in the water either. Whew.
Of course, I didn’t give up. I got back on. From there, I just got it. I finally got the hang of it. I was bouncing on and off water as if I were wakeboarding. Make sure you bend your knees a bit when you land the board from the air, so your knees wouldn’t hurt as much as it would if you didn’t bend them.
It was like surfing and wakeboarding at the same time, except with a propeller of water. It was quite a fun experience. The only part that I wasn’t too fond of was if I propelled too high and tilted back, then I would get a back slam. Not fun at all, trust me.
This would be great for those people who are experts in surfing or wakeboarding. They would probably pick up on this one faster than I did. Maybe they would have done few more tricks.
Above all, I had fun and I definitely liked it, but it was exhausting and sore on my right leg because I put so much pressure on it, especially when you had done it more than few times.
Flybike
The Flybike is like a bike without wheels, except for a 40-foot hose connected to jetski to redirect the water water thrust out of the bottom of the seat and out of the front nozzles as propeller.
There were pedals for me to twist forward to elevate or backwards to reduce water pressure. I could twist it as far as I could and go as high as I like, but I didn’t because I knew it wouldn’t be pretty if I lost control and fell.
I got to admit, balancing out the bike while hovering was rather easy and I could hover 2-3 meters above water until I had another wipe out. After couple of wipeouts, I became adjusted to it and I started to fly around a bit.
Good enough, I did kind of go a little too high and then I tiled back—the rest was history.
I jumped off as quick as I could and got into the water, but the Flybike hit my leg when I was in the water. I got a bad bruise on my right shin. It was so painful that I called it off few minutes early. Keep in mind that the bike itself is metallic and it’s heavy. Just be careful with it and try to throw it as far away from you as possible if you have to jump off for any reason.
The guide was cool about it and I hopped back on his jetski then rode back to the shore to head back.
I had fun on the FlyBike, but I personally think Flyboard is the easiest and most fun of all.
As mentioned earlier, the instruction was very clear and communicative. Not only that, he was especially so friendly and fun to be around with. I definitely enjoyed my time with him. He was very helpful and flexible. He would even help out with taking pictured or recording videos with my GoPro camera. He pretty much would meet your needs as much as possible. That was what I appreciated the most.
He would be an ideal instructor for Deaf people because he was very clear with his gestures and he wrote well, so that made everything very convenient for both of us.
Overall, the thrill I had was incredible! But in fact, I couldn’t think of any better adrenaline rush. It was champs! I’d definitely recommend XTREME FUN to anyone who would visit Boracay.
Second Wind Bunk, Bed & Breakfast
To be honest with you, Second Wind had been a nice place to stay, it was homey and clean. It had a semi-minimalist and modern touch of design all over the hotel. The amenities were simple and basic. Wi-Fi was available in the common area only.
They served great breakfast. Plus, there was a good bakery across the street, and a 24/7 grocery store in about a minute walk. Not only that, the beach was a short walk away.
Staff were very friendly, even service was prompt when I asked for a change of towels or to switch on the water heater (the heater switch is located outside and only accessed by the staff) every time I needed to shower.
I stayed in a dorm. Their beds were so comfortable. Everything was new. They had nice bathrooms with a big shower head. Definitely a hotel I will recommend!
XTREME FUN Sports & Recreation
- Address: 622 Osmeña Ave, Estancia, Kalibo, Philippines
- Phone Number: +63 910 230 0000
- Email: info@x-tremesport.com
- Website: http://www.xtremefunph.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iflyboard.ph
Second Wind Bunk, Bed and Breakfast
- Room Rates
- Private rooms start at 1,495 PHP (~$33 US Dollars)
- Dorm beds start at 600 PHP (~$13 US Dollars)
- Address: Bulabog Road, Brgy. Balabag, Boracay Island Malay, Aklan, 5608 Boracay, Philippines
- Phone Number: 036-2881025 / +63917-8431469
- Email: hello@secondwindbbb.com
- Website: http://www.secondwindbbb.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secondwindbbb/
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Xtreme Fun Sports and Recreation and Second Wind Bunk, Bed and Breakfast. I received free activities with lodging accommodations in exchange of this blog review. All opinions are my own.