After spending 3 weeks in The Philippines, I can safely say it’s my new favorite nation in the entire complete world. The individuals are heat and pleasant, the surroundings is spectacular, the seashores are the definition of paradise and the scuba diving is the perfect I’ve ever skilled – I might go on! There are such a lot of optimistic points of this stunning nation, however tourism continues to be in its infancy and planning a visit right here can really feel like a little bit of a logistical nightmare.
When getting ready for my journey to The Philippines I discovered that correct and reliable on-line data was few and much between, so I collected most of my data from my trusty Lonely Planet Philippines e book. On this publish I’m going to share my superb 3-week journey route, which covers 5 of the nation’s most spectacular islands (Do you know Borocay and Palawan have simply been #1 and #2 in US Conde Nast Traveler’s Finest Islands within the World?). I’m additionally going to incorporate the entire important journey data you should know to make your journey go with no glitch. However earlier than I’m going on, listed here are a number of key issues to learn about The Philippines earlier than you journey there…
- The Philippines spreads by means of an enormous oceanic area made up of seven,107 islands, 2,000 of that are inhabited. These islands are brilliantly linked by planes and boats, however if you wish to island hop, be ready to free entire days in transit
- The primary language is Tagalog (Filipino) however English is extensively spoken by locals
- Free 30-day visas are granted on arrival for many nationalities. They are often prolonged for a charge
- There are three seasons in The Philippines; wet season (June to September) shoulder season (Could to November) and dry season (December to April). In order for you assured sunshine 24/7, don’t go to in wet or shoulder season.
- While geographically situated in South East Asia, The Philippines is a world away from the likes of Thailand and Vietnam. Tourism continues to be a reasonably new idea however locals are embracing it with open arms.
- Wi-Fi and electrical energy are each commodities in The Philippines, with lots of the Islands operating with no electrical energy within the daytime.
- ATMs are extraordinarily temperamental in The Philippines so it’s greatest to hold money on you always
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Being made up of 1000’s of Islands signifies that there is no such thing as a apparent ‘beaten-path’ and fairly truthfully, the probabilities are limitless. Ensure you do additional analysis apart of this publish, however in the event you’re searching for a route that encompasses the perfect of The Philippine’s seashores, scuba diving, wildlife and landscapes (each at sea and inland), then my 3 week route may very well be excellent for you.
Island 1: Palawan
Many home flights round The Philippines all run from Manila, so there’s an opportunity chances are you’ll must take 2 flights to achieve your start line. We flew into Manila from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, then instantly took a second flight to Puerto Princesca airport in Palawan. Each flights had been with Cebu Pacific, which is a price range home provider within the Philippines and in my expertise, this airline is nice worth for cash. In complete we took 4 flights with them, none of which had been delayed. We determined to bypass Manila all collectively as our Philippines itinerary is all about seaside and sea air, not metropolis and smog.
Travelista Tip: There are two airports in Palawan; Puerto Princesa and El Nido airport. Flights into Puerto Princesa are all the time the most affordable choice, nevertheless it means you must take a 5-6 hour van journey to achieve El Nido once you get there. We hadn’t carried out our analysis earlier than we travelled which meant we needed to take the dreaded van journey there and again. In case you can stretch your price range, I’d 100% advocate trying into flights direct to El Nido as a result of it can prevent a lot time, and a protracted uncomfortable journey.
El Nido
Finest For: Discovering an Instagram-worthy paradise
The place we stayed; Buena’s Haven Hostel, Corong Corong
What number of nights: 5
Our vacation spot in Palwawn was El Nido, the place we spent 5 unbelievable days (if in case you have extra time on this island, try Port Barton and the Underground River too). While El Nido city itself is nothing to jot down house about, it’s the magnificent Archipelago of limestone islands that encompass it, which magnetize travellers from world wide. El Nido is first on our itinerary as it’s The Philippines greatest WOW-factor, and is assured to set your journey off on the proper foot.
The primary factor to do in El Nido is to discover the Archipelago on a choice of boat excursions. All journey brokers within the city promote 4 tour packages that are uncreatively named Tour A, Tour B, Tour C, Tour D. Wherever you e book the excursions, the bundle and the worth is all the time precisely the identical (no want to buy round). I’d positively advocate prioritising Tour A and Tour C, each of which had been unbelievable! I’d additionally advocate spending the day at Las Cabanas seaside, which is among the quietest and most unspoilt white-sand seashores I’ve ever seen. You can even do an unbelievable superman Zip Line right here over turquoise water to a close-by island and again. Finish the day watching the sundown with a scrumptious cocktail at Las Cabanas Seaside Resort (situated at a peninsular on the far finish of the seaside).
Travelista Tip; Most of the swim stops on the excursions have sharp coral and rocky sea beds with anemones that may sting. Both purchase your personal surf booties for the journey, or you’ll be able to rent them out of your tour operator in El Nido for a small charge.
Island 2: Cebu
After El Nido, we flew from Puerto Princesa to Cebu Metropolis. Cebu Metropolis itself is named a ‘mini-Manila’, so once more we moved straight on out. From the airport we hopped in a taxi to the South Bus Terminal (situated throughout city, costing about 200 pesos). From the South Bus Terminal we caught a Ceres Liner bus to Moalboal, which took 3-4 hours. Apart from personal automobiles, the Ceres Liner buses are by far the most affordable and most handy approach to get round Cebu. Half of them are new, air-conditioned coaches and half of them are sizzling old-school buses with cosy seats and open home windows. The air-conditioned coaches are 100 occasions extra snug, however you by no means know which one will flip up first!
Moalboal
Finest for: Scuba Diving
The place we stayed: T Breeze Coastal Resort, Moalboal
What number of nights: 3
Moalboal is among the greatest locations to scuba dive in the entire of the Philippines, and is legendary for its swirling vortexes of sardines and abundance of sea turtles. While most travellers flock to hostels in Pangsama Seaside, we based mostly ourselves slightly out at T Breeze Coastal Resort (excellent if you’d like an inexpensive and secluded hideaway). The very best factor about T Breeze Resort was that it was situated proper subsequent to a unbelievable dive resort referred to as Asian Belgian Resort, the place we did all our diving. Each resorts are situated proper by a spectacular coral reef, and slightly additional down the coast is an open water turtle sanctuary. I’ve dived in Thailand, The Caribbean and The Maldives and the diving expertise in Moalboal trumped all of them palms down.
Oslob (Tan-awan)
Finest for: Whale shark watching
The place we stayed; Sharky Hostel, Tan-awan
What number of nights: 1
Subsequent we caught the Ceres Liner for an additional 2 hours down the coastal highway to Tan-awan in Oslob for the once-in-a-life-time expertise of whale shark watching. The non descript roadside city of Tan-awan has financially boomed in recent times, purely due to the whale shark exercise. The expertise itself prices 1000 pesos, contains snorkelling gear and lasts half-hour. A longboat takes you about 50 meters offshore at 6am, the place an enormous faculty of whale sharks are being fed by fisherman.
The expertise of being within the water with these big, light creatures is exhilarating and charming in equal measure. Sadly you do must share the expertise with boat a great deal of different travellers, making your photographs appear like a barely much less majestic second. As with every vacationer exercise involving animals, there’s additionally a controversial facet to the whale watching in Oslob because the animals have stopped migrating, however I’m going to speak about this extra in a separate publish. Apart from the whale shark watching there actually is nothing else to do in Tan-awan so I’d advocate staying for 1 evening after which transferring straight on.
Island 3: Siquijor
Finest for; Going someplace a bit completely different
The place we stayed; Coral Cay Resort, San Juan
What number of nights: 3
Siquijor is the island that feels most ‘off-the-beaten-path’ on this itinerary. To get right here from Tan-awan is kind of a sophisticated journey however it may be carried out in about half a day in the event you analysis your ferry occasions prematurely. Firstly, you should catch one other Ceres Liner bus from Tan-awan to Liloan port (half-hour), the place you’re taking a brief ferry over to Sibulan port on Negros Island (40 minutes). After arriving at Sibulan port, take a trike throughout city to Dumagete Port (20 minutes). From right here you’ll be able to catch a ferry to Siquijor (2-4 hours relying on the kind of ferry you’re taking).
The magical island of Siquijor is considerably of a speaking level throughout The Philippines, because it’s identified of the paranormal island of witchcraft and magic. Nearly all of Filipinos on don’t dare to ever step foot on this island as they worry paranormal penalties. It’s true that white magic, black magic and ‘spiritial mountain healers’ are all very a lot nonetheless part of this intriguing island. However in the event you’re not excited about that form of factor, a number of cocktails on the seaside at sundown may really feel equally as therapeutic. While we didn’t go in quest of the mountain healers, there was positively a unique power in Siquijor that made you are feeling like something might occur.
Apart from a number of resorts in Siquijor City and San Juan, tourism in Siquijor is extraordinarily undeveloped. The very best factor to do in Siquijor is rent a moped and do some impartial exploring. You possibly can drive round the entire island in 1 day just by following the coastal ringroad (the one precise tarmac highway on the entire island!). In your tour be sure you go in quest of the hidden Lugnason Falls, the bigger Kawasan Falls and the 400-year-old enchanted Banyan Tree.
Island 4: Bohol
Up so far, the itinerary has very a lot been targeted on seashores, however our 4th island takes you inland to find the delights of Bohol. From Siquijor we caught an Ocean Jet ferry over to Tagbilaran Port in Bohol which took 3-4 hours. As soon as in Tagbilaran, we shared a van switch with one other couple over to our base of Alona Seaside.
Alona Seaside, Panglao Island
Finest for: Boat journeys, nature and journey
The place we stayed; Chillout Visitor Home and Villa Kasadya, Panglao Island
What number of nights: 3
Alona Seaside is a small, vacationer pleasant city with loads of choices for lodging. It’s additionally a terrific spot to base your self to discover the well-known Chocolate Hills of Bohol. Relying on the season, the hills are both brown or inexperienced and get thei
The Chocolate Hills
Most individuals go to the Chocolate Hills on day journeys from Alona Seaside, though there’s some lodging nearer to the hills e.g. Nuts Huts. There are a number of choices for the day journeys relying on how a lot you need to spend (choices being personal driver, go as a gaggle and cut up the price of a non-public driver or e book by means of an agent and go along with a coach tour). All tour costs are for the transport solely, and then you definately pay for the doorway charges and actions as you go. Excursions can range barely however most will think about journey actions equivalent to zip lining and quad biking by means of the Chocolate Hills (we did each).
One other spotlight of the Chocolate Hills goes to go to the bug-eyed Tarsiers, that are endemic to The Philippines and now underneath risk as a species. Tarsiers are nocturnal, solitary animals and in the event that they get distressed they really commit suicide (I do know, are you able to consider it?). For that reason it’s necessary that the animals aren’t disturbed by vacationers. The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella does a terrific job of controlling the animal’s pure habitat while permitting vacationers to take a singular glimpse on the animals. This place is by far probably the most eco-friendly method of viewing these unbelievable creatures, so be sure it’s in your day journey itinerary.
Island 5: Boracay
Finest for: Partying and movie excellent seashores
The place we stayed; Shangri La Borocay Resort and Spa
What number of nights: 3
From Tagbillaran we caught a ultimate ferry again to Cebu Metropolis (3 hours) and caught a flight to Boracay. Boracay is a tiny 7km island with no airport, so the one choice is to fly into both Kalibo Airport or Caticlan Airport and take a 15 minute ferry from Caticlan Port. Equally to Palawan, flights in to Kalibo are cheaper as a result of the airport is situated additional away. The drive from Kalibo Airport to Caticlan port is about 2 hours.
By way of suggestions for Boracay, I can’t share all that a lot from private expertise. It’s because we spent our time in a secluded a part of the island, in any other case often known as Shangri La Borocay Resort and Spa! As a part of an thrilling marketing campaign with Kuoni, we ended our 6-week journey in complete luxurious and loved the peaceable facilities of the resort. Whether or not you need to finish your journey chilling out in paradise or partying the evening away, Boracay is the proper place to do each. If you wish to know extra about White Seaside, be sure you try this nice White Seaside Information from Boracay Compass Weblog.
What did you consider my important information to The Philippines? Are you planning your personal journey or have you ever additionally visited just lately? In case you loved this publish or have any extra questions on The Philippines, please go away me a remark within the field beneath! Jess x
