The Philippines doesn’t need filters. Extremely beautiful and surprising country, clean and specular from any angle. I lived almost every day on the boat and saw the best beaches on earth in 4 islands: Bohol, Boracay, El Nido and Coron. How my 15-day experience here was, you can find below 🌴🇵🇭
itinerary
details pre-trip:
Tickets:
We had 4 flight segments:
- Singapore – Cebu (Cebu Pacific – 100€)
- Cebu – Caticlan (Air Asia – 30€)
- Caticlan – El Nido (Air Swift – 100€)
- Coron – Manilla (Cebu Pacific – 120€)
Being in Singapore before, our main flight cost 840€. (OTP-SIN / MNL-OTP) => 1200 € in total. More about Singapore: 3 days on the other side of the world in Singapore
Viza:
Just like in Singapore, as a Romanian citizen, it is extremely easy to come to the Philippines. No visa is required, just a form to fill with 2 days before here:
Guidelines for Travel to the Philippines (Non-OFWs and Foreign Nationals)
Travel insurance:
Groupama 20€/ 20 days.
Trip and Costs:
Why the Philippines and why in April?
It all started one evening at Therme, Bucharest, where we met an employee from the Philippines. He recommended and convinced us to go in April, because there is absolutely no chance to rain. And..well, that’s exactly how it was.
Good weather and the turquoise water was gorgeous in the sunlight.
Bohol / Panglao Island
How to get to Bohol?
I chose Bohol as the first island. We thought it would be quieter and in fact it would be a good warm-up for the whole vacation. But the way to the accommodation was crazy.
I landed at the Cebu airport somewhere at 6AM. Before leaving here I did 2 things:
- Withdrew 20,000 PHP from the BPI ATM+ small fee
- Bought 2 SIM cards, one SMART (24GB – 540 PHP) and one Globe (40GB – 500 PHP). As a recommendation, the SMART one had a much better signal!
From the airport we got to the port with a Grab 560 PHP. There was total chaos in Cebu Port.. So arm yourself with a lot of patience. After passing the “people who wanted to help us” we managed to get a ticket from OceanJet for 800PHP from Cebu Port to Tagbilaran Port.
You are going to be passed from one person to another. Either to receive a small piece of paper, or for a small fee. So: 25 PHP is the terminal fee, 100 PHP for large luggage, and 50 PHP for small luggage.
The ferry ride took about 2 hours. In Tagbilaran, there are various cars willing to take you to your accommodation. We paid for a 4pers car 800 PHP to Alona Beach, in Panglao.
Hotel, restaurants, beaches
Through Booking, we stayed at Positano Alona Beach Panglao – 3 nights/ 100€.
My favorite place, with super good food, was Garlic and Lemon. And although the Philippines does not have a famous coffee, we found a place, Glebe Coffee, that woke us up in the morning with a flat white.
Top beaches:
- Alona Beach
- White Beach
- Doljo Beach
- South Palm Resort (it is a private beach, but you can go to the resort, saying you wanna stay at the restaurant)
Tours in Bohol
On the street and on the beach, you will find a lot of people, ready to offer you a tour at any time. Below are the ones already tested and the ones I would have wanted to try if I had a bit more courage :))
CountrySide Tour – 3500 PHP (car /4persons + entry fees)
- Hinagdanan Cave (50php + 75php for swimming)
- Chocolate hills (100php)
- Tarsier Sanctuary (120php)
- Loboc River Cruise lunch (850php)
- Man Made Forest
- Butterfly garden / Python (100php)
- Panglao Church
The name “Chocolate Hills” comes from the fact that, in the dry season, there is no more grass and the hills turn brown. They are a very interesting phenomenon, the mounds being formed from limestone accumulations. And in the area there are more than 1500 other hills.
The tour was booked with the guys from the hotel and the guide was a young police student. He was trying to raise as much money as possible to pay for college, which is not cheap at all in the Philippines.
Island Hopping, Virgin Beach – 2800 / private boat + 300 PHP env fee.
- Dolphin Watching
- Balicasag Island
- Fish & Turtle Snorkeling
- Virgin Island white sand (100 PHP)
We had a private boat, but it was extremely noisy. Being our first experience on the boat, we completely forgot this aspect. I also saw dolphins in the morning slightly in the distance, but by far my favorite was Virgin Island. With stunningly clean water.
Other cool tours to do here, if you have a bit more courage, are:
- Whaleshark watching (2500PHP)
- Sardines diving (1500/3500 depends)
Boracay Island
How to get to Boracay?
Another island, other boats, tricycles, planes :))
I had a flight from Cebu to Caticlan, the airport in the north of Palay Island. I then took a tricycle, for 50PHP per person, to the Port (10 min max). In Caticlan Port, prepare to fill out many papers and pay 3 taxes, at 3 different counters:
- Ferry ticket: 50 PHP
- Environment fee: 300PHP
- Terminal fee: 150PHP
The good part is that this ferry is 24/7, but the cost of the night ticket is double.
Finally, arrived in Boracay, for the entire tuk-tuk for 4 people to the hotel cost 200PHP.
Transport on the island
Renting a scooter here is very expensive, precisely because they want to minimize pollution on the island. But what are the other options:
Of course you can walk, but to Puka Beach, for example, I don’t recommend it at all. You can find tricycles at every step, to take you where you want or the hop-on hop-off bus.
It can also be purchased from the Klook app, unlimited transport for 1 or 2 days. Another option would be to purchase a 100 PHP card from the bus and additionally the cost of the ticket will vary between 15-32 PHP.
Hotel, beaches and restrictions
Boracay is a relatively small island, only 10 km². The eastern side is narrow, more suitable for surfing. Instead, the north-western part has some breathtaking beaches.
Among the most famous are:
White Beach is a stunningly blue beach straight out of the movies. With a length of 8km, it is divided into Station 1, Station 2, Station 3. I walked the entire beach from one end to the other, and my impressions are as follows:
- Station 1 = large hotels predominate here, a bit of an all-inclusive impression, and I would rank the area in 3rd place.
- Station 2 = here it is a bit more crowded, with more shops and restaurants.
- Station 3 = my favorite beach was at the end of Station 2, beginning of 3. Definitely, quieter part of the island.
We stayed in Station 2, at The Piccolo Hotel (160€ / 3 nights) precisely to be closer to the restaurants.
It is forbidden to smoke and/or consume alcoholic beverages on the beach. The fines are not small and they are for real.
Puka Beach is located in the north of the island, and the road to get there is not at all friendly. We chose to go to the beach with a tricycle, but there is also the option of taking the bus.
The beach is not wide. As a disadvantage, the beach has no shade, at least in the morning, and the areas with shade are occupied by locals. They put you on a mat and ask you for money to sit there. Instead, the water is wonderful, and the experience is completely different from White Beach.
I experienced the most beautiful sunsets of my life (so far!) in Boracay on White Beach. A “popular” thing here is to rent a sailboat at sunset and go out to sea. But I personally think that the view is more beautiful from the beach.
El Nido Island
How to get to El Nido?
Most people who arrive in El Nido, choose to land at Puerto Princesa airport, and then take a bus for another 5 hours. This is because there are quite a few flights that land at Lio Airport, i.e. the one in El Nido, and most of them are operated only with Air Swift.
So we organized the other flights and the entire itinerary from the start, so that we would land here. From the airport, I took a tricycle (300PHP) to the accommodation in the center.
Tours and costs
I admit, I would have liked an accommodation with a swimming pool or close to the beach, but in El Nido it is a little more complicated. We didn’t find anything suitable and because we wanted to easily get to the tours in the morning, we stayed in the center at Swiftlets Inn (175€ / 4 nights).
How to choose your tours in El Nido?
The most common tours here are: Tour A, Tour B, Tour C, Tour D. But be careful, because tour A from one company can be different from tour A from another.
In general, the people at the accommodation will help you. Another option is on the KLOOK app, where the prices are always lower… or simply go out on the street and there are a lot of agencies. Environment fee before going on tours is 200PHP valid for 10 days and it’s paid only once.
We decided to take only 2 of them, being the most famous:
TOUR A: 950PHP
- Seven Commando Beach
- Big Lagoon (crystal kayak 500PHP / simple kayak 300PHP) + 200 PHP fee
- Shimizu Island
- Secret Lagoon
The day before, I booked the tour on Klook. Conclusion: The unique landscape, the delicious lunch and the debut on the island of Palawan a total success. Worth it 100%.
TOUR C: 1400PHP
- Cadlao Lagoon (possibility to rent a kayak)
- Helicopter Island
- Talisay Beach
- Hidden Beach
- Secret Beach
Tour C was booked with the guys from our hotel. So they also facilitated our transport to the port, they gave us towels and water. Don’t forget: to get to Hidden Beach and Secret Beach, you need to swim. That’s why the time of year is so important. Good weather, no currents.
Beaches, Canopy Walk, Zipline
Two of the most beautiful sunset beaches, which I highly recommend are:
- Vanilla Beach / Las Cabanas
- Lio Beach
What else to do in El Nido?
If you like thrills, I recommend the Zipline on Las Cabanas beach. For 2 superman tours it costs 1200PHP.
For another 2 hours, you can climb the Canopy Walk route, which is not difficult at all. If you book it on Klook it’s even cheaper: 630PHP with Dream Catcher included.
Coron Island
How to get to Coron?
If you have previously been to El Nido, as we did, the easiest way to get to Coron is by ferry.
Depending on the number of people, there are generally 2 ferries that leave for Coron: one at 12 and one at 12:30. You can buy the tickets from almost any agency in the city (or Klook), but the lowest price is at: Atienza Ferries Office – 2816 PHP.
We bought the tickets 2 days before to be sure. When I arrived at the port, I paid a 20PHP terminal fee. The luggage will be placed one after the other, in a line and the officers will come with dogs, for a luggage control. Pretty weird.
The beautiful part of this 5-hour journey is that you can also go out on the pontoon whenever you want 🙂 When you arrive in Coron, you have to pay one more environment fee for 200PHP.
Upon leaving the port, we received almost 20 leaflets with tour proposals. We were shocked, but I took them all, to analyze them during our dinner.
Hotel: Blue Waters Inn Coron Palawan (120€ / 4 nights)
How to choose your tours here?
Just like in El Nido, we analyzed the prices on Klook, the option proposed by the hotel and the leaflets received at the port. That’s how we ended up booking the 3 tours with Asriel roan travel & tours.
1. Tour A (900PHP)
- CYC Beach
- Quin Reef
- Green Lagoon
- Kayangan Lake
2. Tour B (1200PHP)
- Skeleton Wreck
- Coral Garden
- Twin Lagoon
- Barracuda Lake
- Banol Beach
Tour A and Tour B can be combined in one day tour: Super Ultimate (see almost everything from B + Kayangan Lake from A). In general, things are flexible. The order is not necessarily the same, and often if a beach is very crowded, then the guide proposes another option.
Kayangan is considered one of the cleanest lakes in all of Asia. And Barracuda Lake is ideal for diving, being distinguished by the fact that it contains both fresh and salt water. CYC Beach is not an extremely beautiful beach, but here you can see a lot of mangroves and it is the only beach that belongs to the government of Coron, and not to the locals.
Coral Garden and Skeleton Wreck are a paradise of corals, extremely easy to see. And the color of the water in Twin and Green Lagoon, it seems impossible to believe from the pictures, but yes! it is true.
3. Island Hopping (1400PHP)
- Malcapuya Beach
- Coco Beach
- Ditaytayan Beach
The disadvantage is that it takes about 2 hours to get to the first beach. However, I enjoyed the road to the fullest, plus the view is a dream. Malcapuya is called “the local Boracay” and rightly so.
The beach in Ditaytaya is actually a strip of land, extremely beautiful.
Conclusions: Palawan is heaven on earth! And especially Coron, because I liked it the most here. Words do not describe so well what the eyes saw. This place is a dream come true and you must see it at least once in your life!
Tips and tricks
- SIM Card: Tested by us, SMART SIM was far away better than GLOBE.
- The most used and recommended ATM is BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands)
- Use the Klook app to book tours and/or always check the prices there
- Besides Booking or Airbnb, the Agoda app is very popular in Asia. Here I have found cheaper accommodations many times.
- Filipinos do not negotiate prices. They offer a fair starting price, but if you negotiate it will be a very small amount.
- There is no plastic or other waste on the beach. Many times the beautiful pictures hide perhaps the cruel truth. But this is not the case in the Philippines. Here the reality is much more beautiful than in the pictures.
- Few times, we saw the guides coming with hair elastics or various filth from the water. I greatly appreciated that they take care of the environment, as each of us should do.
- Prepare to be passed around many counters, to fill out many papers and to pay a lot of small environment or port taxes. The job that could be done by one person is done by 10. Patience is the key.
- Balut is considered a delicacy in the Philippines. It is a duck egg, fertilized with a semi-developed embryo. If you’re still here, you must try something crazy.
- An extremely safe country with very kind and polite people. They always helped us with everything we needed and were respectful. I was even joking, saying that no matter what we talked about, the end of the discussion would always be: Thank you sir/ Thank you mam 🙂
Info about Filipine
With more than 7000 islands, The Philippines is a catholic country, where the predominant language is Tagalog in the northern part and Bisaya in the central-southern part.
The 3 stars on the flag represent the 3 main areas: Luzon, Visayan and Mindanao. The biggest city is surprisingly not Manilla, but Quezon.
The word “Philippines” comes from the King of Spain Philip II. More than that: In the 1500s, Cebu becomes the first Spanish settlement and from here their domination begins. They unite the entire archipelago under the same influence, and for 300 years they leave a strong influence on the country. In 1898, the Philippines proclaimed its independence from Spain, but the Philippino-American war began. And in the 1900s, the islands were under American occupation. During the Second World War, however, Japan invades the country. Finally, they obtain their independence in 1946 and appoint their first president. That’s why the Philippines is a mix of so many influences. A very large part of the population speaks English, and some even Spanish.
Salamat Po, Cristiana
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