I visited the Philippines in April 2017 and loved it so much that I went for a second time in November 2019! The Philippines is a truly amazing country and what I love about it is that it doesn’t feel too touristy and westernised compared to Bali and Thailand. It was proper back-packing at it’s finest. The locals are the friendliest I have ever met and they are so genuine. You don’t feel like they are trying to rip you off, they are just so nice! In 2017 there weren’t a huge number of tourists and it felt like the locals were still getting used to tourism. Going back in 2019, there are definitely more tourists there but you can still see the Filipino culture everywhere you go and it hasn’t been spoilt yet.
The Philippines is made up of thousands of little islands and every one is unique. It can be quite long to travel between the islands as unlike Bali, they really are quite spread out so it’s best to stick to a smaller number of islands for just a 2-3 week trip to avoid wasting too many days on travel.
Getting There: We flew from London direct to Manila with Philippine Airlines. If you can get a good deal on these flights, then this is a great option as you can get to Manila in as little as 14 hours with no stops! Otherwise, you can get cheaper fares with a stopover for around £350 return with Air China.
Where Did We Go: The first time I went, we had about 19 days on the trip so the itinerary we chose was:
Manila > Palawan (Sabang > El Nido > Coron) > Cebu (Cebu City > Argao > Moalboal > Cebu City) > Boracay > Manila
Manila – 1 night
Sabang – 1 nights
El Nido – 3 nights
Coron – 3 nights
Cebu City – 1 night
Argao – 2 nights
Moalboal – 3 nights
Cebu City – 1 night
Boracay – 3 nights
Manila – 1 night
The second time I went more recently we had 15 nights/days so we didn’t have as long in each place. It was a pretty jam packed itinerary but if you want to see as much as you can in 2 weeks off work then I would recommend this trip:
Manila > Siargao > Cebu (Oslob) > Siquijor > Cebu (Cebu City) > Palawan (Coron > El Nido) > Manila
Manila – 1 night
Siargao – 3 nights
Cebu (Oslob) – 2 nights
Siquijor – 3 nights
Cebu (Cebu City) – 1 night
Coron – 2 nights
El Nido – 3 nights
Manila – 1 night
Accommodation: Again I booked all our accommodation through booking.com.
Getting Around: Once on an island, it can be quite easy to get around via bus/tricycle/taxi but travelling between the islands can be quite time consuming. Between some you can catch ferries but quite often, you will need to take a domestic flight between islands and although the flight might just be 40 minutes long, by the time you have got to the airport and got out, it can easily take half a day. The flights are prone to delays and the Filipinos are quite laid back about timings! I would 100% recommend catching the early flights as these are less likely to be delayed. Consider this when planning!
Manila and Cebu tend to be the hub for most internal flights so you might find yourself back in the same airport a number of times! We didn’t choose to stay in Manila for long, just 1 night at the end of the trip before flying home. A cool roof bar I would recommend to soak up the view is the Firefly RoofDeck. And we stayed at the Henry Hotel which I couldn’t recommend enough! A nice garden and pool to chill in if you want some peace and quiet in the midst of a crazy city, the staff were great and it felt very safe.
On my first trip, we were on a tighter budget so got around by bus via the local bus stations, the buses were super cheap but also quite slow, stopping everywhere. For longer journeys you can book more of a minibus that is specifically aimed at tourists to take you from place to place. When I went back more recently, we were happier to spend a little more so got more taxis instead of buses as time was of the essence but even these weren’t expensive. In the Philippines they also have tricycles, they are like tuk tuk’s and these are basically the taxis unless you’re in Cebu City or Manila!
What To Do: The main activity in the Philippines is island hopping as there are so many unreal beaches, lagoons and coastal areas. But there are also plenty of other activities to do such as hiking, hot springs, waterfalls, swimming with whale sharks, snorkelling, zip lining and sunset watching! You won’t get bored that is for sure!
Adventures with H 