Philippines Itinerary | sconetravelling

The Philippines is a superb archipelago of over 7,000 islands with crystal clear waters surrounding idyllic islands. Beautiful waterfalls, exotic wildlife and unparalleled natural beauty make it easy to see why many people have the Philippines on their bucket list. If we're honest, when planning our trip we almost chickened out; stories of terrorist attacks targetting tourists, kidnapping and hostages, not to mention the reputation of Manila. Whilst all of this does happen from time to time, we never felt threatened or any sense of being unwelcome - it's really hard to believe anything like that happens here at all after spending only a short time here. Due to the small nature of the islands, the inhabitants are tightly knit communities and want peace. One local man in Siquijor told us the people "don't like the terrorists. We want peace, and if we see one he won't be welcome on the island. he will run away, up in the hills...where he won't last long!"

With this said, it is extremely important to heed government advice, and if its advised to miss certain islands. Keep up to date with local news as well which will be quicker to report more localised incidents. All this aside, the more time you spend in the Philippines the safer you feel, and you'll have an amazing time discovering its beauty.

- CEBU -

When flying into Cebu you will arrive at Mactan Intetnational airport where you have to get a taxi onto the main Cebu island and into the city. Taxis should cost around 200 - 250peso to get from the airport into the city. The yellow airport taxis are slightly more expensive so if you don't mind queing, wait for the white taxi and save yourself some money. There's lots to do in Cebu and some lovely island hopping excursions. Cebu city does have some touristy things to visit, but again we found that it was more of a place that only had shopping centres, including one of the biggest malls in Asia (which the cebuian people seemed very proud about).

However we did not have time for the islands so heading down to Oslob. You can get to Oslob easily by getting a taxi down to the south bus terminal. When you arrive it will seem a chaotic mess, but you will be approached by someone asking where you are going and will tell which bus you need. Don't be worried when they just tell you to get on the bus before buying a ticket. We were so worried we were going to get ripped off because we hadn't bought a ticket before hand but it's common practice and none of the locals had tickets either.

The air con bus cost us 155 pesos per person which would drop us off at our hotel. The coach can get a little crowded with many people sharing seats so try and get comfy. The drive is about 3 hours long.There's only one real reason people visit Oslob and that's to go whale shark watching. It's an amazing experience and it cost 1,000 pesos each (for tourist) to snorkel. It's slightly cheaper to stay on the boat. Check out our whale shark watching blog here for our honest opinion on this trip.

- SIQUIJOR -

You can get a ferry from Oslob to Dumaguette which run frequently. There are two types of boat; one with 'wings' is slightly cheaper and slower at around 40 pesos each, the other boat is smaller and costs 60 pesos - but they leave from different piers, so ask your tricycle driver which is leaving soonest. You can stay in Dumaguette and use it as a base to visit Apo island, which is famous for its snorkelling with turtles.

From Dumaguette you have to take one more boat to Siquijor which takes about an hour, and costs 120 pesos.

Siquijor is a small island off the main island of Neggros.

We loved Siquijor as it has some amazing beaches, waterfalls and is rich with history and culture. Rent a moped and explore the island yourself. We particularly enjoyed Laguna Falls where you can climb through a secret entrance under the waterfall - where you can jump into the deep pool below. The fish in the water will also nibble at your skin, which can be unnerving if it comes as a surprise! Check out the San Juan natural spring to refresh yourself from the heat, and see where the locals get together to hangout. The Hundred Year Old Tree is also an iconic attraction in Siquijor not to be missed.

It has one main road which goes round the circumference of the island. Check out my self drive day trip of siquijor. You can also hire a tricycle which can take you round the same places for around 1000/1500 pesos a day.

- PALAWAN -

You will most probably land in Puerto Princessa as flight to El Nido are very expensive. There is an 'Underground Tour' that tricycle drivers are particularly passionate about, but again this is very expensive. We decided to head straight to El Nido by booking a minivan through our hotel which costed us 500 pesos and takes around 5 hours. The minivans aren't too bad - they're equipped with air-con, though bring some earplugs/ headphones unless you want to listen to three bob marley tracks on repeat for the entire duration of the journey.

Although its expensive to get to, El Nido is definitely worth it. It's suprisingly quite a small town, with lots of bars, restaurants and touristy shops next to the beach. We were lucky enough to arrive as the sun was setting between the colossal limestone cliffs in the water. It's an incredible place of natural beauty. The day trips here are a MUST, its just personal preference as to which tour you choose, though A & C seem to be the most popular. Check out our blog here on our Tour A Experience in El Nido

MANILA

BOROCAY

CEBU

SIQUIJOR

EL NIDO

ITINERARY

PHILIPPINES

GALLERY

COMING SOON

- BORACAY -

A small island off Panay Island which has two airports which you can fly into; the first is Kalibo which is about an 1.30/2hours drive away. Don't worry though it's super easy to sort out as there are people selling tickets outside the airport. Tickets cost around 200 peso per person (this include the ferry ticket but not the terminal fee) The other option is to fly into Caticlan airport, much closer to the Boracay ferry port. Flights tend to be slightly more expensive but the airport is only a 5 minute tricycle ride away. The tricycle should only cost you around 50pesos. Be warned the ferry ticket is very cheap at around 40/50 pesos however you will have to pay a rather expensive terminal fee.

Once arrived on the island after taking a 15minute ferry ride you will be greeted by tricycle owners you can drive you to your hotel or hostel.Boracays main beach is consisted of three main stations, 1 2 and 3. The second station is when the D'Mall is where you can find all the sounvenier shops and restaurants. This is also when you will find touts selling island hopping trips and water sport activities.

The beach is a very long strip of white powder sand with restaurants lining it. For us when we did our research and saw pictures we were expecting pure perfection but when we arrived we had to push our way through the crowds of people. It's a very very busy beach and for us we hated it. You can't take two steps with out bumping into someone, taking photos is almost impossible. The water was also full of green algae, so we didn't want to get in anyways. Luckily we had picked a hotel on the other side of the island and got a tricycle over to get dinner in the evenings. Tambisaan beach is very we stayed and we would highly recommend it as it's a completely different story from the station beaches. The sand is not as fine but it still white and soft. The beach acts as a little cove and you are able to snorkel out to the adjacent islands. The more famous island is crocodile island where the island hopping tours actually stop. The sea is so calm that you don't need to be a strong swimmer to snorkel here.There are other beaches which you can visit which are quieter and you can do other water sports like wind surfing in the north of the island. We highly recommend checking them out if you have a while on the island. Otherwise lie back and soak up the sun and cool off in the crystal clear island. Boracay is a prefect play to relax and have a bit of a vacation.

- MANILA -

You will usually land in either Manila or Cebu when arriving in the country. Manila is a city which most people tend to hate, and for us we can see why. It's polluted, with not much to do other than walking around large shopping malls. Its also classed as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, so we didn't really fancy exploring! It's a good transport hub though, and you can cheaply catch domestic flights to one of the other islands. It's also a good starting place to head up north to the 'Hanging Coffins of Sagada' but, this is an eight hour bus ride away - so for those with not much time it could be missed.