Friendly travellers - please share your hidden destination gems in SEA.
Me and my girlfriend have both been travelling around south east asia in the past but we have finally agreed to go away on an extended trip starting in July 2014 in the region. Our only solid plans are to spend 30 days in Sulawesi, 30 days in and around the Banda Islands and 60 days in the Philippines. Other than this we are keeping things pretty open and have been searching for hidden destinations that we could slot into our itinerary that guidebooks have either overlooked completely or been a bit too harsh on.
We have been to most of Indonesia's arm of islands from the tip of Sumatra to Labuan Bajo in Flores so have been looking at destinations East of this point. Timor-Leste or the Alors have come up but it is difficult to find much information on them.
We are also looking for some tips on the Philippines. We have been here 3 times but never for longer than 3 weeks so are really keen to fall in love with some quiet spots. We have already been recommended the Caramoan Peninsula but have also been looking at the far north of Luzon.
Any little tips and hints would help a lot as we are still in the early stages of planning we are happy to completely change our plans to hit areas that we like the sound of.
Thanks,
SC
Reply to this Hi scott, my wife and I spent 3 weeks in the Philippines as well, and we have an upcoming trip in January back there for another 3 weeks. We absolutely fell in love with the island of siquijor. Perfect quiet roads and just small enough to grab a scooter and explore the entire island over the course of a full day. The snorkelling was great too, and you can organise day trips to snorkel or dive apo island.
Enjoy!!
Reply to this Dear Scott, Check out this link to have a fair idea of some of the best destinations to head in SEA.
http://goatsontheroad.com/10-placesoff-the-beaten-path-places-in-southeast-asia/#
[Edited: 2013 Sep 16 13:33 - sussane:274078 ]
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