I live in the Philippines since 2007. At first i just arrived in the country to travel, but i loved the country so much, i decided to stay.
Since then i traveled a lot in the country, found a job, and now im opening a guesthouse in manila with some friends. So if you need help about any kind of questions, just let me know and i'll do my best to answer them.
I cannot recommend the Philippines enough though 😊
talk to you soon
manu
Reply to this Hi! I will arrive at Manila at the end of November and will be travelling in Philippines for around two months. I am trying to decide what sort of route I should be following... I would like to spend Christmas and new years eve in some nice place hopefully with people around (as I travel alone), but not surrounded by 50 yo american men if you know what i mean.
On top of that I would like to spend most of my time trekking, scuba diving and surfing.
If you have any tips or suggestions about places to go please let me know!
thanks a lot!
Reply to this If your thing is trekking, scuba diving and surfing, you might want to consider Palawan. There are several blogs on this site on palawan which you may wish to check out. For surfing, I hear Siargao in Surigao is good.
For 2 months, I would suggest you explore both Northern Philippines (try checking out my blog and those of others), Palawan, Boracay , and Bohol. Many TravelBloggers have written entries on these sites .
Reply to this for trekking - you can visit Sagada and the Pinatubo Trail on the Northern part of the Philippines. Going south of Manila, Taal Volcano or Mt. Makiling.
Surfing - Siargao Island located on the far south of the Philippines.
scuba diving - Mindoro(Sabang/Coral Garden), Province of Negros(Punta Bulata,Sipalay/Apo island/Sibulan), Palawan(kinda expensive here). Sulu(Tubathaha Reef).
and if you want to spend Christmas in the city, Try Cebu. Have a nice vacation!!!!
Reply to this you all have great ideas and suggestions! maybe you want to do some guest post in my blog?
Reply to this In response to: Msg #89507 hey emmanuel
My boyfriend and i will be coming to the phillipines in October. We have absolutely no idea of what sort of route we should take. Right now we are in Vietnam, and we head to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia beofre coming there, so we will have a bit of time to do some research, but with that said dontw ant ot spend all our time on the computer!
We love beaches, we love adventure and we love some historical architecture. We also want to spend some time shopping in Manila. I looked on Cebu air and there appears to be pretty cheap flights to and from places.
Is the Phillipines similar to the rest of SE Asia in the fact that ther are tour agencies everywhere to help with ticket bookings??
Thanks in advance
Reply to this
In response to: Msg #89507
Hi Manu
We are planning to travel to PI in Jan 2013. We will be spending most of our trip in the Visayas Island. Do you know of places that you can eat fresh sea food (shrimp & lobster) on a dock, that is prepared while you watch? We like to travel off the beaten path and eat at place that the local people eat. Question I heard that they charge American's more than they do philipino, is that true?
Jim and Sue
Reply to this Hello Sue and welcome to Travelblog!
I think charging foreigners more in some countries is common regardless of their nationality - it is not exclusive to the Philippines.
When I travel, I try to find places where the prices are written so I can be charged accordingly. However, the biggest issues is with transport and sometimes accommodation, where it is difficult to know the local price. It is best to ask other local people what the price is first and with that knowledge ensure you get the fair price.
Reply to this I have dozens of travel tips, but not sure where to start! Do you have any particular country in mind, or just travel tips in general?
Reply to this
In response to: Msg #161445
Shane,
Jim and I will be traveling to the philippines in Jan 13. We are planning to landed in Manila, get a motorcycle and head to the Visayas Island. We are looking for places in that area or on the way to snorkle, zipline, and exploring non-tourist areas. Any tips about this would be great. We would like to not ware helmets also. Safety tips, wear to get a motorcycle, and places to eat on the docks, that you can see them cook it fresh.
Reply to this I did travel to the Visayas, with a brief stop in Cebu, before heading to beautiful Bohol for a week. The snorkelling off Cabilao Island near Bohol was fantastic. The chocolate hills does have many tourists, but still worth visiting. Many people choose a Loboc River Cruise, it is very touristy, but most of these are local people, so it has a different feel.
If wanting to see the tarsier insist on only seeing the Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary in Corella - this is the only place where the tarsier is in its natural environment. Not many people visit that particular place - on my brief tour with the compulsory guides there were only four other people. Avoid all other places where tarsiers are allowed to be touched, fed or are in an enclsoure - this is cruel to the tarsiers and reduces their life span dramatically.
I cannot help you with motorcycles or eating food on the dock, since I did neither.
My blog about it is here:
The Wonders of Nature Reply to this Thank you again. We read your "The Wonders Of Nature" blog. We are planning to visit Bohol, and when we go to see the tarsier we will go to the Wildlife Sanctuary in Corella. It a matter of desciding how much we can do a month or two long visit. Already it sounds like there will not be enough time to see everything we want to see.
Reply to this Already it sounds like there will not be enough time to see everything we want to see.
The universal dilemma of travellers - not enough time to see so many choices! Despite that, it is still a nice situation to be in :-)
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