Traveling around the Philippines from Manila,Itinerary..

Hi there!
me and my partner are traveling the Philippines in September, flying into Manila. We've already decided that we dont want to stay in manila and will aim to travel straight out. We'd like advice on our route..we want to avoid backtracking..so from Manila we plan to head south, and pretty much do a circuit then back to Manila to fly to our next destination..

if we did this, would we be missing out on anything North of Manila that we wouldn't get further south?We dont really have any plan, just to see the area..is there anything /place you would recommend not to miss out on and other that you wish you'd probably had skipped?

Any advice/help would be soo appreciated! thankyou 😊 xx Reply to this

Thanks for the links!

We are now considering flying out of Manila when we arrive and into Bohol and traveling our way back up. Alot of feedback ive had and read about the Philippines are the islands central and eastern so i think thats our best bet. plus i guess,there will always be places you'll miss out due to practicalities Reply to this

Hi

i used to travell all around Philippines during 2007-2008 and i have been to many of the sweet spots i would say but there are always some you missed.
But some places you shoud go to is


Palawan – you can get here either by Flying to Puerto princessa or by boat that from manila or Cebu (boat also stops in Elnido)

Ones on Palawan have a look at the underground river just above puerto princessa the travel further north pick and choose from various beaches on the way the travel is abit dogde du to there is only 1 main road throughout the whole island the rest ar “dirtroads” from main road to get to all the beaches. Ones all the way to the north in Elnido do a Island hopping or simply renat boat and go to various beaches each day (depending on your budget).

From Palawan either Fly or take the boat to Manila or Cebu I would go for Cebu as a start and then go straight from airport to the Speedboat that brings you out to Bohol.

Bohol – there are many things to see and do but to live I would suggest you take a cab about 30 minutes from Tagbilaran (which is the Harbor and also the main city) to White sand beach(alona beach) on the tiny island right next to Bohol. (a bridge connects them together) ones your there rent a bike/car and then travel all over Bohol by road beaches, caves, Chocolate hills, rise fields you name it. Don’t forget to take the boat to balicasag and malapascua and do some Scuba diving.
Cebu. On you way away from Bohol you will most probably pass Cebu again to either take a flight or a boat. In Cebu they have a quiet nice night life so spend a day or 2 to party abit if your into that…

Fly from Cebu/manila towards Boracay.

Boracay: its with mixed feeling is say this but I kinda liked boracay eventho its abit to much exploited for my taste. But during low season if you take a Motorbike to the other side of the island in the north you can still find beaches which is almost empty and where you can just relax and have a good time with whoever you travel with rather than 1000 others. Visit the Bat cave also known as the Seas snake cave .. it’s a cave where the water from the ocean comes up in a pool like “tiny tiny tiny” lake inside the cave. That’s where all the Seas snakes crawls up and you will see 100s of em and you will see 1000s of bats hanging from the cave roof.
After Boracay take the boat to Roxas and from there travel by Jeepny to Puerto Galera … (skip going to Sabang its just a shit hole with young girls dancing around poles and trying to get old guys to bring em home.)

Around Puerto Galaera there is allot of things to see and do I would stay in Whitesand beach fairly close to the action but still calm enough to enjoy it without all the prostitutes lurking around.. (sorry for this negativity but its absoluty not against the Pnay girls its simply against all idiots going there for only 1 thing .. “to get laid”) but Puerto galera is a beautiful place with lots of things to do and great diving.
After Puerto galera take boat then buss to manla about 4-5 hours in total. And from there get going to Donsol and dive with whale sharks your not allowed to Scuba dive there during certain periods but Snorkling is just as good if your lucky you will see more whale sharks than you thought was possible in such a small area. Its awesome……

Hmm I gotta get back to work soon but if you guys got any questions feel free to PM me and I tell you some more I hope this was a little help at least and sorry for my at some point bad English but its not my first language
Reply to this

I'd say skip Luzon/Manila and fly into the other international airport in Cebu. That's where most of the fun is. Cebu, then Boracay, then Palawan. Depending on what you want, I could give you more specifics. Reply to this

Hi Abi,

I agree with most of them that you shouldn't miss Palawan. But don't skip Luzon. Skip Puerto Galera.

Below are my recommendations. The list is composed of places I've been to (and activities I've done) or planning to go to. Just Google them for validation 😊. Luzon has quite a lot to offer.

1. Luzon

• Ilocos Sur (see Vigan, Cabugao beach) and go further to Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud Beach, Fort Ilocandia)
• Cagayan Valley - 12 hour land trip from Manila by bus - go spelunking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, rapelling - try Anton Carag's group (just Google it)
• Calayan and Babuyan Islands (if you are already in Cagayan Valley, just take a boat to these islands) - haven't been here but planning to - humpback whale watching and beaches
• Batanes - you can view my blog on this one for pictures; but I'm recommending this one during summer (Mar to May) because there are lots of typhoons around early part of September (you might get stuck on the island)
• Batad and Banaue - go trekking, see the Banaue rice terraces, experience culture of Ifugao tribe - I'll go trekking there next month
• Sagada, Mountain Province - hanging coffins, spelunking (with fantastic stalactites and stalagmites)
• Mt. Pulag, Benguet, Mountain Province - if you are into trekking (I also have a blog entry on this one)
• Anilao, Batangas - just around 3-4 hours from Manila - best for diving and snorkeling
• Bicol region - includes Camarines Sur (go to Caramoan Island - breathtakingly, unspoiled beach; go wakeboarding - see Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex); Albay (Mayon Volcano); Donsol, Sorsogon (go swim with whalesharks/butanding); Virac, Catanduanes (trekking, unspoiled beaches) - the first 3 I already did; worth it 😊 planning to go to Virac
• Mt. Pinatubo - trek to the crater, view's just lovely; may also swim in the crater's lake (photos not yet in my blog but you can Google it)

2. Visayas

• Palawan - enough said
• Guiuan, Eastern Samar - unspoiled beaches - not much tourists/developed resorts here; this is off-the-beaten-track (I went to Homonhon Island)
• Basey, Eastern Samar - off-the-beaten-track - I went to see Sohoton Cave and the natural bridge, and Rawis Cave; see traditional mat weaving (banig weaving)
• Dumaguete, Negros Oriental - someone above mentioned it; haven't been there but I'm scheduled to go there next month

Note: I haven't been to Bohol and I've only been to Cebu City, but people above did give great tips 😊

3. Mindanao

• Camiguin Island - underwater cemetery, sandbar, etc. (just Google. haven't been there but according to my friends, it is a really wonderful place
• Davao - Mt. Apo (highest peak); Samal Island (whitewater rafting, water tubing; longest zip line)
• Cagayan de Oro - water sports (whitewater rafting, kayaking, skimboarding, etc.)

Hope this helps!

Reply to this

Think we are going to fly straight out of manila and down to Bohol. though is says that most of the accommodation is situated around Tagbilaran..(we want to see the chocolate hills)

does anyone have any advice / experience of this area? when we look on hostel bookers there is barely anything..just 2 places to stay there..?how long would you recommend to stay here? my lonely planet guide doesnt seem to be too helpful or enthusiastic about bohol!

Also, any advice on traveling by boat/ferry around to and from places in the Philippines? i have been warned its very dangerous with tides/pirates/and the boats being overloaded and not very safe?is this an over-reaction or are there things to avoid? (apart from ofcourse using your noggin'!)

Reply to this

good day abi,

i would suggest that you could go directly to cebu and stroll their beaches then connect a flight to siargao.

siargao are group of islands still unspoiled. you can also get snorkeling with an stingless jellyfish. try to search for a resort in bucas grande part of siargao which is still virgin and have plenty of lively corals.

there are many activities you can do in siargao like scuba diving, swimming in a lagoon and white sand beaches, gamefishing, mountain biking and hiking, cave trekking, bathing in falls, mangrove forest eco-tour, kayaking, island hopping and surfing!

siargao is very safe and peaceful with friendly, accomodating locals. Reply to this

Hi Thomas,

I'm from the Philippines. Safety is relative, anywhere you go and whatever you do.

I would say that if you go to areas in Mindanao where there are existing conflicts, then that's unsafe and plain stupid. But there are so many places and islands in our country that are definitely worth checking out. Please see my post above for my recommended areas.

My friend has put up this guide for exploring the 7107 islands in the Philippines: http://project7107.wordpress.com/

I hope this helps! Reply to this

Hi Thomas, im also a tall white guy, and have been tavelling there for over 10 years since i was 20ish, with my then girlfriend and now wife who is filipino by birth. we backpacked through the visayers with our then 4 year old son for three months, and all up have spent probably 2 - 3 years there. i can honestly say i have never had a drama there, and we have been to some remote places. We have always had in place our general travelling rules, and used our commonsence. The bigger cities have some problems but you seem like a seasoned traveller, im sure its no worse than Africa, South America, Sydney (my home town) or cities in the States. As Hana said its best to avoid Mindanao, and as a rule ive never gone there, though there is alot of safe places there. The people are amazing, the mountains, islands, increadible. ENJOY! Reply to this

Mate if you lived in the cross for 3 months and survived the millenium bug party in Sydney ( we probably bumped into each other) you will be sweet. I lived in singapore and have been pretty much all through asia, i might be slightly biased, the filipino people are the friendliest people ive come across, jump on the jeepnies and the tricycles, ask for help from anyone they will go out of there way to help.... and enjoy the beaches and remote islands... Dave Reply to this