The Philippines is a magical group of islands with beautiful beaches, the bluest water you can imagine, friendly people, and great excursions. You will surely love this country when you visit! These are some of the things that I discovered about the country that I did not read about prior to going to the Philippines….
Siargao is known as the surfing capital of the Philippines due to optimal wave conditions most of the year. When I was planning my trip to the Philippines, I read a few reviews that suggested skipping Siargao if you are not a big surfer because that was the only thing to do on the island….
Siquijor is one of my favorite islands in the Philippines so far. This island is much less busy than many of the other tourist destinations in the Philippines but is very beautiful and has so much to offer. This is where I first learned to ride a motor scooter, and the island is the perfect…
Bohol is well known for the Chocolate Hills, which are 1,700+ hills that turn brown during the dry season and look like mounds of chocolate. It is also one of the only places in the world that you can see Tarsiers, which are a tiny leaping primate. I did not stay long in Bohol but…
Moalboal is such an amazing place that you would be completely remiss not to visit. There are spectacular scuba and snorkeling opportunities right from the beach and the dining and bar options are seemingly limitless for such a small town. The proximity to some of the most unique canyoneering tours also puts Moalboal on my…
In full transparency, Puerto Princesa was not one of my favorite towns in the Philippines. I found the town to be very spread out with few walking options and a tuk-tuk ride across town took around 30-minutes and was much more expensive than tuk-tuk rides in other towns. I really wanted to do the Underground…
El Nido is an amazing place to visit that will likely pop up on almost any tour itinerary you look at for the Philippines. It is both a launch point and disembarkation point for the multi-day island-hopping tours between Coron and El Nido as well as offers numerous single day island-hopping tours to the lagoons…
Coron will likely end up on your itinerary either as a first stop or as a final destination before you return to the Manila airport. I really enjoyed my time in Coron. The city center is quite small, but there are numerous dining options within walking distance of the many hotels and hostels in the…
Many websites and social media pages tell you that they have the “ultimate” travel itinerary for the Philippines. From my travels, I find it hard to believe that anyone has pinned down the ultimate experience as there are over 7,000 islands, many of which offer different options. In addition, each individual traveler has unique interests….