Philippines: See & Experience it ALL in 14 Days, 1st Class Traveling

When traveling from abroad to the Philippines, Manila is usually most tourists’ first point of arrival. It is recommended that you avoid the capital altogether and instead simply use its airport as a layover en route to the island of Bohol. Upon arrival to the island’s capital, Tagbilaran, we drive to the settlement of Panglao. This is our base from which to explore the island and where our lodge is located. We will be hanging out at Alona beach. About 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) long and lined with palm trees, resorts and shops, the white-sandy Alona beach is popular both day and night.

Your tour with us today starts officially at 5:15pm. Please be in the lobby at this time, as your tour guide and driver should be waiting for you there. We are taken by vehicle to the Abatan River Community Life Tour. There we go on a firefly boat cruise. Probably you have never seen something like this before. The cruise starts shortly after arrival. Afterwards, we return to our hotel.

We are exploring Bohol Island. Specifically, we see Loboc River (for a cruise), Tarsier Sanctuary, Chocolate Hills, Habitat Butterflies Conservation Center, Bilar Man-Made Forest and Baclayon Church. The highlights are Loboc River, Tarsier Sanctuary and Chocolate Hills. Chocolate Hills’ unique and mound-shaped formations are Bohol’s most popular attraction. During the dry season, the grass-covered hills turn chocolate brown in color. This transforms the area into seemingly endless rows of chocolate kisses. Another highlight is a visit to a sanctuary to see endangered tarsiers. These primates can only be found on a few islands throughout Southeast Asia. Not least is a boat cruise along the Loboc River. Lunch is included in this boat cruise tour.

From Tagbilaran, we go by boat to Dumaguete, a town best used as a base from which to explore the area. Have ready your swimming attire and a towel. The first stop on today’s tour is Casaroro Falls. The other stop is Pulangbato Falls. We return to Dumaguete in the early evening.

As a daytrip from Dumaguete, we head to the port in Malatapay so we can take the boat ride to Apo Island. Big-eyed jacks, bump-head parrotfish, and sea snakes inhabit the reefs of the island. Nevertheless, the highlight for most tourists are the sea turtles. They get so close to swimmers and are pretty big.

Today will be a long but exciting day nonetheless. From Dumaguete, we take a boat ride to Oslob. After swimming with whale sharks, we drive to the Aguinid Falls. This is a great place for climbing waterfalls (with a helmet and ropes, of course!). Last but definitely not least, from Aguinid Falls we drive to Kawasan Falls. There we have lunch, which is included on today's tour. Kawasan Falls is a destination popular specifically for canyoneering. After that thrilling tour, we drive to Cebu City. We sleep at a hotel near to the airport.

We relocate from Cebu City to Boracay Island via a quick flight followed by a quick boat ride. Attractions for today include Bulabog Beach, Puka Beach and Ilig Iligan Beach as well as walking to the top of Mount Luho. Bring swimming attire, a towel and a change of clothes. The day ends with walking along a footpath which runs around the headland and connects White Beach with romantic Diniwid Beach. This is a great place for both bridal shoots and watching the sunset.

Boracay may be a small island but it is huge in its offering of a variety of activities: swimming in pristine clear water, strolling along the sugary white-sanded beach, enjoying the nightlife, making choices on restaurants featuring multiethnic foods and much more. In 2012, Boracay was named the best island in the world from the international travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Today is a ‘free day’, meaning without any guided tour. What should you do today? Some tourists visit the waterfalls at Hacienda Maria, Sapsapon Cave and/or a plantation where you could watch a coconut (a.k.a. lambanog) winemaking demonstration. Some tourists bathe in Kawa’s Hot Pot Jacuzzi. We discourage all those activities. We think you are better off windsurfing, kite-boarding, parasailing, paragliding, jet skiing and/or riding an ATV around the island. We also discourage you from making the shared boat daytrip tour which covers the surrounding islands as well as the place where cliff diving is done. That boat daytrip tour is arguably a letdown.

We relocate via a quick flight from Boracay Island to a beach town called El Nido. Today we spend our time in El Nido specifically at Las Cabanas beach. It is a perfect place to eat dinner on the beach and watch the sunset.
As a natural attraction in its own right, the quiet beach town of El Nido is also a great base from which to explore the surrounding marble cliffs, enchanting lagoons, beaches, lush jungle, mangrove forest, prehistoric caves, and waterfalls. Dotted with islands and islets, most of which are inhabited, Bacuit Bay is home to blue waters and lots of marine life such as dugongs, turtles, manta rays, species of fishes, coral reefs and the occasional whale sharks.

The daytrip boat tours from El Nido are pretty straightforward. For the most part, they do not overlap with each other. Each tour has its own highlights. All of the daytrip tours offer amazing attractions, not least for today. Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Snake Island, Pinagbuyutan Island, Entalula Beach and Cudugnon Cave. Snorkeling and lunch are included in today’s tour. Water is available for us on the boat, as is the case with the other boat daytrips throughout this tour.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach and Hidden Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included in today’s tour.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Small Lagoon or Big Lagoon (to be determined), Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island and 7 Commando Beach. Snorkeling, kayaking and lunch are included in today’s tour.

Today we take an early morning ferry ride to Coron Island. Upon arrival in the quiet/low-key village of Coron Town, we are taken directly to our nearby room. Afterwards, we are provided with a guided tour around town. Places to visit today include the public market, Coron Baywalk, the cashew harvest factory and Maquinit Hot Spring. In the later part of the day, we are taken to the stairway entrance of Mount Tapyas. Reaching the top with our tour guide takes around 45 minutes. Watching the sunset from above is a beautiful way to end our day.

Today we join the boat daytrip tour which covers Lake Kayangan, Twin Lagoon, Sunset Beach, Siete Pecados (a.k.a. Isles of the Seven Sins), Skeleton Wreck, Coral Garden and CYC Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included in today’s tour.

Siete Pecados is where we see arguably the most amazing coral on earth. Lake Kayangan and the Twin Lagoon are also amazing. As its name suggests, the Twin Lagoon is two separate bodies of water divided by limestone karsts. At high tide, the second lagoon appears inaccessible. There is a small hole in the karsts that we can swim under in order to get to the other side. For those who prefer to climb over the rock formation, a wooden ladder rests above the hole.

Skeleton Wreck is the most popular of the places to be visited today. The aquatic views from the sunken Japanese WWII ships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine as one of the top-10 best scuba diving sites in the world. Note that if you prefer diving over snorkeling, you can book directly with a local dive shop. They usually require at least 2 days advance notice. Also, you would need to show proof of a scuba diving license.

Coron Town is the final destination on our tour of the Philippines. Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the airport.

Arguably the only major tourist destination in the Philippines not included in this 14-day tour is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. It can be reached via a quick flight from El Nido. Let us know if you have the time and interest.

In the November-December 2007 issue of the National Geographic Traveler’s Magazine, Palawan was chosen as one of the best island destinations in the world. Sabang is located on the western coast of Palawan Island. This small village is commonly used by tourists as an access point to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. This park is one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of the Philippines. There you’ll discover small waterfalls inside caves, as well as rock formations, bats, a deep water hole, river channels, a mangrove forest and marine creatures.