The Philippines offers the most picturesque scenery I have ever witnessed, with captivating white beaches, aligned with rows and rows of palm trees, which are surrounded by crystal clear waters and limestone cliffs.
The Philippines is like nothing I have seen before. The beautiful views are present across every island you visit, and it never fails to disappoint. There is so much to do there, but it is predominately a beachy place. If you don’t enjoy the beach (who are you!?) then you probably won’t appreciate the Philippines as much as you should.
Travelling to the Philippines is something that everybody should put on their bucket list. I have written down my 6 top tips for travelling the Philippines that I personally believe will help improve your experience.
My best tips include ways to avoid spending unnecessary money, how to plan for Philippine transport, and other helpful things I picked up along the way.
We used all types of public transport in the Philippines and a number of factors can affect their punctuality. The main reason for delays is down to the typhoons. We boarded 2 ferries throughout our trip, both of which were cancelled for up to 24 hours, and our flight to Boracay was delayed by 6 hours. Buses that are supposed to take 3 hours actually take 6… the list goes on.
so if you are looking into a place and everything is booking up, you might make an exception. Booking accommodation in Boracay beforehand is recommended as it is usually really busy with tourists, but hear me out. In general, I would advise that you don’t book anything in advance.
The main reason for this is based on Number 1, things go wrong. If your transport is delayed, you will need to make new arrangements and find a new place to stay on the spot. This also means that the accommodation you have already booked is going to go to waste.
The amount of money that we would have lost if we would have booked our accommodation beforehand is insane! Our plan changed a total of 3 times throughout our trip due to delays and cancellations. We actually re-routed the whole thing at one stage.
estimated a total cost and tried our hardest to stick to it. The domestic flight prices changed and we paid more than what we had hoped. Booking the flights in advance does save you money, however, the issue is of course that things change!
It is a tricky one to get around because if you book your flight in advance, other plans may fall through and you could end up missing out on an amazing place. If you wait, you could end up paying double.
My honest advice would be to wait and go with the flow. Overall, we did save money by travelling the way we did.
Another issue for anyone travelling with luggage… Philippine Airlines will only accept 10kg checked luggage and there is no option to pay for an upgrade. This means that you have to fly with more expensive airlines.
Cebu Pacific and Air Asia are your two main contenders – although be warned, Air Asia get delayed, A LOT!
If you can travel with a limited amount of luggage, I would highly recommend that you do, you will save even more money and hassle!
The recommended amount of tours to do in both Coron and El Nido is 2 in each. Buy the tours at the same time, with the same company and save yourself some pennies! It’s like anywhere you go, the more you buy, the cheaper they are.
You can also try make a deal such as getting a snorkel and mask thrown in for free. In Coron, you have to pay 100php extra for the snorkels (unless you get a discount) but in El Nido they are already included in the tour.
Make sure you don’t negotiate a deal that is already included (like we managed to do haha!). Once we were on the boat, we realised that EVERYBODY was being handed a mask and snorkel and that we had been mugged off.
The cheapest places were in both Puerto Princesa and Coron at only 10 php a head (0.25AUD/0.14p). The locals will try and charge you up to 150 php in some places, especially when arriving in to a port or an airport.
Let them know that you are aware it should only be 10 php and keep walking. They’ll either run after you and take you for the correct price, or you’ll make your way to the main roads and find a tricycle there.
In El Nido they were a little bit more expensive and charged 50 php from the ferry port to our hotel. Just be smart and settle for a fair price – the locals are just there to make a living.
Manilla –> Cebu –> Moalboal –> Oslob –> Siquijor Island –> Bohol –> Cebu Airport –> Puerto Princesa –> Coron –> El Nido –> Puerto Princesa Airport –> Boracay –> Cebu International Airport.
