When we first started researching places we wanted to see in the Philippines, we had a list that would have taken nearly 3 months to get through.
The problem? Like many people, we only had two weeks off of work to make this trip to the Philippines happen. So as you can imagine, we had to cut a ton of places from our wish list.
Truthfully, two weeks isn’t much time in the Philippines. It is a country made up of islands, and therefore transportation can be (understandably) challenging. If you want to visit more than one island during your visit, you will likely need to devote an entire day to travel.
The itinerary below is an adaption of what we followed. We altered it a bit based on some things we would have changed, and came up with what we think is a pretty badass route for a first-time visit to the Philippines.
By following this itinerary, you will get to explore three islands, see jungles as well as beaches, and some spend time outside the typical “tourist” path. You will see a lot during these two weeks in the Philippines, but there are certainly days planned for (much needed) relaxation.
Enjoy!
Before your trip:
Plan your trip with the weather in mind! We’ve put together a great resource for evaluating when’s the best time to visit the Philippines based on the weather as well as your travel style and preferences.
Prior to you packing your bags and booking your flights, don’t forget to do this… you’ll thank us later.
Also, if you’re strict on your travel time in the Philippines, we highly recommend to book your Philippines transportation online ahead of time. 12go.asia is a booking site we have used and have found some good deals on buses, ferries, trains and even flights.
Day 1: Travel day to Boracay
Most likely, you will be flying into Manila. Sure, there are direct flights to Boracay from many major cities now, but they are usually quite expensive.
There are several flights leaving each day from Manila to Caticlan (MPH) airport, so try to line the times up so you don’t have to leave the airport in Manila and deal with the city’s chaotic traffic.
You can also look at flying into Kalibo like we did. Often these are the cheapest flights, but be prepared for a roughly 2 and a half hour journey to Boracay.
Our advice would be to skip Manila. Most everyone we talked to advised us to do so. Yes, I’m sure there are things worth doing in Manila, but with only two weeks, you just can’t see everything.
Knowing that, Manila was the first to be cut from our list of places to see. The only reason to stay in Manila to use it as a hub to go to the Banaue Rice Terraces.
Where to Stay in Boracay Island
Once you get to Boracay, get settled into your hotel and relax.
Luxury Hotels: Henann Crystal Sands Resort – Station 2 Beach front 5-star resort with fantastic views with three pools and a pool-side bar. Complete luxury throughout entire hotel including on-site restaurant and room service.
Couple Stay/Mid-range: Hue Hotels and Resorts Boracay – Beautifully designed hotel in the Station 2 area and only 300 meters from the beach. This hotel has a fitness room, outdoor pool, pool-side bar, and on-site restaurants.
Budget Friendly/Social Atmosphere: CHILLAX Flashpackers Boracay – Located in the Diniwid area of Boracay Island, this fun backpacker hotel has private rooms as well as dorms. There is a game room and an outdoor common area with WiFi in all the rooms.
Everything you need to pack for the Philippines
Day 2 – 4: Beach days in Boracay
Relax on the beach with a drink in your hand, and be sure not to miss the sunsets!
These relaxing days should help you adjust to the new time zone and power through jet lag.
Check out our tips on where to stay and eat while in Boracay. Make sure you visit Spider Bar (information in the link). It is an absolute must!
Day 5: Travel day to Bohol
This one’s a doozy, but by evening, you will be in a completely different side of the Philippines than what you see in Boracay. You will be away from the crowds and will experience a piece of the country that few get to see.
The cheapest way we found to get to Bohol was to fly to Cebu City, then take a 2 hour ferry to Tagbilaran. From there, hire a tricycle (or van) bound for Nuts Huts in Loboc. Most of the drivers we spoke to knew where this guesthouse is located.
The ride should take roughly 50 minutes by trike (shorter by van). Local bus is another option and is much less expensive (50 PHP, versus 500 PHP for a tricycle), but considering the other modes of transportation you’ll be taking today, hiring your own transport is the easier option.
Note: Nuts Huts seemed to be the only guesthouse in the Loboc area. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time because it is a popular place and is usually fully booked. Read more about our stay at Nuts Huts and our adventures in the jungle.
Day 6: Relax in the Jungle
Grab a hammock and just relax! After a day of travel, you’ll be needing the rest. If you are feeling up to it, a local man offers a guided tour to bat caves high up in the hills. It is pretty cool and a place that most tourists never see, but be prepared for a little work out. Make sure you reserve your “cave trek” the night before.
We tried lots of food on the menu at Nuts Huts, but there were two sure winners.
Day 7: Tarsiers and Chocolate Hills
Rent a motorbike and head first to the Tarsier Sanctuary near Corella, about 30-40 minutes from the small town of Loboc. Next, head back on the same road toward the Chocolate Hills (about 35 km).
Take in the scenery around you and wave at the passing schoolchildren – they will make your day! Stop at any small restaurant along the way for an authentic lunch.
If you have time, stop in Loboc before returning to Nuts Huts. One of the oldest churches in the Philippines stands in the center of town. It was badly damaged in a recent typhoon, but definitely worth a look.
Read more about our adventures exploring Bohol by motorbike.
Note: We cut Alona Beach from this itinerary because we weren’t overly impressed by it. You will be seeing many beaches on this trip that are far superior, but if you do end up staying on Panglao Island, check out Kayakasia’s Firefly Kayak Tour. It was pretty incredible!
Day 8: Travel day to Palawan
Wake up early and wait on the highway near Nuts Huts for the local bus headed to Tagbilaran. Take a late morning flight to Puerto Princesa. (You may have to fly to Manila first before getting another flight to the island of Palawan.)
Once you land, you will have no trouble finding a van outside the airport bound for El Nido. But if you want piece of mind and don’t want to haggle a driver, book your van trip to El Nido ahead of time online. I’m sure it will be more comfortable than our ride.
We bargained and got seats for 500 PHP per person. We had a rough trip – broken seats and a driver who stopped to pick up his friends, making our trip take longer than usual. Considering the higher-end vans don’t cost much more, we would have opted for the more comfortable ride.
Some things to note: I believe the last vans leave around 6:30 pm. The trip should take between 5 and 6 hours. Most vans and buses will drop you off at the bus station about 1 km from the town of El Nido. You will have to grab a tricycle from there and it should cost no more than 50 PHP.
If you don’t want to do so much jumping around by air and land, you can book a popular liveaboard trip on Liveaboard.com. They have collections of the best tours and scuba trips that will bring you to prime spots only locals know about. Be sure to check out their tours in the Philippines.
Where to stay in El Nido:
Spin Designer Hostel – El Nido: With some of the highest reviews in all of El Nido, this laid back hostel is the perfect place to relax after a long day of island hopping. They have dorm rooms and private rooms at great prices. And with only 600 meters to the beach, what’s not to love!
Find other affordable and fun hotels and hostels in El Nido.
Day 9: Relax in El Nido
Get acquainted with El Nido. If you are feeling up to it, grab some drinks at Reggae Bar in the evening. Tables are hard to come by, so if you want a seat to listen to the live reggae band, come early. The real party starts after the band is done playing at midnight.
Day 10: Island Hopping in El Nido
Do an island hopping tour through one of the many tour companies in town. We would recommend either tour A or C.
Day 11: Nacpan Beach Adventure
Hire a tricycle to drive you to Nacpan Beach for the day – it’s an adventure, but totally worth it! Be sure to walk to the viewpoint at the far left end of the beach. Enjoy fresh seafood and a fruit shake for lunch with an ocean view at one of the beach’s two restaurants.
Want more? Read about our crazy journey getting there in our Palawan blog post.
Day 12: Scuba Diving or Free Day
Go Scuba diving (or try freediving) with Palawan Divers. Check out our review on free diving.
If you’re not one for diving, go on another island hopping tour or just have a relaxing day in town!
Day 13: Relax and Travel to Puerto Princesa
When you are ready, catch a van back to Puerto Princesa. The last vans leave at 6:30 p.m., so you can do a tour during day if you are feeling up to it. We went diving on our last day, but were a bit rushed trying to get to the van. Book your ride back to Puerto Princesa ahead of time so you’ll know you have a seat
There isn’t much to do in Puerto Princesa. We spent most of the day hanging around the infinity pool at our beautiful hotel.
The main attraction near Puerto Princesa is the Underground River. We heard mixed reviews – both good and bad – and in the end decided not to dot this tour. If you’d like to add this to your itinerary, you’ll need to cut one day from El Nido and arrive to Puerto Princesa earlier, as this tour takes a full day.
Find other nice places to stay in Puerto Princesa here.
Day 14: Travel Home & Say Goodbye to the Philippines!
If you’re anything like us, you won’t want to leave. But… work… bills… we can’t all be beach bums.
Take a morning flight to Manila, and catch your international flight home. Again, if you can align your flights so that you don’t need to leave the airport, that is best. Just know that flights are often delayed in the Philippines, so be sure to have plenty of time between each as a buffer.
Also, it’s important to note that the domestic and international terminals are separate buildings. You will have to take a shuttle (infrequent but 20 PHP per person, or a taxi 150-200 PHP). It is about a ten minute trip between the two.
For more information about planning your own trip, read in-depth accounts of our experiences in Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. Still need more convincing that you to visit the Philippines? Find out why you need to go now!
Are you planning a trip to the Philippines?
We have TONS of resources on travel in the Philippines and destinations throughout the country. Check out our Ultimate Philippines Travel Guide for all the answers to your most burning questions, or read some of our favorite articles below.
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We want to hear from you!
Is there anything you would change about our itinerary? Places you would cut or add? Comment below!
Hi there!
You by far have the easiest to follow itinerary out there! I am basing our holiday around your adventures!
Im in the mind frame at the moment of trying to cram too many things in but i want to see it all!
I love markets – hand made one of a kind things to keep forever.
I want to do a bit of trekking
I want to see at least one festival
Love a good party…
This is were i’m at now and would love your opinion!
Manila for two days – for some shopping, Borocay for two, Kalibo for two – for the Ati-Atihan Festval, cebu for two, bohol for three, El Nido for two Palawan for two then back to Manila…
Is this too ambitious? What should I scratch to make the trip less hassle?
Thanks!!! 🙂
Hi Corey, I’m so glad to hear that this itinerary is helpful for you! There is so much to do and see in the Philippines that we had the exact same frame of mind when we first started planning… we had 8 places we wanted to go and 17 days to see it all! Then we realized that just wouldn’t work. So we had to cut. A lot.
I think you’re right – you have too many places in your itinerary right now. Travel between the islands can take an entire day, so cutting a few places is going to be necessary with your limited time frame. Just gotta get back someday for a second time to see the rest! (We already have a list of places we want to see the second time around!)
Here’s some of our input:
-I can’t speak much on Manila – we cut it from our itinerary because we aren’t too fond of gigantic, chaotic cities (especially when there are so many other amazing places to see.). Most people we’ve talked to haven’t had many good things to say about Manila when tacking it onto a trip. That said, we have a friend who has family there, so she enjoys the city, and I know just like any city there are places I would love. Totally up to your preference, but we found it easier to just book our flights to the islands with the intention of not leaving the airport (traffic is crazy in Manila). I totally understand your interest in markets though. We didn’t find many big handicraft markets in the other places we went (though we didn’t really seek them out), but we did find some smaller artisan shops and even bought a beautiful hand-woven basket. So I wouldn’t go to Manila solely for the markets since you can find handicrafts in other places. It might be one location to cut.
-Also, I think 2 days is too much in Kalibo. We were only there for the day to see the festival, and then headed to Boracay in the evening which I thought was sufficient. We were there on the last day of the festival though, and things were winding down. There’s not much else in Kalibo, so that would be another day you could cut if necessary.
I’m a bit confused when you say 2 days in El Nido, and 2 in Palawan. (Palawan is the island and El Nido is a town). Did you mean Puerto Princesa? If that’s the case, my recommendation would be to give more days to El Nido. It takes 5-6 hours to get there from the airport, so if you only spend 2 days there, you’ll be spending half of that time in a van. El Nido is worth at least 3 days in our opinion, and you won’t get bored even with 4 days there. Puerto Princesa is alright if you have lots of time to spare – but nothing too special. Maybe one day would be good there to see the Underground River if you’re interested. (We skipped it because we were too tired and had heard mixed reviews about it). But on limited time, you could really limit your time in PP.
-Cebu is another place I can’t speak much about since we only took a taxi from the airport to the ferry port of Cebu City. The city itself (from what we saw) is hectic and kind of dirty. I’m sure there are things to do and see, but it just didn’t make the cut on our itinerary since we were limited with time. If you want to see other places on Cebu island itself, look into how much time it takes to get there – some of the places take at least a whole day, so 2 days on Cebu isn’t going to get you far.
Some other thoughts (based on your interests):
-Boracay is a good place to relax and party, and so is El Nido
-You can do a little trek in Bohol (we mention it in our article on Bohol) and also there is one to a nice viewpoint in El Nido
With only 2 weeks I would strongly urge you to choose 3 islands (you can go to a couple towns on each island) instead of the 5 islands you have listed. We only went to 3 islands in our 17 days, but felt like even that was pretty rushed at times. We didn’t expect the transport between islands (or within the islands themselves) to take so long.
I know it sucks cutting places – it broke my heart each time I had to cross a place off our itinerary, but you’ll enjoy it so much more if you’re not constantly on transport. And you’ll still get to see a ton! The Philippines is just one of those places where you can’t see everything in one trip (or even 10!). You’ll just have to make it back someday 🙂
I hope this helps! Let us know if you have more questions!
Where else would you say is good to go? We are thinking of extending our trip to 3+ weeks.. Thanks
In our itinerary, we have Boracay and Bohol listed and we’d definitely recommend those places as they have very different feels. We spent 17 days between Boracay, Bohol and Palawan and definitely could have used a couple extra days. If you want to see more still, I would suggest looking into:
-Banuae Rice Terraces – north of Manila and a very cultural experience.
-Apo Island – really good diving
-Siargao is supposed to be nice
-Coron (north of Palawan) is supposed to be beautiful but a bit tricky to get to
Those are the places I would start researching and see which appeals to you most! Let us know if you have any more questions!
Hi guys!!
Myself and my partner are going to be doing 3 weeks in phillipines from 7th to 28th February.
Would you say that 4-5 days in el nido is enough. Would you recommend doing all four of the tours if you had the time? A, B, c and the kayak tour? I’m confused about Palawan/el nido. Is el nido in Palawan and can you stay in el Nido?
We are thinking about flying straight from Manila to el nido to save the time. Where would you recommend going afer we have done the islands in el nido? We love the beach life!
Thanks
Hi Kirsty, you’ll have an amazing time in the Philippines! February should be a great time to be there.
I think 4-5 days in El Nido is perfect. To clarify, El Nido is a town on the island of Palawan, and yes you can stay there 🙂 It’s not a huge town, but there are plenty of guesthouses, restaurants and bars. Behind the town are jungly mountains, and the town is right on the ocean. It’s really nice!
We did 2 of the tours – A and C – which were the highest recommended ones. Since we had the time, it was nice to do 2, but many people we met only did one. I think more than 2 might get a little repetitive and while I loved the ones we did, I wanted to have a couple days to ourselves to relax and explore. I would definitely recommend hiring a tuk-tuk driver for a day and going to Napcan ("Twin") Beach. It is amazing! And there is are a couple nice little restaurants serving seafood and smoothies.
As for getting to El Nido, you’ll definitely want to fly as it is one of the more isolated islands in the Philippines and is pretty far west. There is no airport in El Nido for commercial flights (I think there’s a tiny one) but the flights you’d take would land in Puerto Princesa. In our opinion, we would get a van straight to El Nido from the airport and only spend time in PP if you have extra days to spare. There’s not much to do there other than to see the Underground River. We didn’t make it to the Underground River, but we heard mixed reviews – some people loved it and others said it’s a tourist trap – so maybe do a little research. The ride from PP to El Nido takes between 5-6 hours, by the way. You can just catch a van from the airport – no need to book ahead. It can be a windy, fast and bumpy ride, so be prepared!
I hope this info helps! Let us know if you have any other questions. Have an amazing time in the Philippines!
Hi!
To clarify, Palawan is a province composed of several islands. El Nido is a town on the northern tip of the biggest island in Palawan. To get to El Nido, most people fly to Puerto Princesa (the capital of Palawan) then take a bus or van to El Nido — this takes 5-6 hours. There is a direct flight to El Nido from Manila, it’s 4-5x more expensive than flying to PP but it’s worth it. This is a very small airline though (and really small plane too, a 50-seater) and, when we went in December 2015, it had a different separate terminal than the bigger international and local airlines.
Some boat tour companies in El Nido actually offer combinations of the usual A-D tours. So maybe you can do A&B one day and C&D the next? But like Katie said, A & C are the best tours if you only have time for 2. Nacpan beach is also amazing! So tranquil! But be sure to spray on really good insect repellent. I got eaten by sand flies there even with the spray on mosquito repellent.
From El Nido, you can go to Puerto Princesa to fly to other islands. One your way to PP, if you want to see the underground river, I would suggest staying in Sabang town –it’s closer to the river and also has a great beach! Then in PP, there’s the Honda bay — it’s a boat tour kind of place too and more snorkeling than some of the boat tours in El Nido.
Have fun!
Hey Kellsye! Thanks for your additional information.
Hey! I Live in Korea too and was planning on using my 15 day winter break in January to go to to the Philippines. This itinerary looks pretty awesome and am thinking of doing it almost day for day. The only thing is I’m an AOW certified diver and really want to get some dives in around the Bohol/Panglao area. I’m thinking I would trade that last day on El Nido for a day or 2 of diving around that area instead. Do you think that’s possible? Are there any other alterations you could recommend?
Also when I fly into Cebu I think that big festival will be going on so I’m hoping I could maybe check that out for a day too, but I don’t want to feel too rushed.
Also, I’ll be going solo so I hope I don’t get lost! Haha thanks for this itinerary though it looks great!
Hey Chris, the Philippines is a perfect place to hop over from Korea for winter break. The weather in January is much nicer there than in the ROK 😉 We got our advanced scuba certifications a few months ago, so we can’t wait to get back to the Philippines to do some diving! So jealous of your upcoming trip!
A few notes on diving based on our itinerary:
I wouldn’t recommend diving in Boracay – our friend went there and said it wasn’t the best. And I don’t know too much about diving around Bohol/Panglao. I haven’t heard much about it there, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, but it probably isn’t the best either.
The place I would recommend is diving in El Nido/around Palawan. I would bet it is better there than Bohol, though I’m not completely sure.
We went free-diving in El Nido with Palawan Divers, and would recommend them (they do traditional scuba diving too).
You can see our free diving review by searching our site.
You can check out Palawan Diver’s TripAdvisor reviews here:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294256-d1407560-Reviews-Palawan_Divers-El_Nido_Palawan_Island_Palawan_Province_Mimaropa.html
Since we were working on breath control and learning a whole new skill, we were in an area with a sandy bottom, and aside from a few big schools of fish, we didn’t see much sea life. But I guess that’s not the point of free diving haha. We have heard that the dive sites they bring scuba divers to near El Nido are really nice. So if you want to stick closely to our itinerary and just do 1 or 2 days of scuba, El Nido would be a great option.
Two other places we are just dying to get to in the Philippines for diving is Apo Island (supposed to be amazing!) and Malapascua (where you can see thresher sharks). The only thing is if you choose one of these locations, you’d have to cut one of the other islands from the itinerary and rework it to fit your new location. It’s totally doable, but with 15 days you’ve just gotta pick and choose! (We feel your struggle! It was so hard for us to choose which islands to visit because we wanted to see it ALL!).
Anyway, I hope this information is helpful to you. Let us know where you end up diving. We can’t wait to go back to the Philippines and hopefully spend lots of time in the water 🙂
And as for traveling solo, the Philippines is a great place to do it. The people are so friendly, so if you do get lost, most of them will be happy to help. Sometimes it helps but down costs to group together with others for tuk-tuk rides (especially to Nacpan Beach in Palawan, which we’d highly recommend).
Best of luck and happy planning!
Awesome thanks!
One more question… would you recommend booking everything in advance, like the intercity flights and hostels? Or can I just leave it open and improvise while I’m there? I would rather do the latter, but not if everything will be booked up if I wait until he day of. I’ll be there mid-late January.
Another great question, Chris. We would definitely recommend booking the flights in advance. There are only a certain number of flights between the islands per day, and January is a busy time. When we were there, it seemed like all the flights were full. That said, you don’t need to rush to buy them right now. We bought ours in November I believe, and there were still seats – though I think availability was getting limited. (So if you still need some time to plan stuff, don’t worry!)
As far as hostels go, it’s kind of up to your preference. We are totally the same way – we prefer to go with the flow and book things as we’re there, but with the Philippines we booked everything in advance. We figured since we had all the flights booked and only had a certain amount of days in each place it just made sense. I don’t think you’d be out of a bed since there’s quite a bit of accommodation, but you may not have much choice in where you’re staying. The places we stayed were pretty full, so we were glad we had booked them. I hope this helps!
Another good place to dive is Coron, Palawan. It’s an island north of El Nido. You can take a ferry from El Nido to get there. I’ve only gone snorkeling in Coron, but the amount of fish and corals there is amazing so I could imagine scuba is even better! Also, a number of Japanese ships sunk near Coron and you can go shipwreck diving there!
I’ve dived in Bohol (Balicasag island) and Apo Island. Bohol is great and you can check out other things when you want to take a break from diving. Diving in Apo Island is amazing too but there’s really nothing else to do in that really small island and you have to take a boat and a bus to get to the nearest city/big town.
So excited for you!
Thanks Kellsye, seems like you have explore quite a bit of the Philippines!
Hi, we are planning on doing your itinerary – thank you for posting it! Quick question, is it better to book the domestic flights whilst there or before we fly? At the moment flights from Manila to Caticlan are going for £60
Hi there Georgia! I’m so glad you found the itinerary helpful! We booked our flights ahead of time because the prices seem to only go up the closer it gets to your travel dates. Also, we went during a popular season, so some of the flights were booking up, and since our schedule was kind of tight, we didn’t want to risk being stuck somewhere (although being "stuck" in the Philippines wouldn’t be so bad! hehe)
I think Manila to Caticlan for £60 sounds about right. (I believe that’s about what we paid as well).
Have a great time planning, and please let us know what you think! I’m jealous that you’ll be on those beautiful beaches very soon 🙂
Hi! My name is Josh, I’m 18 years and looking at different places to travel to. I really liked your itinerary you had for the Philippines, only question is approximately how much was it for this two week trip for each person? Want to get an idea of how much I’ll be spending. Thanks!
Hey there Josh, I’m so glad you’re considering the Philippines as a travel option – it’s an amazing country! We actually wrote up an entire post about our budget and break down how much we spent on accommodation, food, transportation, etc.
One thing to know is that it’s totally possible to travel the Philippines for cheaper than we did. We had some nicer meals, went on a couple of excursions, and had quite a few cocktails and beers 😉 To save more money, you can choose cheaper accommodation, eat less expensive food and not have many nights out drinking. The thing you can’t control is transportation – and flights/ferries between the islands are pretty expensive.
Is you have any more questions, please let us know. Good luck planning!
Thanks for the great post, I have three weeks in the Philippines, and was panicking I might not have time to visit all these places, but you’ve filled me with hope! 🙂
Hey Anastasia! I’m so glad this put you at ease! 3 weeks will be a great amount of time to see these three places. You could even squeeze in another stop, but it may get kind of rushed. We went for 17 days total, and I would have loved a few more to just spend relaxing! (Next time!) I have heard great things about Port Barton, which is between Puerto Princesa and El Nido, so that might be a nice stop! Enjoy your time there! We can’t wait to go back 🙂
Thanks so much for this post! I have used it to help me plan my trip. I am going for a month, but two weeks of it I will be with a group provided medical care/setting up temporary clinics. Did you do any research into the hanging coffins in Sagada? I want to add that onto my itinerary, and can’t find great information… This is also my first solo trip where I am winging it a bit more than usual. Any advice?
Thanks,
Teresa
Hi there, Teresa! That sounds like a great trip you have planned. I would love to know more about the program that you’re working with. Sounds incredible. (Thanks in advance for doing some great work!)
I don’t know much about Sagada, but it looks suuuuper interesting! It would be a great little side trip to tag onto the Banaue rice terraces. We wanted to go there so badly, but had to leave it out since it would mean we’d have to cut another destination from the list. It’s definitely one of our top destinations for our next trip to the Philippines!
How long in total will you be traveling (not working with the clinic)? The main reason Banaue didn’t make our list this time is because it takes a while to get there – a long night bus, if I remember correctly – and we just didn’t have the time to make it worthwhile.
The Philippines is a lovely country to "wing it" in, but sometimes transportation should be booked ahead since it can take a while. Remember that it is an island country, so getting from place to place can take much longer than you think. This eats up some days very quickly. So with out 2 weeks, even 3 destinations felt a bit quick, and I would recommend cutting one place from this suggested itinerary if you plan to add Banaue/Sagada.
You will have a wonderful time traveling solo though. Enjoy every minute, and let us know which places you end up visiting!
Cheers!
I have 17 days to travel on my own… I was hoping to hit Sagada, Bohol (with a day in Cebu maybe…) and end in Palawan… Is this too much?
I am volunteering with Project Helping Hands. It’s a great organization founded by an ER nurse (as an ER nurse I really appreciate this fact). They take who ever is interested, you don’t have to have medical training to volunteer. It’s my first trip with them, but some of my co-workers did a few trips and loved it!
Yes, Teresa, that sounds like a great plan! It will more or less be about the same time we were able to spend in each place, and may feel a bit rushed, but it’s definitely doable and will give you a taste of 3 very different places in the Philippines. And the organization sounds great! We’ll have to look into it more 🙂 have a fantastic time and let us know how it goes!
(Oh and sorry for the delay in response – we were trekking to Everest Base Camp and had very limited internet!)
Hey, I absolutely loved this post I added it to my home screen months ago when I booked my flights to the Philippines. I’ve been travelling and living in Australia for the last year and am ending my trip home with 2 weeks in the Philippines. I’m planning on following your itinerary pretty closely, but one thing I am super keen to do is snorkel/swim with whale sharks. Do you know where the best place to do this is, along your route? I’m planning on doing this solo although a friend might come for a week so I’m pretty nervous about being along in a country that doesn’t speak English. Do you have any recommendations for someone travelling solo? How much would you recommend I also put aside for the trip once I’m there? Bearing in mind I haven’t booked any internal flights or accommodation yet. Thanks so much for your help! Lauren Talulah x
Hi there Lauren! I’m so glad this post is helpful! That will be a perfect way to make your way home from Oz 🙂
First, don’t be nervous at all about traveling solo in the Philippines! Aside from Manila, it is a really safe country and most people are lovely and very friendly. As long as you are conscious of what’s going on around you, you should be fine. One thing I would recommend to solo travelers anywhere is to always know where you are going when you get off transportation. That’s when most scams happen. Have a hotel address written down and a map in a screen shot.
Good news: English is widely spoken in the Philippines!! Most people spoke enough to have a full conversation 🙂 at times we wanted to learn the local language, Tagalog, but everyone just wanted to practice their English!
As for whale sharks… We really wanted to do this as a part of our itinerary too, but after looking into it decided against it. The main place people go is Oslob (the southern tip of Cebu). The main concern we had is that the whales are not treated well. If this is something that concerns you, there is a lot of information out there – so do a little reading about the issue. Also, we’ve met lots of people who added it to their itinerary and were disappointed. You have to take a really long bus (often times over night), then wake up early to be crowded with other tourists doing the same thing, hop in the water, take some photos and you’re done. Most people we spoke to said they went out of their way to squeeze it in, but ended up being let down. It’s totally a personal thing though. You may love it. Just look into it a bit and make the call. One thing to consider though is that it’s pretty far from everything, so it’ll be hard to tag on to just about any itinerary without adding a few hectic days. I do know there’s a nice waterfall nearby that would be worth seeing if you’re in the area – but don’t think it’s worth going too far out of your way for.
I remember reading that Donsol is a place known for the more ethical treatment of the whale sharks – but it is even less convenient to get to unfortunately. And I’m not exactly sure what they are doing there that is better than Oslob. Might be worth checking into.
We made a budget breakdown of our trip that should help you get an idea of what to expect cost-wise.
We just took money out of the ATMs so we didn’t have to carry a super large sum of cash on us.
Good luck with making your final plans. Let us know how your trip goes 🙂
Hi! I’m traveling to the Phillipines for 14 days, 2 being traveling days, at the end of April. I’ll be staying in Cebu, but I’m having a hard time finding information on things to do. I love hiking and food, but Ill be honest, Phillipines being divided into islands has me researching places not reachable other than a plane ride. Do you have suggestions for Cebu or even islands that are a must?
Hey Ashley! So excited to hear you’re going to the Philippines! We think you’ll love it (we sure did!).
We actually didn’t stay in Cebu. We just passed through on our way to Bohol, so I’m afraid we don’t have too much advice on that area.
I do remember researching it a bit and reading about some beautiful waterfalls on the island (Kawasan looks gorgeous, but is said to be very touristy. Tumalog is less busy, but a bit further away). The problem with both of these waterfalls is I think it takes a while to get them from Cebu City (which is very typical a in an island country like the Philippines!).
I also heard good things about diving in Malapuasca (which is also a ways north, but reachable from Cebu City). That area is famous for thresher sharks.
Other suggestions that aren’t too far from Cebu:
-Bohol: this island is a short ferry ride away from Cebu and has a very different feel from the rest of the islands we visited (less touristy and more jungly). You can go firefly kayaking, rent a motorbike and explore the chocolate hills, stay in a lodge in the jungle, see tarsiers in their natural habitat.
-Apo island: we never made it here but heard great things about the snorkeling and diving
-Dumaguete: we didn’t make it here either, but it looks like there’s some cool culture nearby (and it’s the closest city to Apo island, so you’d have to go here first)
-Siquijor Island is supposed to be nice (and relaxing) as well
If you’re open to going further, we would highly recommend Palawan. It requires a flight and a 5-6 hour drive to get to the town of El Nido, but was one of our favorite places in the Philippines. (I would say you’d need at least 5 days to get there, spend some time, and get off the island)
-Boracay is touristy, but the beach is superb. And we found a really amazing treehouse bar that was out of the "tourist zone" that we loved spending our days at 🙂
One more note: a popular thing to do in Cebu is go to Oslob and swim with whale sharks. We were thinking about it, but read up on some of the ethical issues and decided against it. It’s totally a personal decision, but I’d advise you to do a little research before making it a must on your itinerary. We met some people who thought it was kind of a let down because you have to take a night bus to get there, then wake up super early, and be crowded with other tourists doing the same thing. And they wished they hadn’t gone out of their way for it. Again, totally a personal decision, but just something to think about!
Good luck planning and let us know if we can be of any more assistance 🙂
Just wanted to say a big thank you – with a last minute change of plans from our planned trip to Bali now becoming a last minute switch to the Philippines (thanks to my lovely boyfriend not having enough months left on his passport…) I had no idea what to do / where to go with only 2 days to plan! Slightly overwhelmed indeed. Your ultimate guide is perfect and we are about to fly off on Saturday now knowing what route we pretty much will do & we’re now so excited to explore!
Thank you again! Beth
Thank you so much for the kind message, Beth! That seriously made our day 🙂 We love knowing when our guides are helpful and useful for others. Please update us after your trip and let us know what you thought of the Philippines. We’d love to hear about your time there!
And P.S. What a "terrible" problem for your boyfriend to have 😉 I never thought too many stamps was really a problem… Until it affects travel plans I suppose!
Cheers!
Hello! First of all, thank you for such a through blog, with great information. My boyfriend and I are about to embark on a 3.5 month travel stint and starting in the Philippines in April!
We are most likely going to follow your 2-week itinerary! I do have one question, how did you get from Caticlan Airport to where you stayed in Boracy? Did you take a ferry over, and if so how did you obtain that ticket?
Thanks for any insight! Again- love the blog!!
Hi Emma, Thanks for such a kind message! Your 3.5 month trip sounds amazing! You are seriously going to fall in LOVE with the Philippines – we sure did 🙂
We actually flew into Kalibo Airport because we wanted to see part of the Ati-Atihan festival that was taking place that day (in January) and then headed to Boracay from there. You might want to check out the price of flights to Kailbo compared to Caticlan because they can be cheaper (but you do have to spend more time in a shuttle van to get to Boracay).
We too were nervous about the transportation before we arrived (especially since it was during one of the biggest festivals of the year), so we booked online with Southwest Tours Boracay. They have a van pick you up at the airport, connect you with a ferry to Boracay and then another van picks you up on Boracay and drives you to your hotel. It all worked out great. That said, we saw many other companies when we arrived at the airport that were offering the same service. I think Southwest is supposed to be one of the nicer companies, but if we were to do it again, we would have just taken whatever we found at the airport since it’s all pretty much the same.
Hope this helps!
Two weeks in the Philippines is very hard to do, but you’ve definitely picked the main spots! I’d probably only try to squeeze in a trip down to Apo Island to swim with the wild sea turtles! Sounds like a fun trip!
I know – we could have stayed there for 6 months and still not seen everything we wanted to! We were originally planning to go to Apo Island, but didn’t want to rush things too much (especially since it takes a whole day to fly, then drive 6 hours to El Nido! Eeeek!) Next time, I guess 🙂
There is so much to see in the Philippines, i also felt like my 2 weeks was too short… for those more interested in hiking, I’d recommend the rice terraces in Banaue and Batad, and for those into wreck diving, the sunken Japanese fleet in Coron.
Thanks for the tips! We are dying to make it to Banaue!
This sounds perfect. Could you give a rough estimate of how much you spent on this trip total? (And were there two or three of you?)
We traveled as a group of 3, but all of our expenses are for just the 2 of us. We spent roughly $49 per person, per day. You could easily spend less (we weren’t on a super tight budget since it was a 2-week vacation), but you could also easily spend more with more luxurious accommodation. One other thing to note is that we had 3 domestic flights, which upped our cost quite a bit. Getting to and from the islands isn’t cheap!
Good luck with planning!
Hi guys, great report! I’m going for three weeks in November and pretty much doing the trip above but the other way around – starting in El Nido first. It seriously looks amazing there!
That’s so exciting! Three weeks will be a good amount of time to go to all those places – we felt it was a little rushed in 2 weeks. And you’ll love El Nido (it was our favorite)! That might be a problem though, we never wanted to leave! Cheers and safe travels!