Time spent here – 1 month
Budget – £600 (1 person)
Route
Port Barton – 4 nights El Nido – 5 nights Cebu City – 1 night Moalboal – 3 nights Siquijor – 2 nights Panglao – 3 nights Bohol – 4 nights Malapasquar – 4 nights Kalanggaman Lyte island – 1 night Cebu City – 2 nights
Travelling the Philippines has been on my bucket list for years. The tiny islands that make up my idea of sheer paradise. White sands, crystal clear waters, sky blue lagoons and the most beautiful waterfalls you will ever see. The past few years the South East Asian islands have been on the rise in terms of popularity and have seen a huge increase in terms of tourism, think Thailand 7 years ago, when its on the up that it’s easy enough to travel, there’s a good choice of hostels yet you’re not inundated with tourists and the prices haven’t sky rocketed yet. You can literally feel them setting up for the influx of tourism in certain places, something I’ve never quite experienced before. Making now, in my eyes, the perfect time to visit. There are plenty of routes which backpackers choose, some more off the beaten path than others, some better for diving, some partying and some relaxing.
We researched a few spots we wanted to see beforehand, listened to friends advice and planned a sort of route.
Our trip began flying into Puerto Puerto Princesa from here we jumped straight on a bus to Port Barton one of my favourite spots, a tiny boho town which only gained electricity for 24 hrs a day in the past few years, the WiFi is sparse, the town is tiny and the eclectic mixture of shops and restaurants give it a unique feel. We quickly realised if we wanted to see the area on a budget then hiring mopeds is the way forward! We visited white beach a white sand beach coated in palm trees, another beach where starfish covered the sand and a beautiful waterfall. Here we stayed in CocoRico, a newly built hostel and one of the few in the area, a party hostel and a great way to meet new people!
From here we hopped on a bus and headed down to El Nido, a much more touristy spot but for good reason! Beautiful beaches including Nacpan and Las Cabanas beach are not to be missed here! We also splurged on a day trip (option A) of island hopping and snorkelling, an amazing day surrounded by sun, clear water and beautiful little islands.
Next, a flight across to Cebu city where we spent a night and enjoyed cheap local food, then the island hopping began with our first stop being Moalboal famous for the bluest of blue, Kawasan falls and diving. We opted for the Pioneering, think jumping off cliffs and sliding down waterfalls, the best way to experience Kawasan falls! With diving not being one of our top priorities we decided to opt for the much cheaper option of snorkelling and we where not disappointed! The spot is famous for sardines and just a little swim from the shore we where greeted with 1000’s of the tiny fish, we where also lucky enough to be joined by turtles one of the most amazing experiences!
After this, we headed across to Siquijor to see the less touristy Cambugahay falls as well as some of the most beautiful views I’ve seen (we hired peds here and saw the whole island in a day, a great way to save money and time). After this we headed to the larger island of Bohol, starting with the tiny island joined by a bridge: Panglao. A great spot for relaxing on the beach and generally chilling, here we stayed in Alona Hammocks, an awesome hostel in a great location for £5 a night including breakfast, we ended up spending a bit of time relaxing at the hostel taking full use of the hammocks.
From here we moved into central Bohol we loved Alona Hammocks so much that we decided to stay at their sister hostel Butuan hammocks and this certainly didn’t disappoint! A lovely little set of private and dorm style huts, but the highlight here was by far the food! Pay 100 pesos (£1.50) for your dinner and receive a huge vegetarian buffet full of local delights including some of the best dishes we have ate on this trip! From here we hired peds and went to see the famous Chocolate Hills a short 10 minute drive from the hostel.
The next stop on our list was Malapasquar, a beautiful island with two sides stark in contrast, one, the main side full of dive resorts, hostels and a not so amazing beach, the other, desolate but beautiful and relaxed. We stayed at Neverland here, a new ‘hostel’ where the accommodation provides huts or tents to sleep in and a family feel. Again get the vegan dinner here, same style as before in Bohol but 200 pesos (however, this time it included dessert) and so so worth it.
Our last stop on this trip was Kalanggaman Leyte island, they say save the best for last and boy, that is what we did! Essentially, just a sand strip in the middle of the ocean with a small island at the end to read more about our night camping here click here. Straight from here we started our journey back to Cebu city before flying to our next destination and that was it, our month in the Philippines over and somewhere I would definitely come back to.
