Tour Operator: Wanderlands
Tour: Philippines
Group Size: 14 (of a maximum 15)
The Philippines has been high on my to visit list for a long time but for one reason or another it took me many years to eventually get there and boy was it worth it! The trip I opted for had three long travel days but for someone with time constraints and the desire to see as much as possible this trip was perfect for me.
From our first stop on Palawan I was in love with the country! The scenery on our long drive from Puerto Princesa to El Nido was fantastic! Beautiful jungle terrain and picturesque coastal views. El Nido served as the perfect base for our three days. From here we visited Nacpan Beach, which was the definition of a tropical paradise with its drooping coconut trees, golden sandy beach and warm turquoise water! We set up shop at the Mad Monkey Hostel towards the end of the beach where we could lie on the sand or in comfy bean bag chairs listening to chill out music whilst in awe of our surroundings! Make sure you stay for the sunsets and take some time to walk along the beach and around to the neighbouring beach.
I didn’t think things could get much better but with day 2 things continued to improve. Today we had an island hopping trip taking in the Big and Small Lagoons as well as lunch on our own private beach and later a few drinks on a more lively beach before heading home. The highlight was most definitely the first stop at the aptly named Big Lagoon, here you can rent kayaks and paddle your way into the lagoon, be sure to stop off and jump out at the entrance to take some memorable photos in the shallows of the lagoon entrance. Heading in to the lagoon if you bear left you can head up a narrower stretch until you find a gap in the cliff / rock face, here with care you can kayak through a short cave / tunnel in the rocks… just be sure not to turn sideways as you will get a little stuck as one of our group found out.. We took some fantastic photos as hopefully you can see below.
That night we had a wild night out starting at the pleasant Frendz Hostel and Rooftop Bar before heading to the more lively Kape Pukka Bar before finishing the night off at Sava with its cool outdoor beachside dancing space (this is also a popular spot for sunset drinks, arrive early to get a prime bean bag or bar stool spot upstairs).
The prior night finished with us going straight from the party to breakfast at 6am so a lie in was much needed!! At around 1pm we made our way to the nearby Las Cabanas beach. Here you can zipline your way across the beach to an island just off shore. Walk up the beach under the zip wire to find a cool chilled out bar on the peninsula. Up around the bend if you follow the beach you will come across a gorgeous house raised up from the beach in the trees looking out to sea, imagine waking up to that view every morning! Most of the group stayed for some fantastic sunset views here!
A very long travel day took us back to Puerto Princesa and then on to Cebu where we headed south to Moalboal for the next stop-off on our adventure. Here the highlights were snorkeling with sardines and turtles just off the shore of Moalboal, a visit to the Kasawan Falls (which were nice but not a patch on Laos), wild nights out at 7 Sins and Chilli Bar and swimming with whale sharks at Obslob. The whale shark experience was not quite what I expected, I had visions of us pottering around in boats looking for the magnificent fish instead there were a few just offshore that (I believe) had been enticed in closer to shore using food. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to be able swim with these wonderful creatures! If you do head to see the whale sharks at Oslob you must arrive as early as possible – we got there around 5.30am, from what I heard they stop feeding the fish early on and after that they head back out in to the sea.
Our final calling point was Boracay, which I absolutely loved! Back from the beachfront there was a lot of construction going on (I visited soon after it reopened) but the beach itself, despite being quite busy, was one of the nicest I have ever seen! Once again the drooping tropical trees, golden sand and warm turquoise waters! I didn’t have much time there but I believe up by Station 1 the beach is more peaceful. We spent most our time in and around station 2 on the beach and in the bars… Exit, Epic and OM Bars, the latter being a rather cool outdoor nightclub. Aside from these three lively spots there is an abundant of cool beach bars where you can relax and take in the amazing scenery! Although for some great acoustic cover bands (who were happy to take our many requests) we headed to Bom Bom Bar with it’s buy-1-get-1-free happy hour! Boracay was our party destination and as such we stayed in the very lively Mad Monkey Hostel, which was very nice and a lot of fun but just be ready to join the party!
After an amazing two weeks I had the daunting 36 hour journey home.. Tuk Tuk Taxi > Boat > Taxi > Flight 1 > Inter-terminal shuttle bus > Flight 2 > Flight 3 > Underground train > Short walk – HOME!
Highlights
Best Drink: Red Horse £1 a bottle (more frequently £1.15 to £1.50) and 7% obviously I couldn’t drink it all the time but as my friends stuck to local rum if I needed a little catch up Red Horse was perfect and had more taste than the ever popular San Miguel Light.
Best Experience: (perhaps not an “experience” but) the people I met! The tour group was fantastic and everyone seemed to click. We also had an awesome charismatic Tour Leader from Boracay who certainly showed us a good time there. Aside from the group I really enjoyed chilling on Nacpan Beach and having a private swim with a turtle at dusk just off the coast at Moalboal
Best Food: pork sisig – it is served on a hot plate with a raw egg on top, as soon as it comes mix in the raw egg and enjoy!! The pork towards the bottom is nice and crispy whereas that further from the hot pate is chewier. I had it twice and enjoyed both versions, one didn’t come with rice so was just a pork feast!
