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The clearest water you will ever see; white, black, pink, brown or grey sand beaches; secret lagoons; friendly locals; stunning waterfalls; fluorescent coral; fresh seafood feasts on the beach; more mango shakes than you can handle; an endless supply of coconuts; nibbling fish; geckos, turtles; whale sharks…if I haven’t convinced you to visit the Philippines by now you can stop reading!
If you love adventure and getting wet, then the Philippines is the place for you. If you prefer the cold and staying dry then perhaps read my Canada blog post instead!
Why visit the Philippines?
It’s the country where everybody knows how to smile! 😊
But with so many waterfalls, lagoons, beaches and islands to visit, how on earth are you supposed to fit it all in?
The phillippines is a country where the most beautiful places take the longest to get to and as it is a group of islands, expect to be spending quite some time on buses and ferries. If you’ve only got a week then you will be spending half of that time actually travelling rather than adventuring so you need at least 2 weeks to properly experience it. Keep reading for the ultimate Philippines 2 weeks itinerary!
Here is the outline of your 2 week itinerary:
Days 1-3: Moalboal, Cebu
Days 4-5: Oslob, Cebu
Days 5-7: Bohol
Days 7-11: El nido, Palawan
Days 12-14: Coron, Palawan
This can of course be done in reverse.
As a heads up, when I said ‘adventure’ I meant ADVENTURE ENTHUSIAST. This means jumping off 12m waterfalls, swimming with whale sharks, kayaking to tropical islands, climbing up sheer cliffs, island hopping, snorkelling...of course, there will be down time as well as it’s never a proper tropical escape without sunset cocktails, hammock time and romantic strolls on the beach!
Days 1-3: Moalboal, Cebu
Day 1: Arriving in Moalboal, panagsama beach & sardine run
I would spend the first day arriving in Moal boal, doing the sardine run and enjoying sunset cocktails!
Book your flight to Mactan Cebu International airport. Waste no time in Cebu city, head straight to Moalboal, a 3 hour bus ride away (bus is cheapest ~ 120 pesos pp ($3.50 aud). If your flight arrives late at night, you’ll have to find a place to stay near the airport (Leope hotel ~ $30aud / night) and catch the bus first thing in the morning.
Moalboal town & panagsama beach
Moalboal town is pretty much one big road with convenience stores and shabby restaurants, not a lot to see but worth eating dinner there if you want to save money. There is a much better vibe at Panagsama beach with heaps of fun bars, seafood restaurants and by far the best spot to go for sunset cocktails. This is also where the impressive sardine run is, not to be missed!
Where to stay in Moalboal
If you're looking for a cheap place out of town (but still only a 10 minute tricycle ride away) with it's own beach, Adivayan 315 is the one ($19 aud/night). You can choose to stay in one of their outdoor huts or inside the house. Test out their classic Filipino kayaks and float among the mangroves in your own little oasis. Only stay here if you don't have mobility issues as you have to walk through a 10 minute jungle trek over rocks, coral and even crabs (with no light) to get to the entrance from the road!
Sardine run
What is the sardine run?
Literally, 30m from the shore of Panagsama beach, over a million sardines swim around together in a giant ball of sparkle. You can swim there from the shore so no need to hire a boat. Diving into the centre of a massive shimmering cluster is the coolest way to start your trip!
Best bars and restaurants at Panagsama beach
Veranda bar is a lively beach front bar that make a mean pina colada! You can sit up high at the bar or at a cute table on the sand, either way this bar provides the best view of the sun setting over the water!
Ven’z kitchen is one of the top restaurants at Panagsama beach with a reasonably priced menu for that area.
If you walk along Panagsama road past the dive shops and backpackers hostels you will find a bunch of bars full of westerners. Chili bar has a great view, atmosphere, pool table and cocktails.
Keep walking along and you will find a big seafood restaurant called ‘Little corner’ with fresh squid and fish displayed outside. There’s a reason why it’s always full - big portions and fresh seafood at a reasonable price!
Day 2: Canyoneering at Kawasan falls
This was definitely a highlight of the trip and should not be missed!
This tour can easily be booked at Lion Dive Centre, right next to Veranda bar at Panagsama beach. It is 1300 pesos per person (~$39 aud) for a 4 hour waterfall trek including canyoning with guides, pick-up and drop off from accommodation, group transport to the waterfalls, water bottle, life jacket, helmet, aqua shoes and lunch.
This was one of the most adventurous, thrilling and adrenaline-filled activities of the trip as we jumped off 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 metre high waterfalls! If you’re terrified of heights, the waterfall jumps are optional so you can take other paths to stay with the group.
Highlights of the Kawasan falls canyoneering tour include swinging off a rope into a deep blue lagoon, sliding backwards head first down waterfalls and wading through the cloudy, turquoise water underneath the jungle canopy hanging overhead, sunlight streaming through the leaves – a stunning waterfall trek! Don’t forget your gopro!
The trek finishes with the 12m high jump, enjoying a swim at Kawasan falls and finishing off with lunch.
By the end of the adrenaline-filled tour, you are absolutely wrecked so more sunset cocktails at panagsama beach (or cheap dinner at Moal boal town) sounds fitting, right?!
Day 3: Osmena peak, Alegria town & Kabutongan waterfall
Osmena peak
Osmena peak is a hike everyone does for sunrise so involves a 4am start and costs 2000 pesos ($60 aud) as a standard rate to get you to the start of the trek. Unfortunately, this ride is unavoidable as the road is too rocky and dangerous to ride a motorbike on. If you can get a group together and split the fare, it ends up cheaper.
You can combine Kawasan falls with Osmena peak in a tour that costs about $30 aud, however this does not include the canyoneering. Unfortunately, it poured non-stop for us on this day so doing the climb would’ve provided zero views at the top.
Mainit hot springs
For some reason we decided it was a great idea to rent a motorbike instead and warm up at Mainit hot springs.
After a soaking wet 45 minute ride, the locals wouldn’t even let us enter. If you’ve read in other blogs to visit Mainit hot springs, they may not have mentioned that there is a local dispute about letting foreigners enter the waterfall as the locals want to preserve the natural hot spring.
When we got to the entrance, a couple would not let us pass (even after such a long, wet and cold ride!) so we had lunch at Alegria town.
Lunch in Alegria town
It was the cheapest meal of the trip! A local lunch in the Philippines consists of a buffet full of pork, chicken, fish and vegetable options with rice or noodles. Each choice costs about 30-40 pesos, ~ $1 aud in Alegria (or 70-80 pesos if you’re in a tourist hot spot!)
Because of the heavy rain, the waterfalls were all flooded but today was supposed to be dedicated to one of the following waterfall treks:
- Kabutongan waterfall
- Dao waterfall
- Montpelier waterfall
- Inambakan falls
- Cambais waterfall
- Montpellier waterfall
Days 4-5: Oslob, Cebu
Day 4: Bus to Oslob, Sumilon island, Binalayan falls, Aguinid falls
Getting to Oslob
The local bus is the cheapest way to get from Moal Boal to Oslob and is super easy. You don’t even have to go to a bus stop, you can just stand on the side of any road that is on the bus route and flag down a red, green or yellow bus. Ask them if they go to ‘Bato’ and hop on! It takes about 90 minutes (60 pesos each?) and Bato is the final stop.
You will have to get off at Bato, walk for 5 minutes (or take a tricycle) to the bus stop and catch another 45 minute bus (40 pesos or $1.20 aud) to Oslob town. If you spot your hotel along the drive, yell at the driver to stop and you can be dropped right outside the door!
Where to stay in Oslob: Sascha’s resort
- $20 aud / night
- 10 minute drive to the whale shark dive
- 10 minute drive to the port for Sumilon island and waterfalls
- 5 minute walk to town for bars and restaurants
- Pool and slide
- Great view of the water with deck beds and outdoor hammocks
- Can buy coffee or breakfast there
- The resort has a driver and offer tours
Sumilon island, Binalayan hidden falls and Aguinid falls
We arrived in Oslob at 10:30am from our bus trips and our hotel organised a driver to take us to Sumilon island, Binalayan hidden falls and Aguinid falls all on the same day!
Sumilon island
It costs 1500 pesos ($45 aud) to get to Sumilon island for two people. In hindsight, we would've skipped Sumilon island as it was quite an expensive 15 minute trip, there is not much on the island except a sand bank and a resort (for resort guests only).
However, if you’re looking for a sunny place to relax for the rest of the day then this place might suit you. The water is super clear and the snorkelling is pretty good.
When you want to go back to Oslob, just get on the next orange boat that comes, they should come every 30 minutes.
Top tip: Walk around to the back of the island, as far as the path takes you and you’ll find a super insta-worthy staircase that leads down to the 3-shaded-turquoise ocean!
Binalayan hidden waterfalls
In Samboan is this beautiful waterfall at the end of a short and serene jungle trail. It is free to enter but you have a guide who you are expected to tip at the end however much you feel like.
The walk is pretty easy, you can do it in flip flops. The first part involves walking past an abundance of coconut trees, before you get to the tranquil jungle trail.
The first part of the trek brings you to a tyre swing and shortly after there is a waterfall you can jump into or swim in if you want but it is not the main waterfall. Jumping into this first waterfall (~4m high) was almost underwhelming after the exhilaratingly high ones at the canyoneering tour, but it’s refreshing nonetheless.
The next and final waterfall is the main one and involves a 3 tier climb so you can jump off the low, middle or high platforms into the water. The fun part about this waterfall is that there is a hole in the rock behind the stream that the guide helps you climb up into so you can jump out of the hole. Taking slow motion videos of these jumps was a lot of fun!
When you’ve had your fair share of thrilling jumps, your guide takes you back to the beginning and you give him your tip. Overall, this waterfall trek takes about an hour, depending on how long you spend at the last waterfall.
Aguinid falls
This trek wasn’t as cool as Binalayan hidden falls because dry season had just ended so there wasn’t a lot of water! We went in mid-February so if you’re looking for streaming waterfalls gushing with life then visit a little later but not in rainy season! Rather than a stream, it was more of a trickle but we did the trek anyway and had two guides this time.
This waterfall cost 300 pesos per person ($9 aud) and you were also expected to tip the guides. You are provided with a helmet and aqua shoes as you actually climb right up the middle of the waterfalls.
Aguinid falls has 8 levels and at any point you can choose to turn around and go back to the beginning. Unlike other waterfall treks, where you trek for hours to get to the epic waterfall at the end, this adventure is the journey through all 8 levels.
You will wade through the water and pull yourself up the centre of the waterfalls using a rope or holding onto dents they've carved in the rock. Don’t worry, they aren’t vertical waterfalls, they are rounded rocks and not slippery at all. The guides show you where to place your hands and feet and the aqua shoes also help!
You can slide down the waterfalls or climb up to stand underneath the shower.
If you go all the way to level 8, you walk back to the beginning via the road with your guides, which feels somewhat exposed in just a bikini and helmet!
Oslob town – bars and restaurants
After your day of waterfalls and islands, you deserve a refreshing drink in Oslob town. The town is very small and has about 1 bar for Westerners – Sozio bar. It's a lively place to meet other travellers from around the world and has great cocktails! Sozio bar is run by a friendly French guy who gets you to contribute to his chalk board with any drawing you can think of. He takes a photo of you to put on his Instagram page, check out his page – soziobaroslob.
Across the road from Sozio bar is the main dinner strip, you’ve pretty much got a choice of two things as Filipino food is quite limited – Filipino BBQ or Filipino buffet. Further along past 7/11 is a French and Filipino fusion restaurant, where we had one of the best meals of the trip. It’s called Le Bistrot and was rated by the French guy, which must mean something, right?!
Day 5: Whale shark swim, ferry to Bohol & Alona beach
Whale Shark swim
Important information!
To do the whale shark swim you have to get there at 4:30am! Yes, we also thought this was a little excessive for an attraction that opens from 6am to 12pm but hey we listened to the driver and got there at 4:30am only to join the back of a queue of about 200 people already!
The whale shark swim is the most popular activity to do in Oslob and the main reason tourists visit Oslob. Rumour has it that they only take the first 500 people, which is why everyone wants to be first in line!
So expect an early start and therefore, don’t expect to do the whale shark swim as a day trip from Moalboal! Spend at least 1 night in Oslob so that you can wake up nearby and go straight to whale shark beach.
The good thing is that you’re back at your hotel eating breakfast by 8:30am and ready to go on to the next destination!
The waiting process is tedious as you shuffle along from the road to the beach, where you collect a number and listen to a briefing. Next, you wait on plastic chairs for your number to be called out (the number of your boat that will take you out to the swimming spot).
It costs 1000 pesos per person ($30 aud) and includes a snorkel, mask and your boat to take you out to the whale sharks.
Despite the lengthy waiting process, the whale shark swim was my favourite part of the whole Philippines trip and so so so worth it!
How it works
Each boat takes about 8 passengers out 100m from the shore. You can choose to wear your life jacket or leave it in the boat while swimming but you must wear it when sitting in the boat for the ride. Once there, jump off your boat into the water with the sharks!
Head back to your hotel for breakfast and to flick through the epic whale shark photos then it’s time to head to the cemetery for your boat to Bohol.
For more details on the whale shark swim such as 'Is it ethical?, 'How long do you spend with the whale sharks?' and 'How close can you get?', read my Whale Shark Blog.
Ferry to Bohol
Where to buy my ticket from
Buy your ferry ticket in advance from the klook website. It’ll cost about 1000 Pesos. Save a screenshot of your ticket and show it to the ferry officer at the ferry port (which is a beach).
Where does the ferry leave from?
Ask a tricycle driver to take you to ‘Poblacion cemetery’, which is a beach from where the ferry departs. If you choose the 10:30am ferry you can fit the whale shark swim in beforehand but you must get to the cemetery at 10:00am.
What time does it leave and how long does it take?
In true Filipino style, most boats won’t leave until it is completely full so after getting there at 10:00am, our ferry, which was supposed to leave at 10:30am, didn’t leave until 11:45am and because of choppy conditions, took way longer than expected so we didn’t arrive in Bohol until 3pm.
Getting to your accommodation from the ferry at Bohol
Once you arrive, a smaller boat transports all the passengers followed by all the luggage from the big boat to the beach, everyone hops on a 12-seater van, which takes you to your accommodation in town.
A bunch of vans are waiting for you when the ferry arrives and each one goes to a different part of Bohol, depending on where you’re staying. Unfortunately, it is a fixed price of 200 pesos per person, non-negotiable. We found this a bit pricey since each van squished 12 people in and we couldn’t split the price but hey that’s the Filipino way. You will find that there is a lot less bargaining in The Philippines compared to other countries in SE Asia like Vietnam or Thailand.
Alona beach
Spend the rest of the evening enjoying the sunset at Alona beach, which puts on an impressive show of peachy sky over the long stretch of beach lined by towering coconut trees.
If you’ve ever been to Gili Trawangan island in Indonesia, then Alona beach is very similar. A beach side path, lit up by lamps and filled with bars and restaurants, luring you in with happy hour specials and massages offered on the sand.
Walk along and pick whichever menu you like best as they all seem to have the same happy hour deals. You can also find some luxury hotels along this stretch and if you walk down the main street away from the beach, you will find convenience stores, tour shops and tricycles waiting to give you a ride to your hotel.
Day 6: Bohol – Tarsier sanctuary and chocolate hills
We were planning to see the tarsiers and famous chocolate hills yesterday (as our ferry was supposed to arrive at midday) but as with everything in the Philippines, you must leave extra time to account for things like late ferries. It’s much more worth your while to allow an extra day in Bohol to actually enjoy the following attractions.
Tarsier Sanctuary
What is a Tarsier?
A tiny primate about the size of your hand that looks like a cross between an alien and monkey with massive eyes.
Fun (but sad) fact
They suffer from severe anxiety, so much that when they become overly stressed they actually commit suicide by banging their heads against a tree, holding their breath or falling out of a tree. That is why there are 3 tarsier sanctuaries in Bohol.
They do look super cute and we’re very sad to have missed out but visit any of the 3 tarsier sanctuaries and try not to scare them!
Remember, the sanctuaries close at 5pm!
Chocolate hills
Another attraction we were sad to have missed is chocolate hills. It is about a 2 hour drive from Alona beach so rent a motorbike and head over. Look out for tarsiers along the way!
Of course, in rainy season expect lush green hills but if you’re travelling in dry season the chocolate hills will be more of a…chocolate colour!
Over 1200 hills covering an area of over 50 square kilometres creates an awesome view to take in.
Apart from Alona beach, tarsiers and chocolate hills, there isn’t much else to do in Bohol so I wouldn’t spend more than 1-2 days here.
Days 7-11: El nido, Palawan
Day 7: Travel to El nido
Travelling from Bohol to El Nido
As previously mentioned, the most beautiful places in The Philippines take the longest to get to and El nido was by far my favourite place in the Philippines so expect to spend a whole day to get here!
A 6:30am start will start 7th day as you wake up in Bohol and need to be at the ferry port for 7:30am departure. Leave enough time to get to the port (it's only a 10 minute drive to Tagbiliran sea port if you stay in Bohol city but much longer if you stay at Alona beach).
We found Bohol city to be the cheapest when it came to tricycle rides. It usually cost 15-20 pesos for a 10 minute ride (~50 Aussie cents) and no need to even bargain for this price, they just gave us the local price straight up!
This ferry is a lot bigger and smoother than the ferry from Oslob to Bohol so don’t worry about sea sickness this time round! The ferry ride takes about 90 minutes to get to Cebu city, which is where we will head to Mactan-cebu airport to catch a flight to Puerto Princessa.
Transport options
Now you may be thinking, why would you go from Cebu island to Bohol island then back to Cebu just to fly to Puerto Princessa? If you’re not that fussed about visiting Bohol island, you can just repeat those bus journeys and travel from Oslob (in South Cebu) back up through Cebu to Mactan-cebu airport (in North Cebu) which will take about 4-5 hours. If you’d like to split up your trip and chuck in another destination then you can follow our itinerary. Either way, you need to get back up to Mactan-cebu airport, Cebu city to fly to Puerto Princessa.
Here are the different options:
Option A:
Cebu city > Oslob (by 2 buses 4 hours)
Oslob > Cebu city (by 2 buses 4 hours)
Pros: avoids ferries, ideal if you’re short on time
Cons: same journey, same route, long trip in one go
Option B:
Cebu city > Oslob (by bus 4 hours)
Oslob > Bohol (by ferry 90 minutes)
Bohol > Cebu city (by ferry 90 minutes)
Pros: avoids repeating the same journey twice, allows you to visit Bohol too
Cons: Not ideal for sea sick prone travellers, requires an extra 1-2 days
Flights
Now, you’re in cebu city and have caught a tricycle to the airport.
If you don’t mind spending ~$300aud, catch a flight directly from Cebu city to El nido and save yourself a heap of time, stress and back ache.
If you’re a budget traveller like me, spend half that amount and catch a flight to Puerto Princessa followed by a 5 hour van / bus / taxi to El nido. You may have read somewhere that it is a super bumpy dirt road that makes the trip that much more uncomfortable. Fear not, the roads have been repaired into concrete the whole journey so it is a smooth ride, just long!
The 5 hour drive
As always, the bus is the cheapest option but you may be waiting for hours for it to fill up with passengers before it leaves. Your best bet is to book a van online in advance using the klook website again. It is 525 pesos ($16 aud) per person for the 5 hour drive and includes pick-up from Puerto Princessa airport and drop off at El Nido bus station with 2 breaks along the way.
The first break is a toilet / snack break where the van may pick up more passengers to fill the seats. The 2nd stop is at a very cheap local restaurant where you don’t even have to wait for food to be cooked as you just pick from the buffet what you want – perfect for tired, sore-bottomed, hangry travellers!
Arriving
5 hours later you will arrive, most likely late at night, so give your hotel advanced warning to be open to let you in! If you’re staying in El nido town, chances are you can walk to your accommodation from the bus terminal as everything is quite close. If you’re staying at El Nido main beach, you’ll need to catch a tricycle but there are heaps of them all through the night as El nido is a tourist hot spot!
Day 8: Island hopping tour
For the next 4 days, we spent 2 days on island hopping tours and had 2 free days. You can choose to do all 4 island hopping tours if you’re keen, but down time is also a good idea sometimes!
El Nido – things to do
The next 4 days can be put in any order and is less rushed as you now have more time for relaxation.
The main thing to do in El NIdo is island hopping.
If island hopping isn't your thing, there are plenty of other things to do - read this blog post.
Island Hopping – important info
This is just a summary, but for ALL the details on island hopping in El Nido, read this blog post.
The tours
There are 4 island hopping tours, Tour A, B, C & D, each tour is exactly the same price everywhere on the island with the same destinations, just to avoid confusion. This is how all the different tour companies coordinate the boats that leave at the same time and stop at their assigned islands. You could call it ‘organised chaos’ but it works!
Tour A: Big lagoon, small lagoon, secret lagoon, 7 commando beach, shimizu island
Tour B: Snake island, cathedral cave, cudognan cave, Pinagbuyutan island
Tour C: Secret beach, helicopter island, matinloc shrine, hidden beach
Tour D: Pasandigan beach, paradise beach, cadlao lagoon, natnat beach
Which tour to choose?
For a summary of the tours, Tour A is the most popular and mainly consists of lagoons; tour B is for cave lovers, tour C is for cool secret places and tour D can actually be done on your own by renting a kayak but probably the most chilled as it is closest to El nido island.
Each tour includes a massive feast on the beach, including fresh fish, squid, pork, chicken, rice, a fruit platter and crab (if you’re lucky!).
Each tour includes a snorkel and mask, life jackets, water and kayaks (if you’re heading to a lagoon). The kayaks are an extra 400 pesos per kayak, which is optional.
Tour details
The tours all leave from El Nido main beach and generally don’t depart until 9:30-10:00am. You will be picked up between 8:30-9:00am from your hotel or from the tour shop you booked the tour from and driven in a van to El Nido main beach. This is where all the island hopping tours depart from. You can even book your tour on the same morning if the driver has space as there are multiple boats that leave for island hopping tours, each fitting up to 30 people.
On your first tour, you’ll have to pay 100 pesos for an environmental fee. Keep the piece of paper so you won’t have to buy another one on your next tour.
Bring along aqua shoes if you own any otherwise expect to pay 100 pesos for a pair, which are compulsory for tours A and C where you will be climbing over rocks to enter secret lagoons.
For more details on all the tours, read this blog post.
Best place to eat in El Nido?
By far the best place to eat in El NIdo town is Angel’s wish restaurant. If it’s extensive menu, reasonable prices and the fact that they are full every single night isn’t enough to convince you, the food was so amazing that we came back every night! Don’t miss out on the fresh seafood on offer here, with the seafood chowder, fish curry and mussels as stand-outs. You will probably find yourself here every night too as you just won’t know what to pick!
Where else can you enjoy sunset drinks?
Corong Corong sunset beach
If you want to escape the tourist bubble of El nido main town, head to the relaxed Corong Corong sunset beach. Our first accommodation actually backed onto Corong corong beach so we found ourselves going for a morning beach run. This is when we discovered all the restaurants and bars along this stretch of beach. If you’re willing to spend a little more, then eat at these restaurants and bars but be aware that they only serve western food, mainly Italian so if you’re looking for local produce then stick to El Nido main beach (cheaper too).
Where to stay
If you want to be in and among all the action and close to island hopping tours then stay at El Nido main beach but if you’d like to stay a little out of town but not too far away then I’d suggest Coring Corong beach, which is where we stayed. We actually walked to El nido town on multiple occasions, which was about 25 minutes or only a 10 minute drive away.
Corong Corong beach is a romantic setting and the perfect place to enjoy sunset cocktails. There are plenty of luxury resorts along corong Corong beach, offering the best sunset views on the island. We spent a couple of nights splashing out at Doublegem resort, which was $200aud/night but it was our anniversary and worth the buffet breakfast, massive swimming pool, pool bar with happy hour cocktails, karaoke and stunning sunset views right on Corong Corong beach.
Don’t be turned off if you're a budget traveller, there are cheaper accommodation options near Corong Corong beach and plenty of budget guest houses and hostels in El nido main town.
Day 9: Day to yourself
Apart from island hopping, activities include renting kayaks and kayaking to the closest island - Cadlao island, wandering around El Nido’s cafes, shake shops, restaurants and bars, Climbing Taraw peak (for sunrise), renting motorbikes to explore the island’s beaches (Nacpan, Lio and Las Cabanas) and waterfall (Nagkalit-kalit waterfall) or chilling at Corong Corong sunset beach.
We decided to split all of the above activities over two days.
Rent a kayak from a bunch of places in town including Asia Kayak Tours, El nido Boutique Art cafe or Aqua travel lodge…600 pesos for a half day (~4 hours) on a double kayak or 500 pesos for a single kayak. You might want the double as it gets super choppy especially on the way back to El nido island so make sure you have a decent level of fitness first!
Oh, and expect your bags to be absolutely soaked unless you bring a water bag. Plenty of street vendors sell them and I would definitely recommend getting one!
Cadlao island is the only feasible island to kayak to as it is the closest from El nido island. Paradise beach is the easiest place on Cadlao island to get to and definitely lives up to its name! This is where we went for a snorkel and found a turtle, bright blue starfish and hundred of colourful fish!
If you kayak further up the island into the next little bay, you’ll find another tropical beach with nothing more than a small stretch of sand, a set of rickety stairs leading up to a viewpoint and plenty of little fish to see when snorkelling – paradise beach version 2! Spend a couple of hours having a picnic, sunbathing, relaxing in the shade and making underwater friends.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can kayak even further up around the island to Pasandigan cove, otherwise head back to El nido island when you feel ready!
Sunset cocktails at Corong Corong beach
All of the beach front bars along Corong corong beach offer happy hour of some sort so spend the evening enjoying a cocktail and deciding on tomorrow’s island hopping tour!
Day 10: Climb Taraw peak and Island hopping tour
Taraw peak
Climbing Taraw peak was one of our favourite activities of the whole trip and for those adventure lovers, this is the activity you do NOT want to miss.
Where to book
You would only know about this from blogs or word of mouth as the Taraw peak climb is not advertised in town. The booking office is also quite hidden from the main road as you walk down a path, through a basketball court full of teenagers practicing their 3-point shots, up some stairs to the booking desk! If you ask a tourist office in town, they’ll show you where it is.
How much does it cost?
It is 700 pesos pp and you get a private guide who goes up and down 3 times a day! His name is Mark Santos, check him out on Instagram - .markchristian.santos (he will sing you Disney songs!)
What to expect
Be prepared that this is not just a hike up a hill, it was literally climbing up the sharp limestone cliff to the highest point. Oh and you ascend in pitch black darkness as you meet him at 4:30am so you can be at the top for sunrise!
Don’t worry, he gives you a head torch and gloves and shows you exactly where to place your hands and feet.
If you’re not so daring but still want to do a climb, opt for the ‘Canopy walk’, which involves walking along suspension bridges through the jungle to a viewpoint. This is around 400 pesos pp.
It only takes about 30 minutes to get to the top but Mark is adamant on getting there first for the best possible viewing spot of El nido main beach, before anyone else!
Right enough, we were first up there waiting for an hour for the sun to rise. Although the jagged cliff wasn’t the most comfortable of seats to wait, other tourists slowly started to turn up (about 30 in total) and the peachy sunrise over El nido town was one of the coolest sights of the whole trip (and definitely worth the early start!).
After you’ve had your fair share of inspiring ‘We made it’ victory shots on top of the cliff, it’s time to head back down. At least you can actually see on the way down as the sun is way overhead by now. It’s actually scarier now that you can see just how steep some of the cliffs are!
The good thing about the Taraw peak climb is that you can do the climb and be back in time for an island hopping tour!
See here for details on island hopping tours.
Day 11: Exploring the island by motorbike
Although island hopping is the main activity to do in El nido, you may want a little break from chucking on your fins and snorkel mask every minute and believe it or not, there are other things to see too!
Most hotels will offer motorbike rental or will be able to direct you to a motorbike rental shop as it is the most popular way to explore the island’s beautiful beaches (and waterfall).
It should only cost 500 pesos to rent a motorbike for the whole day, which is cheaper than hiring a tricycle all day and gives you the freedom to choose where you want to go and when!
Make sure you pin all your destinations on google maps before leaving the wifi of your hotel or if you have mobile data then even better!
As some beaches are way up north and some down south, the most efficient route to take if you’re starting from El Nido town is:
1. Nacpan beach
3. Lio beach
1. Nacpan beach
It’ll take about 45 minutes to get to Nacpan beach, cruising alongside verdant countryside away from the bustling, tricycle-ridden town. The turn off from the main road is easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled and follow your google map closely.
The last 10 minutes is a sandy dirt road so don’t ride too slowly or you’ll stack it. Also beware of tourists who have clearly never ridden a motorbike before as we saw quite a few accidents involving tourists not looking before reversing out of parks or riding too slowly over sandy sections.
When you arrive, expect to pay a 50 pesos entrance fee to park your motorbike. Even the parking area looks like paradise!
Ranked the 10th most beautiful beach in the world according to TripAdvisor, Nacpan beach is the first image that would come to mind if you were to close your eyes and think of ‘paradise’.
Apart from the waving palm trees, soft white sand, palm-thatched huts selling overpriced coconuts and turquoise waves that constitute 'tropical paradise', Nacpan beach is famous for its twin beach – Catilang beach.
If you walk to the southern end of Nacpan towards Catilang, you’ll pass a small fishing village with cows grazing on the green hill. If you walk up the hill, you can stand between the beaches and compare the surfing waves of Nacpan beach with the fishing boats that bob up and down in the calmer waters of Catilang beach.
2. Nagkalit-kalit Waterfall
Now, as it was dry season and we'd already been to the spectacular Kawasan falls, we skipped this waterfall because it had a 300 pesos entrance fee and had barely any water at that time (mid-February) anyway. A couple emerged from the waterfall and said it was a little underwhelming so perhaps it is way more awesome in wetter months…
3. Lio beach
About half an hour south from Nacpan beach is Lio beach. The sign is huge so you won’t miss the turn!
As Lio beach has a massive resort, you will drive through this first before reaching the beach. Parking is free and manned by a security guard.
As you walk out towards the beach, you will pass a row of modern restaurants consisting of acai breakfast cafes, Italian or Chinese restaurants and only one or two selling Filipino food. These restaurants are all very pricey so expect a meal to cost an average of 300-600 pesos ($10-$20 aud).
This beach is a lot windier than Nacpan and close to the airport so walk along the jetty and look out for low-flying planes!
4. Las Cabanas beach
We chose to finish off with Las Cabanas beach as was just a 10 minute ride from El nido town and I’d heard the sunset here was unreal.
You park your motorbike at McDonald’s (probably the fanciest McDonald's you will ever see...everything is white!) and walk through the modern development of expensive shops and cafes until you get to Las Cabanas beach.
Since this meticulously clean, outdoor mall of shops and cafes (resembling factory outlets in the US) is targeted at tourists, this beach is where you will find all the westerners to be hanging out.
In our opinion, Las Cabanas beach was overrated. The overly-packed beach with minimal shade, or even just a metre of sand space to yourself in limited supply, along with polluted, foaming water floating around as you try to refresh…a bit of an anti-climax to end our beach day. I’d spend more time at Nacpan if I could redo that day!
This is why we didn’t waste too much time in this tourist bubble and headed back to our beloved Corong Corong beach to enjoy yet another sunset cocktail!
Days 12-14: Coron
Day 12: Travelling to Coron
Make sure you buy your ferry ticket 2-3 days in advance as there are only 2 ferries that leave per day. We left this to the day before and were lucky to get on the 8:30am ferry, but it was filling up fast! Ask your hotel to book your ticket or there are plenty of places to book in town too.
There are only 2 fast ferry companies, one leaves at 6:30am and the other at 8:30am. The fast ferry costs $1760 pesos pp (~$60aud) and they say it only takes 3 hours but it actually takes 4-5 hours, depending on how rough the sea is. Still, you wouldn’t want to be on a ferry any longer so the fast one is the way to go!
Make sure you get to El nido ferry port half an hour before your scheduled departure time. When you arrive at the port you pay a small terminal fee of around 100 pesos. Then they line up everyone’s bags and get a sniffer dog to go and up and down, doing it’s thing.
Top Tip: It is very important to eat beforehand and bring snacks on the ferry because they do not serve food. Also bring travel sickness pills because we happened to catch this ferry on a choppy day and got super sea sick…spent the rest of the day throwing up…
4-5 hours later, you will arrive in Coron. As you walk through the ferry terminal to the town entrance, island hopping brochures will be thrust into your hands left, right and centre!
Top tip: Never accept the first price for a tricycle ride to your hotel as they hike the price up! In the end, you will win because there are hundreds of tricycle drivers fighting for your money. When you’re in demand, you can be demanding! Head to the tricycle drivers at the very end of the line, state your price and accept no more! For an idea of pricing, all the drivers were asking for 250 pesos ($8 aud) for a 10 minute tricycle ride. Hangry and seasick Alex demanded no more than 130 pesos ($4 aud) and the driver at the end just agreed (probably amazed a tourist made it that far!).
Where to stay in Coron?
Mt Tapyas view deck hotel:
A great budget hotel set on top of the hill, close to Mt Tapyas and only a 5 minute walk to town with everything you need – a room, bathroom and wifi (only works at reception). They also offer food for added cost.
Coron has a range of more luxurious hotels, backpackers hostels and middle of the range options.
Things to do in Coron:
Again, the main activity to do in Coron is island hopping. The only other options include climbing Mt Tapyas hill, eating at hipster cafes in town, getting a massage and visiting Maquinit hot springs.
Island hopping
Unlike El nido, each tour company in Coron offer slightly different tours with different prices so we grabbed the cheapest one from our pile of brochures that were handed to us at the ferry port on arrival.
We'd booked the Super Ultimate tour and someone else on our boat had paid the same price for tour B, which only included half of the destinations.
Depending on your preferences, you can choose a shipwreck tour, lakes tour or snorkel tour. Rather than going on two different tours, this time we opted for the super ultimate tour. It was a little more expensive but included 8 destinations with a mix of lakes, lagoons and snorkel hot spots.
Whatever you do, make sure your tour goes to Barracuda lake, Green lagoon, Kayangan lake and twin lagoon! (See below for more details on these).
Difference between island hopping in El nido vs Coron
1. The island hopping tours in El nido mainly include beaches, caves and lagoons whereas Coron is more known for it’s lakes, lagoons and coral gardens.
2. The cliffs in El nido rise up out of beaches, whereas in Coron, the jagged cliffs rise up out of the water, allowing you to see the cliffs underneath the water's surface.
Day 13: Cafes, Climb Mt Tapyas and Maquinit hot springs
We had 4 days in Coron but really you don’t need any more than that. Compared to El nido town, Coron town is a lot smaller, shabbier and a bit of a dump with only about 20 restaurants, but remember, you came here for the beautiful lakes and lagoons!
Eating in Coron
Dinner
As there are limited dining options, you will find Coron to be more expensive than El Nido so bring some extra cash (there are ATMs there).
There are pubs, modern Mexican restaurants, ramen bars, resto-bars and even a tapas restaurant with prices averaging 500-600 for a meal ($16-19 aud). One of the more reasonably priced restaurants, offering local food and popular with tourists on a budget was 'Big Mama’s' (they made a mean mango shake!). Big Mama's is right in the centre of town, you won't miss it!
Another reasonably priced restaurant offering Filipino food and the option to enjoy a romantic dinner a cabana is Carl’s BBQ.
Breakfast
By the end of your trip, you’re probably craving some western breakfast options such as waffles, muffins, smoothies, eggs, cappuccinos…and Coffee Kong is your place! It's a super popular café among westerners right in the centre of town.
'Follow your taste': Coron’s first and only natural, soft serve yoghurt and ice cream café. It offers other breakfast options too such as omelettes and baguettes.
'Tea and Shake': The name says it all!
'Fresh bites': A vegetarian and vegan friendly café selling all sorts of bliss balls, herbal teas, vegan tacos, anti-oxidant and probiotic shakes and homemade treats.
'Julie’s bakeshop':
Bake shops are super popular in Coron and offer a very cheap and tasty breakfast (or snack to take on the ferry). Each baked good is between 6 and 10 pesos each (20-30 aussie cents!).
There are even cheaper local bakeries in Coron that don’t exist on google maps, you just have to find them but their baked goods are only 5 pesos each (15 aussie cents)!
Climbing Mt Tapyas
Mt Tapyas is not really a mountain, it’s more of a viewpoint with a long flight of stairs leading up to it. Only takes 10-15 minutes to walk up and offers some pretty cool views, along with it’s own Hollywood sign!
Maquinit hot springs
About a 20 minute tricycle ride from the main town is Maquinit hot springs. It’ll cost 500 pesos return for a tricycle and the drivers won’t accept anything less as they will wait there for as you long as you need to take you back afterwards.
The entrance fee to Maquinit hot springs is 200 pesos pp ($6.50 aud) and there are plenty of tables and showers.
A long bench surrounds the hot spring so you can safely leave your belongings in sight right where you sit in the warm bath. The main hot spring is 30 degrees Celsius and a raised pool coming out of the main larger one is even hotter. A mini waterfall streams from the smaller one down into the main one.
The best time to visit Maquinit hot springs is at sunset as the pink and orange sky behind the sparkling lamps is a perfect sight to end the day. Plus, you don’t need any more heat in the middle of the day!
Day 14: Island hopping tour
Booking our tour by phone through one of the brochures seemed a little dodgy as all they asked for was our hotel's name and told us to wait at 8:30am outside. They didn’t even ask for our names so we had to trust they would turn up!
A van picked us up then went round to pick everyone else up and dropped us off at the port, where we walked through about 4 boats to get onto ours! To me, this beat wading through waist-high water only to climb up into the boat in soaking shorts (like we did in El nido).
We chose the ultimate tour and it stopped at the following destinations:
- Barracuda lake
- Kayangan lake
- Twin lagoon
- Coral garden
- Cyc beach
- Green lagoon
- Balinsasayaw
- Siete Pecados
For detailed info on the best lakes and lagoons to visit in Coron, read this blog post.
Island hopping highlights:
Green lagoon
A fitting name for the most turquoise water you will ever swim in!
Lunch in a palm-thatched cabana at Green lagoon was a highlight of the trip!
Getting bitten by territorial fish at Green lagoon was the lowlight of the trip!
Barracuda lake
A crater of deep blue water enclosed by jagged limestone cliffs is the delightfully warm and exceptionally clear Barracuda lake.
Don’t be alarmed, the lake is not infested with flesh-eating barracudas! A 1.5m long barracuda skeleton was once found there and hence, the name!
Kayangan lake
Kayangan lake is an unbelievable clear freshwater lake, similar to Barracuda lake so again, life jackets are essential as it’s easy to sink!
Twin lagoon
One of the most popular spots in Coron is Twin lagoon for it’s dazzling turquoise waters, perfect for a romantic kayak through the towering cliffs.
The reason why it's called Twin lagoon is because you can swim underneath a rock platform to another lagoon on the other side.
Snorkelling highlights
If you’re a keen snorkeller, choose tours that include Basinsayaw, coral garden, Cyc beach and Siete Pecados as these are your top spots.
Bring your gopro and be prepared to see fluorescent multicoloured coral, clown fish, giant clams, starfish, massive schools of tiny fish, angelfish and of course, those territorial biting fish that scare away other fish and follow you around, biting your ankles!
So there is your Ultimate 2 week itinerary for The Philippines! You can do it reverse order and if you’ve got more time, head over to Siargao island for some surfing and even more coconuts!
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