The Philippines boasts gorgeous, virtually countless white sandy seashores and a spectacular underwater world. So, if you’re able to discover among the nation’s 7,000 islands, listed below are my favourite spots I’d like to share with you…
Book A Trip!
We can e-book your journey hopping round The Philippines’ lovely locations via our free, top-rated journey planning service!
1. El Nido
This a beautiful small seaside city is really an an Instagrammer’s Dream! Located on the sting of Bacuit Bay in northern Palawan its surrounded by towering cliffs and residential to turquoise waters teeming with vibrant corals and fish.
Best explored on an island-hopping spree, El Nido islets and islands are recognized for his or her luxurious lagoons, uninhabited stretches of powder-fine, dazzling white-sand seashores, and wildlife not discovered wherever else within the nation.
There journey right here wasn’t simple (I took a protracted ferry trip from close by Coron) however it was most positively value it!
Location: West a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for clear waters and ideal island-hopping climate).
Activities on supply: Island-hopping, snorkeling, kayaking, and seaside actions.
Accommodation: El Nido Resorts, Lagen Island Resort, and numerous beachfront lodges and eco-lodges.
Map Location and Directions
2. Boracay Island
This dog-bone-shaped island epitomizes seaside bumming and partying from sunset to dawn. Rightfully the seaside capital of the Philippines, Boracay’s crown jewel is the 4-kilometre-long White Beach, whose powder-fine sands and luxurious turquoise waters give the Caribbean a run for its cash.
As the premiere tropical escape of the nation, Boracay has every little thing you could count on from a significant metropolis – worldwide delicacies, five-star lodges, and riotous, booze-induced nightlife.
If you’ve had sufficient of the insanity, I like to recommend escaping to Puka Beach to the north, the place solitude, swaying palms, and pounding surf will maintain you firm!
Location: Central a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (to benefit from the seashores and water sports activities).
Activities on supply: Beach actions, water sports activities, kite browsing, and nightlife.
Accommodation: Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort, Discovery Shores, and beachfront resorts alongside White Beach.
Map Location and Directions
3. Batan Island
(*19*)
Long ignored by the decrease mainland due to its remoteness, Batan and the smaller islands of Batanes burst onto the scene when intrepid travellers crossed tempestuous seas far north and began bringing tales of unspoiled islands floating with no care within the tumultuous South China Sea.
While facilities are being put into place to carry Batanes up to the mark, the biggest –Batan Island—nonetheless beckons with verdant cliffs abruptly dropping to pounding surf under, rolling hills populated by grazing cows, pre-Hispanic settlements, squat stone homes, Spanish-era church buildings, and a promise of heaven on earth underneath the milky blanket of stars when energy is out and chilly beer is at hand!
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Summer (for calm seas and nice sightseeing).
Activities on supply: Hiking, sightseeing, visiting lighthouses, and exploring native tradition.
Accommodation: Fundacion Pacita, Tawsen’s Place Inn, and numerous homestays.
Map Location and Directions
4. Lake Pinatubo
It was created within the aftermath of the 1991 earthquake, which led to the eruption of the once-dormant volcano of the identical title.
Lake Pinatubo within the province of Zambales within the northwestern Philippines has grown to develop into a vacation spot of alternative for weekend warriors who need to escape the discombobulating site visitors and stifling warmth of the capital, Metro Manila.
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for mountaineering and exploring the crater lake).
Activities on supply: Hiking, crater lake excursions, and 4×4 off-road adventures.
Accommodation: Budget guesthouses and lodges in Capas or Angeles City, like Microtel by Wyndham.
Map Location and Directions
5. Siquijor
In Filipino folklore, Siquijor enchants with its mystic traditions and equally enchanting native, albeit uncooked, magnificence.
A small island floating between the central and southern Philippines, Siquijor was as soon as the stronghold of Catholic missionaries within the area.
This is finest exemplified by well-preserved 300-year-old church buildings and a convent, a nationwide treasure and stated to be the biggest within the archipelago.
Location: Central a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (to take pleasure in seaside actions and discover waterfalls).
Activities on supply: Beach actions, waterfall exploration, snorkeling, and diving.
Accommodation: Coco Grove Beach Resort, Salamangka Beach and Dive Resort, and beachside guesthouses.
Map Location and Directions
6. Sagada
This landlocked city within the aptly named Mountain Province of north-central Philippines is a storehouse of Ifugao tradition, which stays alive and nicely immediately.
Coffins hanging by the cliff-side and unbelievably sculpted rice terraces are as pure surroundings because the verdant karst mountains unfold out in your toes.
Due to its high-altitude location, Sagada presents a world of freezing nights and misty mornings whereas the remainder of the nation is parched with sweltering warmth.
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Summer (for clear skies and funky mountain climate).
Activities on supply: Cave exploring, trekking, viewing hanging coffins, and dawn watching at Kiltepan Peak.
Accommodation: Sagada Heritage Village, Rock Inn and Café, and rustic homestays.
Map Location and Directions
7. Daraga
This rural city of 115,000 individuals in southeast Luzon (Northern Philippines) presents a ravishing introduction to the better Bicol Region, with the right cone of Mayon – derived from an area phrase that means “beautiful” – volcano within the background.
Daraga is a extremely agricultural city that’s steadily urbanizing to accommodate guests. Despite the hustle of downtown Daraga, there’s a really rural life within the rice paddies on the foot of the mountains.
Location: Southeast a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for unobstructed views of Mount Mayon).
Activities on supply: Sightseeing, visiting church buildings, and having fun with views of Mount Mayon
Accommodation: Casa Simeon, Lotus Blu Hotel, and funds lodges in close by Legazpi City.
Map Location and Directions
8. Vigan
No different place within the Philippines has held on to its colonial previous on a city-wide scale as unfailingly as Vigan.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vigan, within the Ilocos Region of the northeastern Philippines, beckons the historical past and structure aficionado with slender, cobblestone streets, Baroque church buildings, and well-preserved Spanish-era mansions that transport guests to an period when time flies as quick because the pace of the horse-drawn “kalesa.”
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for sightseeing in nice climate).
Activities on supply: Sightseeing, exploring Spanish colonial structure, and visiting heritage museums.
Accommodation: Hotel Luna, Vigan Plaza Hotel, and heritage homes become boutique lodges.
Map Location and Directions
9. Apo Island
Apo Island was as soon as a sleepy fishing village far off the well-trodden vacationer path. Today, this small island on the foot of Negros is an eco-tourism haven that continues to exist on marginal fishing outdoors of the {dollars} that come pouring in throughout summer season.
Put your ocean-going sport face on, and depart your worries behind (don’t overlook to carry again your trash to the mainland).
Location: Central a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for snorkeling and diving in clear waters).
Activities on supply: Snorkeling, diving, and marine life viewing.
Accommodation: Apo Island Beach Resort, Liberty’s Lodge, and dive resorts.
Map Location and Directions
10. Davao City
The transport, industrial, financial, and academic hub of the southern Philippines, Davao, is a pleasant mixture of “colourful life, wildlife, and city life.”
Here, you may have a metropolis dominated with an iron fist, which implies petty thievery is subsequent to non-existent, clear streets are the norm, and the comforts of civilization – purchasing malls, WiFi connection, cafes, universities – are all inside arm’s attain.
Davao is an expatriate favorite as a result of it’s a habitable metropolis near a wealth of satellite tv for pc points of interest and cultural heritage that the Spanish conquistadores didn’t handle to subsume.
Join the gang on the Kadayawan Festival and witness the “lumad” (indigenous peoples) of their conventional thanksgiving celebrations.
They beseech divine steering and specific their gratitude with a bountiful harvest and native dancing on the foot of the Philippines’ highest peak, Mount Apo.
Location: Southeast a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for outside actions and metropolis exploration).
Activities on supply: Hiking, sightseeing, visiting parks, and wildlife encounters.
Accommodation: Marco Polo Davao, Waterfront Insular Hotel, and funds metropolis lodges.
Map Location and Directions
11. Banaue Rice Terraces
These rice terraces are lovely to take a look at and greater than 2000 years outdated, having been farmed and developed by the realm’s indigenous individuals.
If you view the terraces from the upper elevations, they’re nothing in need of gorgeous, and so they additionally give the locals nice farming house.
Surrounded by lush greenery and a incredible panorama, the Banaue rice terraces usually are not the one rice fields within the space however are additionally a surprising UNESCO World Heritage Site. Definitely embody a go to right here!
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Summer (for clear views of the terraces).
Activities on supply: Hiking, sightseeing, and exploring indigenous tradition.
Accommodation: Banaue Hotel, Native Village Inn, and native homestays.
Map Location and Directions
12. Batad
Located in Luzon close to the well-known Banaue rice terraces, it is a small village the place I like to recommend staying for a minimum of a couple of nights in one of many native guesthouses.
The rice fields, the encircling pure surroundings and the views listed below are simply gorgeous. Whilst right here I extremely suggest trekking to one of many close by mountain tops on a mountaineering path as that is the place I may look down on the jaw-dropping surroundings.
Also don’t miss mountaineering to the native Tappiya Falls, the place I swam and relaxed in earlier than leaving the realm.
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Summer (to hike the terraces in nice climate).
Activities on supply: Trekking, viewing rice terraces, and visiting waterfalls.
Accommodation: Ramon’s Homestay, Batad Top Viewpoint Homestay, and conventional Ifugao huts.
Map Location and Directions
13. Chocolate Hills
Located within the Bohol Province and named for the colour they develop into in the course of the moist and dry seasons, Chocolate Hills consists of greater than 1,000 hills and can be residence to the cute Tasiers, the world’s tiniest primates.
At one level, the hills intently resemble the Hershey Kiss sweets that persons are aware of.
Regardless of their color whenever you go to them, it is a lovely space of the nation that provides a number of coloration and greenery and offers a beautiful panorama so that you can take pleasure in whilst you’re there.
Location: Central a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (to see the hills of their greenest state).
Activities on supply: Hiking, ATV rides, and viewing the panorama from statement factors.
Accommodation: Bohol Beach Club, The Peacock Garden, and resorts in close by Panglao.
Map Location and Directions
14. Coron
The municipality of Coron boasts crystal-clear waters, sandy white seashores, and among the most lovely landscapes on the planet.
Kayangan Lake is included within the city and is the cleanest lake in your entire nation; when you go to Coron, you gained’t need to miss it.
Best of all, you’ll be able to take a gaggle tour so that you just don’t miss any of the lagoons and islands within the space since that is one city that at all times presents one thing for everybody.
Location: West a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for island-hopping and diving).
Activities on supply: Island-hopping, snorkeling, diving, and sizzling spring visits.
Accommodation: Two Seasons Coron Island Resort, Club Paradise, and eco-friendly lodges.
Map Location and Directions
15. Hinatuan Enchanted River
Although a saltwater river, its water is crystal clear and one of the crucial lovely our bodies of water you’ll ever expertise. The deep blues and greens within the province of Surigao del Sur make it a rare and enchanting place to go to.
But when you go to the river, you don’t have to determine why the water seems so wonderful; as an alternative, you’ll be able to take pleasure in its magnificence.
Location: Southeast a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (to see the river at its clearest).
Activities on supply: Swimming, boating, and river exploration.
Accommodation: Budget guesthouses and resorts in close by San Francisco or Bislig City.
Map Location and Directions
16. Intramuros
Intramuros is a superb city to go to if you wish to see the nation’s previous blended with the current. The structure is wonderful, and you may stroll alongside cobblestone streets and luxuriate in all sorts of preserved ruins, that are good for the historical past buff in all of us.
You can make the most of the strolling tour or discover your self. This is a walled metropolis positioned inside Metro Manila, and it’s stated to have performed an element within the nation’s historical past when Spain occupied it.
Location: North a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for snug strolling excursions and sightseeing).
Activities on supply: Walking excursions, sightseeing, exploring colonial buildings, and visiting museums.
Accommodation: The Manila Hotel, Bayleaf Intramuros, and boutique lodges close by.
Map Location and Directions
17. Mount Mayon
Located in Albay Province, Mount Mayon is essentially the most energetic volcano within the nation and is legendary as a result of it tasks good symmetry and an iconic look. It stands at a regal 8200-plus toes excessive and might be seen even from miles away.
The good conical form is really one thing to see as a result of most volcanoes are irregular. If you resolve to hike within the space, you’ll be able to see the volcano up shut, which is really spectacular.
Regardless of your proximity, you’ll be amazed by this lovely volcano and its surrounding city, which provides it an attention-grabbing look.
Location: Southeast a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for clear views and mountaineering situations).
Activities on supply: Hiking, sightseeing, ATV excursions, and pictures.
Accommodation: Misibis Bay, Mayon Backpackers Hostel, and lodges in Legazpi City.
Map Location and Directions
18. Sangat Island
Sangat Island is a mere 20 minutes from the city of Coron and presents crystal-blue waters, lush mangroves, lovely greenery, majestic limestone cliffs, and even coconut palms that dot the attractive sandy coast.
If you need to really feel as if you’re in paradise, that is the place to be.
Enjoy the realm on a speedboat or jet ski, or chill out and swim within the lovely water. Although usually neglected, I personally suppose it’s a gem!
Location: West a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: Dry season (for splendid diving and seaside climate).
Activities on supply: Diving, snorkeling, and seaside actions.
Accommodation: Sangat Island Dive Resort and different eco-friendly beachfront resorts.
Map Location and Directions
19. Tubbataha Reefs
These reefs are positioned on the southeastern a part of the island close to the Sulu Sea and encompass 1000’s of acres of coral reefs, to not point out sharks, dolphins, whales, and all sorts of fish.
The pure park related to the reefs is likely one of the world’s finest marine reserves and dive websites, and their diving season runs from mid-March to mid-June.
You do must take a ship to get to those reefs and the park, so that you would possibly need to maintain that in thoughts when planning a visit to this space of the nation.
Location: Southwest a part of the nation.
Best time to go to: March to June (for one of the best diving situations).
Activities on supply: Diving, marine life viewing, and underwater pictures.
Accommodation: Liveaboard dive boats like MV Discovery Palawan, as no land-based lodging can be found.
Map Location and Directions