The perfect Philippines itinerary doesn’t come easy.
It doesn’t just fall into your lap.
Planning a trip to the Philippines takes time and effort – 7,000 Islands is a lot to pick from!
Luckily I’m a plan-o-holic and I live for this shit. Scroll all the way down for the best 10 day Philippines itinerary…
WHY THE PHILIPPINES?
Whenever meeting backpackers and long-term travelers on my frolickings around South East Asia, I’d always pick their brain and ask them which country they had visited was their favorite.
“Without a doubt, the Philippines”
Every. Single. Time.
Although situated right next door to the backpacking behemoth that is Thailand, the Philippines has, until the last 5 years received very little attention from travelers and casual vacationers alike.
The Philippines is made up of 7,000 Islands, many of which are completely untouched. This rustic otherworldly beauty has in recent years been shoved into the limelight thanks to the likes of Instagram. With endless photos of what you could call Philippine’s flagship destination, El Nido blowing up as if it was birthed by a Kardashian.
Spoiler alert – Kim’s next child will be named ‘El Nido West’. Don’t tell anyone.
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Looking at photos of El Nido, it’s hard to believe places like it even exist in today’s world.
Not surprisingly the increase in tourism to El Nido over the last three years has doubled (according to the El Nido Municipal Tourism Office).
A MAGICAL ADVENTURE AWAITS
With over 7,000 Islands, travelers feel they can visit the Philippines and find their own unique adventure. Authentic, pioneering experiences are what the millennial generation values over anything when it comes to travel. Big resorts and manufactured experiences for tourists are seen as tacky and disrespectful to the local landscape and people. Family owned hostels or homestays that are rooted in the local community offer an experience that is real and culturally immersive.
Giving back to the local community is no longer enough, you must never take from it in the first place.
It’s no wonder then that in the era of social awareness, self-sustainability, and egregious capitalism that the island nation of the Philippines is blowing up as a tourist hot spot right now, especially for millennials.
It also doesn’t hurt that it’s the most visually stunning place on earth.
I mean just look…
PLANNING THE PHILIPPINES
One of the reasons the Philippines has previously never been a real contender as a backpacking destination is due to its lack of infrastructure. Unlike Thailand where ferries between the main islands only take a couple of hours, the distance between Philippine islands is far greater, resulting in journeys upward of eight hours with multiple legs.
Also, Thailand has far fewer islands. Ask someone what their favorite Philippines Island is and you’ll get a different answer every time. This is both awesome and frustrating.
Ultimately, organizing a trip to the Philippines takes a lot more time than usual, a barrier to entry that I’m sure helps keep the tourism numbers a good cushion behind the likes of Thailand and Bali.
FIND OUT THE BEST WAY TO TRAVEL AROUND THE PHILIPPINES
ONLY 10 DAYS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Ten days wasn’t nearly enough, but it’s all the time I could take off. A month in the Philippines would have been the dream.
With flights from the US, the entire trip would take 12 days with 10 days on the ground in the Philippines. I decided that 10 days was just enough time to visit three separate islands. I would fly to each island to maximize my time.
As this was my first time in the Philippines(oh, I will be back), I decided to take my cue from others and put together a short list of all the places that I might like to visit.
THE SHORTLIST
El Nido
Coron
Dumaguete
Cebu
Siargao
Siquijor
Oslob
Boracay
Sambaun Island
Surigao del Sur
Camotes
Bantayan
Sibuyan Island
Catanduanes
Bucas Grande
ITINERARY PLANNING FACTORS
Variety
I wanted to experience different things on each Island. For example, El Nido and Coron are both provinces in Palawan, known for their stunning dynamic cliffs, emerald waters, and mini island formations. Don’t get me wrong I love a shot of beauty to the face as much as the next guy, but there’s just so much the Philippines has to offer, you gotta spread the love.
Ease of travel
Whichever three destinations I chose had to be somewhat logical in terms of flight routing. Some of the Islands on the list would take 2 days just get to from Manila with a combination of flights and ferries. Those Islands were non-starters.
Activities
I love beaches. But I travel to explore, not just lie on a beach. If I’m going to stay on an Island for three days, I’m going to need shit to do.
Social proof
If I was going to the Philippines for over two weeks sure, I would have the luxury of exploring a bit and taking chances. But with only 10 days in the country I needed to be sure that the places I had chosen had rave reviews.
Safety
Safety isn’t something I talk about too much(because its a total downer, duh). Also, I live in the US where there’s a mass shooting every day and statistically I’m probably safer abroad, go figure. However always do your research. Countries have their own problems and the Philippines is no different. The general consensus seems to be that the only real threat of danger when traveling in the Philippines is in the southern Island of Mindanao:
“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups”
– UK FCO
Note taken.
FINAL PHILIPPINES ITINERARY
CORON
It was a really close call between Coron and El Nido. Both areas are in the Palawan province but still far enough apart(8 hours by ferry) that I had to just pick one.
El Nido is by the far the most well known, and might just beat Coron in terms of overall beauty. However, being the most well-known has its downsides and the tourism explosion in El Nido swayed me towards choosing the less visited Coron. Both Coron and El Nido offer a never-ending selection of hidden white beaches, dramatic karst cliffs, lagoons coves and world-class snorkeling.
CEBU
Cebu is a province the Philippine’s found in the country’s central Visayas region. Cebu City is arguably the countries second major city after Manila. It is also the second largest hub for flights. This, coupled with being in the geographical center of the country made it the perfect choice logistically to be the second island on our tour. Most flights within the Philippines route thrown Cebu anyway.
Cebu is comprised of one main Island and 150 surrounding islands. Dumuegete and Oslob are both found in Cebu, only a few hours away from the airport in Cebu City. By flying into Dumaguete and out of Cebu City, we could easily travel across the island and visit all three places, exploring waterfalls and swimming with whale sharks in the process. No big deal.
SIARGAO
Whilst Coron has dynamic, almost fairytale beauty unique to the province of Palawan, Siargao has a completely different look.
Siargao has more of a jungle vibe with palm trees as far as the eye can see. The island of Siargao is known for its surfer community, home to one of the world’s most famous surfing spots ‘cloud 9’. It’s no surprise then, that of all the islands in the Philippines Siargao is considered the most ‘backpacker-y’.
General Luna, the main town five minutes from Cloud 9 is packed full of hostels and restaurants geared towards backpackers. I chose Siargao because the Island has so much to offer in terms of activities; Island hopping, surfing, jungle exploring and to top it all off, a day trip to Bucas Grande where you can swim with stingless jellyfish and explore hidden Lagoons.
There you have it. Picking these three islands allowed us to visit six of the spots on my original list. Six incredible Philippines destinations
I was very wary about over-scheduling our trip, as the last thing you want to be doing is constantly moving, but luckily it ended up pretty perfect.
Here’s exactly what our Itinerary looked like:
Day 0
Landed in Manila 11pm
Day 1
7am Flight to Coron landed at 8am
Explored Coron via boat
Day 2
Coron
More exploring
Day 3
Coron
More exploring
Day 4
Full travel day
12pm Flight to Cebu landed at 2:30pm
4pm Flight to Dumaguete landed at 5pm
Day 5
Dumaguete
Visited Apo Island and Casaroro Falls
Day 6
45 minute Ferry to Oslob
Swam with Whale Sharks
Traveled to Tumalog Falls and Kawasan Falls
Stayed the night in Cebu City
Day 7
8am flight to Siargao landed at 9am
Explored the Island on Scooters
Day 8
Siargao
Island Hopping
Day 9
Island Hopping
Day trip to Bucas Grande and Sohoton Cave
Day 10
1pm Flight to Manila via Cebu landed at 5:30pm
Stayed the Night in Manila
Day 11
9am Flight to Los Angeles.
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