Tour Report – Philippines January 2006
WOW – Philippines !! The land of 7100 islands !
NEW ! Exciting Destination – Beautiful Beaches – Unspoilt Islands – Nature at its Best– Swimming in crystal clear water – Scuba Diving – PADI Diving – Snorkelling – Kayaking.
Philippines
An archipelago located between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, the Philippines
has 7,107 islands and just as many attractions, if not more. This vibrant country
with a mélange of cultures, natural wonders, colourful history, and warm engaging
people, meets all preferences and exceeds expectations.
For the cosmopolitan traveller
seeking shopping and entertainment, Metro Manila’s many lifestyle centres oblige.
Nature unveils its majesty in the country’s rugged topography, producing unique masterpieces
such as the Taal Volcano Lake, Palawan’s Underground River, and Bohol’s Chocolate
Hills. The exquisitely sculpted Banaue Rice Terraces, dubbed the eighth wonder of
the world, blend art, nature, and man’s handiwork in a breathtaking tribute to the
Filipino ingenuity. Ultimate sun-
Still, the country’s crowning jewel
is its people. The Filipino’s hospitality, optimism, and zest for life ensure there
is never a dull moment when in the Philippines.
The Philippines is not a well-
Davao City, Philippines, we decided to see what was on offer.
Our journey began on 12 January on a Singapore Airlines flight from Manchester to Singapore and then to Manila. It was an excellent flight with good service.
We arrived Manila 13 January and were met and transferred to the Diamond Hotel (First Class). It took a few hours in Manila to get the feel of the city and what sort of Asian country Philippines was.
Manila does not have a lot to offer the tourist except for the older part – Intramuros
– that is worth a visit. Unfortunately, we did not have time as we were off the
next day on a 9-
The 15 January saw us take a jeepney (US jeep converted to a long wheel base, decorated in different colours and 4 wheel drive) trip to see the world famous World Heritage Rice Terraces. These climb to nearly a thousand feet and they are many centuries old, built over 1000 years ago. The local hill tribes still maintain them and grow their rice on the terraces.
We continued in the jeepney over really rough track roads and up very steep inclines, to Batad Saddle. From here, carrying our rucksacks we trekked to Batad village, which is situated in the middle of the rice terraces. This took about one hour.
We stayed at the Hill View Guest House, simple but comfortable accommodation with
an added bonus of electricity. The toilets and ‘shower’ room (a kettle of hot water
on request) were outside but not too far away. From here there is a 2-
The next day we enjoyed a 3 to 4 hour trek through the mountains and rice terraces to the road head where a jeepney was waiting to take us to lunch before returning to Banaue. On the way, there had been a very recent landslide. Huge boulders had to be being cleared by hand, before we could pass.
On arrival in Banaue, we took a shower before boarding the overnight bus to Manila. We had been warned to expect artic conditions on the bus (the AC had only two settings full blast or off!) so we were wearing several layers to counteract the cold. We arrived Manila 02.30 in the morning and took a taxi to the Philippine Plaza Hotel for a short rest before leaving at 08.00am to check in at the domestic airport for the flight to Davao, where we joined the Asean Tourism Forum.
We stayed at the Marco Polo Hotel (First Class), the best in Davao. The Opening Ceremony for the Forum took place that evening. Hill Tribes wearing traditional costumes, children and adults, performed their dances and music (mainly drums) with great enthusiasm. We stood in the street with other delegates and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful spectacle. We later went inside of the building where we were treated to even more singing and dancing. The next 3 days were spent meeting travel companies from Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Brunei.
On 20 January we took a flight to Manila staying overnight at Traders Hotel. The
following morning we checked in for the flight to El Nido in Northern Palawan. The
flight was by a 19-
On arrival at El Nido airstrip we were greeted by local people singing a traditional
welcome. We transferred to the beach where we embarked on an outrigger boat (banca)
for the 1½-
On arrival at El Nido, Miniloc Island the staff sang a traditional Philippine welcome.
This is a traditional resort with thatched Water Cottages on stilts and Forest Cottages,
all air-
This is a beautiful, unspoilt and un-
The Lagan Island Resort is about 20 minutes boat ride from Miniloc and is a more
“upmarket” newer resort with Water Cottages and Forest Rooms, all air-
23 January
The transfer from El Nido by banca to the El Nido airstrip was over a rough sea and a diversion had to be made to a fishing village as it would have been difficult to land on the beach at the airstrip. We were then transferred by road.
We were met at the El Nido airstrip, and taken by 4 wheel drive, for 2 hours, to the north of the island from where we took a boat to Flower Island. This was an exhilarating speedboat crossing on quite high seas, passing a Pearl Farm en route.
Flower Island is the South Sea Island of your dreams. A beautiful sandy beach, tropical
vegetation and you can walk around the perimeter in 45 minutes. There are 7 thatched
cottages, all situated on the beach, with natural air circulation and one larger
cottage with 4 air-
This is an ideal place to relax and chill out and swim or snorkel.
The transfer from Flower Island was via the Pearl Farm where we were given a tour of the facilities and an explanation about each stage in the production of pearls including the biological aspects. This particular farm grows golden pearls. We were shown how the oysters are selected for their golden colour (the mother of pearl has several colours in it), the insertion of small bead (the base of the pearl) and the grafting of the membrane from an oyster selected for its colour onto an oyster selected to produce the pearl. From start to finish the whole process takes 3 years to produce a golden pearl. It was fascinating. However, for the first time ever, having visited many factories/farms, on our journeys around Asia we were unable to purchase the end product! All of the pearls go to USA, Japan and Korea although we were assured that they are looking towards Europe in the future.
Then followed a 45 minute boat ride across choppy seas to a small river inlet and a short walk to the village where a mini bus took us back to El Nido airstrip for our flight with Seair to Busuanga KWR airstrip.
From there it was a 60-
This is a 3 Star resort with good facilities for diving and snorkelling. The rooms are good with air conditioning. There are cottages on the beach and hillside and forest cottages. The weather was not too good when we were there because of a Tropical Depression that affected most of S E Asia, but everyone was very helpful – a bit too helpful at times in the restaurant.
We left the following morning about 06.30 am in heavy rain which cleared by the time we reached land and were transferred to the airport for our flight to Caticlan (Boracay). We arrived 13.25 and were transferred to Boracay Hills Resort after another short sea crossing by outrigger to Boracay Island.
The access from Caticlan Airport we found a bit disconcerting. Someone from the hotel met us but we found that we had to stand in line to hire a motorbike tricycle. Then, after the short transfer to the pier we boarded a public transport outrigger for the 15 minutes crossing to Boracay Island where the outrigger was run up onto the beach and we had to jump off into the water and wade ashore. This should not pose a problem to anyone who claims to have travelled extensively in Asia. No – it isn’t!! Unfortunately we had not been made aware that Caticlan was on a different island to Boracay or that public transport is the only transport available. We were quite concerned that we did not know what was happening or where we were being taken. When we travel we try to view everything through the eyes of a client. As specialists in tailor made travel with a personal service we felt that our clients would be mortified. However, we are happy to say that this arrangement will soon be improved with the opening of new Piers at Caticlan and Boracay, together with new mini buses. There will be tickets available for the transfers (minibus, ferry, minibus) that can be used during the stay on Boracay and for transfers to Caticlan Airport. Eventually, there will also be a new ferry between the two islands.
Boracay Hills is a beautiful boutique style resort. TripsAdvisor.com has recently awarded it the “One of the Little Gems of Asia 2006” Award. Although not on the beach, it is within a 10 minutes walk from the many restaurants, bars and clubs that line the beach and 5 minutes from more secluded sandy bays. It is a peaceful haven in a lovely tropical garden with superb swimming pool.
It is family run concern that has achieved great success in the 15 months, since it opened. There are 10 rooms including one suite for 2, 4 or 6 persons. All rooms have air conditioning and breakfast is included. Dinner can be booked in advance.
After our stay at Boracay Hills we moved on to Fridays Resort at the other end of one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. All activities can be enjoyed including swimming, snorkelling, diving, sandcastle building and there are a great many bars, restaurants, shops and night entertainment.
Fridays Resort is a 4 star resort with excellent facilities and comfortable air-
After leaving Boracay, we took a flight to Cebu Island with Seair. On arrival we were transferred to the Pier for an Ocean Jet Foil to Tagleban on Bohol. We were met and driven 30 minutes to Ananayana Resort.
Ananayana Resort
In a very nice setting on a sandy beach it has an open lounge area, with mattresses on long seats for reclining. It is covered with a thatched roof, and adjoins a small restaurant. Drinks are available from the restaurant but there is also a bar near to the beach. The swimming pool is small and it is not possible to swim in the sea at low tide.
The rooms are comfortable and large but rather stark with no coloured cushions or pictures/artefacts to create soften the image and create an ambience. There is a large toilet and separate shower area.
The prices are high but guests receive a 50% reduction on meals, massage and other services. The staff were very helpful.
29 January
We transferred from Ananyana Resort to the Ocean Jet Foil to Damaguete where we were met and taken for a refreshing drink. We enjoyed lunch in an excellent restaurant overlooking the very pleasant and attractive seafront. Later, we took a short ferry crossing to South Cebu and to Fantasy Place.
Fantasy Place is an upmarket “home stay” located on a hilltop with fan cooling, lovely swimming pool and a magnificent view over the sea. There are steps down to a private beach and snorkelling and boat trips can be arranged. It is possible to see dolphins in the sea at the right time. A Belgium – Claude Quertinmont and Brigett, his Filipino partner, manage the property. Excellent home cooked food is provided.
The following day we were driven to Cebu City along a beautiful coastal highway. There were a number of old Spanish churches and bell towers along the route but unfortunately they are not well kept. We stayed overnight at the Waterfront City Hotel before joining our flight home via Singapore.
Our exciting and adventurous trip had come to an end. It is a destination that will be attractive to many travellers who want to experience natural and unspoilt surroundings that have been lost in other Asian destinations. However, do not expect many ancient buildings or much culture, other than in tribal areas, because very little exists.
The Philippines is a destination worth visiting !! Try It !!
Stuart & Margaret Miller, Complete India & Asia
Gateway House, 16 Jacks Lane
Marchington, Uttoxeter
Staffordshire, ST14 8LW ENGLAND
Tel: 01283 820467 Email: info@complete-
FACT FILE
Area 299,764 sq km
Population 84.61 million
Capital City Manila
People -
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Language -
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Religion -
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Currency Philippine peso
GMT +8 hours
Voltage 220v/60Hz
Climate -
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