Trip Report: Philippines
Visited in May 2023
Southeast Asia was for many people, myself included, the region that sparked their passion for travel. Practically all my first real trips were to Southeast Asia or at least East Asia (Japan and China). After a trip to Vietnam in 2015, however, it took me years to return to this part of the world. In 2019 I spent two days in Singapore, and in 2022 two days in Kuala Lumpur. But none of those two weekends were comparable to my week-long trips through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and so on a few years earlier.
So, what was the reason why I did not travel to this region anymore. First, I wanted to see other parts of the world after seeing almost only Southeast Asian countries until 2015. Second, Southeast Asia was pretty much closed during the pandemic. In the end, it took me eight years to do another proper trip in Southeast Asia again when I visited Philippines in 2023. Philippines was one of three SEA countries, along with Myanmar and Timor-Leste, that I had not been to by that time.
The country was an absolute dream destination for me about 10 years ago. Over the years, that has changed a bit. I have traveled less in Southeast Asia and the more time passed the more I wondered if the Philippines was really a country I would enjoy. After all, most of the country’s highlights have something to do with islands, beaches and the sea. Not really my cup of tea.
For this reason, I took the decision to spend a week ( respectively eight days) in the country during this trip. With this amount of days I would have enough time to see some places of the country and at the same time it would not be too long, if I would realize that the country would not meet my taste.
I set my route relatively quickly and it consisted of Manila, Bohol and El Nido. Why? Bohol was a no brainer for me. Ever since I read anything about traveling in the Philippines, I knew that I had to see the chocolate hills in Bohol. El Nido on the island of Palawan had also been on my to do list for a long time. In the end I weighed up whether Coron or Siquijor would be the better choice, but then I answered no.
Manila
In the case of Manila, there were two reasons in the end for not only seeing the city as a mere transit destination (which it is for most tourists), but also spending time there. First, it was a kind of voyeurism, because Manila is often called one of the most horrible cities in the world and somehow such places have a high attraction for me.
And second, I could use the first day to acclimatize, to get used to the new time zone and the hot climate (it was 36 degrees the day I arrived). Plus, in Manila I would meet my buddy Matt, who was spending the Philippines part of my trip (I also went to Qatar, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands on that trip) with me.
The day in Manila became relatively relaxed and uneventful. We had our hotel in Makati, one of the tourist districts of Manila. Manila is a metropolis consisting of 16 cities and Makati is one of them. On our first day, we visited the few sights of Makati and spent the rest of it in rooftop bars or in the pool of our hotel.
In general, I had the impression that Manila has relatively few interesting sights for a city of this size. At least for my personal taste. When I was preparing for this trip, I didn’t feel like I absolutely had to see any of the attractions. Even Intramuros, a remnant from the Spanish colonial era and probably the city’s number one tourist attraction, I didn’t find so exciting now that I absolutely had to see it.
Otherwise, I found Manila to be not as bad as expected. The capital of the Philippines constantly appears on the “worst cities in the world” lists, but in my opinion Manila is not in the league of the truly worst cities. Is Manila a must-see? No, definitely not. But for a short stopover I found it quite okay.
Bohol
From Manila we went on to Panglao, a small island that is connected by bridge to the larger adjacent island of Bohol. When traveling in the Philippines, you (unfortunately) have to fly frequently, because it is ultimately a country with over 7,600 islands. For me, this is a small drawback for the country, as I generally try to avoid domestic flights if possible.
We had two nights and one day (plus a short afternoon) in Panglao, where you can find a tourist strip with many hotels and restaurants near Alona Beach. That was also the reason why we took the hotel in Panglao and not in Bohol itself (e.g. Tagbilaran). The tourist strip is actually pretty nice. We found superb restaurants, there are massages for 600 PHP and Alona Beach wasn’t bad either.
However, we were not here for the beach but for the Bohol Countryside Tour. Tours in the Philippines cost about the same as those in Thailand (about €25 per tour). They are also in other terms quite similar. A good dozen farangs crammed into a minivan drives off various sights, some of which are super and others quite crappy.
By the way, shortly after we left, I realized in what good condition the roads were here on Panglao and Bohol. Definitely not what I had expected. From my last Southeast Asia trips I had rather asphalt roads full of potholes or gravel roads on islands like Koh Phangan in my mind. This island seemed much more developed, although of course it could be that things have changed on an island like Koh Phangan.
On the Bohol countryside tour we first visited a rather sad zoo where animals are kept in small and filthy cages. It has a 3.2* rating on Google and I wonder why these tour companies still make a stop there. Another useless stop was a man-made forest, one of the most boring places I have ever seen. Some tourists took tons of photos there anyway. So maybe it was just me.
What was cool, though, was the Tarsier Conservation Area. Tarsiers are the smallest primates in the world. In the park you can see several of these small, endemic monkeys. Employees show you where the little animals hang in the trees.
At one spot, you could position yourself behind a tarsier sitting on a branch and take a picture of it. After my visit I saw plenty of such photos on Instagram. Therefore, it’s obvious that the little monkeys were not there voluntarily. The employees must have positioned them exactly at that spot.
The chocolate hills were the main reason for me to come to Bohol and I must say they were quite impressive. In the end you will examine these hills from a simple a viewpoint, but I found the view more than beautiful. Therefore, I would also say that the chocolate hills live up to the hype. By the way, the hills are natural even though it is not proven how the hills were formed. There are just some theories about it.
The day is then concluded with a cruise on the Loboc River, where there is lunch and live music. Super touristy of course, but the food and scenery were quite okay. I found the Bohol Countryside all in all quite interesting, with the highlights being the tarsiers and the chocolate hills. The rest was kind of meh.
If the Bohol Countryside tour is not enough for you, you could do an island hopping tour in Panglao/Bohol. But since we traveled from Panglao to El Nido, we saw no reason to do island hopping here. We also didn’t have enough time because we only had one full day here.
All in all I found Panglao a good destination. Cool tourist strip, good restaurants, nice beach and a mostly good countryside tour in Bohol. A place I can recommend to travelers in the Philippines.
El Nido
Palawan is the westernmost archipelago of the Philippines. The main island of the same name is also quite a large one. Google Maps indicates that it would take nine hours in a car from the northern tip to the southern tip. In the south of Palawan you are not far anymore from the island of Borneo.
El Nido is located in the very north of the island and is one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines. I would even say that by now El Nido is a place that is on almost every itinerary of travelers who visit Philippines.
A tricycle, a type of tuk-tuk where you sit next to the driver rather than behind him, took us from the airport to El Nido Town. Travelers either sleep right in the village or a little outside if they want a more tranquil area. However, I would recommend El Nido Town because the action is here.
We had two half days and two full days in El Nido. We used the full days for the famous island hopping tours (A and C, of course, as every tourist does). On the first half day we visited Nacpan Beach, which is about 45 minutes from El Nido. A tricycle takes you there for 1,500 PHP and then waits there until you want to go back. With two people who can split that amount, a fair price I think.
Nacpan is a super nice beach. Due to its huge size (it is 4km long), the crowds are not annoying either, as they are well spread over the entire beach. For half a day a perfect destination from El Nido Town and also a good place to see the sunset.
On the island hopping tours you then get to know the sheer beauty of El Nido. As already mentioned, tours A and C are the most popular among tourists. I guess, nobody knows exactly why. Very few tourists will do all four tours, so it’s probably just parroting.
Tour A is undoubtedly a no-brainer because you visit the big lagoon, which is an absolute highlight and probably the most beautiful thing you can see around El Nido. But as a second tour you could just as well do tour B or D. The captains of our boats said that they like tour B and D just as much as C.
The tours each have five to six stops, which are sometimes a beach, sometimes a place to kayak, sometimes a bay or lagoon. Or a place to snorkel. In any case, these tours are fun and they also do not take too long. Usually they start at 9am and end at 4pm.
Some of the places you visit on these tours are without a doubt among the most beautiful places in Southeast Asia. The turquoise-blue water and the green-grey limestone rocks are a guarantee for terrific photos.
On the last half day we did the Canopy Walk in El Nido. In my opinion also a must do, because it takes only 30 minutes and you get a great view over El Nido. Relatively little effort for a very high reward.
Funnily enough, at the beginning I still thought that three nights in El Nido might be too long. However, I wouldn’t have minded staying a little longer. Although I wouldn’t have wanted to do another island-hopping tour, I found El Nido Town to be a pleasant place to chill and meet like-minded people.
Philippines, the bottom line
Apart from a second short layover at the very end of this trip, it was time to say goodbye to the Philippines after El Nido. I would have liked to stay longer and in retrospect found the eight days too short.
For me, the Philippines was a kind of revival, as it reminded me of my first trips when I was traveling through Southeast Asia. I wasn’t entirely sure if such a trip would still appeal to me today. But it totally did, I enjoyed it from start to finish.
I have to admit that after a certain number of countries, one can become snobbish to some extent and be bothered by places that are too touristy. But the Philippines have proven that this does not necessarily have to be the case. Even though there are a lot of tourists in the country, it never bothered me. At least nowhere were the places so crowded that you had to fight your way between selfiesticks and the most beautiful spots were so covered by people that you did not even have to try to snap a photo.
What did I like most about the Philippines? The nature of the country is stunning. The beaches, the sea, the interior, the Philippines are blessed with such beautiful landscapes. I feel lucky to have seen some of the most beautiful spots of the country, such as the chocolate hills of Bohol or the beautiful beaches and turquoise green waters of El Nido.
What I also found very pleasant were the locals. Many people told me before my trip that the Filipinos/Filipinas would be very nice and friendly and now I can completely confirm that. By the way, practically everyone in the country speaks English, which makes communication even easier than in Vietnam or Thailand, for example.
What is also great is that traveling here is quite uncomplicated. At 9 pm book a tour for the next morning? No problem! Want to get from A to B quickly? Just take a cab or tricycle, the price will be cheap. That, and also the fact that the Philippines is mostly a safe destination, makes it a pretty easy country to travel to.
The Philippines is also otherwise an inexpensive travel destination, as you would expect in Southeast Asia. People on a super tight budget can probably get away with less than 20 USD per day here just like in Thailand. Everything is relatively cheap here: the accommodations, the food, tourist activities as well as the transportation.
Are there things that I didn’t like? The local food in the Philippines is notorious. Or in other words, the Philippines has a reputation for having the worst cuisine in Southeast Asia. In fact, I didn’t find the local food particularly good either, but not as terrible as people told me it would be. In any case, there are a lot of alternatives with high quality international food in the tourist places.
Nevertheless, I would say that the food in the Philippines is predominantly unhealthy. Fast food is very popular here, which I also noticed by the fact that obesity is definitely more common here than in other countries in this region. The number one Filipino fast food chain, by the way, is called Jollibee and the food I had there was gross to be honest.
I was also irritated by the incredibly slow internet outside of Manila. Among the countries with a high number of tourists, the Philippines should be on the lowest ranks, which I found surprising. In Manila, however, the internet speed was okay.
Are there places I missed on this trip? Yes, lots of them. In retrospect, I would have preferred to stay 10-14 days. I would have liked to see the many beautiful waterfalls in the country (e.g. on Cebu) or more islands like Coron or Siquijor. I would also have been interested in the rice terraces in Banaue. However, it is quite tedious to get there. A nine-hour bus ride from Manila and the same back again seemed too cumbersome to me in the end and will probably also keep me from going there in the future.
I also honestly think you might get sick of islands after a certain amount of time in the Philippines. 10 days are probably a good time for a pretty diverse trip. With more than two weeks, however, I could imagine that things will get a bit repetitive. Maybe it was just as well that I only went for a week, because I really want to go again. And so the Philippines may be one of the first countries I revisit when I reach 197.
Is Philippines my new favorite country in Southeast Asia?
During my time in the Philippines, I made a poll among my Instagram followers about their favorite country in Southeast Asia and I don’t want to withhold the results from you. Here is the ranking, country and how many votes it got:
- Thailand: 14 votes
- Vietnam: 10 votes
- Philippines: 9 votes
- Malaysia & Laos: 6 votes
- Myanmar & Singapore: 5 votes
- Indonesia: 3 votes
- Cambodia: 1 vote
It surprises me that Indonesia comes in second to last. And where the hell is Brunei?! 😉
Jokes aside, the top3 would look the same to me. I was wondering during my Philippines trip if the country is better than Thailand. Pretty tough question, I think. Thailand is certainly more interesting from a culinary point of view and perhaps offers a little more variety. However, for me, the people would be a factor in favor of the Philippines. I really can’t answer the question and rate it a draw.
But in the end, the Philippines has certainly slipped into my top20 of all countries. However, Thailand and Vietnam are also there. Maybe the question of my favorite country will be easier once I’ve visited Myanmar. Until then, I’ll leave it at the above-mentioned Top3, but without determining a clear number one.
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