MAKE A HOLIDAY OF IT!
Why not make a holiday of the trip! The Philippines has many beautiful beach and mountain resorts. If sun, sea and sand aren't enough there are also a lot of diving, trekking and historical (particularly WWII and colonial Spanish) places to visit.
We have been fortunate enough to visit many of these places and we will endevour to share our photos with you on this site.
The Philippines is also an ideal jumping ground to other Asian countries. Very cheap tickets can be obtained from the airlines below to visit places like Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta and so on.
If planning a holiday in the Philippines you could enjoy a few days in Cebu, perhaps incorporating a day tour to Bohol. We then highly recommend visiting Palawan, but if you want more nightlife then perhaps Boracay is for you! Getting around the Philippines by plane is easy!
Getting around the Philippines by air
Getting around the islands is easiest by air. There are many cheap, regular and reliable flights. I would recommend not staying in Cebu after the wedding - instead get out and see the place on a local flight. I would try Cebu Pacific first and then if you can't get the flight you want then try Philippine Airlines. Failing that try the others.
Cebu Pacific - Cebu Pacific are the cheapest usually. They also now depart from the new Terminal 3, which is now working efficiently!
Air Philippines - Air Philippines. I always confuse this with
Philippine Airlines - Philippine Airlines - the flag carrier of the Philippines. I like this airline: a little more expensive and less budget-stylee, also easier to change your flights and get refunds.
SEAIR - South East Asian Airlines (figured below) - flys to Boracay and Palawan from Manila. The air stewardesses on these flights wear the shortest dresses in the industry - depending on your perspective this may or may not be worth the slightly higher air fare.
Asian Spirit - Another option. The local joke is take off as an Asian, come back to earth as a spirit. Nice photos of tourist spots on this page.
Places to see, things to do!
WOW Philippines! is the main tourism site. WOW Philippines!
From CEBU:
Cebu tourism - A Cebu tourism site. For beach and nature lovers alike, Cebu is the best place to visit. Best beaches can be found in these 4 islands of Cebu - Mactan, Bantayan, Malapascua and Camotes. For bird lovers, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary is the place not to miss... It's only minutes away from Mactan. And yeah, some boats will even leave from Shangri-La Mactan Island Dock Area.
You can do a number of tours from Cebu hotels (these can be booked in the Shangri-La hotel):
Action: Snorkelling, Scuba Diving, Tow Sports (banana boat, water skiiing, etc.), Fishing and Parasailing. See the Adventure part of Scotty's Action Sport Network.
Tours: City Sightseeing and Shopping tours, Twin Island Heritage Tour, Island Arts & Crafts, Bohol Island Day Adventure, The Southern Heritage Trail, The Northern Coast, Churches & Shrines, Kawasan Waterfalls Adventure, Golf Tour, Cebu Panoramic Tour (evening) and City Nitelites (evening). See Southwind Travel and Tours.
Island Hopping, Scuba Diving, Dive Safaris, Fish Feeding, Snorkeling, Kayaking, Dolphin Watching, Lechon/BBQ Picnics, Sunset Dinners, Chill-out Cruises. See Islands Banca Cruises.
Bohol ***Recommended***
Bohol tourism - Bohol, an island very close to Cebu. Famous for Tarsiers, The Chocolate Hills, The Loboc River Cruise, Forests and welcoming locals. You can go dolphin watching then snorkelling on the nearby Balicasag island (it's the best reef we've seen!). Also, this is where Rajah Sikatuna National Park , one of the favourite bird-watcher's destination, is located. We highly recommend Bohol as a tourist destination - it's one of the best in the Philippines.
Get to Bohol from Cebu by regular ferries (Bohol port is Tagbailaran) or from Manila by plane (try Cebu Pacific).
Ferry info:
SuperCat - http://www.supercat.com.ph/ - as cheap as 300 peso return! 11:00, 16:45 from Cebu.
Weesam Express - www.weesamexpress.com 07:00, 11:20, 16:20 from Cebu.
BORACAY:
Boracay: A top resort with lots of links: one two three four. Hotels to suit any budget. Generally a resort for younger people. Lots of bars on the beach, jet skis, watersport, trips around island, lying in the beautiful white coral sand. This is the place which most younger Filipino's in Manila want to go! Beer and sand and a few activities - you get the idea! Very relaxing though. Recommended. Some flights are direct, but usually you fly to Caticlan Airport and take a fun bus (many will be waiting - no need to book -2hrs) then short boat trip to the island.
From MANILA:
Corregidor Island - A day trip on boat to the island in Manila Bay - leaves Manila early. An amazing place with a lot of history in the world war. This island was key to controlling Manila. Another site is here, very popular with Americans.
Intramuros - You can spend the whole day in Intramuros in Manila (20 mins from Makati). It is an old walled town complete with fort. Most of it was bombed in WWII and totally levelled. Many Universities are now based here. There is also a beautiful cathedral and museum to visit, there are gardens, antiques shops and the place oozes history. I recommend you get someone to show you around - maybe a pedal bike or go on an official tour. The horse drawn carraiges or Calesa's are pretty, but I don't recommend them. You will be ripped off even if you agree a price - they are not regulated like taxi's.
Tagatay - Tagatay is one hours drive from Manila. You can go by bus very cheaply, but a taxi will probably only set you back £40 for the day plus petrol and tolls. Nice views. Go down to the beach, grab a boat and then a horse up to the rim of the Taal volcano. You can even go into it if you are brave (Tere knows how to get a raft tour inside the sulfurous lake of the volcano)! A beautiful place. Go on an official tour though, via a hotel. It'll cost more than a street vendor, but by the time the street vendor has finished ripping you off with extra and inflated charges you'll be quids in buying a hotel package.
PALAWAN: ***Recommended***
Palawan: Palawan is by far the most beautiful place in the Philippines that we've visited. It is well worth seeing before even more tourists come to the area. It is like a flooded mountain chain with wooded houses clinging onto the shore. In other places you'll see mangrove swamps. The resorts are often 'cottages' or beach front rooms. Palawan is relatively quiet - it is very relaxing, with a lot to see, but no night life to speak of. The Coron tour will take you to amazing cathedral-like limestone cliffs, caves and brackish lakes. You will snorkel in the clear waters, see corals and fish and relax in the natural hot springs. Palawan is a big diving attraction (with many English people there). People mainly dive WWII wrecks which are common in the area. For people who want to go on safari, Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary is the place to go -this mainly comprises freely ranging giraffe and zebra. You'll be pleased to know that the crocs are in cages though! This area of Palawan is reached by flying to Busuanga Airport. Once there, the roads are mainly dirt tracks, hence you mainly get around by boat!
BAGUIO:
Baguio - Baguio is a nice mountain retreat. Amazing roads leading to this city in the mountains. You'll even find pine trees here - it is cool and so favoured by many westerners. Not a whole lot to do here, but a nice place with some good markets and nice wooden objects at prices much cheaper than Manila. Probably a bit out of the way. About 6 hours bus or car ride from Manila. It does have a small airport with infrequent flights. Tere went to Uni here!
BATAD RICE TERRACES, LUZON:
Rice Terraces: A long way from civilisation - basically a day bus ride and a day trek. The rice terraces are very beautiful, but definitely one for the more adventurous. There was a problem a year ago when a westerner was murdered here, but this was a rare and isolated case. The locals work hard to make it a safe place for tourists and I would say that it is safe.
Suggested Holiday Itineraries
You can fly to either Manila or Cebu.
Assuming you fly to Manila it will take 2 days to recover from Jetlag. Perhaps spend one or two days in Manila. Visit Intramuros, shop and enjoy the restaurants. Nothing too strenuous.
Fly to Cebu to attend wedding. Maybe spend 3 days in Cebu. One day will be the wedding and the other couple of days will be beach or boat or island visits. There are plenty of tours available - see above.
Get a ferry from Cebu to Bohol. Maybe spend 3 nights here. You want at least 2 full days here to go for the Chocolate Hills and Loboc River Cruise Tour and then the next day go dolphin watching and snorkelling.
Return to Cebu and maybe spend 1 night in a different resort hotel. The next day, perhaps late evening return to Manila
Or you could fly to Peurto Princessa in Palawan and continue your break (flights from Cebu and Manila). Spend 2 or 3 days there.
Return to Manila. In Manila you can visit Tagatay - the volcano in the lake. You can do this in one long day or overnight there. One day is OK. Also it is well worth getting the ferry to Corregidor to visit the WWII wrecked buildings, tunnels and guns. I can sort tickets for this - early start and whole day.
I will also look into Mt Pinatubo tours. I know they exist.
If you have 2 or 3 days and feel more adventurous then you could visit Bagiou or the rice terraces. Really this involves buses and finding where you are and where to get off (I can give advice, but it may be stressful for first time so perhaps not recommended, also a long bus ride) - or more expensive then hire a driver and car.
If you send dates and what you want to do then I can tailor an itinerary to your needs!
Also whilst you are here, as we won't be able to be with you all the time, I will give you a sim card with load so that you can contact us if you need advice or directions. I used to get Tere to talk to taxi drivers for me, although normally just paying extra helps them remember a place.
Philippines is an amazing place! There is so much to see here.