RECOMMENDED ROUTE

Manila - Coron - El Nido - Boracay - Cebu - Moalboal - Bohol - Siargao - Manila

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MONEy

Approximate Conversion Rate - 1 GBP = 65 PHP

We found that the Philippines was a little more expensive than other countries in Southeast Asia.

Average Costs Per Day:

Accommodation - 10 GBP

Food - 5 GBP - For mainly western food.

Transport - 4 GBP - We didn't get bikes but this would decrease the costs significantly. Ferries and flights tended to differ but booking in advance where you can helps to keep costs down.

One month budget - 1000 GBP

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Visa

If you're from the UK you can stay in the country for 28 day without a visa but you must have a flight out of the country booked before your arrival.

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Useful Apps and Websites

Grab - mainly for when you're in big cities

12goAsia

Rome2Rio

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The Philippines is my longest guide because it was my favourite country and we spent a month travelling some of the 7,000 islands. We learnt so much whilst travelling around the islands and realised our biggest mistake of not preplanning our route and in hindsight we would have done the route shown above. The country really does offer it all; stunning beaches, amazing diving and snorkeling spots, the friendliest people, adventure and a great social scene. 

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If you're travelling in a pair, it's worth checking the price for private rooms because we found that a lot of the time it was cheaper than the dorms.

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Below I have included a more detailed guide of the route we took and any other recommendations we picked up along the way. 

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​Cebu City

• Accommodation - Mad Monkey - good food, nice rooms and good atmosphere but not too party if you're travelling the next day. We also stayed at murals but we personally wouldn’t recommend.

• Things to do - casino peak, cancalanog falls

• Nightlife - mango square

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To start our trip here we flew into Cebu City because we'd heard bad things about Manila and wanted to limit the time we spent there. But, honestly Cebu City wasn't really our cup of tea either. It is definitely somewhere you only really want to stay whilst in transit. We ended up here on 3 different occasions so we worked out which hostels and places to eat we preferred.

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Taxi to Cebu south bus terminal - bus to Moalboal

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Moalboal 

• Accommodation - Roos guesthouse - locally owned, offer free snorkel gear, massage area

• Other Hostel Recommendations - chief mau, MoHo

• Things to do- Kasawan falls, canyoneering, osmenya peak, sardine run at the beach, cankanalog falls

• Food - Shakas cafe, garden cafe, Vens kitchen, smooth cafe, cafe cebuano

• Nightlife - cockonuts (241), chilli bar

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In Moalboal the main reason we went was for the canyoneering at kasawan falls which can be booked from majority of accommodations and costs 1500 pesos. It was a great experience and so much fun. You can also go to straight down to Panagsama beach with your snorkel and swim about 50 metres to see the sardine run (the best times are between 3pm and 5pm because there aren't many boats), you might even be lucky enough to see turtles as well!

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Tricycle to bus stop- bus down to bottom of Cebu (bato) - tricycle to Liloan port - boat to Sibulan - tricycle to dumaguete

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Dumaguete 

• Accommodation - The Flying Fish Hostel - Really good hostel, offer trips, amazing restuarant 

• Things to do - Apo Island (unreal snorkelling/diving tour), Manjuyod Sandbar (Capiña port), Casaroro & Pulangbato waterfall, Twin Lakes, Mount Talanis

• Food - Nom kitchen, salt and pepper, roti boss

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Dumaguete was one of our favourite places, not many backpackers tend to go (not in low season anyway) but that just made us love it even more. We booked the Apo Island tour through the hostel which is actually one of the nicest hostels we stayed in and we got a private room for the same price as a dorm. The tour was one of the highlights of our whole trip, there were only 5 of us on the trip and we went to a secluded spot where we saw so many huge turtles as well as clown fish and so many more.

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Tricycle to dumaguete port - boat to Siquijor

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Siquijor

• Accommodation - JJs hostel - San Juan area - wouldn’t recommend, dirty, no atmosphere

• Other Recommendations - Chill Out Hostel, Charisma Beach Resort

• Things to do - cambugahay falls, palaton beach to watch the sunset, salagdoong beach for cliff jumping, coco grove - day trips to apo island for snorkelling

• Food - Baha bar, monkey business, SEE-KEE-HOR

• Nightlife- C Zars (Friday night)

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So... I was really excited for Siquijor but maybe my expectations were just too high. We stayed at JJs and it's fair to say it wasn't what we had in mind. We got there and really wanted to leave straight away. It was just a ghost town. Trying to get around when we didn't drive was a major issue and there was just no social atmosphere. It is probably different in high season and we had friends who stayed the other side of the island and loved it. The beach and the falls were really beautiful and it's easy enough to find a driver to take you around the island for 1000 pesos. Be aware that if you're getting the boat to Bohol, they don't run as frequently in low season (slow boat twice a week) and the port is on the other side of the island.

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Tricycle to Larena port - boat to tagbilaran city (Bohol) 1400 pesos

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Bohol

• Accommodation - Chillout Guesthouse - good location, nice rooms, not great trip options

• Other recommendations - moon fools hostel - highly recommended from other people we met, Bohol coco farm (not on beach)

• Things to do - tasier monkeys, chocolate hills, loboc river

• Food - Guissepes (expensive but good)

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After the awful accomodation in the last place we thought we'd treat ourselves to a private room which was a nice little treat. We had an amazing Italian here because as you'll probably realise the food in the Philippines isn't great. We got ripped off on a tour we did here because they charge you extra at every stop. My advice would be to go to a hostel and book a tour or rent a bike and do it yourself. Also, we thought the Tasier Sanctuary was actually quite cruel, they've essentially used the Tasier's natural habitat to make a zoo with other animals. There was a 2 year old lion in a tiny cage and they charge you extra to take photos with the animals, we just found it all quite cruel. You'll find out that Bohol is more touristy and the prices reflect that.

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Boat back to Cebu City then fly to Boracay

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Boracay

• Accommodation - Mad Monkey

• Things to do - white beach, Puka beach (turn left not right once you arrive), boat party with mad monkey - Tuesday and Saturday

• Food - True food (amazing indian but quite expensive)

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Wow Boracay. This place really surpassed all of our expectations, we stayed here four nights but could have done longer. We had no intention of actually going here but after 2 weeks of going to quiet places we thought why not. We booked a return flight from Cebu and left our bags at Mad Monkey (50 pesos per night) so we didn't have to pay for our big bags or carry them about. You can either fly into Caticlan or Kalibo but its a 30 minute vs 2 hour journey to get to the island so definitely worth paying a little extra and flying to Caticlan. Theres honestly no point staying anywhere else than Mad Money, we met SO many amazing people and had the best time. We had 4 nights there and still managed a night off but the atmosphere really is great and make sure you try a Boracay bomb! Another thing you can't miss is the boat party, it will probably be out of your budget but trust me, just do it!! This isn't the sort of party where you pay for entry and then there's a couple of drinks included. No, drinks are included ALL DAY and god do they make you drink. Honestly one of the messiest but funniest days of the trip and not one to be missed. The food in the hostel is really good but we also went to True Food which is an indian restaurant right on the beach, a little expensice but so worth it (we went twice).

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Fly to Cebu then fly to Peurto Princesa

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We found out whilst we were in Boracay that there is an airline that isn't on Skyscanner that do direct flights from Boracay to El Nido called AirSwift. If you're stuck on time or just want to skip Puerto Princesa then book through them.

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Peurto Princesa

• Accommodation - go hotel

• Things to do - underground river (booked at airport with bus to El Nido included), shopping centre next to hotel with a supermarket

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Bus - 8 hours

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El Nido

• Accommodation - Frendz Hostel, Outpost Hostel - preferred frendz but do the boat tour with outpost

• Things to do - Tours A & C, Nacpan beach, zip line, outpost beach hostel - sunset, las cabanas beach (chill at marimegmeg)

• To eat - Holy Smokes (best falafel wrap), Altrove, Happiness Cafe, Athena, happy hour at frendz rooftop (really cheap and good food)

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El Nido was another one of our favourites. We stayed at Outpost for one night which did amazing boat tours which didn't stick to the generic A,B, C and D tours but did combinations instead. Then we moved to Frendz which had a much better location and we preffered it there. There is a really good social atmosphere all over El Nido and some really good little eating spots. It's more touristy so it is more expensive and hostels get booked up in advance so make sure you try and look early.

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Expedition

Keelooma expedition from El Nido to Coron

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So, to get from El Nido to Coron you can either get a 2 hour ferry which is actually pretty expensive or you can do a 3-5 day expedition. We opted for a 3 day one with Keelooma who had the best price point. Tao is the most popular choice but it was out of our budget. We loved Keelooma because they have small groups, there were only 5 of us on our trip, so it feels very personal to you. They take you to the best snorkel spots and beaches, you then get back on the boat to the freshest food and then sleep in wooden huts on the beach in real island style. The BEST experience.

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Coron

• Accommodation - hop hostel - such a nice hostel - free dinner - cinema room - chance of a double bunk bed

• To Eat - Rosa’s (Mexican)

• Things to do - private boat, barracuda lake, mt tapyas (sunset), hot springs, calauit wildlife safari park, super ultimate tour, kayanang lake, coral reef, ship wreck

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Fly to Manila

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Manila

• Accommodation- Z Hostel

• To Eat - El Chupacabra (unreal tacos), Royal Indian Curry House

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Anyone you meet will say they hate Manila but honestly just stay at Z Hostel. It's in a really good location and you really don't have to walk far for anything. There's some really good food spots and a little street food area right beside it.

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Recommendations for places we didn't get chance to go to:

Port Barton

• Accommodation- My Green Hostel

• Things to do - White beach, papawyan waterfall, swim at night to see plankton

• To eat - mabuti, reef cafe, Gorgonzola

• Nightlife - cocorico, reggae bar, hangover bar

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Siargao

Our biggest mistake was not planning to go here, everyone you meet will tell you how you need to go...

• Accommodation - Mad Monkey

• Things to do - Island Hopping, Surfing

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Oslob

Another big thing everyone does is swim with the whalesharks in Oslob (Cebu) but after a lot of research we found that the way they run things is very unethical. They essentially go to the same spot every day and give the whales tonnes of food to lure them to the boats but, as a result this stops them from migrating in their natural patterns. There is a way to see them ethically though, if you go to Donsol, Southern Leyte or Luzon there are tours that run that allows you to see them in their natural environment. This of course means that you aren't 100% certain of seeing them but that is the reality of nature.