Philippines Travel Guide

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The Philippines is defined by its emerald rice fields, teeming megacities, graffiti-splashed jeepneys, smouldering volcanoes, bug-eyed tarsiers, fuzzy water buffalo and smiling, happy-go-lucky people.

The Philippines is a land apart from mainland Southeast Asia not only geographically but also spiritually and culturally. The countrys overwhelming Catholicism, the result of 350 years of Spanish rule, is its most obvious enigma. Vestiges of the Spanish era include exuberant town fiestas (festivals) like Kalibos Ati-Atihan, unique Spanish-Filipino colonial architecture, and exquisite, centuries-old stone churches lording over bustling town plazas. Malls, fast-food chains and widespread spoken English betray the influence of Spains colonial successor, the Americans. Yet despite these outside influences, the country remains very much its own unique entity. The people are, simply, Filipinos and proud of it. Welcoming, warm and relentlessly upbeat, it is they who captivate and ultimately ensnare visitors.

The Philippines consists of more than 7000 islands, and at certain times of the year it will feel like you have them all to yourself. The typical island boasts a jungle-clad, mountainous interior and a sandy coastline flanked by aquamarine waters and the requisite coral reef. But youll find plenty of variations on this theme, from marooned slicks of sand in the middle of the ocean to sprawling, overpopulated mega-islands like Luzon and Mindanao. Beach bums and divers should head straight to the Visayas, where island-hopping opportunities abound and the perfect beach takes many forms. More adventurous travellers can pitch a tent on a deserted stretch of coastline and play solo Survivor for a few days.

The Philippines isnt just about finding an isolated beach and getting catatonic. From trekking in the mountains of North Luzon, to getting airborne on a kite board in Boracay, to spelunking in the cave systems of Samar, the Philippines can capably raise any adrenaline junkies pulse. Much of the action in the Philippines naturally takes place in and around the water. Kitesurfing and windsurfing are big in Boracay and in Daet, Bicol. While surfers are just catching on to the tasty waves that form on both coasts at certain times of the year, divers have long been enamoured of the countrys underwater charms. You need only know how to snorkel to go fin deep with the gentle butanding (whale sharks) in Southeast Luzon. Freshwater pursuits include rafting, kayaking and wakeboarding. On terra firma, the rice terraces around Banaue are most popular for trekking, but there are peaks including many volcanoes to be bagged across Luzon, the Visayas, Mindoro and Mindanao.

Hundred Islands National Park, North Luzon
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Its easy to look at a map of North Luzon and assume the Cordillera is all untamed wilderness. And yes theres rugged jungle. But what really strikes a visitor to Banaue, Batad and the other towns of Ifugao ( ) is how cultivated the mountains are. Even the sheerest cliffs possess little patches of ground that have been tilled into rice paddies. Take all those patches together and you get a veritable blanket of upland-tilled goodness, an unending landscape of hills rounded into rice-producing lumps of emerald.

Batad, Ifugao Province
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Bacuit Archipelago

Cruising through the labyrinthine Bacuit Archipelago ( ) of northern Palawan, past secluded beaches, pristine lagoons and rocky islets, is an experience not to be missed. Only a short bangka ride from the easygoing coastal town of El Nido, Bacuit Bay presents a thrilling mixture of imposing limestone escarpments, palm-tree-lined white-sand beaches and coral reefs. Overnight island-hopping trips in the bay or further north through the Linapacan Strait toward Coron offer an opportunity to bed down in remote fishing villages where the daily catch is grilled for dinner.

Bacuit Bay, Palawan
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Fiesta Time

The Philippines just isnt the Philippines without the colourful festivals, or fiestas, that rage across the country throughout the year. Even the tiniest little barangay (village) holds at least one annually. The granddaddy of them all is the Ati-Atihan Festival ( ) in San Fernando, north of Manila, produces a more macabre tableau, with Catholic devotees being physically nailed to crosses.

Costumed dancers, Ati-Atihan Festival
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Beaches

Nothing defines the Philippines more than a remote strip of pearly white sand theres at least one made-to-order beach on each of the countrys 7000+ islands. Want to be far away from everybody? Its almost too easy most of Luzon is ringed by deserted beaches, while your own private island awaits in Palawans Calamian Group ( ).

Coron Island, Palawan
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Boracay

It wasnt that long ago that Boracay ( ) was a sleepy, almost unknown backwater. Oh, how times have changed. The world has discovered Boracay, elevating the diminutive island into a serious player in the pantheon of Southeast Asian party beaches. Yet for all thats changed, Boracay remains generally mellower than the likes of Kuta Beach or Ko Samui. And solace can still be found, in particular at the southern end of Boracays signature White Beach, where the spirit of the old Boracay lives on.

White Beach, Boracay
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Bicol Adventures

Southeast Luzon, geographically defined by the Bicol peninsula ( ), is becoming adventure-travel central for the Philippines. Besides boasting some of the best regional cuisine in the islands, Bicol is a top draw for water and adrenaline junkies via the Camsur Watersports Complex, where wakeboarding and its derivative sports rule the roost. Daet, Camarines Norte, is a burgeoning surf and kitesurfing destination. To experience a more laid-back connection to the water, head to the edge of Luzon and snorkel alongside the gentle whale sharks of Donsol an unforgettable highlight.