The Philippines, located in Southeast Asia, consists of over 7,000 islands. Each island offers something different. From the white sand beaches of Palawan to the luscious mountains in Bohol to the spectacular underwater life in Cebu, you can experience it all while in the Philippines.
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Getting There
We decided to do a non-stop flight from LAX to the Philippines with Philippine Airlines. It was about 16 hours total. They will serve you food 3 times so don’t worry! The food was pretty good too (and there is unlimited alcohol).
I guess other people who fly with a layover really like to go with Korean Air. But Philippine Airlines is like your usual economy class plane. It actually had a lot of updated movies as well for your viewing. Our friend watched about 5 featured films.
The seats also had a Seat Chat where you can chat with other people haha
If you need assistance getting around once landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, they have a lot of guys waiting to assist people in wheelchairs. Don’t worry it’s common here. Be prepared to wait though! The lines were very long.
When you leave the security checkpoint, make sure to change all of your money to pesos here. They don’t charge anything unlike in America. It is also a really good exchange rate. We changed ours for 50.45 pesos for every 1 USD. If you agree to pay in USD, the exchange rate has been worse every time we asked. It can be as low as 20 pesos for every 1 USD – now that’s a rip-off! Do yourself a favor and exchange ALL of your money. It will save you from the math later.
As soon as you get out of the airport, you can either get a taxi or GrabCar.
Getting Around
You can get around the Philippines many ways including Grab taxis (similar to Lyft or Uber), jeepneys, boat, ferry, plane… it just really depends on where you want to go and how fast you want to get there. We used all modes of transportation during our stay here. We also walked around a lot while in Manila. One thing to keep in mind is that traffic can be bad so plan accordingly!
Manila
Our first and last stop during our vacation in the Philippines was in Manila. Click here to read more about all the places we visited!
Coron
When you land in Coron, you’ll be at a very small airport. If you need to use the restroom, make sure to bring the toilet paper with you. There will be drivers waiting. Let them know where you will be staying and they have set prices already. We didn’t get a chance to try to get our own car. They try to clump groups together that are going to similar destinations.
It cost 150 pesos per person for us to get to our hotel. It’ll be about a 30 minute ride to get to the dock area if you decide to stay there.
Traveling around Coron was pretty cheap. We spent 80 pesos going to the docks from our hotel and 100 pesos from the docks to the hotel for 3 people.
We explored the islands of Coron Palawan with Big Dream Boat Man! If you don’t want to go on this expedition tour, you can still go island hopping.
El Nido
We explored even more islands while in El Nido. There are 4 tour packages you can go on here and we were able to go on Tour A and Tour B.
Cebu
In Cebu, we were able to see amazing underwater life including sardines and whale sharks. You also don’t want to miss out on the famous Kawasan Falls.
Bohol
Bohol showed us a different side of the Philippines. Instead of beaches and rock formations, you are surrounded by magnificent green mountains.
Lucena
You may not have heard of Lucena before because it is a small urban city. However, there are quite a few things worth visiting here!
Where to Stay
We stayed at hotels for most of our trip except in Manila and Coron. In Manila, we found a really nice Airbnb (Gramercy).
For Coron, we did an expedition tour so we stayed at basic cottages on small islands.
The hotels in El Nido are mostly near the beachfront so you will get that beach/island vibe.
If you want to stay in more luxurious hotels, check out Shangri-La in Cebu or The Peacock Garden in Bohol.
We spent about 2 weeks in the Philippines and there was still so much to see and do! We were able to experience the downtown life in Manila, the island life in Palawan (Coron & El Nido), the underwater life in Cebu, the countryside in Bohol, and the hometown vibe in Lucena. The next time we visit the Philippines (yes – there will be a next time!), we’ll try to visit the many, many other islands that we didn’t have time to see. No matter what kind of vacation you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed if you make the Philippines your next destination.
