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Are you planning to journey to the Philippines however uncertain the place to go and what you’ll be able to go to within the Philippines in 10 days? On this itinerary for 10 days within the Philippines, I’ll share one of the simplest ways to go to 3 wonderful islands – Boracay, Cebu and Bohol!
We went to the Philippines in April and Might and completely cherished it! nonetheless, these are additionally the most popular months within the Philippines. As somebody who will not be actually used to the warmth, I have to admit that I really suffered fairly a bit there and couldn’t actually perform through the hottest hours of the day.
Here’s a quick overview of our itinerary within the Philippines day-to-day:
Days 1-3: Boracay
Day 4: Flight to Cebu, switch to Moalboal
Day 5: Oslob
Days 6-9: Ferry to Panglao, Bohol
Day 10: Cebu
Earlier than we begin with the detailed itinerary, I needed to share with you the overview of a very powerful hyperlinks that had been used on this put up. I began offering a abstract of the hyperlinks by request of a lot of my readers, who discover it simpler to have all of the hyperlinks in a single place.
Helpful hyperlinks for this itinerary for 10 days within the Philippines
Motels: Lodge Coast Boracay; Harman Suites Moalboal, Pobla Oslob, South Palms Resort Panglao or Henann Alona Seashore
Ferries: Bohol to Cebu, Oslob to Panglao – all ferries may be booked on-line right here
Flights: Test right here
Excursions: Bohol countryside day tour – guide on-line right here; Sundown cruise in Boracay, Snorkelling & island hopping tour in Boracay, Canyoneering tour in Moalboal
With out additional ado, let’s get began with the itinerary for the Philippines in 10 days, visiting Boracay, Cebu and Bohol island!
10 days within the Philippines: Boracay, Cebu and Bohol itinerary
Day 0: Arriving in Manila at evening
I don’t rely the departure day of the journey as we didn’t actually do a lot on this present day in addition to arriving in Manila very late at evening and sleeping for just a few hours earlier than taking an early morning flight to Boracay. We had been flying to the Philippines from Hong Kong, so we took the newest flight from Hong Kong to Manila and arrived in Manila after midnight. Fortunately, our resort on the Metropolis of Desires was a brief 15-minute drive away from the resort, however I like to recommend staying even nearer to the airport, as site visitors may be fairly insane, even at 5 a.m., because it has turned out.
Some good accommodations in Manila (close to the airport) to think about: Discovery Primea, Iyf Malate Manila
Days 1 – 3: Boracay
Attending to Boracay from Manila
As I discussed earlier than, we determined to take the early morning flight from Manila to Caticlan (P. Gogofredo Ramos) airport, which is the closest airport to Boracay. There are many direct flights from Manila to Caticlan, and flying time is slightly below an hour. Yow will discover costs and availability of those flights right here >
Caticlan airport to Boracay
Caticlan airport is positioned on a unique island – a really shut one, so it requires a really quick ferry journey. Whereas there’s a public ferry, which is reachable in lower than 10 minutes from Caticlan airport by taxi, a number of accommodations really present free transfers! They’ll decide you up from the airport, ship you to their ferry (every resort has its personal ferry), decide you up on the opposite aspect – in Boracay, and ship you to the resort. In whole, 2 bus rides and 1 ferry journey took lower than 40 minutes, and we arrived at our resort very quick!
The place to remain in Boracay
There are 5 essential areas for staying in Boracay: Stations 1,2,3, Balabag and Punta Bunga. Balabag is a kite browsing space – it’s cheaper than the remainder of the island, however it’s probably not appropriate for swimming, and you’ll have to stroll to Stations 1 and a couple of to swim there, which might take round 20-Half-hour.
Punta Bunga is positioned fairly distant from all the primary eating places and accommodations of Boracay; therefore, it’s a lot quieter, and you will discover some guesthouses and costlier resorts on this space.
Stations 1, 2 and three are positioned on the primary seaside of the island, The White Seashore and are fairly comparable. Station 3 is a bit additional away, so it’s quieter. Station 1 is the loudest, and station 2 is the combo between stations 1 and three.
Motels to select in Boracay
We stayed on the Lodge Coast positioned in Station 2, and it was an incredible expertise. The workers on the resort made us really feel welcome, they had been extremely attentive, and meals was additionally wonderful there. Since 2020, it’s not allowed for the accommodations to have their solar beds on the seaside, however you might be, after all, allowed to take a seat on a towel. Not solely the workers helped us with the towels each time, in addition they helped to protect our belongings and introduced us recent water on a regular basis! The resort was lovely and the rooms had been good, so I can wholeheartedly advocate Lodge Coast!
If Lodge Coast will not be obtainable, Mandala Spa & Resort Villas can also be an incredible choice.
When you’re searching for a correct luxurious resort, take into account staying at Shangri-La
When you would favor a extra budget-friendly choice, these accommodations are an incredible selection: Levantin Boracay
Issues to do in Boracay in 3 days:
Despite the fact that Boracay is a tiny island, and you may stroll all of it in just a few hours, there are many issues to do. We spent 3 full days in Boracay, and the time flew by! Listed below are the issues we advocate doing in Boracay:
Strive Mango frozen yoghurt from HaloMango (essentially the most scrumptious factor we’ve tried in Boracay!)
Watch the sundown on the White Seashore (we did it daily)
Go on a personal sundown crusing journey – you’ll be able to both guide it on arrival or pre-book on-line right here >>
Go on a snorkelling & island hopping tour – guide right here
Stroll to Bulabog
Stroll the White Seashore from Station 1 all the best way to Station 3
Swim lots and benefit from the sunshine
Day 4: Flying to Cebu, exploring Moalboal
Flying from Caticlan to Cebu
Our resort in Boracay, Coast, additionally included a free return switch, so we awakened early, packed our issues and had been delivered to Caticlan airport in lower than 45 minutes once more. Caticlan has just a few direct flights to Cebu per day, and ours departed round 11 a.m.
The flight time from Caticlan to Cebu is a bit longer in comparison with Manila, however our flight someway departed 20 minutes earlier, so we had been in Cebu forward of time.
Getting from Cebu to Moalboal
There are two other ways of attending to Moalboal from Cebu airport: by bus, minibus, or personal taxi. For the reason that highway is fairly windy and certainly one of us will get movement sick simply, we determined to go for a personal taxi. In whole, we paid round $65 for a one-way taxi journey, which was costly in comparison with a public bus however took considerably much less time. And sure, I did get dizzy even in a taxi (one thing to bear in mind should you additionally get motion-sick simply).
We organized the taxi by way of our resort in Moalboal, Harman Suites. After we booked it, they despatched us a message providing to rearrange a taxi for us, and we determined to guide by way of them.
The place to remain in Moalboal
As I discussed earlier than, we stayed at Harman Suites Moalboal, which was completely fabulous. The worth was nice, the placement was wonderful, simply 3 minutes strolling from the seaside with the sardines and proper within the coronary heart of Moalboal. Additionally they supplied free snorkelling tools, and the standard of the tools was so a lot better than we had anticipated and skilled in different accommodations throughout our 10-day journey within the Philippines.
You may test the costs and availability of Harman Suites right here >>
Snorkelling in Moalboal: Do you see sardines whereas snorkelling?
Most individuals come to Moalboal to both snorkel with sardines or dive with them. Plenty of folks come on a day journey from Cebu, which is fairly tiring, as it’s worthwhile to get up round 4 a.m. We by no means tried diving earlier than (and the docs prohibited Jose to dive anyway), so snorkelling was our solely choice. I wasn’t fairly certain whether or not we might see any sardines or something in any respect whereas snorkelling. Nevertheless, it turned out you’ll be able to see sardines completely properly simply 10-15 meters away from the doorway to the ocean. It’s simpler to see them when it’s sunny.
Furthermore, Moalboal had wonderful coral reefs and so many vibrant fishes – we spent just a few hours on the afternoon of our first day in Moalboal and the following morning simply snorkelling and searching for totally different fishes. It was genuinely the most effective snorkelling places we’ve ever been to, and that was completely sudden!
You may as well see starfish, sea snakes, turtles and different wonderful creatures!
Different issues to do in Moalboal
Plenty of folks come to Moalboal for just a few days. Sadly, we might solely keep for one evening attributable to a good itinerary. I want we had stayed for longer, although, as there are many wonderful issues to do close by! Most people coming to Moalboal go canyoneering, because the waterfalls on Cebu island are a number of the most spectacular ones within the Philippines. You may pre-book a canyoneering tour ranging from Moalboal on-line right here >>
Moalboal can also be a beautiful city – it has a really laid-back and relaxed vibe. There are many backpackers and folks from all backgrounds and the environment could be very pleasant. Moalboal could be very small – nonetheless, there are many totally different bars and eating places. There are additionally just a few therapeutic massage parlours and the most effective one was undoubtedly Moalboal Spa and Therapeutic massage (not a really inventive identify, I do know), however the therapeutic massage was the most effective one we acquired within the Philippines!
Day 5: Oslob
On day 5 of our 10-day journey within the Philippines, we awakened early and went snorkelling in Moalboal. Then we had an incredible breakfast at Shaka – arms down the most effective breakfast spot in Moalboal. By 1 p.m., we checked out from our resort and requested for a taxi on the reception. Personal taxis from Moalboal to Oslob price us round $35-40 for a automobile and took virtually two hours. The taxi arrived round 2 p.m. – by that point, we had additionally sorted out ferry tickets for the following day’s ferry to Panglao. I like to recommend reserving tickets for the ferry prematurely right here because the ferry tends to promote out, and the affirmation additionally takes a little bit of time.
Oslob is a tiny city and a really rural one. There isn’t a lot to do and there are solely two small eating places. We spent the afternoon strolling round, nonetheless, I like to recommend staying a bit longer in Moalboal and heading to Oslob for the night.
In Oslob, we stayed on the resort Pobla – you’ll be able to name them earlier, and so they may also help organize a taxi and a information for swimming with the sharks the following day.
Days 6-9: Swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob, Ferry to Panglao, exploring Bohol
Swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob
Our information picked us up round 7 a.m., and we arrived at Oslob whale shark centre Half-hour later (it takes round 25 minutes to drive there from Oslob city centre). On the entrance, our information helped us get the tickets and discover our spot within the queue. At 8 a.m., the queue was already round 90 minutes lengthy. There are locations to take a seat and conceal from the solar, so don’t fear, you received’t want to face for a few hours to attend in your flip.
Since everyone will get round Half-hour with the sharks and in every boat, there’s solely place for about 10-12 folks, it takes fairly a little bit of time to ship and convey the vacationers again. I like to recommend taking the snorkelling gear with you, as what you’re supplied with will not be in nice situation and can in all probability do extra hurt than use.
You aren’t allowed to method whale sharks (though typically they method you) and it’s worthwhile to keep subsequent to the boat. Nevertheless, because the waves are normally fairly robust, it’s very straightforward to get dizzy!
General, it was an incredible expertise to see whale sharks so shut! I simply hoped it will be a bit extra moral (the whale sharks are there as a result of they’re fed daily at the very same spot).
Taking a ferry from Oslob to Panglao
We had been again within the resort by 10:30 a.m., and our ferry was departing at 12 p.m. Fortunately, the ferry was only a 5-minute drive from the resort, so we had time to complete packing and went to the ferry round 11:20 a.m.
We had been really virtually the final ones to reach! There is no such thing as a ferry terminal, only a small tent the place they test your ticket, accumulate your baggage charge and ship you to the ferry in a small boat. As I discussed earlier than, it’s very straightforward to guide tickets for all ferries and buses on 12Go Asia – right here you will discover the costs and availability of the ferry from Oslob to Panglao (Momo Seashore).
Our ferry was really a bit delayed and took over 2 hours to reach to Momo Seashore. Due to that, a number of folks had points with decide up – all of the taxi drivers left, together with ours. There have been, nonetheless, just a few minibuses that arrived to select up vacationers, and we joined one other group to go to our resort in Alona Seashore.
The place to remain in Panglao
In Panglao, we stayed on the resort referred to as Alona’s Coral Backyard – the resort was pretty, nonetheless, the placement wasn’t that nice – it was a bit distant from the primary a part of the city. Therefore, I’d advocate staying someplace else.
We really cut up our keep in Panglao into two elements – the primary two days, we stayed close to Alona Seashore, whereas the following few days, we stayed at a correct resort – South Palms Resort Panglao.
Wanting again on the journey now, we might have simply most well-liked to remain in a single resort. Bathala Resort or Henann Alona Seashore would have been a greater choice!
Issues to do in Bohol & Panglao
We spent most of our time in Panglao enjoyable and exploring the Alona seaside space. We went for a swim a number of instances – each time, we might see no less than 10 totally different blue starfish. There are, nonetheless, loads of urchins in Alona Seashore – I like to recommend at all times checking the place you might be stepping and in addition put on swimming sneakers like these ones.
One other must-do exercise in Panglao is definitely happening a day journey to Bohol island. Panglao and Bohol are two separate islands linked by a bridge. It takes round Half-hour to get to Bohol from Alona Seashore. Bohol is a very beautiful island – there are many issues to see, however most of them may be coated on a day journey. You may guide a personal tour (like we did) right here.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to guide this small-group tour with a barely totally different itinerary.
The principle sights everybody visits are the Chocolate Hills, the Tarsier “Sanctuary,” and the Loboc River Cruise. The one one we didn’t get pleasure from was the Tarsier “Sanctuary” as a result of it felt worse than a zoo. Tarsiers are nocturnal creatures, so that they sleep through the day. Nevertheless, I noticed staff of the “Sactuary” touching tarsiers with a stick so that they get up and vacationers can take a photograph with their eyes extensive open for a small tip.
Chocolate Hills are completely wonderful, and the Loboc river cruise was pretty, too. It’s essential wait within the queue to get on a cruise – we waited for 1.5 hours because it was a really busy weekend throughout public holidays; nonetheless, most individuals can get in there a lot sooner. The cruise takes place in a really photogenic boat and features a buffet lunch, dwell music and a dwell dance present.
Day 10: Getting again to Cebu
On our final day within the Philippines, we took a ferry from Bohol to Cebu. We really acquired enterprise class tickets (they had been simply $3 extra per individual) for the ferry. Once more, we booked all of the tickets on-line right here.
It took lower than 1.5 hours to get to Cebu from Bohol. The ferries aren’t at all times tremendous punctual, so I don’t advocate reserving your return flight too near the ferry arrival time. Depart no less than 5-8 hours till the flight. Whereas there isn’t a lot to see and do in Cebu Metropolis, it’s at all times higher to attend than pay for an additional flight!
Abstract of our itinerary for 10 days within the Philippines
I hope you discovered this text about our 10-day itinerary for the Philippines helpful and acquired some inspiration in your journey. Despite the fact that we had been on a good schedule, every little thing went as deliberate, and we managed to see every little thing we needed to see! We noticed three beautiful sunsets in Boracay, swam with whale sharks in Oslob and with sardines in Moalboal and visited the well-known chocolate hills in Bohol.
10 days within the Philippines doesn’t sound like lots, nonetheless, each our jobs don’t permit us to take greater than 14 days off work directly, and we had been additionally visiting Hong Kong this time, therefore, we constructed this 10-day itinerary for the Philippines. When you solely have 10 days to spend on this wonderful nation, maybe you will discover some helpful suggestions on this article!
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