7,641 ISLANDS · ONE COUNTRY
Turquoise lagoons, white beaches, island-hopping days.
Island-hopping through El Nido and Coron, canyoneering in Cebu, whale sharks off Oslob, and the white-sand beaches in between. The trips worth booking, island by island.
Only in the Philippines
Start with what only the Philippines has.
Beaches and boat trips exist all over Southeast Asia. A river that flows out through a mountain, the biggest fish in the sea a swim from the sand, and a turquoise canyon you climb down into do not. Plan the rest of the trip around these three.
Palawan
Sail through a mountain
At Puerto Princesa a paddled bangka takes you off the open sea and straight into a cave, then keeps going. The Underground River runs for kilometres beneath the limestone, past chambers the size of cathedrals and stalactites that glow in the headlamp. It is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, and nothing else feels like floating into a mountain in the dark.
- 1 From Puerto Princesa: Underground River Full-Day Trip
- 2 Puerto Princesa: Honda Bay Island Hopping & Optional Massage
- 3 Underground River Day Trip from Puerto Princesa City
Southern Cebu
Swim with whale sharks
Off the coast of Oslob, the biggest fish in the ocean cruise close to shore on almost every morning of the year. You slip over the side of the boat and a creature the length of a bus glides past at arm's reach, mouth open, completely calm. Very few places on earth let you do this so reliably.
- 1 Whale Shark & Tumalog Falls & Sumilon Sandbar & Pescador Island with Sardines
- 2 Cebu: Whale Shark Swim and Kawasan Canyoneering Tour
- 3 Whale Shark Encounter and Sumilon Sandbar with Kawasan Falls
Badian Gorge
Canyon down to Kawasan Falls
Start high in the Badian gorge and work your way down: leaping off ledges, sliding through chutes, and swimming stretches of impossibly blue water until the three tiers of Kawasan Falls open up below you. This is the canyoneering run that put Cebu on the map for a whole generation of travellers.
- 1 Cebu: Kawasan Falls Canyoneering Tour with Ziplining & Lunch
- 2 Private Cebu & Lapu-Lapu City Tour with Uphill Spots & Lunch at House of Lechon
- 3 Bohol Countryside Day Tour From Cebu City | Lunch at Loboc River Cruise
Plan the route
Which islands, in how many days?
You cannot see seven thousand islands in one trip, and choosing is half the fun. Here are three routes that work, depending on how long you have.
The one to book first
If you only book one day, make it this.
More people book this than any other trip in the country. If you are still building the itinerary, it is the easy first yes.
The classics
The Philippines’ Most Popular Tours
El Nido lagoons, Oslob whale sharks, Kawasan Falls, Boracay sailing. The trips most travellers fly in for.
By island
Pick an island.
Each one is its own trip. El Nido for the lagoons. Boracay for the beach. Cebu for the canyons and the whale sharks. Bohol for the hills and the tarsiers. Coron for the wrecks. Manila to land and begin.
By tour type
Or pick what kind of day you want.
Island-hopping if you want the lagoons. Canyoneering if you want the adrenaline. Diving and snorkeling for the reefs, whale watching for the giants, and city and food tours for the days you stay on land.
The Bacuit lagoons
If you came for El Nido.
Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon, Secret Lagoon and the hidden beaches of the Bacuit archipelago. The boats run as lettered routes, A through D. Start with these three and you have seen the best of it.
Aklan
Boracay, beyond the beach.
White Beach is the postcard, but the island earns its name on the water: beach-hopping bangkas, sunset sails under the old paraw rigs, and snorkeling off Crocodile Island. These three are the ones we would book first.
The countryside
Bohol in a single day.
The Chocolate Hills, a tarsier the size of your palm, and a lunch cruise down the Loboc River. Most countryside tours string them into one loop. These are three we would put on any Bohol day.
On land
The city days.
Intramuros and its old stone walls, the food streets of Manila, the markets and museums between flights. The days worth keeping for when you are moving from one island to the next.
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