Flew to the Philippines and landed in paradise. I’ve always wanted to go and every time I checked out pictures on Instagram or saw people that I know going there, my motivation to explore this country grew even more. So, obviously on this trip, the country was very high up my bucket list. Due to recent events on some of the islands however, we weren’t completely sure, whether we should actually go or not. But after talking to a bunch of backpackers that had been there, we decided that it was fine, planned the islands we wanted to visit and booked out flights. Philippines – here we come.

Cebu Island

We flew from Manila into Cebu city and stayed at Shejoje Poshtel Hostel. It’s a capsule hostel, location was good and the owner was super friendly and helpful. But honestly, it’s not really worth staying in Cebu city for longer than a day. It’s interesting to walk around, try some Lechon, maybe have a drink at night, but besides that, I didn’t think it was very spectacular. We actually had a very interesting (or better said disturbing) bar experience in Cebu. We were walking into the location because it said life music, sat down, ordered some drinks and then just realized what kind of setting we were in: let’s just say, very old white men with way too young looking local girls. Disgusting, sad and just another reminder that sex tourism is very real and that most of these young girls don’t see any other way than to earn their money like this.

We only stayed a night in the city and took a bus down to the south of the island to a small town called Moalboal. Moalboal is famous for its beaches (for example white beach and Panagsama), sardine swarms and adventure activities. I think this stop was my favorite location during our time there, because we did so much. We went canyoneering for a day, which was so much fun (I think every hostel works with different companies, I can’t remember the name of ours, but there are a bunch of good places where you can do it), rented snorkeling gear on the beach and saw turtles (ok one turtle haha) and sardines, did a motorbike sunrise trip to Osmeña peak, met cool people and went out to Chili bar at night. I usually enjoy the lazy beach days as well, but I prefer going on little adventures and to be active as much as possible, so Moalboal was the perfect combination. And also, i fell in love with all of the tricycles on the island(s) – I think that’s the best invention ever and I want my own tricycle in Berlin from now on. Next birthday gift?!

On our first night down there, we stayed at Emok’s Guesthouse, which did not really have any atmosphere and was a little out of the way from the beaches, but close to the bus station. After one night, we switched to MoHo hostel, which is apparently quite famous and definitely a good looking hostel, but was definitely lacking atmosphere as well, when we were staying there. Two guys we met during our journey stayed at Chief Mau hostel, which looked awesome and had a lot of young people chilling at the bar and around the common area, when we dropped by. Also, the hostel is very close to all the restaurants and bars down by the beach (so is MoHo), so maybe this could be a good choice to stay.

One popular activity on Cebu island, and easily reachable from Moalboal as well, are whale shark tours to Oslob. You leave early in the morning to meet the gentle giants and return around noon. I want to address this topic as I feel even though we are traveling and want to use any chance to experience new and amazing things, we sometimes have to say no to activities if they don’t feel right. The reason why we did not do the whale shark experience in Oslob is simply that we did not want to be close to the animal with 20 boats and even more tourists around. Swimming with whale sharks is very high up my bucket list and I was planning on doing it there, BUT I talked to other backpackers, who shared their experiences of overcrowded waters and the unethical method of attracting the animals with food, just so overexcited tourists could be close to them. I feel it’s just not fair for the animals and also not the real experience. I want to encounter them in the wild, no matter if I have to wait for hours or days to find them. I heard, however, that Donsol for example is supposed to be way more quiet and relaxed and you are able to see whale sharks there as well. For us, this was unfortunately out of the way, but maybe you can share your experiences with me, if you’ve ever done it in the Philippines. As for me, i was lucky enough to have had a more ethical experience in Mexico after all, but more about that later.

Palawan Island

Our next Island stop was Palawan, an Island located in the area of Mimaropa and the the largest in terms of total area. We flew into Puerto Princesa and took a van 5 hours up to a city the north of the island, el Nido, but there are direct flights from Cebu to el Nido as well. El Nido is especially famous for its beautiful beaches and serves as a hub for tours leading to beautiful lagoons, caves and other islands. The city itself is full of tourists, bars, beach clubs, restaurants and hotels and hostels, but it still had a very vibrant vibe to it. Be prepared for power cuts and no wifi for a couple of days, not every hostel or hotel is able to provide a strong connection and power cuts are happening on a regular basis.

We stayed in Clifftower Apartelle, which was good enough, but definitely lacking atmosphere, WiFi and service. The two guys that we met on Cebu Island were staying at Austria’s Guesthouse (I feel like their hostel game was definitely stronger than ours in this country haha), which is also closer to the beach, across the street from a cute little coffee place (I think it was called Teaspoon and it had WiFi) and next to a great massage place (probably had the best massage there in Asia). A little further out, but I think now newly opened, is the Mad Monkey hostel, which you should definitely check out if you like partying and comfy beds (we stayed there in Boracay).

As mentioned before, the city serves as a hub for a ton of tours, but mainly you can choose between tour A, B, C and D. Basically all street vendors and tour companies will offer you similar deals, you’ll just have to compare prices and extras that are included. We ended up booking tour A, which was a trip to a big and a small lagoon, a secret lagoon and a beach. The tour itself is super beautiful, because the scenery is just great AND I probably had the best tour lunch there ever. So good. They will pick you up in the morning, walk you to the beach and then a poor guy has to kayak you to the boat. That is, when you all fit. We were three people and the poor guy was swimming next to us, trying to get us to our tour boat, which was parked a little further out. Haha. The crew on the boat was also really nice, as far as you understand each other and ours at least had a really nice taste in music (best of Kuschelrock? haha). But, snorkeling in the water with hundreds of other tourists that got dumped to swim and kayak from other boats was a little exhausting. Nothing peaceful about that. Maybe it’s better when booking a privat tour, but I wouldn’t redo tour A, if I were to go back. Also, we heard that almost all tours are the same, but you’ll have to try this out. We originally wanted to book tour B, which would have been a cave tour, but because not many tourists usually book it, it did not take place. Bummer. Also, you could take a boat over to Corona, which is the third largest island in this area. You can either go by fast or regular boat from El Nido.

Except for the tours, on the island, you can learn how to dive, snorkel, do a little trekking to a viewpoint, go to one of the beautiful beaches such as La Cabanas (just a 10 minutes drive by tricycle from the center) or take a stroll through el Nido’s village and explore how locals live there (or in our case, witness how excited they get about an ongoing cock fight). Also, you should try out the market, where you can sit down and get local food. Fish, Squid, chicken, whatever you like, they will grill it right in front of you, so yummy. Also, I don’t get people who say the Philippines have shitty food and all you can eat is fast food. Of course, it’s not comparable to Vietnam, but we always had good local food and no stomach issues whatsoever.

Boracay

Our last Island stop was Boracay. The island is now closed for tourists (since April and at least 6 months), due to environmental issues and pollution and only locals are allowed to enter, but I will still write down what we did (which is not too much, but it was still fun to be there).

You actually cannot directly fly to Boracay, you will have to fly into Caticlan, which is the closest airport and right next to the port, where all the ferry’s leave for Boracay. Once you get there you can just grab a tricycle to bring you to your preferred location. For the main part, we stayed at Mad Monkeys, the party hostel you should stay in, if you want to have a good time. They have different hostels all over Southeast Asia and recently opened in Australia, so check it out if you can. Facility wise, this is probably one of the best hostel I’ve ever been in. Nice pool, extra big beds, lockers, WiFi more or less, own bar, lots of activities. Only downfall is the lack of free breakfast and that it can get pretty noisy at night, when you actually want to get some sleep. The parties weren’t super crazy when we were there, but we met some cool people and some familiar faces, which made the stay very fun for me. One thing you should definitely do when staying in the hostel, is the boat party every Saturday and Tuesday (I think). Good fun! Oh, and don’t ever drink your beer with your right hand. That’s what’s killed me haha.

Besides partying (there a lots of beach clubs that are pretty cool) and chilling on the beach, we didn’t really do anything else on the island, but relaxing is not the worst thing you could do, right.

Overall, i really enjoyed our time in the Philippines and would have loved to actually explore some more islands (i mean, there are just too many). I personally felt save the entire time of being there, the people were super friendly and open and as long as you don’t go to areas that are red flagged, you should be fine. So yes, if you get the chance to Southeast Asia, put the Philippines on your list. No matter if you just want to chill on the beach or go on some outdoor adventures – you’ll find it all there.