How to travel PHILIPPINES

Before I start I wanna give you a little bit information about the country and the region. Philippines was ruled by 3 different countries in its history, over 3 centuries under Spain, nearly 5 decades under U.S.A and 3 years under Japan. In1946 Philippines was officially recognized by America as an independent country through the Treaty of Manila. In present day it is an archipelagic country, consists of about 7641 islands, located in South East Asia and 12th most populated country, over 100 million people, in the world.

South East Asia is becoming booming tourist attraction because of low travel expenses, budget hotels and beautiful landscapes. Countries like Philipphines, Vietnam, Thailand are target of overtourism which lead to environmental issue despite its potential benefits. Recently one of the beaches in Philippines closed for 6 months due to contamination. So try to be thoughtful of your environment when you travel abroad. Without further let's begin.

When you land in Philippines you will be landing in Manila. However I don't recommend spending any longer than you need to, simply get on the next flight from Manila head to either Palawan or Cebu. For my trip I went straight to Cebu, once I left the airport I went 15 minutes away, got a hotel, stayed there for 2 days. There are many ways of transportations such as Jeepneys, tricycles and grab. Grab is other version of Uber in Philippines, trip fares are based on your travel distance for your trip's route upfront. For jeepneys they have fixed prices based on ditance whereas you need to negotiate the price with tricycle drivers. In Cebu there are various places you can go such as Leah temple and Sky Adventure where you can choose from plenty of activities like walking on the edge of highest skyscraper in country. Next stop is Oslob you can go to Oslob by domestic bus from south bus terminal in Cebu which costs you around only 150 peso(8USD). Oslob is one of the most popular spots in Philippines because you can swim with whale sharks there. I highly suggest you to be there in Oslob before sunset because thousand of other tourists also wait for their turn to swim with those wild animals, If you don't want to stay in line for hours be there around 5 A.M in the morning. After that take a fairy and head to Dumaguete or Bohol, both are beautiful but different in terms of activities you can do. In Dumaguete you can swim with those rare species of turtles while in Bohol you can enjoy the view from chocolate hills with monkeys and see the sunset from Alona beach.

Roller coaster on the edge of Crown Regency Hotel & Towers

Second Palawan, Palawan is the most beautiful place in Philippines. Here you can do island-hopping tour for 10-20 dollars includes barbecue, local dishes and drinks also you can dive at a famous dive side where you can see sunk Japanese warships from World War I. If you are into diving there are various booking agencies can offer dives all around Coron and it is also possible to become licensed diver. From Palawan you can go to El Nido which is very similar in terms of landscapes and activities but at cheaper price. Mind which season to come in Philippines November to April, the dry season, is most popular which means everything can be quite pricey than normal, wet season falls between May and October, but the rain isn’t constant and rarely impacts on travel plans, shoulder months of May and November can represent good value for money you’ll miss the crowds, the weather’s still pleasant and flights will be cheaper than during the high season.

Kawasan Falls in Cebu Island