The Philippines is an archipelago that consists of 7,641
islands. There are 3 regions. Luzon to the north, Mindanao to the South, and a
group of smaller islands in the center, of which Palawan is the most popular,
called Visayas. Major urban centers are Manila (Luzon), Cebu (Visayas), and
Davao (Mindanao). Places with high tourism in Palawan are Coron, El Nido and
Peurto Princesa. Boracay and Cebu make up the other popular places in Visayas.
Fact: It would take about 20 years to spend a day on every island of Philippines.
CORON
This is one of the islands in the province of Palawan within the Visayas region in central Philippines.
Airport is Busuanga. It’s so small that there’s no bus or air bridge, but umbrellas being handed out to walk from the plane to airport.
Reminded is of Iquitos airport in Peru, Amazon, given the small size, mountains all around and tiny air strip with only propeller airplanes landing.
Accommodation was at Club Paradise, part of Discovery Hotels, which along with Dusit Thani and Shangri-La, have some of the best resorts in Philippines. This property has a fascinating design, built around a natural ecosystem for everyone to continue coexisting in harmony.
There is a bat sanctuary right in the middle, which has thousands is of bats that don’t bother the humans living strong around, barring entertaining them with their daily morning inward migration and evening outward migration to the neighboring island. It’s quite a sight to watch them do their travel.
There are sea turtles just off the coast, a tiny bird that will store sit in your hand at the reception, monitor lizards searching for food setting near the dining area, hermit crabs at the beach, and even a tiny snake we saw slithering about.
Things to do are kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, scuba-diving and generally lazing on the beach where the bartenders bring a fancy complimentary drink and snack each morning. Kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling are great activities to do here given how serene the waves are and clear the waters are. Neo did all of them, making him probably one of the youngest to do all this, especially catching a sea turtle, which was something even I was doing for the first time. Rare for an activity that both Geet and Neo are doing the same time as me.
Things to see are the sunrise and sunset, which on non-cloudy days are a spectacle. The sunrise looks like the one you see in the Nescafé sunrise packs. The type of sunrise we would draw as a kid, with perfect rays from a bright circular sun. Sunsets are also beautiful, fiery red and just bright enough to watch with the naked eye as they disappear off the horizon.
DAVAO
This is the biggest island, and possibly the only place worth visiting in the southern region of Mindanao of Philippines. Even this island was only made accessible a few years ago as it had a lot of rebel groups and considered unsafe before.
Airport is Davao airport, but there is absolutely nothing to do at the airport and even the city surrounding it. The best option is to head directly to the resort.
Accommodation we booked was Dusit Thani, where we received the luxurious treatment of any property we’ve been to. The airport staff that picked us from the hotel were kind enough to make a stop at a Dusit Thani in the city itself for a lunch stop before heading to the Dusit Thani on the island. We were happy to find that the original Bengarong Thai restaurant is part of this chain, a namesake we frequented during our Chennai days.
The resort is on a small island and therefore the last leg of the journey needs to be by boat. The welcome on the resort includes dancing girls with the hot towel and welcome drink.
Things to do are kayaking in a cordoned off section near the island where the waters are serene, and fish feeding which Neo couldn’t get enough of. Apart from this there was a basketball court and open parks, but the days were always too hot to try any of these, and therefore spent most of our time lazing by the beach or kayaking when the sun went behind the clouds.
Things to see are nothing beyond what’s on offer at the resort, with the main draw being snorkeling, as you can see abundant aquatic life just steps away from shore with clear visibility.
BORACAY
This is arguably the most famous island of Philippines. People travel to this country sometimes just to visit this one place. And it meets expectations. Just like the websites say, the beach is one of the most beautiful in the world. Powdered sand, teal colored waters, with sparsely strewn coconut trees, it's a sight you can spend hours watching. If on the west coast, the sights get even better as you get a clear view of the sunset, which you could even choose to see from a sail boat. The coastline is so wide that at times you can see the sunset on one side and a storm with lightning on the other side. It was a visual spectacle we were treated to on one of the evenings of our visit.
Airport is Caticlan airport which is one of two options and the closest to the Boracay island. It is yet again a tiny airport, and the big hotels organize free pick up and drop from here.
Accommodation is recommended on the west coast for sunsets and east coast for water sport like snorkeling and kayaking. We stayed at The Lind which is real neat with it's proximity to the beach.
Things to do are exploring the various amazing restaurants for good food and drink, while soaking in the view. In some places you could even have the view of the most unique church we have seen, on a few rocks a few wades from the beach! Adventure sport is better off at Coron given it's natural beauty, but Boracay is the place to visit for culture, vibe and gluttony.
Things to see are simply the beach, while enjoying oysters, which by far are the best value for money anywhere on the planet. We literally got 10 oysters for the price of 1 in Europe, and tasted far better than anywhere else we've had. There are water activities here as well, but you wouldn't miss much if you've seen Coron or Davao which are far better for natural beauty than here.
Restaurants:
Puerto Princesa is the capital city of Pallavan. And just like the other regional capitals like Manila and Cebu, this too has no beach properties near the airport, although the coastline is just 15 minutes from the airport. This is because the coastline of the developed parts of the country are rocky or filled with mangroves. The only way to access the beach is to drive or sail to a beach resort some two hours away from the airport.
Accommodation
We stayed at Princesa garden Island resort, which is just 10 minutes from the airport and of course only had mangroves on the coastline. However, it had these unique sand bars which were tiny strips of islands. Just a 10 minute kayak from the beach, which was as good as a beach, maybe even better because they were filled with starfish that Neo enjoyed playing with.
Property otherwise is very basic with the only major attractions being what they called the largest Swimming Pool of Palawan. Every room on the ground floor of the hotel opens directly into the Swimming Pool. There are play areas for the kids and a mini golf course, but that apart, I think we were just spoiled with all the other fancy resorts we’ve been to East Asia.
Things to see
Underground river is a UNESCO world heritage site and the most popular attraction of the city. It’s two hours away from the airport and weather dependent for the travel agencies to operate.
Fire fly visit is another popular attraction with lots of positive reviews from people, including a personal testimonial from a couple we met. This is only half an hour away from the resort, but starts a bit too late in the evening.
We skipped both these given we only had three days in resort and beach and starfish was the most enjoyable parts for Neo.
