Whilst based in Asia, I visited The Philippines a couple of times and had a lot of fun there. Of course on a brace of trips I can only really scratch the surface of that humungous country. My first trip was in January 2012 to Manila, the capital city which is on Luzon island. My second trip saw me celebrate New Year’s Eve there, as we headed to Cebu, Bohol, Panglao and a few other islands on an island hopping tour. On both trips, I actually flew in and out of the country. Before the trip, I researched the best sights and booked my accommodation as well as sourcing affordable airport transfers in the Philippines so that the trip ran smoothly. Once I had that all sorted, I landed in The Philippines and these are some of my best memories from those two trips.
Touring Chocolate Hills, The Philippines
1.Dolphin Watching in Bohol
I have been dolphin 🐬 and whale 🐳🐋 watching a few times on my travels. It’s always an early morning start. On our time in Bohol, the dolphin watching was cancelled one of the mornings we were there but we still managed to do it and see the dolphins.
Dolphins off the coast of Panglao Island, Philippines
2.Starfish on Virgin Island
On a boat cruise we headed to an uninhabited island off the coast of Panglao island somewhere. Here it was so beautiful. We saw starfish and got to hold them. This was known as Virgin Island and was incredible.
Holding Starfish at Virgin Island, Philippines
Holding Starfish at Virgin Island, Philippines
3.Butterfly Museum
Initially a butterfly museum doesn’t sound very interesting but we were wrong. This place was well worth a trip – it was full of information on different types of butterflies as well as caterpillars.
Holding the big green caterpillar in Flying Colours Butterfly Centre, Bohol, THE PHILIPPINES.
Butterfly on the chin – amusement in the outdoor butterfly garden at Flying Colours, Bohol, THE PHILIPPINES.
4.Tarsier Centre
Tarsiers are unusual creatures and we toured a Tarsier Center when we backpacked in Bohol. These are like a mini monkey that hangs on trees. It was the first and so far only time I have seen such animals.
Tarsier Conservation Centre in Loboc in Bohol, PHILIPPINES
The Tarsier – native to the Philippines and seemingly a mix between a monkey, a koala and an alien!!
5.Chocolate Hills
The sheer magical views at Chocolate 🍫 Hills will live long in the memory. These hills are like little pyramids and your view of them will change depending on the time of year, time of day, location of the sun, weather and how your edit your photos. Some of them might be doctored on Instagram!
Touring Chocolate Hills
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6.On the rip in Manila
The Philippines is famous for hospitality and the beers here are Red Horse and San Miguel. I loved the bars in the capital city too, Manila – it’s on the island of Luzon. I also stayed in a 32 bed dorm room in Manila.
Entertainment City Manila – The Casino Rival of Manila
Nights On the Rip in Manila, Philippines
7.Local Tribe
We did a boat cruise which allowed us to access an island with local tribes. These guys were breeding crocodiles and breathing flames. It was wacaday to the core. They even posed by my Northern Ireland flag and danced and sang for us.
With my travelling Northern Ireland flag and a local tribe in Bohol Island, Philippines
8.Bohol Bee and Honey Farm
Another surprising highlight was our trip to a honey farm. This was the second honey 🍯 farm I had backpacked. The first one was at Lower Landing on the Tasmanian Wilderness Railway Train in 2010.
Eating at Bohol Bee Farm
Eating at Bohol Bee Farm
9.Snorkelling At Balicasag
Even though I love the seaside, down the years I haven’t done as much swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving as I should have done. In The Philippines, I decided to go snorkelling. We went over in a boat to Balicasag Island, from Panglao Island. Here we swam, snorkelled and saw a load of fish.
Snorkelling at Balicasag Island in the Philippines!
Relaxing at the remote Balicasag Island in the Philippines before the snorkelling
10.Lunch on a Floating Restaurant
We dined out in style, eating our lunch one day on a floating restaurant. The food was great and the restaurant moved as we ate and enjoyed the views.
Relaxing on the floating restaurant in Bohol, Philippines!
Relaxing on a floating restaurant in Bohol, Philippines!
Don’t Stop Living blog is fifteen years old this year (2022), having started in 2007. There will be a load of posts coming hopefully as my journey saunters on.