Philippines it is a great travel destination. It has many interesting places and for that reason it requires a trip totally apart from the classic itinerary that is done by Southeast Asia.
In fact, if one does not have much time, in a single trip it is not possible to cover the entire Philippines and its beauties, so the door is open for a return. Today we will focus on the northern philippines and in sketching a slightly longer itinerary.
Philippines
The Philippines is a large compendium of I so there are different landscapes: humid mountains, rice terraces, mighty rivers, white sand beaches and crystal clear waters ... They are little more than seven thousand islands and many believe that they offer the best diving spots in the world.
The offer is such that when you don't know the Philippines you wonder where to start. That will always depend on the time you have available. The more the merrier, but obviously that's not the usual thing. That is why today we are going to run a little about the beaches, the islands and snorkeling and we are going to go to Northern Philippines, a good start to know this particular and friendly country.
The journey begins in Manila, the capital. It cannot be otherwise because for us, Spanish speakers, there is a lot of Spain here. The architect, some names, everything recalls her Hispanic past. Most tourists use Manila as a springboard to other destinations, but being the capital, you can spend a couple of days getting to know it.
What are the recommended attractions? La Walled city, what remains of the old Spanish empire, Intramuros. It has cobbled streets, churches and European-style houses. Getting lost around here is worth it. The Fort Santiago from the XNUMXth century It is another interesting place, occupied by both Spanish and English, Americans and Japanese. Today it is a museum.
La San Agustín Church houses a museum and is the oldest church in the country. It is here in Intramuros and it is World Heritage. Closer to the coast is the Malecon Manila, the best place to contemplate the sunset. It has two kilometers surrounded by palm trees and there are vendors and traveling musicians. The Rizal Park It is a beautiful open-air site in the heart of the city, with paths, statues and a lot of history in its monuments.
To do some cheap shopping there is the Divisoria Market, in the heart of Barrio chino, but if you want something more modern there is the Manila Super Mall. If you don't want to visit specific places, you can rent a bike or sign up for a bike tour. Bambike Eco Tours It is a great option because it has handmade bikes by local people, with bamboo. Do not forget!
Once you're done taking a look at Manila it's time to head north. For that you buy the bus tickets heading to the northern Luzon. Some travelers don't take Luzon into consideration and jump straight onto the beaches, but in this article we aim to get out of the ordinary lane and recommend slightly less popular spots. And here comes Luzon.
Northern Luzon is decorated with rice terraces. UNESCO has declared them World Heritage and thus they attract tourists, but they tend to stay there and not go a little further. If you want to see equally beautiful landscapes but without so many people, then you have to visit other rice fields that are not those of Banaue. You arrive after traveling one more hour, climbing the mountain. Here are the precious Batad rice terraces.
And since you arrived here the ideal is stay overnight. There are little houses built on the terraces themselves, Batad Transient House, for example, with breakfast included. There are waterfalls nearby that are beautiful to cool off the next day. As we said, to the north of Luzon you arrive by bus. There is night service from the Sampoloc area in Manila for around twenty euros and can be purchased in advance or the same day. The buses leave at 9pm.
Also in the north there is something that you surely saw in a documentary: the coffins arranged on the cliffs, the famous sagada coffins. It turns out that the tribes in this part of the Philippines keep their dead in coffins that brace the cliff walls, bringing them closer to heaven. Although it is a custom that has been lost quite a bit there are still some coffins there. It is reached by bus from Banaue, on buses going to Baguio.
baguio is a Philippine city located in the mountains, far north on the island of Luzon. It was founded by Americans in 1909 and was for a long time the seaside town from the country. It has cool and mild summers, not stuffy at all. From Manila there are 250 kilometers. There are some attractions such as its market, the botanical garden, the cathedral or the official presidential residence.
The highest mountain in Luzon is here and is almost 3 thousand meters high, it is the Mount Pulag. There are tours that take you to know it. The tour involves arriving by jeep to a mountain village where you spend the night in a local house and then, early in the morning, the ascent begins. Even this trip to heaven may be your last visit in Luzon because you can coordinate with the tourism agency to return you directly to Manila afterwards, instead of returning to Baguio city.
Once completed this excursion to the north You now have a clear path to continue your trip and fly to the southern philippines. A good itinerary can jump from northern Luzon to the Siargao islandfor example the national capital of surfing, in the Mindanao region. In the central part of the Philippines is Boracay, top destination: its four-kilometer beach is a dream, there are restaurants, hotels and nightlife.
Boracay lasts three or four nights, no more, unless you really like fun. You can get here by plane or by ferry from Batangas. TO Batangas You can even get there from Manila in just two hours by bus, there you can take the night ferry and arrive at 7 am.
Lastly, I can't stop naming Coron, in the province of Palawan, with its fantastic rock formations and turquoise lagoons. It also has countless shipwrecks, especially Japanese from the Second warSo in just a 20 minute boat ride off the coast there is an underwater paradise. And how do you get to this city? From Boracay you can fly cheap from Caticlan with Air Juan. The plane has only 12 seats and is the best way to experience the Philippines from the air.
In Coron you have cheaper and more interesting hotels and hostels, if sharing does not bother you. El Nido You are also in Palawan, a paradise with many accessible accommodations, restaurants, bars, and dive destinations. There are lagoons, caves and islets and many tours available to kill several birds with one stone. A very nice tour is the one that connects Coron and El Nido by sailboat. It is not cheap, but it is beautiful.
So far we come today and we are running out of the Bantayan Island, Cebu... That will be another time.
Finally, some extra information: moving within the country is cheap, there are many buses, especially to the north, all with air conditioning and sometimes with some food on board, there are ferries and boats to move between the islands, some travel at night and tickets can be bought directly at the port, there are also taxis and motorcycle taxis that are cheaper.