Okay, so let me just say, Philippines was never in our original plan. You might have a completely different experience if you had sat down and gone over your plan and route fully BUT we didn’t. We were half way through our India trip and realised we could go wherever we wanted next, we had heard the stories and seen the pictures so we were set on a pit stop in the Philippines.

In hindsight, I would have spent more time planning the route which would of saved money and utilised our small amount of time properly.

CEBU

With the above in mind, we landed in Cebu after 28 hours of travelling. In all fairness this is probably not the best foot to start on for any city/country but it had its effect. We landed late and quickly experienced the price difference between here and India when we were stung with a £50 taxi bill to out hotel across the island – granted it was a three hour drive or it was suppose to be… I think we ended up with a taxi driver who was about to finish shift, he was practically falling asleep at the wheel and there were a couple close calls but after 4 long hours we made it to our hostel.

We only had two nights here, two nights on one island which yes, is ridiculous and we should have stayed longer. We went off a recommendation from a friend and stayed in Alegria so we could visit Kawasan falls. We spent a full day there swimming in open lakes with waterfalls all around. The water was so blue, it was such a relaxing day and with beer at 80p a bottle, it was a goood day.

Where we stayed in Alegria was pretty local and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the only hotel/hostel in the area. I think there was only one other group staying there so it was very quiet. For dinner, we took a walk down the only road that seemed to be around and found a ‘restaurant’. It was more where the locals gathered for a buffet dinner and watched TV. We sat down with many stares and enjoyed BBQ pork and chicken with the staple of rice, it was so cheap and I am pretty sure they added extra to our bill just for being tourists but our bill was under £4.

The next day we had to make our way back to the airport but did not want to pay the £50 taxi fair. Our hostel helped us out with catching a bus right into Cebu city where we caught a taxi with some fellow travellers to the airport. All in all the total trip cost us £7. How stupid did we feel.

Luckily Cebu flew directly to Palawan. This is something to bear in mind when planning the Philippines – not all islands fly to each other and there is not always a ferry option. This means that most times you have to fly back to Manila to catch another flight to your next islands. Costs of flights can rack up quickly.

PALAWAN

We landed in Peurto Princesa where we had three nights booked at a hostel (Edam and Ace – rating 6/10). We were staying just a short walk away from the main area so the location was pretty good. To be honest, three nights was too much for Peurto Princesa but when you have no plans you need the time to sort out your stay a little bit.

The best thing about our stop here was that we treated ourselves to getting our washing done. We had spent just over a month hand washing our clothes and lets be honest, they were never properly clean. We literally handed our whole bags in to be washed holding back a couple of items to get us through the next day. It was so cheap, we managed to get all our clothes washed for £3 – the best £3 we had spent so far.

Our first day in Puerto Princesa, we hired our a moped and drove 40km to Nagaton beach. Not just a normal beach, it was a beach you see in all the pictures of the Philippines. It was so seclued and with a couple of beach huts serving snacks it was the best way to spend our day. Unfortnatly for us, we got a bit cocky in the sun and we both burnt so bad but it was bound to happen.

 

Once we got back to the city we booked to go on an island hopping tour the next day. At the same time we booked our transfer to our next stop – we felt so organised.

Our island hopping tour took us to three different islands with snorkelling areas to check our the coral and the fish. We were smart enough to bring along a couple rolls of bread to feed the fish – if you crumble a little in the area you are snorkelling they swarm you for a perfect close up shot. We had a BBQ lunch on one of the islands and then spent the rest of the day chilling and drinking cheap beer – can you see the pattern?

The next day was our transfer to our next stop – Port Barton. The drive was a three hour ride in a van with other tourists. You could tell by the quailty of the road as we got close how rural this town was. When you arrive you are swarmed with people offering accomodations – we had our booked so started heading in the direction of our hostel. We were half way there when we realised that we there was no need to book and where we had booked was a bit far out of the main area. We cancelled our booking and went for a wander looking for a place to stay. We were thinking we had made the wrong decision when the prices seemed to be a bit pricey until we stumbled across Cubby’s Guesthouse.

Cubby’s is only a new accomodation plot with a concrete dorm area and two bamboo bungalows. We tried our luck and managed to get a private bungalow for £7 a night.

We had planned three nights in Port Barton and quickly felt that we could stay for longer. The food was so nice, people were friendly and the beach was beautiful. We spent out first night chilling at a reggae bar listening to acoustic music.

The only thing to noteabout Port Barton is that it is stil very rural. Most parts of the town only have electricty from 5:30pm to 1am so that was something we had to bear in mind. Another shock was that there was no ATM – I really wish someone had warned us. We had minimal cash and the only way to get money out was to transfer only to a company to withdraw from a shop. Yes the whole thing sounds dodgy and with our debit cards being tempromental throughout our trip we were doubtful it was going to work. After one failed attempt and a panicy morning we managed to sort ourselves out with some cash for the next few days. If you are planning to visit Port Barton just get cash out before you go – it is way less hassel.

Port Barton is a good place to go snorkelling in open water so we signed up for a island hopping trip – yes another! It was cheaper and way better then the one we did in Puerto Princesa so I would hold off it I were to do it again. This time we got to swim with sea turtles which is a massive highlight and got to see some amazing corals. We had a BBQ’d lunch on the beach again which included rainbow fish – it was so yum.

For dinner back in the town we went for a western meal (it has to be done every now and again) and opted for a popular pizza place. At first we were a bit taken aback by the price but when we saw the size we were satisfed. This pizza was huuuuuuge.

Our original plan after Port Barton was to make our way to Coron with an overnight stay in El Nido. In typical traveller style we left everything to the last minuet to book accomodation which was a mistake. We found out too late that Coron books up pretty fast and we were left with the expensive 4 star hotels. We made the quick decision that our time was over in the Philippines. The cost to move on and to get back on track was costing way more then we thought so within 3 hours we had booked our transfer back to Peurto Princesa. We struggled to book out flights (another glitch with our debit cards) so we headed straight to the airport to book flights out of the Philippines.

A massive difference in culture is the pure lack of help tourists seem to recieve. After multiple trips to different airline desks we managed to book a flight for the next day (obviously a bit more then if we booked online but it felt good to have them booked). We found a cheap hotel for the flight and relaxed. It felt like a stressful couple of days.

It sounds strange but it felt like something was against us in the Philippines. There were so many signs that just made it feel like it wasn’t working. I would do it so differently if I were to go back but we saw and did what we wanted and were happy to move on. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing and beautiful just the hype is more then its worth for sure.