A Perfect Week in the Philippines

Overview

No ifs, buts or maybes. The Philippines is by far one of the most beautiful countries I have ever holidayed to. The sheer grandeur of the cliff faces of bare rock, the clear turquoise waters, the diverse animal and marine life, the loud and intrusive yet whimsical capital city of Manila and the options for activities and exploring are second to none.

The Philippines is an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean, consisting of approximately 7,640 islands, of which around 2000 are inhabited. Its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire close to the equator makes it susceptible to earthquakes and typhoons. It has a population of around 109 million people with a third of its people residing in metropolitan Manila. In 2020, it was listed as the 12th most populated country in the world.

I visited in November 2017 for 8 days. Alas, if only I could have stayed longer on this incredible Philippines holiday! It was nigh impossible in the planning phase to choose a ‘best of’ that fit into a week. However, after some solid research, I followed the exact itinerary below. And I wouldn’t have changed a second.

Itinerary for your Philippines Holiday

Manila, Luzon Island
El Nido, Palawan Island
Maremegmeg Beach Club
Overnight Island Hopping Tour
Corong Corong Beach, Palawan Island
Nacpan Beach, Palawan Island
Miniloc Eco-Discovery Island Resort

Manila

The bustling metropolis of Manila exudes a contagious excitement propelling one to investigate what is around each and every corner, across each city pathway and curated park and within each skyrise hotel.

With only one day here, there is just so much to do, which really lies beyond the scope of this write up. For time limitation reasons only, I chose to forego many of the historical and cultural landmarks.

However for those interested, these include:

• Binondo Chinatown
• Fort Santiago Citadel
• San Agustin Church
• Plaza de Roma
• the City Walls

Instead I attempted to capture the essence of the city, try a few suggestions recommended to me and engage in some local nightlife and activity! What a fun fuelled 12 hours to start my Philippines holiday!

Take a Tuk Tuk

Ok so this was certainly not my first time in a Tuk Tuk. However it’s an experience that really must be tried if you’ve not done so before. These three wheeled open air vehicles allow you to soak up more of the city than a comfortable air conditioned taxi. It allows a more tangible reality of the city. You’ll experience the air thick with humidity, the stark aroma of motorbike fuels intersected by mouth watering scents from street vendors cooking, obtrusive horns, jeepneys on their fixed circuits and interact with shop sellers making a candid living. After landing at Manila International Airport, it is definitely the most economical and authentic way of reaching your accommodation. (If not slightly terrifying yet exhilarating).

Stay near Makati

Makati is the central business district and most modern region of the city. It allows reasonable access to most of the well known tourist sights and attractions. However, keep in mind that traffic in Manila can be outrageous and so trip lengths vary considerably. We stayed at a small boutique hotel called The Henry Hotel, located in Pasay. It was simple and minimalist but felt safe and secure within its gorgeous gated grounds of tall trees.

Experience an Infinity Pool

My general experience with infinity pools has been in off-beat locations overlooking beautiful sea-view vistas and palm trees. But in the middle of the city, they bring completely different views. The concrete jungle of Manila descends into all manner of colours at sunset. Moreover, I would definitely recommend experiencing this from the sanctity of a luxury pool bar! This was a favourite moment on my Philippines holiday! We had already preselected our infinity pool of choice and were not disappointed by the illustrious Plunge Bar at Discovery Primea Hotel in Makati central! The views here spanned the entire city and what better place to grab a cocktail, soak in some late afternoon sun and then celebrate the beginning of an evening.

Walk the city at night

There’s nothing more informative than a trip on foot to explore a city once all the lights of the skyrise buildings are on display. Having caught a taxi into the heart of Makati, we appeared to have arrived into one of the busiest sections of the city, with people everywhere. Little did we know that we had just arrived at the Asean Summit Music Festival! This was being held at the Ayala Triangle Gardens which is a 2 hectare landscaped urban park in Makati. With music booming from the loudspeakers, people dancing and fairy lights threaded intricately throughout almost every tree and stage prop I could see, this was unlike any music festival I had ever attended. As interesting as it was, we did not stay overly long as the park was massively overpopulated. Additionally, we found out the next morning that the event was cancelled later in the evening due to overcrowding and a lack of control by authorities. That being said, I really enjoyed exploring the city by night.

El Nido, Palawan Island

Coldplay wrote a song called ‘Paradise’ and I truly think it was with Palawan in mind. This island paradise is world renowned for a reason and can be used either as a holiday in itself or as a base to explore nearby resorts and islands. Why not do both?! We chose to spend a few days in El Nido, exploring the local beaches. Furthermore, we used it as a platform for our overnight Island Hopping tour and day trip to Nacpan Beach.

To reach El Nido, you’ll have to jump aboard an internal flight with AirSwift, a 1 hour 15 minute plane flight from Manila. Keep in mind that there will likely be a smaller luggage allowance than your international flight allowance. Note to self to remember this when packing! The only practical way to reach El Nido town from the airport is by Tuk Tuk.

What can I expect in El Nido?

El Nido is a bustling little town of activity. It has a delightful mix of local people earning a modest living and tourists seeking a relaxing but adventurous break. It’s not the glamorous location you might expect however, and you’ll encounter a very real outlook of life here as a Philippino: free range chickens running past, children playing basketball at the local unkempt courts, a plethora of wild cats looking for a free meal, unsealed dirt roads with indelicately placed pot holes and a preponderance of shops advertising adventure sports and day trips.

Where should I stay in El Nido?

Maremegmeg Beach Club, Palawan Island

Please hear me when I say: don’t miss this one. The sunset from this secluded beach was one of my favourite yet. After having a frivolous afternoon frolicking around on the sand and in and out of the ocean, sipping on cocktails and meeting new friends, the day climaxed when the sun started to descend. With perfectly curved hills in the background, warm glistening waters and the right amount of cloud cover, the snaps I took here are hard to rival. More importantly though, I had the time of my life just taking stock, living in the moment and exuding sheer gratefulness for being alive. Truly a bucket list item on this Philippines holiday.

Island Hopping Tour

El Nido Paradise is a company who have been running very successful and popular day and overnight trips to the various islands surrounding El Nido for quite some time. They offer four main tours: A, B, C and D. Each letter corresponds to a different set of included islands. At the time we visited in November 2017, they were also offering overnight camping tours, whereby you could choose any two of the tours from A – D. Sadly, since March 2018, the El Nido Municipality has suspended all overnight tours on the surrounding islands and so this is no longer an option. The good news is you can still elect to do any of these tours as a day trip, returning to El Nido in the evening. I will of course describe our overnight experience, however! After extensive research and intense investigation of TripAdvisor and travel forums, we decided on tours A and C as being our preferred options, which were carried out in the reverse order by the tour company. I do not see you going wrong with any of their tour options, however! I’d highly recommend this on your Philippines holiday.

Tour C

If you had to choose one tour in El Nido, Tour C would be it! This is also corroborated on the El Nido Paradise website and I can’t see much surpassing it after experiencing it for myself! The white and yellow sand beaches are set beneath towering rock cliffs and many of the beach inlets can only be accessed through rock tunnels. It’s a true day of adventure for your Philippines holiday!

The climb up the craggy rock face at Mantinloc Shrine is fraught with a few cuts and bruises from the rugged rocks jutting into the way of the path but it’s well worth a few scratches for the view at the top. What a mesmerising moment looking down at the sheer drop beneath from such a pointed high rock mountain. The shrine itself is a deserted Virgin Mary shrine with a white dome, built in 1982 and tucked between beach and cliffs. Access is via a narrow inlet through to a beach where we had a fresh lunch of seafood, rice and salad. There’s also an interesting old abandoned house which makes for some great photos.

Tour C includes:

• Helicopter Island
• Matinloc Shrine
• Secret Beach
• Star Beach
• Hidden Beach

Overnight Camping on Paradise Beach

Have you ever gone camping under the stars sans light pollution by a campfire, singing to songs strummed on an acoustic guitar and later dancing to dance music from a loudspeaker and all the while mingling with newly made friends on a deserted off-the-map uninhabited island somewhere in the middle of an archipelago? This was our extremely fortunate experience! Partying the night away on this island in the Philippines until we fell into our sleeping bags and drifted off into a wistful holiday sleep. What a carefree evening!

Next morning: no water. Brushing teeth with rum. Fact. The water supply had indeed run out come day break and the only option was the ‘unlimited rhum’ as initially promised on our outset on the tour! They did not lie! I could not bring myself to brush my teeth with rum like some of my other tour members however, and elected to await the remainder of the day to do so. Despite the crashing return to reality, we were still able to enjoy the island beach entirely to ourselves and savoured some special moments on the sand taking photographs with our new friends.

Tour A

Tour A is one of the most popular island hopping tours in El Nido and along the way you will discover beautiful lagoons, beaches and snorkeling spots, as well as the corals and colourful fauna and hundreds of fish species.

The tour includes:

• Small Lagoon
• Big Lagoon
• Secret Lagoon
• Shimizu Island
• 7 Commando Beach

The lagoons are set beneath the grandiose limestone cliffs covered in vegetation and you can wind your way through tunnels and caves before emerging upon large bodies of water full of interesting fish and marine life. Another highlight is 7 Commando Beach, a long stretch of white sand with a famous coconut tree swing for a must-have tourist photo! This beach is also home to the illustrious ‘honeymooner’ Vellago Resort: don’t miss out on a cocktail from their decking overlooking the ocean on your Philippines holiday!

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Next was a fresh fish lunch on Payong Payong beach! This was prepared for us as we danced along the shoreline and played in the water.

Interestingly at the end of our tour, there was an overhead storm approaching which triggered safety sirens across the entire bay, with multiple tourist boats then seen bee-lining back to El Nido Bay! It was a rush to beat the rain but we made it!

Corong Corong Beach, Palawan Island

Situated just a short walk away from the El Nido City, this beach is a bit less touristy and less crowded. On one end of the beach you will find a few local homes built on tall wooden stilts, whereas if you walk towards Las Cabanas Beach you’ll see cottages on the sea shore and some small bars and restaurants hidden between the palm trees. We spent a lovely evening walking along the creamy yellow sands, around moored wooden boats and finding a local restaurant for dinner with some new found friends from our overnight island hopping tour.

Nacpan Beach, Palawan Island

A little less touristy but banging in scenery and holiday relaxation, is Nacpan Beach in the Philippines. This hidden paradise is everything you need if you are looking for one of the best views on Palawan Island. Surrounded by mountains and guarded by tall palm trees, this stretch of sand is the perfect place to drop the tempo and watch the sun set. We decided to spend the day and evening here. From the warm sunrays penetrating our skin on our sunbeds, to the one hour beach side massage, to the gin and tonics at the bar beneath tall coconut trees, to the gritty feel of sand beneath our feet as we traipsed along the coastline at sunset, to the colours in the sky as the sun said farewell, this was a magical day. Everything was amazing, except perhaps for the tuk tuk ride home in pitch black over all of the pot holes which threw our baggage (and stomachs) into absolute chaos.

Miniloc Eco-Discovery Island Resort

There are a few places on this planet that drum up a certain visual in the imagination: Seychelles, the Maldives, Mauritius and… Miniloc.

Haven’t heard of it? Well picture the most secluded, serene, all expenses paid resort set amongst towering granite cliffs on white sands, feeding large fish at midday while snorkelling with them, choosing from daily activities that include island hopping and snorkelling, whilst finishing a day at the local beach hut bar for a bespoke cocktail, and you have found yourself at Miniloc Resort. This is not to mention the personalised huts with beach access that all lead to the restaurant via wooden walkways hovering above the lapping turquoise waters of the Bacuit Bay. We had 2 nights on this secluded resort in the Philippines and it was my first taste of luxe island holiday living. I was even told off by my travel companion that I was inappropriately dressed for dinner one night – only the finest of attire was appropriate. After bitterly swallowing my relaxed Australian-style pride, I (somewhat begrudgingly) obliged.

We did some of the best island hopping from Miniloc, including a day near the imposing cliffs and serene beach of Shimizu Island where I had the time of my life snorkeling. Don’t forget to put suncream on your back! Miniloc also owns an exclusive beach which is home to the Entalula Beach Club: perfect for a relaxing day out!

Don’t miss the Secret Floating Bar at Miniloc Island Resort …

Another favourite memory was the secret island and floating bar that Miniloc Island Resort offers its guests: location unknown! After some time hopping around other islands, guests are taken to a ‘disappearing’ island, a sand bar that is so narrow that it is only accessible at low tide. During our stay, the island already started to disappear! It appears as a thin whispy strip of sand until covered in water. The floating bar is right next to it and serves a variety of soft drinks and beer, perfect to enjoy in the warm ocean water!

This island in the Philippines is somewhere you should consider for an extreme treat in life: personal success, honeymoon, holiday escape from the norm or important family celebration.

Summary

Place I would go again:

Maremegmeg Beach for the sunset, beach cocktails and great tunes

Place I wish I had time to visit:

The Chocolate Hills in Bohol

Moments I loved the most:

– Arriving in El Nido and having a sunset drink on the balcony at El Gordo’s
– Climbing to the top of the craggy cliffs at Matinloc shrine