Where’s the best place in the Philippines? If you ask me, you are going to get a prejudiced answer. I made up my mind long ago and while I’ve seen plenty of other amazing places in this beautiful country. I think Babuyanes is the best for me, let me share to you why it is and will always be the best place for me.

Kids in Babuyan Island

A part of it must be the difficulty of getting there. From Manila it takes at least fourteen hours by land to get to Aparri and then another four hours by boat to Camiguin Island. From there, it’s just a hop, but it never gets easy. Nor does it get boring, or ugly, or crowded with tourists. Ah….I love the Babuyanes! Continue Reading

There isn’t much better than dropping your gear on snow white sand, grabbing your snorkel, and then walking into crystal blue waters where you will see thousands of fish, very few tourists, and the cares of life will disappear into the perfect hide away spot.

Real White Sand Beach in Puerto Galera

You might think you would have to go to the farthest reaches of the Philippines in order to find a place like Encenada Beach, but in fact, Puerto Galera is only about 160 km from Manila. Located on Mindoro Island’s northern peninsula, this is a world class diving and snorkel spot and one of the best places in the Philippines for outdoor activities of all kinds. Whether you are into trekking or just discovering new isolated coves with undisturbed sand. This is the place for you to go. Continue Reading

Want some adventure while in Tuguegarao City? If you are the adventurous type, consider visiting Penablanca in Cagayan Valley for a day trip that includes spelunking in Callao Cave and Kayaking in the Pinacanauan River. You can tour around the nearby towns first just like we did.

Cave Entrance

After a short visit to Our Lady of Piat Church, our group headed to Penablanca for a spelunking activity in Callao Cave. This cave is the most popular tourist attraction of the Cagayan Province and probably one the most popular cave in the Philippines. It is located about a 30-minute drive from Tuguegarao in the town of Penablanca. The Callao Cave is fairly easy to explore but you will want to be in fairly decent shape because at one point you will be ascending about 200 steps that lead to the massive rock formations and limestone inside.

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If you are a diver like me, then Coron must be on your radar when travelling in the Philippines. Coron is a gorgeous town located in the province of Palawan. It is part of the Calaminan Group of islands in northern Palawan and has been listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top ten best scuba dive sites in the world.

Approaching Barracuda Lake

Known for its underwater views of sunken Japanese ships from the World War II era, I found this area to be absolutely stunning and breathtaking. Located on the northern end of Coron Island is another popular lake called Barracuda Lake. Continue Reading

One of the things I love about being in Puerto Princesa is the ability to island hop and see all the amazing little spots that exist nearby. The day after we had a wonderful time in Nagtabon Beach Cove and Puerto Princesa Underground River, our next day destination was a usual route for tourists – the famous Honday Bay.

Honda Bay Tourist Information Center

The snorkeling and diving spots around Pambato Reef is totally mind blowing, although I was not able to snorkel during my recent visit. I can say that there’s still incredible underwater visibility and huge fish density based on my fellow bloggers testimonial. Continue Reading

Can we now proceed to UR? the driver asked us after our short stop in Nagtabon Beach. In Puerto Princesa, “UR” means Underground River” specially for those who works in the tourism industry. Palawan is really filled with wonders that’s why its called the Philippines last frontier. And speaking of pristine beaches and other wealth of wonders, there is definitely no better place to visit in the Philippines other than the island of Palawan!

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

While in Puerto Princesa with fellow travel bloggers, We visited the famous Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park courtesy of Microtel Puerto Princesa. This is actually my second time visiting this newly recognized “New 7 Wonders of Nature”.

Inside the Underground River

To get there, it took us more than an hour and a half drive to Sabang via a tourist van courtesy of Ellen’s Travel and Tours, all the way to the Northern side of Palawan. The park is extensive and is a huge ecotourism destination which is home to fifteen species of endemic birds and 165 other bird species.

Facing the South China Sea

There are also thirty species of mammals from pigs to porcupines , bats, reptiles, and amphibians. The mountainous rain forest have unique species found nowhere else in the world, and of course, the underground river is totally incredible. The Subterranean River National Park was a finalist for the 7 Natural Wonders of the World competition and after seeing it again, I think it deserves to win. Totally mind blowing specially now that I saw a lot of improvement in the park.

Palawan Underground River Park

Formerly known as St. Paul Subterranean River, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park flows about 50 kilometers north of Puerto Princesa City. There are a lot of underground rivers in the world, but this one has over eight kilometers of navigable length in huge limestone karst caverns filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and massive columns.

Pinoy Travel Bloggers with Microtel in Puerto Princesa

UNESCO has recognized it as a World Heritage Site and it has the reputation of being the world’s longest underground navigable river though according to what I found on the web, it is actually the second longest. No matter though, the boat trip through the caverns was totally surreal but I almost gave up at first with the unpleasant smell of bat poop after entering the underground river. Surprisingly, as you go along with the river tour, you will soon forget the unpleasant smell and will instead mesmerized with the the natural wonder.

Puerto Princesa Palawan Underground River Tour

The limestone shapes inside take on crazy images in the dim lighting and it’s easy to see why some have been given names like ‘The Holy Family’, ‘Face of Jesus’ and ‘Big Bacon’. The boat ride inside the underground river took about thirty minutes and was worth ten times the price of 200 pesos.

There are unpleasant things that you will experience in each journey but that is an integral part of the trip. Learning new things from each trip is education in its highest form… Just learn how to smile and be thankful for having new friends, experiences and pictures… pictures and lots of pictures… Travel Safely everyone:)

Just when you think you’ve seen everything that the Philippines has to offer, that’s the time you find a great place that makes you never want to leave. That’s probably why I’ve been here for so long in the first place.

Cold.. Really Cold Springs

If you head into Aklan Province and go to Nabas, you will find one of the coolest alternative summer destinations in the entire country. The gushing waters of the Gibon River bring life and adventures to the local and foreign tourists alike. Continue Reading

One of the things I love about traveling in Palawan is that it’s easy to find directions and the locals are tourist friendly. Most people come to Palawan because of its beautiful beaches and relaxing pace of life. Just like I do.

Nagtabon Beach : Secret Revealed

After having dinner near the pool, Norsan Barilea – Microtel’s Marketing & Communications Manager discussed to us our next day itinerary. We are still waiting for our confirmed schedule for the Underground River tour and while having coffee in the hotel lobby, we explored for other places to visit after or before the “UR” trip. Continue Reading

Along with fellow travel bloggers Anton, Winston, Eric, Ferdz, Mica and Dongho, We were invited by Microtel Puerto Princesa to experience one of their newest property in Palawan. From the airport, a van sponsored by Ellen’s Travel and Tours brought us to the resort directly from the airport after few short stops in some tourist spots along the way.

Microtel Puerto Princesa Facade

While the “micro” makes it sound like it is a tiny resort, Microtel in Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan is pretty big. It’s only been open for a little over a year and as I sit under the coconut palms in front of my suite room it’s pretty hard to imagine and describe a better place to stay in Puerto Princesa (If theres one!). Despite the fact that Puerto Princesa is sorrounded by beautiful beaches, Microtel is the only beachfront hotel in the entire City. Continue Reading

Although I really love hanging out on the beaches, it’s hard for me to resist a challenge and so when I heard that it was possible to climb Boracay’s highest peak, Mt. Luho, I knew that it was something I had to do.

Bamboo made View Point

I found it to be not incredibly difficult but the scenery was truly mind blowing. From the top I was able to see the entire island of Boracay from the little viewing deck . A natural seeming staircase led us to the bamboo made and concrete view deck and I was able to see beautiful Bulabog Beach, Puka Beach, Ilig-Iligan Beach, and some of the gorgeous golf courses on Boracay too. There is something about sitting at the top of a mountain and looking down at the world that just feels so incredible! Continue Reading