Philippines Grand Tour See & Experience it all in 14 days

When traveling from abroad to the Philippines, Manila is usually the first point of arrival for most tourists. Skip the capital and simply use its airport as a layover en route to the island of Bohol. Upon arrival in the island’s capital, Tagbilaran, drive to the settlement of Panglao. This is your base for exploring the island and where your lodge is located. Spend time at Alona Beach. About 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) long and lined with palm trees, resorts, and shops, the white-sandy Alona Beach is popular both day and night.

Your tour today starts officially at 5:15 pm. Be in the lobby at this time to meet your tour guide and driver. Travel by vehicle to the Abatan River Community Life Tour. There, enjoy a firefly boat cruise—an experience you probably have never seen before. The cruise starts shortly after arrival. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

Explore Bohol Island. Specifically, visit Loboc River (for a cruise), Tarsier Sanctuary, Chocolate Hills, Bilar Man-Made Forest, and Baclayon Church.

Chocolate Hills’ unique, mound-shaped formations are Bohol’s most popular attraction. During the dry season, the grass-covered hills turn chocolate brown in color. This transforms the area into seemingly endless rows of chocolate kisses. Another highlight is a visit to a sanctuary to see endangered tarsiers. These primates can only be found on a few islands throughout Southeast Asia. Not least is a boat cruise along the Loboc River. Lunch is included in this boat cruise tour.

From Tagbilaran, travel by boat to Dumaguete, a town best used as a base for exploring the area. Have your swimming attire and a towel ready. The first stop on today’s tour is Pulangbato Falls. The next stop is Red Rock Hot Spring. Return to Dumaguete in the early evening.

As a day trip from Dumaguete, head to the port in Malatapay to take the boat ride to Apo Island. Big-eyed jacks, bump-head parrotfish, and sea snakes inhabit the reefs of the island. Nevertheless, the highlight for most tourists is the sea turtles. They swim close to you and are impressively large.

Today will be a long but exciting day nonetheless. From Dumaguete, take a boat ride to Cebu Island. Shortly after arrival, swim with whale sharks. Next, head straight to Aguinid Falls. This is a great place for climbing waterfalls (with a helmet and ropes, of course!). Next, drive to Kawasan Falls. There, have lunch, which is included on today's tour. Kawasan Falls is a destination popular specifically for canyoneering. After that thrilling tour, drive to Cebu City and sleep there for the evening.

Note that children (A) under 4 years old are not allowed to swim with whale sharks, (B) under 6 years old are not allowed to go canyoneering at Kawasan Falls, and (C) under 7 years old are not allowed to go canyoneering at Aguinid Falls.

Relocate from Cebu City to Boracay Island via a quick flight followed by a short boat ride. Attractions for today include Bulabog Beach, Puka Beach, and Ilig Iligan Beach, as well as walking to the top of Mount Luho. Bring swimming attire, a towel, and a change of clothes. The day ends with a walk along a footpath that runs around the headland and connects White Beach with romantic Diniwid Beach. This is a perfect spot for both bridal shoots and watching the sunset.

Boracay may be a small island, but it offers a huge variety of activities: swimming in pristine clear waters, strolling along sugary white-sand beaches, enjoying the nightlife, choosing from restaurants serving multiethnic cuisine, and much more. In 2012, Boracay was named the best island in the world by the international travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Travel from Cebu City to Boracay Island via a quick flight followed by a short boat ride. Today is a ‘free day,’ meaning no guided tour. What should you do today? Some tourists visit the waterfalls at Hacienda Maria, Sapsapon Cave, and/or a plantation where you can watch a coconut (a.k.a. lambanog) winemaking demonstration. Some tourists bathe in Kawa’s Hot Pot Jacuzzi. We discourage all those activities. We think you are better off windsurfing, kiteboarding, parasailing, paragliding, jet skiing, and/or riding an ATV around the island. We also discourage taking the shared boat daytrip tour, which covers the surrounding islands and the place for cliff diving. That boat daytrip tour is arguably a letdown.

Fly from Boracay Island to the beach town of El Nido. Today, spend your time in El Nido specifically at Las Cabanas Beach. It is a perfect place to eat dinner on the beach and watch the sunset.

As a natural attraction in its own right, the quiet beach town of El Nido is also a great base for exploring the surrounding marble cliffs, enchanting lagoons, beaches, lush jungle, mangrove forest, prehistoric caves, and waterfalls. Dotted with islands and islets, most of which are inhabited, Bacuit Bay is home to blue waters and abundant marine life such as dugongs, turtles, manta rays, species of fishes, coral reefs, and the occasional whale sharks.

Arguably the only major tourist destination in the Philippines not included in this 14-day tour is Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. It can be reached via a quick flight from Boracay, before continuing onto El Nido by land. Let us know if you are interested. Note that adding Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park would not increase the duration of this standard 14-day tour.

In the November–December 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler’s Magazine, Palawan was chosen as one of the best island destinations in the world. Sabang is located on the western coast of Palawan Island. This small village is commonly used by tourists as an access point to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. This park is one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of the Philippines. There, you’ll discover small waterfalls inside caves, as well as rock formations, bats, a deep water hole, river channels, a mangrove forest, and marine creatures.

The daytrip boat tours from El Nido are pretty straightforward. For the most part, they do not overlap with each other. Each tour has its own highlights. All of the daytrip tours offer amazing attractions, not least for today. Today, join the boat daytrip tour which covers Snake Island, Papaya Beach, Entalula Beach, and Cudugnon Cave. Snorkeling and lunch are included in today’s tour. Water is available for you on the boat, as is the case with the other boat daytrips throughout this tour.

Today, join the boat daytrip tour which covers Helicopter Island, Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Star Beach, and Hidden Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included in today’s tour.

Today, join the boat day trip tour which covers Small Lagoon or Big Lagoon (to be determined), Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, and 7 Commando Beach. Snorkeling, kayaking, and lunch are included in today’s tour.

Today, take an early morning ferry ride to Coron Island. Upon arrival in the quiet, low-key village of Coron Town, you are taken directly to your nearby room. Afterwards, enjoy a guided tour around town. Places to visit today include the public market, Coron Baywalk, the cashew harvest factory, and Maquinit Hot Spring. Later in the day, walk to the stairway entrance of Mount Tapyas. Reaching the top with your tour guide takes around 45 minutes. Watching the sunset from above is a beautiful way to end your day.

Today, join the boat daytrip tour which covers Lake Kayangan, Twin Lagoon, Sunset Beach, Siete Pecados (a.k.a. Isles of the Seven Sins), Skeleton Wreck, Coral Garden, and CYC Beach. Lunch and snorkeling are included in today’s tour.

Siete Pecados is where you’ll see arguably the most amazing coral on earth. Lake Kayangan and the Twin Lagoon are also breathtaking. As its name suggests, the Twin Lagoon is two separate bodies of water divided by limestone karsts. At high tide, the second lagoon appears inaccessible. Swim under a small hole in the karsts to reach the other side, or for those who prefer, climb over the rock formation using a wooden ladder above the hole.

Skeleton Wreck is the most popular stop today. The aquatic views from the sunken Japanese WWII ships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine as one of the top-10 best scuba diving sites in the world. Note that if you prefer diving over snorkeling, you can book directly with a local dive shop. They usually require at least 2 days’ advance notice and proof of a scuba diving license.

Your tour ends today. Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the airport in Coron.

Note that your flight out of Manila must depart no earlier than 1:00 pm.