Philippines 10-Day Tours and Trips

Dom was an excellent tour guide and always kept us in order. Places we stayed in were good and the island hopping and areas we visited were great. Views for daysssss. Castaways was awesome especially meeting the the local people. However the mini van drives between Puerto Princessa, Port Barton and El Nido were not so good. Roads bumpy and going fast, making me nauseous. Me and Dom asked drivers to go a bit slower but they didn’t. Not bad thing per say but maybe a little more info on local culture and history would make the experience more fulfilling.

This is my third trip with this travel specialist and I can honestly say that Gema has been my favourite guide that I have ever had. She was the highlight of the trip and her kindness, enthusiasm, willingness to go above and beyond and efficiency shone through. She is a true asset to the agency and anyone who is on a tour with her is truly very lucky! There was a point where I didn’t feel very well at all but as soon as I confided in Gema, her reassurance and helpful tips and offer to take me to the medical centre immediately made me feel at ease! Luckily I got better without any medical intervention but I massively appreciated her care and concern in that moment. Her recommendations outside of the itinerary (eg. Food spots etc) were amazing too! Thank you Gema!

Anj was absolutely faultless - not just as a tour guide, but as a person! Anj was extremely knowledgeable about her home country and was really informative about the culture and all the areas we visited. Anj was very good at reading the group and always showed compassion and empathy for everyone in the group - especially when some of us were feeling ill. When it came to poor weather conditions and people feeling ill, Anj was excellent at getting a contingency plan ready just in case - even if we didn't end up needing it. In terms of organising the social events, Anj, again, was very good at reading the group and was able to plan evenings around the mood of the group. When moving off to our next locations, she went out of her way to help us plan our next journey. We all really enjoyed her company; her laugh was infectious, she was such a genuine, humble person with a great sense of humour. Anj is a lovely person and she without doubt made our Philippines experience so much better. I am so thankful that we had her as our guide - especially around Christmas and New Year, as she was able to make our time together so special. We are so pleased and we really hope we see her again one day. The best guide we have had (in the half a dozen or so we've had!).

I booked the Philippines west trip within a week of returning from the 8 day Thailand experience because I loved my first trip with the tour operator so much, and it did not disappoint! From the moment I arrived I felt taken care of, my flight arrived in 2 hours early and my guide Justin was amazing at rearranging my airport pick up and was in constant contact with updates during my short wait. (He had already prepped us on what sim to pick up at the airport which was a great help) This was the theme for the rest of the trip, I’m an inexperienced (and disaster prone) traveller and it makes all the difference when you’re in a new country with no real knowledge of the customs and culture to have someone keep you right (and patch you up) even something as simple as knowing when to cover up etc. Our guide was so knowledgeable and passionate and I found it fascinating getting to learn about this beautiful country and it’s culture from him! These tours take the stress and worry out of travelling, they allow you to enjoy your time and get the most out of it while all the planning is done for you, our guide would prep us the night before on the next days activities and everything we needed for it. For a cautious traveller like me who likes to be prepared this was such a great help! I want to thank him for everything! We where a large group and it’s hard to keep everyone happy all the time, he didn’t have an easy task! Especially when planning New Years Eve when there where so many different opinions to take in to consideration! We all had an amazing start to 2020 so thank you! This tour was filled with unique experiences I probably wouldn’t of had the chance to do otherwise, a highlight for me was getting to visit Culion and learn about the leper colony which I probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise. As well as the beach clean we done. I also made some amazing friends for life! The Philippines itself is a stunningly beautiful country with amazing people and stories and one I’d like to see a lot more of! Sadly the only downside I found to the tour was a small group of people who caused a few issues with the rest of the group on a number of occasions. I at one point said they where enough to put me off doing another group tour but screw them! I’m currently planning my next tour with the operator :)

Overall I really enjoyed my tour of the Philippines West. We saw amazing places and had such a good tour group. Everywhere in the Philippines is beautiful and I feel the tour showed us all there was to see. Dom was a fav team leader who made sure everyone got what they wanted out of the trip. I would 100% recommend this tour and Dom as a tour guide to my friends. My favourite day of the trip was island hopping in El Nido, as well as the lunch spot when we went to Island Hopping in Port Barton. I already want to come back to the Philippines. The only negative of the trip is that it is advertised as 10 days however the trip is more Like 8.

Ang was an awesome group leader. She made sure that everyone was aware of what was happening. Ang also tried to make sure that everything ran smoothly and we got the most out of the whole experience. Thanks Ang!!!