Island Life
An archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines was a bit intimidating to comprehend at first. We had to do a lot of research to better understand the different areas and main islands before deciding where to go and what to do. We quickly learned that there honestly isn’t that much up-to-date travel info out there about the Philippines so we just had to figure it out as we went along at times.
Here are the basics of what we learned, in case it helps you make sense of this beautiful and complex place.
The islands are separated into a few main island groups:
Luzon
Visayas
Mindanao
Palawan*
*while technically a part of the Luzon region, is kind of an outlier on the western edge of the islands and worth noting separately.
There are many more geographic, ethnic, and linguistic subdivisions within these main regions but for the purpose of understanding travel in the Philippines, this is the most simplistic and straightforward way to look at it.
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The northern region of Luzon is home to the largest island (Luzon) and is where Manila is. Any journey to the Philippines will likely start here (or less commonly Cebu, depending on where you come from). While Manila is of course the main “hub” in Luzon, there are many smaller mountain and coastal towns throughout the northern part of the island region that make for some great outdoor adventures. Think less beaches and coral and more mountains and mist. The region is influenced by the Spanish and Portuguese colonization as well as many Chinese immigrants from Taiwan and mainland China so there is quite the historic and cultural context all wrapped up in this region.
Notable destinations: Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Vigan, Baguio City, Mt. Pinatubo, Batangas, Mindoro.
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The Visayas (which are further broken up into the western Visayas, central Visayas, and northern Visayas) are the cluster of islands in the central part of the archipelago. The main hub city in the Visayas is Cebu City but there are many different islands and places to visit. This area is also incredibly ethnically diverse, and is notably less susceptible to the monsoon weather in the rainy season. On these islands you have a mix of tropical islands, coral reefs, cities, and everything in between. This is a great place to see a lot of different aspects of the Philippines.
Notable destinations: Cebu, Bohol, Mactan, Siquijor, Panglao, Boracay.
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Mindanao is the southern island cluster of the Philippines. The main hub city in the area is Davao. This region is largely off limits to tourists as there is a large amount of civil unrest in the region. Only a few places (like Siargao and some parts of Davao are ok for travel). We won’t write about the region much because we didn’t experience it but the history is fascinating.
Notable destinations (for travel): Davao, Siargao.
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Palawan is technically part of Luzon but is also a bit of an outlier. It is a very long and narrow island that runs along the western edge of the archipelago. If you are up on your geopolitical news, it is close to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea where there have been some skirmishes between Chinese and Filipino militaries recently. Why we consider noting it independently from Luzon is because it is far enough away from the rest of Luzon that weather and travel here can be vastly different. In particular this area can be heavily affected by the monsoons and other geopolitical forces. It is known for its picture postcard beaches.
Notable destinations: Coron, El Nido, Port Barton, Puerto Princesa
Why is knowing any of this important? The Philippines is very different from any other SE Asian country we visited. It takes planning and understanding to efficiently and effectively move through the different regions. How and when you go from place to place can take a bit of planning if you want to avoid backtracking and lost time to travel days. With a little bit of planning we were largely able to string together an itinerary that worked seamlessly with the least amount of down time due to travel days.
Our main question or worry about the Philippines beforehand was, will it live up to our lofty expectations? Having already traveled through Southeast Asia for 9 months, we had been building toward this destination for some time now. We had planned to save the “best” for last…that was the idea. We don’t normally try to overhype places before we get there but it was kind of hard not to, and we were a little worried it might not live up to some of the other amazing and wonderful things we have experienced thus far (there are so so many!). We are happy to report, it not only lived up to our expectations but far superseded them. It was so much more than a beautiful destination with beautiful scenery, our time in the Philippines was enriching and soulful and had us falling in love with the culture and life on the islands.
What made it so? You could argue that the beaches and landscape made this the best stop yet, and they were indeed absolutely breathtaking. You could argue it was the laid back atmosphere where our only “worry” for weeks on end was what time high/low tide was. But we would argue the reason the Philippines ultimately stood above the rest of our Asia travels was the people.
The Filipino people were hands down the kindest and most generous people we have encountered in our travels and really made our entire visit seem extra special. From the truly kind and helpful people we met everywhere we went (via boat, bike, car, taxi, ferry, plane, etc.), to the people we didn’t even meet but could observe live their lives in passing, it truly is a warm and welcoming place. Every single person we encountered seemed genuinely happy and content with their life, no matter the circumstance. And after traveling for over a year now, that is all we want and hope for. A simple and enriching life.
There were also three things that stood out to us in our travels around the Philippines that were particularly different from most other places we have visited in SE Asia and worth mentioning for anyone willing to make the trek to this side of the globe.
Sustainability efforts.
We cannot laud the Philippines enough for their sustainability efforts. As an island nation reliant on the ocean for much of their livelihood, they have a lot to lose with many of the effects of the climate disaster we have created. From typhoons to coral bleaching, it all directly impacts their way of life. What we saw everywhere we went was amazing (but not difficult to implement) sustainability efforts that really reinforced their commitment to a greener future.
Plastic bags. We got used to carrying our reusable bags in Europe but throughout the Philippines plastic bags were just not really a thing. You can’t even purchase them if you forget your reusable bags (like in Europe), they just don’t really exist. You were expected to bring your own bags or pay for a non-plastic reusable bag. Even small market vendors gave you goods in a cloth bag. While not perfect, their efforts were by far the most concerted to avoid plastic. Don’t get us wrong, there was still a good amount of plastic waste but it seemed most concerted to avoid it if possible.
Water. Since water throughout SE Asia is not potable, bottled water is the default. In most other SE Asian countries bottled water is everywhere, which means plastic waste is everywhere. In the Philippines they prioritize the large refillable jugs of bottled water (those blue refillable 5 gallon bottles in the States). These are delivered and picked up from homes and businesses. At pretty much any restaurant you can ask for “service water” which is just water from these jugs (instead of plastic water bottles) and businesses are happy for you to refill your own reusable bottle with this water too. This drastically reduces the need for single use plastic water bottles. In most other Asian countries you would have to purchase individual or liter bottles of water further contributing to plastic waste…
Plastic Packaging. All straws and MANY to-go containers minimize or eliminate plastic waste. Compared to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, and Cambodia, the Philippines did the BEST at eliminating plastic in their to-go packaging. Not 100% perfect but even better than most european countries
Trash. They segregate their trash. There are also fines for not segregating trash properly in most places. This is regularly found in some places in Europe but was not otherwise a thing throughout SE Asia.
What is peculiar about all of this is that the Philippines is not a particularly wealthy nation, yet they have built at least some infrastructure and more importantly the mindsets around sustainability. We have been to more wealthy and developed countries that put way less effort into this, but it is not those countries that are always immediately paying the price for the consequences…. It is places like the Philippines.
The wealth disparity.
The largest wealth disparity we have seen in all of our travels was found in the Philippines. It is stark and widespread. Some areas are well developed and shining new while one street over might be drastically underdeveloped. There were many people living in poverty while others lived quite comfortably next door. Door to door and street to street represented the stark wealth disparity within the community. For people just vacationing this might seem off putting, but shouldn't be. It is a fact of life and a real one. What you also shouldn’t do is judge all of the Philippines or Asia for that matter based on what you see in some places. If the Philippines is your first visit to Asia you might develop preconceived notions about the rest of the countries and that would be a mistake. While some islands (and some areas within islands) are less developed and suffer from more poverty than others, we largely found everything we needed wherever we went (except contact lens solution). We mention this because if you are coming from western society you must be willing and able to adjust your perceptions and expectations.
Transparency.
One thing that was very noticeable (especially in comparison to some of the other places we have been), is that there always seemed to be a baseline level of transparency in business, commerce, and even to some degree government. This was very much appreciated.
As people who have had to keep an eye out for various scams in our travels, have had to deal with a less than transparent power company in Texas who shall not be named, and are just generally cautious people who are watching our spending, it was very appreciated that there seemed to be this baseline level of transparency and clear communication of information. Here are some examples:
In Siargao, when our power went out..in a matter of 10 minutes we were able to google the power provider on the island, ascertain the duration of the power outage (it was a planned outage) and plan accordingly. This helped again when we were in Panglao and had another planned power outage (that time the host told us about it in advance) so we were able to plan accordingly and went exploring on our bike for the day.
On most islands, they have set tour prices and destinations, and operators work together to provide those tours. There is a shared ownership and responsibility rather than competition and questionable business practices… So when our operator's boat wouldn’t start in Panglao, they were quickly able to commandeer another boat and get us on our way (pirates for the day!).
We went through the process of extending our visa from 30 to 60 days in the Philippines. Having done the same process in Thailand (a half day nightmare) the process in the Philippines was clearly documented, well communicated, and a breeze. We were in and out in about 20 minutes and the staff not only helped us throughout the process, but we watched them help everyone that came in with a tremendous level of care and efficiency. They also have offices in almost every corner of the country as well, so you don't need to be in a major metropolitan city to take care of it.
That is not to say these systems are perfect. We are not here to pass judgment on that, merely share our observations and opinions on what we experienced.