2 week itinerary for the Philippines

1. Manila to Banaue: Trek through its rice terraces

Benaue rice terraces tagalog Philippines

Explore the ricefields with a 2D1N trekking through the mountains and rice paddies.

You will sleep in a little village surrounded by mountains with no Wi-Fi or phone reception at all. You will mingle with the locals, eat local food and see children attending classes in the old school buildings. These young kids have to walk 30-60 minutes through the mountains to get to their school!

The ricefields are at their best in April/May (green) or September/October (gold), but it is still a great trekking adventure when visiting Banaue at other times of the year. The views are stunning regardless of what month it is.

How to get to Banaue

You can reach Banaue with a night bus from Manila. They leave between 20:00 to 22:00 every night and take about 9 hours. You will arrive in the early morning (around 6:00) in Banaue, where tricycles will be waiting to bring you from the bus station to the centre (5-10min drive)

Where to book your trek to Banaue

You can book a trek in advance on websites like Klook or GetYourGuide, but you can also just go with the flow and book a trip with a local guide when you arrive.

In my case I hadn’t booked anything, just took the bus and then joined another group who met a local guide upon arrival. We left the same morning (after having had a cup of coffee and refresh at the guide’s family restaurant). We left our big backpacks, took some extra warm clothes in a smaller bag and bought some groceries to keep our energy level up during the trip.

The first night we slept in the local village and the next day we arrived back in the afternoon. I directly organised a van returning south and didn’t stay in the town itself as there is not so much to do.

What’s next?

You could travel further north, and explore the more adventurous area of Sagada, but it won’t surpass the experience in Banaue.

In short: it can be fun to add this to your trip, but it’s not a substitute for Banaue. And if you are short of time, just travel back to Manila (night bus) and take a flight to one of the most beautiful islands in the world: El Nido in the province of Palawan.

One more thing: If you are with some nice company and would like to have a unique beach experience, you could travel further north from Banaue to Pagudpud. Here you might have a white-sand beach all for yourself, but don’t expect many bars or restaurants.

2. Manila to El Nido: Join an island expedition

White sand beach and turquoise waters in Linapacan Island, Palawan — Island expedition in Linapacan Island, Palawan — Source: Unsplash

Here are two great options for when returning to Manila:

Explore Manila (Tip: Slum Tour), stay one night in Manila and fly the next day to El Nido, Palawan
Fly in the afternoon to Palawan after you arrived from Banaue in the early morning

How to get to Palawan

There are several ways you can get from Manila to El Nido, Palawan:

Fly with Air Swift to El Nido and enjoy an amazing view from the windows of the low flying propellor aeroplane
Take an overnight ferry from Manila to Coron and book an expedition from Coron to El Nido
Book a flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa and then continue with a 6-hour van or bus ride up north to El Nido

What to do in Palawan

I think you deserve (and need) at least one day’s rest after your trekking and hours of being on the road. Find a nice place to stay close to the beach or in El Nido town and enjoy the great atmosphere in this tiny village.

During the day you can rent a motorbike and explore the nearby beaches or hop on a tricycle and spend the afternoon at a closeby beach. After you have witnessed one of the gorgeous sunsets of Palawan, you can get ready for a night out. Have some delicious food at one of the many Italian restaurants (like Trattoria Altrove) or try out some Filipino food at a local food corner.

And last but not least, end the night with an amazing night at a reggae bar at the beach. The live band of Apache knows how to get the crowd going! Just don’t be shocked when the EDM starts to bounce out of the speakers as soon as the band have finished their last song.

Island expedition: El Nido – Coron

Going on an island expedition is one of the best ways to explore Palawan’s gorgeous islands. Another option is to join one of the island-hopping day tours. There are four different tours which are labeled as A-B-C-D, but there are also several organisations that just visit the best of them.

I really recommend doing one of the expeditions. This unforgettable experience will likely end up becoming one of your top travel experiences. Below we listed two tours that get great reviews.

Tao Philippines seems to be the most popular one. They receive amazing reviews because of the great staff and places they visit. However, Tao Experience is almost twice as expensive as Buhay Isla, while almost offering the same trip. I even heard stories that boats with Tao became busier (30-40 people), while Buhay Isla only takes about 10-20 travellers on board.

Option: Stay a bit longer in Coron

You might want to stay a bit longer in Coron. If you always dreamed of diving in a shipwreck, this might be your chance. Coron has more shipwrecks than you can find anywhere else in the world.

Option: Make a side trip to Port Barton

Before you fly to another island you could also visit Port Barton from El Nido. It’s known as a more chilled version of El Nido and many people fall in love with it!

3a. From Cebu to Siquijor and Bohol

Cream color sand and clear waters in Santa Fe Beach, Bantayan Island, Cebu — Santa Fe Beach in Bantayan Island, Cebu — Source: Pexels

Likely too much to visit all of it, but I still wanted to list it here.

Cebu: Go to Moalboal and dive or snorkel with a million sardines. Then join a canyoneering tour in Badian (1 hr drive) during which you will also visit the Kawasan Falls. If you want something more chill, head north of Cebu and dive with thresher sharks in Malapascua or enjoy the beautiful beaches of Bantayan Island.

Siquijor: Not only the ‘island of the witches’ but also known for its beautiful beaches. Rent a motorbike and tour around the whole island in one day.

Bohol: On this island, you will find small nocturnal primates called the Philippine Tarsier. Another reason to visit are the Chocolate Hills, but don’t set your expectations too high: they are just mountains that look brown some time of the year, that’s why they call them ‘chocolate hills’. Not much more than that… But don’t be disappointed, there is another great thing to do on this island — ZIP-lining through the jungle!

NOTE on Oslob: This place became famous for diving with whale sharks. However, please bear in mind that an area with hundreds of tourists trying to touch a whale shark is not natural for these 5-10 metretall creatures. The whale shark, also the largest fish in the world, is used to crossing thousands of miles every year, but due to this tourist attraction, they are kept in one place by feeding them every day. If you care about these animals, I strongly recommend you don’t try to dive with them. You can read more about this in our article about Whale Sharks in the Philippines.

3b. Siargao

Man carrying surfboard in a beach in Siargao — Surfing in Siargao — Source: Pexels

Keeping the best for last… This paradise island is not that well-known yet. Maybe because it is officially part of the province Mindanao, which is often flagged as a no-go area. However, Siargao is excluded from those listings and is as safe as all the other places we’ve described. Getting there is easy because you can catch a direct flight from Cebu to Siargao.

The island is especially known to surfers as it offers numerous surf breaks, including the world-famous break Cloud 9.

You can spend your days exploring the island on a motorbike, surfing, kite-surfing and just relaxing on uncrowded white sand beaches surrounded by palm trees. A perfect way to end your trip!

4. Flying back to Manila

I recommend taking a flight back to Manila at least one day before your international flight. Flights in the Philippines often experience delays and especially flights from Siargao are often delayed because of the weather. Also bear in mind that all flights from Siargao go over Cebu, so just a few hours of delay will likely mean that you have to wait for another day in Cebu before you can take the next flight to Manila (something I experienced myself as well).

About the author(s)

Maarten

Based in Bali, Maarten’s passion for travel is undeniable. In 2016, he decided to quit his job as a stock analyst and started doing what he always dreamed of: travelling through South East Asia and helping other people plan their trips. When he is not working on Gecko Routes, you’ll find him surfing in the ocean or exploring the best gems of Indonesia.