Quote: (09-16-2013 08:14 PM)malc Wrote:
Yeah I've read the many threads here on the Phils. I've booked my ticket now. I'll post a review if I feel like I can add anything to everyone else's extensive knowledge here.
I think you made a wise call with the Philippines and am interested in hearing about your experiences there shortly after Xmas. Since you like diving and it sounds like you're after a more relaxing trip with plenty of beach time, I'd recommend two places that I've been to (and did lots of diving at), Palawan or the Cebu area.
Cebu Area: Although I wasn't a fan of the city itself, it is a gold mine for finding Filipina women. I would suggest flying there as soon as possible after arriving in Manila and staying at a hotel on Mactan Island which is conveniently where the Cebu airport is. Its not a big party island like Boracay, but there's some decent resorts there and I thought the beach was nice enough. There's also some dive shops there, but I didn't dive at Mactan, just spent a day at the beach, RVF member Menace dove there and said it was decent. There's lots of people up there on Mactan but if you want, you can take a taxi into Cebu (20-30 minutes) and meet girls there. Also, you'll likely have some jet lag issues for the first 2-3 days, so Mactan could be a good spot to chill and adapt.
Bohol Island: Take the ferry two hours from Cebu to Tagbilaran city and then hit up Alona beach, tons a good dive shops there and nice beaches, also lots of other activities such as touring the Chocolate Hills, visiting a tarsier monkey sanctuary, zip lines, etc. There's lots of foreign tourists so competition is higher for the local girls, may be a good idea to take one from Cebu, she'll love you for it.
Dumaguete: Take the ferry two more hours down to Dumaguete, my favorite place in the country, small city of 120K with a student population of 30K, tons of young pussy floating around. You can stay in the city (as I did) or a nice resort on the beach (reasonable prices) in nearby Dauin. I dove there at Apo Island with Harold's Dive shop, its Filipino run and pretty decent and was quite cheap at 3000P for three dives, there's better, foreign run shops in Dauin but expect to pay 5000P.
Suiquijor Island: I didn't visit it but apparently its very nice, quiet and relaxing, I regret not going but should have taken one of my Dumaguete girls there, maybe next time.
Oslob: A three hour bus ride from Cebu, this town is all about snorkeling with whale sharks (they're huge!), worth it for a nice day trip from Cebu:
http://www.oslobwhalesharks.com/
On the Cebu area trip I'd spend 3-4 days in Cebu at first, then 2 days in Bohol and 3 days with maybe 1 day in Suiquijor then head back to Cebu for a couple of days to chase more women and maybe a day trip to Oslob then back to Manila to fly home.
Palawan: Fly into Puerto Princesa from Manila and stay there for a couple of days to get over the jet lag, there's not much there for beaches in PP but the city itself is quite nice, its the "cleanest and greenest" city in the country. You should be able to snag a girl or two in PP through either day, night or online game. I stayed at an Italian run hotel there called Moana which also has a dive shop, the hotel is very close to the airport, you can literally walk there in ten minutes. Decent dive shop, diving was pretty good off PP but nothing too exciting unless you go very far out, which I didn't. I would recommend finding a girl in PP to take to your next destination on the Palawan tour.
El Nido: 7 hour bus ride from PP, very beautiful area with excellent island hopping to some great beaches although the main beach in El Nido isn't that nice. Lots of foreigners, mostly back packer crowd, decent beach parties at night but not much for local girls. Diving is supposed to be great there but I didn't do it, definitely regret that one. Then take a 7 hour boat ride to your next stop.
Coron: Last destination on the Palawan tour, the city isn't that great and I didn't hit up any beaches but the
diving was amazing, I dove three different Japanese war ships in one day at a very good price of 2700P, forget the name of the dive shop but it was Filipino run. This was by far one of the best experiences in my entire life, very cool. There's an airport near Coron where you can fly direct back to Manila, so you could actually do the Palawan tour in reverse of what I just mentioned. Actually you may want to stay in the Manila area for the first few days to get over the jet lag and do some banging there.
Between those two tours, I'd say the Cebu area is best for bangs while Palawan is better for diving, I'd give a slight edge to Cebu area for quality of beaches. Here's some general tips for the Philippines:
-Riding a scooter will enhance your experience big time and make meeting girls and moving around way easier.
-Bring some immodium, expect to spend a day or two taking it easy in bed at some point, only drink bottled water!
-Even if you are a bit darker skinned, bring sun lotion, the sun is intense there and I met black people there getting sun burnt!
-Pipeline, pipeline, pipeline! You'll want to have some solid leads before you leave, in each city.
-Bring condoms from home, the local rubbers can be tight and sometimes hard to find.
If you have dive gear, bring it with you as some of the cheaper shops also have cheaper gear.
I wrote more detail in 20nations's epic Philippines data sheet that you can find here, you may also want to consider visiting Mindanao as he did but I'd say that you can't go wrong with the two tours that I suggested, good luck!
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