Beautiful Places to Visit in the Philippines

Boracay is an island located south of Manila. In 1990, it was voted by the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook as one of the best beaches in the world. In 1996, it was voted by British publication TV Quick as the world's number one tropical beach. In 2007, it was chosen as the World’s Most Popular Beach according to Yahoo! Travel. Boracay is part of the municipality of Malay in the province of Aklan , which is located in Panay. It can be reached from Manila by flights on Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines, Asian Spirit, Seair, and Pacific Air. Caticlan airport is near the island.

It's a trip back in time. You will love their food like bagnet, ilocano pizza, empanada (filled pastry), tupig (rice cooked in bamboo), ukoy and the ever famous longganiza. They have quaint cafes along Calle Crisologo Street as you go about your night photo shoot. Some old houses have been converted to 'bed & breakfast' so you might feel their creepy aura.

It is known for Ilocano delicacy, then the feast for architectural photography, many churches, especially the Paoay church - cited as UNESCO world heritage site. You may want to see the late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos in his glass tomb in Batac. Moving upwards, there's the famous lighthouse in Burgos overlooking Babuyan Channel onto Batanes.

Saud Beach is the Boracay of the north, less the pollution, not yet  commercialized so it’s clean.  You’ll love the blue waters, white sand, and the waves.  Then just a little distance from the sea, you’ll have some fresh water experience from those falls from the Cordillera mountains.

You will enjoy the wakeboarding especially for the young and the not so young.  Even celebrities come back often to Caramoan, Camarines Sur.  They have cabanas for overnight stay.  A cabana is a small hut or shade structure built with a thatched roof commonly built in tropical climates near bodies of water.  It sometimes has traversing curtains, decorative drapes, or solid walls.

You can take a plane ride from Manila to Cebu and the fastcraft into Bohol. While there, stay in the tropical villas (with private swimming pool) yet adjacent to the sea in Panglao Island. Enjoy island hopping, snorkeling, the eat-all-u-can while cruising Loboc River, and more destinations!

Cebu City is the capital of Cebu, known as the oldest city and the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines. It was the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines in the 16th century. In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu. The Spaniards baptized the native islanders. Magellan failed to claim the Philippines for he was slain by Datu Lapu-Lapu, a chieftain, in the Battle of Mactan.

The city's most famous landmark is Magellan's Cross (aka Cross of Magellan) which is now housed in a chapel. It is a symbol of the beginning of Christianity in the Philippines.

Not far away from the Magellan's Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child) which houses the country's oldest relic, the image of Santo Niño de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu). A religious event is celebrated known as the Sinulog festival, held every third Sunday of January. It celebrates the festival of the Santo Niño, the patron saint of Cebu. The Sinulog is a dance ritual wherein the dancer moves two steps forward and one step backward to the rhythmic sound of drums.

There are many more beautiful places to visit in the Philippines like Palawan, Davao, Baguio, Subic, Laguna, Tagaytay, Cavite, Batangas, and of course Manila.

Please come and visit the Philippines!

Map of the Philippines