Classic Philippines in 14 days: Manila, El Nido, Cebu and Bohol

The shape is deliberate: the north half is limestone and open water, the south half is forest, river and reef, and the two do not feel like the same country.

Who it suits: first-time visitors to Asia, couples and independent travellers who want the country’s best two coastlines done properly rather than a checklist of islands.

Planned by: Daniella Eitan, our groups and business manager, with our own office in Manila.

Day by day

Day 1: Arrive in Manila. Airport transfer and a hotel in Makati or Bonifacio Global City, whichever suits how you like a city. Nothing scheduled beyond dinner within walking distance, because most long-haul routings land here in the evening.

Day 2: Manila. Intramuros in the morning, the walled Spanish city, with Fort Santiago and San Agustin church, which has stood since 1607 and survived everything since. The National Museum of Fine Arts, free to enter, after that. Late afternoon, a guided food walk through Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world, which is the best single introduction to Filipino eating there is and is genuinely better than anything you will eat on an island.

Day 3: Manila to El Nido. A morning flight north to Palawan. Where the small AirSWIFT service into Lio, ten minutes from El Nido town, has seats at a sensible price we use it; where it does not, we fly to Puerto Princesa and drive up, which is about five hours and which we then plan the day around rather than pretend is quick. Afternoon on Lio beach or at Las Cabañas for the sunset.

Day 4: Bacuit Bay, the inner islands. A private bangka with crew and lunch on board, out at eight rather than the standard ten. Big Lagoon by paddle at opening, before the flotilla, then Small Lagoon, Shimizu and Seven Commandos in the order that keeps you ahead of the crowd. Your boatman decides that on the day based on tide and wind, which is exactly why we book a private boat.

Day 5: Bacuit Bay, the outer islands. The longer run west: Hidden Beach, Matinloc, Secret Beach and Helicopter Island. In our view this is the better of the two days, and most people are given it second because most operators sell them in alphabetical order.

Day 6: El Nido, free day. Deliberately unscheduled. Our suggestions in your document include Nacpan Beach, four kilometres of empty sand forty minutes north, a kayak morning in the mangroves, a diving day if you are certified, or nothing at all.

Day 7: El Nido to Cebu. The one genuinely awkward day in this itinerary and we will not dress it up. There is no convenient direct hop, so this is either a connection through Manila or a road transfer to Puerto Princesa and a direct flight east. Both consume most of a day. We book the routing with the best on-time record for your dates, we do not schedule anything on the far side, and you arrive in Cebu City in the evening for dinner and a proper bed.

Day 8: Cebu, then the ferry to Bohol. Morning in the old city: Magellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro, the Carbon market, and lechon for lunch, which is the thing Cebu is actually famous for among Filipinos and is worth arranging your morning around. Early afternoon OceanJet fast ferry to Tagbilaran, about two hours, then a short transfer to Panglao. Four nights here, no more packing.

Day 9: Inland Bohol. The Chocolate Hills at their best in early light, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary at Corella, which is the research sanctuary rather than the roadside operations and the only one we use, the Loboc river, and Baclayon church. A full day, back at the coast by late afternoon.

Day 10: Balicasag and Virgin Island. Out before six by private boat, which sounds unreasonable and is the entire point: green turtles on the Balicasag wall in the first hour, the sandbar at Virgin Island before the day boats, and back for a late breakfast. Visitor numbers at Balicasag are capped now, so this needs booking well ahead.

Day 11: Bohol, free day. Panglao’s beaches, a dive day, Hinagdanan cave, or the Rajah Sikatuna forest for anyone who likes birds. Or a day doing nothing, which after a week of boats is a defensible choice.

Day 12: Anda, or the second free day. The quiet east coast of Bohol, two hours from Panglao, has the beaches Panglao had twenty years ago and almost nobody on them. Worth the drive if you want to see it, entirely skippable if you would rather stay put. We will have told you which we would do.

Day 13: Bohol to Manila. A late-morning flight from Panglao back to the capital, then the afternoon free in Makati for whatever you did not fit in on day two. This night is not padding: we never put a domestic flight and an international departure on the same day in this country, and this is why.

Day 14: Departure. Transfer to the airport, or continue to your next destination.

What is included

Accommodation with breakfast, all internal flights with seats and baggage confirmed, all airport and pier transfers, the Cebu to Bohol fast ferry, two full private island-hopping days in El Nido with crew and lunch, the private Balicasag boat, a full day of guiding in Bohol and a half day in Manila, the Binondo food walk, park and environmental fees, a day-by-day document with flight numbers and boat times, and a WhatsApp group with our Manila office for the duration.

What we would change, and when

• Travelling in July or August? We reverse the order and put Palawan late, because the western islands settle first as the southwest monsoon eases, and we add a contingency day.
• Not interested in a city? Manila can come down to one night at each end, and we put the two recovered days into Palawan rather than adding an island.
• Divers? Swap Bohol for Coron and its Japanese wrecks, or add three days in Moalboal on the way south. See our diving itinerary.
• Want a third island? We would rather you did not, and we will say so. If you insist, the one that costs the least in travel time is Siquijor, reached by ferry from Bohol rather than by air.

Related

• The Philippines: the complete guide
• Palawan and Siargao, 14 days
• Deep Philippines, 21 days