Need advice from people who have been to the philippines

linzismith

My boyfriend and I are going in april. we only have one week so we're trying to narrow it down to the must-sees (but we also don't want to spend too much time in transit from place to place).

First, has anyone been to palawan and boracay? which is better and why?

Also, we're thinking about spending half the week in north luzon looking at the rice terraces. is it worth is to go that far north away from all the volcanoes and beaches?

Is there any place I just must see that I haven't mentioned?

thanks for your help!

HulaCoop

Hey there Well i have not personally ever been there but I talk with natives of the Phillippines all day long at work! They recammend Boracy because they say that it has the best beaches! Have fun!

malaki

I live there. I am English and have lived here since 1998. Forget Boracay it is small and filthy. In April it is especially bad because that is Easter time and the whole of the Philippines wants to go to Boracay and it is really crowded. Bear in mind you can stroll round the whole island in less than two hours. Palawan is much better, less polluted and far more beautiful BUT harder to get to. If you like beaches, my favourite, accessible place in Luzon is Subic Bay.

Northern Luzon is where I live, next to the former US Air Force base at Clark. From here to Manila is about 2 hours by car, to the rice terraces only about another 200 km, it is at least 12hours by car. remember this is a third world country and travelling outside the major cities is slow but well worth it. This place is stunningly beautiful and the people are fantastic but I don't think there is a travel agent anywhere that can do it justice.

Happy to help any way I can on locations but I need to know what you like

malaki

Also, if you are coming in from Seuol, you can fly in to Clark with Asiana, much easier than Manila and then you get access to the whole Luzon island from the centre