Author of this post: Davide

Take a look to my Travel Photo Gallery…

General Information Philippines Country. Backpacking Philippines

How was my journey to Philippines?

Maybe what you know about Philippines is everything from papers and TV…..poverty and suffering!

Well, it’s true. I saw poverty and suffering, I stayed in one of the most dangerous city in the world, Manila. I paid attention to the incredible poverty/criminality in big cities like Cebu and the province areas. Many people live without money, but they are happy. When I stay in any destination my goal is to focus on the good things, in every situation. So I would like to talk and promote this stunning country and all its treasures.

My Philippines experience is divided in 2 different trips, the first one was in March 2014 and the second one was exactly one year later. In this map you can take a look which areas I’ve visited. In both cases I didn’t travel by myself but with my girlfriend, perfect traveller and adventurer.

Philippines Places I’ve been in my 2 trips. Backpacking Philippines

1. The first trip is marked by blue line. We stayed there just 12 days. At that time we were living in Melbourne (another wonderful destination), so me and my girlfriend took few days off from our job to explore some places in Philippines. We flew from Melbourne to Manila and from there we took another flight to Basuanga Island. Amazing time there, from Basuanga passing through amazing landscapes of El Nido and ending with one of the “7 new natural wonders of the world”, Puerto Princesa Underground River, in Palawan Island. The other part of this trip was in Ifugao region, 10 hrs away from Manila (by bus). We spent the last 6/7 days here in an area known by someone as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, Banaue Rice Terrace. Two of the terrace clusters in Banaue, namely Bangaan and Batad, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage inscription. Built 2,000 years ago, the rice terraces manifest the engineering skill and ingenuity of the sturdy Ifugaos.

   ---

   

   My trip to Banaue Rice Terrace, Philippines

   ---

2. The second journey is included in my Backpacking Southeast Asia post. It started in Manila and we spent few days around there, from the smallest active volcano in the world (Taal Volcano) to Donsol, where we had a great experience swimming with a 5 meters Whale Shark. After 5 days we went the most touristic place of Philippines, Boracay. Our journey continued to South, we touched almost all Visayas Area and it ended in Bantayan Island. We spent 25 days in this second trip + the first 12 days and we saw a lot about Philippines (to be realistic we need an entire life for each country to know EVERYTHING). Like a said before, maybe Philippines should be an unsafe travel destination, but except few areas in Manila and Cebu City I never felt unsafe. People were welcoming us, they were helpful, their english level is higher than any country in Asia, and I’m sure they speak English better than Italians, the food was fabulous and without any doubt I highly recommend everyone a visit to Philippines.

These maps will show you the route we have followed during this second journey in Philippines.

Manila and Around, this my first part of the second trip to Philippines. Backpacking Philippines

1-Route A: Manila, Pagsanjan Falls, Taal Volcano.                          2-Route B: Legazpi, Donsol

Visayas Region, second part of the trip. Backpacking Philippines

1-Route  A: Boracay, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguette (Malatapay), Apo Island, Siquijor Island.

2-Route  B: Tagbilaran, Corella (Tarsier Sanctuary), Chocolate Hills, Danao, Loboc River.

3-Route  C:  Cebu City, Moalboal, Kawasan Falls, Maya, Malapascua Island, Bantayan Island.

THE EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD

Backpacking Philippines

DEEP IN THE PEARL OF EL NIDO

Backpacking Philippines

THE WHITE SAN COVERED BY 2 BIG ROCKS

Backpacking Philippines

THE CLEANEST LAKE IN ASIA

Backpacking Philippines

THE SMALLEST ACTIVE VOLCANO IN THE WORLD

Backpacking Philippines