Search for "Philippines tours" and you will find everything from a four-hour island-hopping trip to a three-week journey across the archipelago. They are very different things, and the right choice depends on how much time you have and how you like to travel.
The three kinds of tours
- Day tours. Island-hopping in El Nido or Coron, the Chocolate Hills and tarsiers in Bohol, a walk through Intramuros in Manila. Easy to book once you are there, usually shared with other travellers.
- Fixed group tours. A set route, set dates and a group of strangers. Good value if the dates suit you, less good if you want to change anything.
- Private, tailor-made tours. Your own route, your own dates and your own pace, with private transfers and boats where they matter. This is what we design.
How many islands, and for how long?
From Europe, most travellers choose 12 to 16 days. That is enough for two or three islands without spending half the trip in transit. A rule we use: one travel day for every three or four days on the islands.
- 10 days: Palawan (El Nido or Coron) plus one more island, such as Bohol or Siargao.
- 14 days: El Nido, Bohol and Siargao, or Coron, El Nido and a quiet island to finish.
- 3 weeks: add the rice terraces of Banaue and Batad, or a remote island such as Batanes in the right season.
What a good tour should include
Hotels, domestic flights and ferries, transfers, boat days, entrance fees and a local guide on tour days. Check whether lunch on boat days, environmental fees and travel insurance are included, because they often are not. On our trips, travel insurance with cancellation cover is included every time.
Private or shared?
Shared boat tours are fine and sociable. A private boat changes the day: you leave earlier, skip the busiest lagoons at peak hour and stop where you like. Many of our travellers mix the two, with shared tours on some days and a private boat on the day that matters most.
Our advice
Choose the season first, then the islands, then the hotels. Look at our ready-made journeys for ideas, then tell us what to change. Every route can be adapted.
