My Top 11 Favourite Experiences in the Philippines

Last Updated on 22nd July 2023

As I have done with New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, I thought it was about time that I shared my favourite experiences in the Philippines with you guys!

We only spent a total of 26 days in the Philippines which is actually the shortest amount of time we’ve spent in a country so far since starting our big trip around the world, but I think we managed to get a good feel for what the country has to offer.

We visited 6 main islands while we were there and it was such an incredible couple of weeks of island hopping, meeting new people and exploring everything this beautiful country had to offer.

Here’s my top 11 favourite experiences in the Philippines!

Kayaking through the Big Lagoon in El Nido

I never normally write these posts in any kind of particular order, but kayaking through the Big Lagoon in El Nido was arguably my absolute favourite thing we did in the Philippines.

It had been a bucket list item of mine for many years now, ever since writing about it for a freelance travel client of mine a couple of years ago, so it really was like a dream come true when we first saw it.

You can check out my full post on the Tour A El Nido Island Hopping day trip here which includes lots more pictures but I wanted to include it here as well because it was just out of this world amazing!

Swimming in the cleanest lake in the Philippines

Swimming in the clearest lake in the Philippines

Kayangan Lake, or “the cleanest lake in the Philippines” as it’s renowned, was a stop on our island hopping day trip in Coron.

I can certainly vouch for how clean and clear it was; you can see for metres below the surface of the water and swimming and snorkelling in it was an absolute delight!

Celebrating 6 months of full-time travel – favourite experiences in the Philippines

6 months of full time travel, My Top 11 Favourite Experiences in the Philippines

While we were in the Philippines, on the 26th October, we celebrated our 6 month travelling anniversary.

We were in El Nido for the occasion and we enjoyed a nice meal and a couple of drinks out in a few bars and pubs on the island.

It was such a lovely, yet surreal way to commemorate such a huge milestone and I felt very lucky to be celebrating in such a beautiful place!

Meeting new friends and hanging out with them

Travelling as a couple means that we always try and get a private room together, whether we’re staying in a hotel, hostel or homestay.

However, this often means that we don’t “mingle” as much with other travellers as we’re not spending all of our time with them.

While in the Philippines, however, we met numerous people on a boat trip that we did in Coron and then ended up meeting up with a few of them multiple times during our time in the Philippines.

We hung out with a lovely girl called Jess in Coron, El Nido and Bohol (she actually helped us out with riding a scooter for the first time – see below!). Jess has been a solo traveller for three years and she had some of the most incredible stories and anecdotes; this was by far one of my favourite experiences in the Philippines!

Riding a scooter for the first time in Bohol and Panglao

As I mentioned above, while we were in Bohol and Panglao, we met up with Jess again and we hired scooters for the day to travel around the islands.

It was our first time riding a scooter ourselves (we’d been on the back of them in Indonesia, but never driven one ourselves!) and I was pretty anxious, to say the least!

However, Matt turned out to be an excellent driver and we had an incredible time exploring multiple places in Panglao and Bohol!

Drinking 76p double rum and cokes & beer in our hostel – favourite experiences in the Philippines

Speaking of Panglao (AKA probably my favourite place in the Philippines!), we stayed at a homestay that was right next to the beach that sold 76p double rum and cokes and 56p San Miguel Apple flavoured beers!

For some bizarre (but totally OK with us!) reason, it was actually cheaper to have a double rum and coke than it was to just have a Coke on its own! We really didn’t understand this but we certainly didn’t complain and even though neither of us are big fan of rum, we soon learned to love it!

Seeing giant starfish while island hopping in Coron

giant starfish in Coron, Palawan, Favourite Experiences in the Philippines

During our island hopping day tour in Coron, we stopped off at a little private beach for lunch and as we were walking from the boat to the beach, there were lots of giant starfish spread out along the sand!

I’ve never properly seen a starfish before, never mind a huge one, so this was such a surreal and amazing experience!

Watching many sunsets – favourite experiences in the Philippines

We’ve been incredibly lucky that every single country we’ve been to so far has had some truly magical sunsets.

The Philippines was no different and we enjoyed our fair share of them while we were there, especially in Moalboal.

Every night the sky lit up with a thousand different shades of yellow, red and orange and it was the most spectacular sight to see!

Eating lots of yummy food on boat trips

favourite experiences in the Philippines, El Nido boat trip

I have to admit; the food in the Philippines was probably my least favourite out of everywhere we’ve been to so far, but we did thoroughly enjoy our picnic lunches when we went on a boat trip in Coron and El Nido.

The food was so beautifully presented, everything tasted fresh and delicious and best of all; we were eating it on a boat in the middle of the sea, surrounded by the most beautiful islands in the Philippines!

Walking along the beautiful beach in Panglao

I’ve already talked relentlessly throughout this post about my love for Panglao and that’s largely due to its paradisal vibes.

Just 30 seconds away from where we were staying was one of the most beautiful stretches of beach I’ve ever seen.

Laden with dozens of palm trees, lush white sand and stunning blue ocean stretching out for miles ahead; Panglao really is an island paradise and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to head back there one day!

Pushing myself out of my comfort zone on an overnight boat

My Top 11 Favourite Experiences in the Philippines

I wasn’t really sure whether to include this experience in this post as at the time, it wasn’t something that I enjoyed at all.

After a busy day of travelling from Bali, and then navigating our way around Manila with our heavy backpacks (a city that fast became my least favourite place I’ve ever been!), it was then time to hop on an overnight ferry from Manila to Coron.

The ferry took 11 hours from 7pm to 6am and the “rooms” were packed with around 15 bunkbeds in a hostel dorm-like situation. It was incredibly noisy, smelly and an overall pretty unenjoyable experience, but it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me yet again that I’m much stronger and capable of things than I give myself credit for!

Our time in the Philippines was relatively short but I still think that we managed to pack so much in to our trip! I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m in a huge rush to head back there, but it’s definitely a place I would reconsider visiting one day in the future as there’s still so much we haven’t seen!

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