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 Philippines travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Philippines.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Baguio city guide,
Bohol city guide,
Boracay city guide,
Cebu city guide,
El Nido city guide,
Manila city guide,
and Puerto Galera city guide.
Pages (9 of 109):
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| A Rigby |
20 February 2005 |
Stayed at Dusit Hotel Nikko - Manila, Philippines.
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Manila is a difficult place to get decent food. It's either unpalatable Filipino food or American-style ribs 'n' fries. Two restaurants that I go regularly in Greenbelt 3 (2nd level) in Makati are Cascada and Pasha (Mediterranean). Prices are reasonable too.
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| M Patchett |
19 February 2005 |
Stayed at Days Hotel Tagaytay - Tagaytay, Philippines.
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Tagaytay is a great place to visit. Whether you are with your family and friends, or out for a romantic weekend, it's perfect! The weather is nice and cool and the air is clean and fresh. Put Tagaytay on your list of places to go in the Philippines!
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| J Hanusin |
16 February 2005 |
Stayed at Garden Plaza Hotel & Suites - Manila, Philippines.
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From Manila I went to Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Mindanao. I stayed at the Dakak Park Resort on Mindanao and found it wonderful and very beautiful. Also, the Bohol Tropics Resort on Bohol was very nice.
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| A Largo |
13 February 2005 |
Stayed at Legend Hotel Palawan, The - Palawan, Philippines.
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We only stayed overnight at the Legend 'cause our schedule was very hectic. We ate dinner at KALUI restaurant were they served magnificent seafood. Too bad they don't take credit cards for payment. We had been all over Palawan. Noteworthy places are the Butterfly Garden and the Underground River and its cave. We never made it to the Prison and the Crocodile Farm. The road to Sabang was excruciating since the roads are still under construction. The "Palawan Massage" was an experience I will never ever forget!
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| L Franco |
10 February 2005 |
Stayed at Boracay Terraces Resort - Boracay (Aklan), Philippines.
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This is the type of island that you can leave your shoes in your room. The first day I carried my sandals everywhere, the second and third days I just left them at home. The main strip is sand; no cars, except for an occasional police vehicle. Felt very safe, and the people were very friendly. A fair amount of vendors, but they don't hassle you too much. I found it amusing they kept on trying to sell me sunglasses, despite the fact I was wearing a pair. But again, they are not hard sell, and the people are polite and courteous. The food was very good at most places we ate at, and the beers are cheap, about sixty cents American.
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| J Stoudt and jonathan smith |
08 February 2005 |
Stayed at Fleuris, Hotel - Palawan, Philippines.
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We had a delightful visit to Puerta Princesa. The Fleuris Hotel arranged our guide and driver to the UNESCO-rated subterranean river. Our guide, Omar, was excellent. The trip to the river does take a while (about 2+ hours) and the majority of it is a bit bone-jarring on rutted roads. The small village reached at the end of the journey is the departure point for a further 20 minutes boat ride to reach the park entrance where (in our case, following a nice lunch) you then follow a small path to the launching point for the underground river trips. (There is an alternative to walk from the village to the park entrance which is probably nice if you have the extra time; it takes 2 to 3 hours, Omar said.) It seems like a lot of effort to take an underground river trip which, in itself, is under an hour round trip, but it is definitely worth it.
Amazing sights of the 'inside' of a mountain: the typical stalagtites and stalagmites, but also veins of marble; internal caverns and caves; and the special experience of travelling by boat too. Experiences are somewhat reminiscent of the Deer Cave, etc. in Sarawak, East Malaysia. It is very quiet as the guide paddles manually and the only lights are the two handheld by the front two passengers which are enough to get a good view. It is probably a place which will continue to (unfortunately) become more modernised over time, so good to see it soon!
A few tips: the boats do not come straight to shore, so wear shoes/sandals that you can get wet. Shorts and light clothing is fine although there are lots of bats and not everything dripping from above is mineral water. The guides will probably not like to hear this but don't necessarily volunteer to sit in the front and hold the lights as it does attract pesky bugs (but nothing that bites) and you have to pay attention to the guide's directions on where at least one of you should shine the light. The other one, though, can do what he/she wishes! We returned from our long day with very nice memories of this unique area and then enjoyed an evening in Puerta Princesa. The main street has a lot of places to eat and some good handicraft stores. A wide sidewalk makes wandering easy. All in all, a delightful visit!
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| L Kwok yiu |
07 February 2005 |
Stayed at Citadel Inn Makati - Manila, Philippines.
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Visited bars on the same street, but seems there is a new regulation. Small area bars cannot allow smoke and if the bar is big enough, then a smoking area can be established. It makes the overall environment there less fun than before (for myself as a smoker). Lastly, went down to Hard Rock cafe (big enough) where a large area you can smoke makes me feel better. Taxi right now is having regulation and the minimum is 30 Peso. There are more shopping malls being built and different variety of resturants and shops around. Feel comfortable in having my leisure in Manila.
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| M Crutzen |
06 February 2005 |
Stayed at Fridays Beach Resort Boracay - Boracay (Aklan), Philippines.
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White beach is one of the best beaches we have ever been to: long, beautiful, with soft, white sand; pleasant temperatures in February. Our favourite restaurants were Friday's Boracay, La Capinnina (Italian) and CNN café. The island is not big and can easily be visited on foot or by tricycle (or you can rent a bike). If you are a snorkeller and a marine life lover, you won't see as much as around Phuket (Thailand) since a lot of the coral is dead and there isn't much left to see. I didn't dive (just snorkelled) so I don't know about diving spots though.
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| A Chabloz |
01 February 2005 |
Stayed at Legend Hotel Palawan, The - Palawan, Philippines.
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If looking for information about activities on Palawan, I would recommend the travel agency "1700 Islands Travel & Tours" on Rizal Avenue where the staff is quite helpful and friendly.
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| A Ho |
29 January 2005 |
Stayed at Pearl Manila, The - Manila, Philippines.
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Shopping & eating out at Robinson Plaza nearby while in Manila; I like "Mario's Kitchen" at "Taste Buds" one floor above National Bookstore, inside that mall. I found better USD to Pesos rate offered by the foreign exchange counter inside Robinson Department Store than "Robinson Bank" branch inside the same mall. If you like open air diner w/loud music bands, go to one of those restaurants at Manila Bay sea-side; the other option is "Ratsky" at Tomas Morato Ave. in Quezon City, a little bit faraway by taxi but music band w/ filipino (dirty??) jokes, I found it crowded but my filipino friends like that place very much.
For inexpensive seafood, I went to DAMPA (wet marked), beyond the int'l airport in Paranaque; you buy your own seafood from the market & take it to one of those existing restaurants nearby & they cooked it the way you want. Always went around by taxi as I found the fare not expensive by my benchmark, but be prepared to tell the driver by which route you want to arrive at your destination as most of the time taxi drivers will make a long detour in order to have a bigger fare. My solution was to tell the driver once inside that I'm in a hurry & that I will give a tips when the trip is quite long.
Always lock both rear-doors once you are inside a taxi & beware of cellphone snatcher when you talk with or when your cellphone is visible while walking on the street/road. Don't let your wife/girlfriend/daughter dangle the cellphone by a lanyard. Keep in mind that your USD150 valuable is more or less equal to one month salary for the majority of the locals. If you use Philippines SIM card for your calls, GLOBE is ok for major cities, but use SMART at places in the provinces as the latter network coverage is much better.
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