The Philippines itinerary, day by day

From El Nido and Coron in Palawan to the hills of Bohol and the surf of Siargao, by small plane and fast ferry: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: December to May

El Nido · Photo XT7 Core / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

The Philippines in 7 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · flight + boat

1El Nido (Palawan)

Days 1-4

The northern tip of Palawan, where limestone cliffs drop straight into the Bacuit archipelago. Most days start on a bangka heading out to the lagoons.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island hopping by bangkaFull day · from €30
A day on a traditional outrigger boat between the lagoons, small beaches and limestone islets of Bacuit Bay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking into the lagoonsHalf day · from €25
The Small Lagoon is reached by kayak through a gap in the rock too narrow for the boats.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The turquoise lagoons under the limestone · Nacpan Beach, four kilometres of sand · Sunset over the Sulu Sea · Snorkelling off the beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Spin Designer Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: The Nest El Nido (€110 a night) · Luxury: Pangulasian Island (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Oceanview Chinese Restaurant (æœ›æµ·æ¥¼ä¸å¼é¤åŽ…) ↗ ★ 4.9 · 863 reviews
OPPA Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1410 reviews
Ver De El Nido ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1070 reviews
Taas restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 469 reviews
Hunt Restaurant - El Nido ↗ ★ 4.8 · 184 reviews

Photo XT7 Core / Pexels

⛴️ Fast ferry · 4h · Sulu Sea

2Coron

Days 5-7

An island town known for its clear lakes and for the Japanese supply ships sunk by an American air raid in September 1944, now one of the best wreck dives in Asia.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving the Japanese wrecksFull day · from €60
A day of dives on the ships sunk in Coron Bay in 1944, several of them at recreational depth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayangan Lake and the lagoonsFull day · from €30
A boat day around Coron, with a climb to Kayangan Lake, whose water is clear enough to see the rock many metres down.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Kayangan Lake · Mount Tapyas, some 700 steps up for the sunset view · The hot springs · The reefs, within snorkelling reach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hop Hostel Coron (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Coron Soleil Garden (€90 a night) · Luxury: Two Seasons Coron (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Prince Wonton Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 276 reviews
Hunt Restaurant - Coron ↗ ★ 4.9 · 209 reviews
KinaJohn Bar and Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 206 reviews
Cinco Grande ↗ ★ 4.9 · 182 reviews
Castizo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 662 reviews

Photo Ferdie Cayanga / Pexels

The Philippines in 10 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · flight + boat

1El Nido (Palawan)

Days 1-3

The northern tip of Palawan, where limestone cliffs drop straight into the Bacuit archipelago. Most days start on a bangka heading out to the lagoons.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island hopping by bangkaFull day · from €30
A day on a traditional outrigger boat between the lagoons, small beaches and limestone islets of Bacuit Bay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking into the lagoonsHalf day · from €25
The Small Lagoon is reached by kayak through a gap in the rock too narrow for the boats.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The turquoise lagoons under the limestone · Nacpan Beach, four kilometres of sand · Sunset over the Sulu Sea · Snorkelling off the beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Spin Designer Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: The Nest El Nido (€110 a night) · Luxury: Pangulasian Island (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo XT7 Core / Pexels

⛴️ Fast ferry · 4h · Sulu Sea

2Coron

Days 4-5

An island town known for its clear lakes and for the Japanese supply ships sunk by an American air raid in September 1944, now one of the best wreck dives in Asia.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving the Japanese wrecksFull day · from €60
A day of dives on the ships sunk in Coron Bay in 1944, several of them at recreational depth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayangan Lake and the lagoonsFull day · from €30
A boat day around Coron, with a climb to Kayangan Lake, whose water is clear enough to see the rock many metres down.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Kayangan Lake · Mount Tapyas, some 700 steps up for the sunset view · The hot springs · The reefs, within snorkelling reach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hop Hostel Coron (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Coron Soleil Garden (€90 a night) · Luxury: Two Seasons Coron (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ferdie Cayanga / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h30 · via Cebu

3Bohol

Days 6-8

An island of more than a thousand grassy cone-shaped hills, the Chocolate Hills, and of the tarsier, a palm-sized primate with each eye as large as its brain.

🎟️ Worth booking

Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, guidedHalf day · from €30
The viewpoint over the hills, then a sanctuary where the tarsiers, among the smallest primates on earth, sleep through the day.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Loboc River lunch cruiseHalf day · from €25
A slow floating restaurant up a green river lined with jungle.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Chocolate Hills · The white-sand beaches of Panglao · The tarsiers · The rice fields and the countryside

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Amorita Resort (€160 a night) · Luxury: The Bellevue Bohol (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Kri Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2197 reviews
Narcos Cantina ↗ ★ 4.9 · 767 reviews
Salt & Sky Rooftop Lounge ↗ ★ 4.9 · 497 reviews
Marea Al Fresco Dining ↗ ★ 4.9 · 444 reviews
Lamian Modern Filipino Cuisine ↗ ★ 4.9 · 241 reviews

Photo Jon Discipulo / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h · to the surf

4Siargao

Days 9-10

The surf capital of the country, built around the reef break at Cloud 9. Inland it is coconut palms as far as you can see, offshore a string of small sandy islands.

🎟️ Worth booking

Surf lesson at Cloud 9Half day · from €30
Beginners learn on the gentler breaks nearby, with Cloud 9 itself in view for when the swell is right.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Island hopping: Naked, Daku and GuyamFull day · from €30
Three islands in a morning: a bare sandbar, a coconut island with lunch, and a tiny one you can walk around in minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The surf breaks · Sugba Lagoon · The coconut groves · The Magpupungko rock pools, at low tide

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Nay Palad Hideaway (€700 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

El Carabao Siargao ↗ ★ 5 · 106 reviews
Las Barricas Siargao ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1101 reviews
Alma Siargao ↗ ★ 4.9 · 655 reviews
Siargao Hawker ↗ ★ 4.9 · 610 reviews
North Dirty Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.9 · 244 reviews

Photo John Matthew / Pexels

The Philippines in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · flight + boat

1El Nido (Palawan)

Days 1-4

The northern tip of Palawan, where limestone cliffs drop straight into the Bacuit archipelago. Most days start on a bangka heading out to the lagoons.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island hopping by bangkaFull day · from €30
A day on a traditional outrigger boat between the lagoons, small beaches and limestone islets of Bacuit Bay.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking into the lagoonsHalf day · from €25
The Small Lagoon is reached by kayak through a gap in the rock too narrow for the boats.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The turquoise lagoons under the limestone · Nacpan Beach, four kilometres of sand · Sunset over the Sulu Sea · Snorkelling off the beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Spin Designer Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: The Nest El Nido (€110 a night) · Luxury: Pangulasian Island (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo XT7 Core / Pexels

⛴️ Fast ferry · 4h · Sulu Sea

2Coron

Days 5-6

An island town known for its clear lakes and for the Japanese supply ships sunk by an American air raid in September 1944, now one of the best wreck dives in Asia.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving the Japanese wrecksFull day · from €60
A day of dives on the ships sunk in Coron Bay in 1944, several of them at recreational depth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayangan Lake and the lagoonsFull day · from €30
A boat day around Coron, with a climb to Kayangan Lake, whose water is clear enough to see the rock many metres down.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Kayangan Lake · Mount Tapyas, some 700 steps up for the sunset view · The hot springs · The reefs, within snorkelling reach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hop Hostel Coron (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Coron Soleil Garden (€90 a night) · Luxury: Two Seasons Coron (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ferdie Cayanga / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h30 · via Cebu

3Bohol

Days 7-10

An island of more than a thousand grassy cone-shaped hills, the Chocolate Hills, and of the tarsier, a palm-sized primate with each eye as large as its brain.

🎟️ Worth booking

Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, guidedHalf day · from €30
The viewpoint over the hills, then a sanctuary where the tarsiers, among the smallest primates on earth, sleep through the day.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Loboc River lunch cruiseHalf day · from €25
A slow floating restaurant up a green river lined with jungle.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Chocolate Hills · The white-sand beaches of Panglao · The tarsiers · The rice fields and the countryside

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Amorita Resort (€160 a night) · Luxury: The Bellevue Bohol (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jon Discipulo / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h · to the surf

4Siargao

Days 11-14

The surf capital of the country, built around the reef break at Cloud 9. Inland it is coconut palms as far as you can see, offshore a string of small sandy islands.

🎟️ Worth booking

Surf lesson at Cloud 9Half day · from €30
Beginners learn on the gentler breaks nearby, with Cloud 9 itself in view for when the swell is right.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Island hopping: Naked, Daku and GuyamFull day · from €30
Three islands in a morning: a bare sandbar, a coconut island with lunch, and a tiny one you can walk around in minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The surf breaks · Sugba Lagoon · The coconut groves · The Magpupungko rock pools, at low tide

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Nay Palad Hideaway (€700 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo John Matthew / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Adobo: meat braised in vinegar, soy and garlic, the dish every family claims to make best.
Lechon: whole roast suckling pig, the centrepiece of any celebration.
Sinigang: a sour soup made with tamarind, with pork, prawns or fish.
Halo-halo: shaved ice layered with beans, fruit, jelly, ube and evaporated milk.
Calamansi: a small local citrus squeezed over almost everything, and into juice.

⚠️ What to avoid

Check the typhoon forecast before booking between June and November.
Take ferries and bangkas run by established operators, and make sure there are life jackets on board.
Drink bottled water only, and cover up on the boat: the sun at sea burns fast.
Agree the fare for tricycles and boats before you set off.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Philippines guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit the Philippines, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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