Before 2016 if anyone asked me about Philippines, i would have said it’s home to one of the most densely populated cities on earth, Manila, and maybe a tropical island or two. But after being bugged multiple times by my wife saying that it is home to some of the best beaches in the world (which I thought previously were the sole domain of French Polynesia, Hawaii, Mauritius and the Caribbean islands) I decided to delve a bit deeper. Turns out Philipines is an archipelago comprising of more than 7000 islands and some of them are just outright stunning. Boracay and Palawan consistently rank amongst the top 10 beaches in the world and I was curious to see if they really lived up to this claim. My wife treated me to a birthday getaway to Boracay, and I was all excited to see these soft white sand beaches that everyone seemed to be raving about.
Pristine white beach, white sand beaches around the world are judged by this I believe!
Willy’s Rock
Getting there
Getting to Boracay from the US is a adventure in itself. Your best bet is to fly to Manila (for Indian nationals with a valid US visa, only Manila airport issues you a visa on arrival) and then take the low cost carriers like Cebu Pacific or Air Asia to either Kalibo or Caticlan. Bear in mind that modern jet planes can’t fly to Caticlan so you will be on a small turbo prop and will have to check in your luggage (which always requires a fee). If you are queasy about bumpy and shaky airplane rides, don’t fly into Caticlan, but take a flight into Kalibo. The only disadvantage is that the time taken to reach Boracay increases from 30 mins to 2+ hours. Also, the weather in the Philippines is very unpredictable and these inter island flights often get delayed, and are prone to a domino effect, so budget enough time so you can get to Boracay and also catch your flight out of Manila on your return. We got delayed by 3+ hours both while going and coming back just because all the previous flights that day were running late. Most of the airlines keep shuttling the same flight back and forth hence the domino effect.
White beach from a speedboat
Tropical paradise defined…
When you fly into Calibo, you have several options to get to the Caticlan Jetty. You can take a bus, or be adventurous and try to share a taxi with other tourists and bargain on a price. To get to Boracay, you need to first get to Caticlan, which has the jetty terminal where you take a ferry ride across to Boracay. The trip by road will take ~2 hours. Beware that certain taxes/minibuses will wait till they are full before they start. Once you get to the jetty and cross into Boracay (Cabagan port), you need to take a Tuk-tuk to get to your hotel. You can bargain the entire cost of this trip from Kalibo itself and be sure to confirm before hand that all port fees, ferry ticket and taxes need to be included as a common scam is often to leave those out of the total cost and then asking for that later. The jetty is kind of a like a old airport and they will scan all your luggage before letting you board. The “ferry” is a traditional Filipino paraw fitted with an outrigger, which seats about 20-30 people and all the luggage is stored on the roof. There are two lines while boarding, make sure you get into the tourist line as locals usually have a monthly pass and go through a separate line. Usually the tour company that brings you to the jetty has their own boat so make sure you get onto that one. The ferry ride is about 15 mins, but fun as you really feel the waves but the outriggers do a great job of stabilizing the boat so you should be in Boracay before you start getting seasick! Once you reach take a trike to your hotel, the prices are fixed by distance but you shouldn’t have to pay more than 50 pesos per person.
The ubiquitous trikes!
You won’t get tired of this view..
What to do
There you go, after all that hoopla you finally have made it to the island paradise. Paradise I would say is a term which probably described the place a couple of decades back when it was still untouched. These days however, Boracay is a trendy beach destination known for being a backpackers paradise and a party island. And it shows. That being said, White beach which covers almost half of the western side of the island, is undoubtedly one of the prettiest beaches you will ever see and probably the standard bearer for any white sand beach worldwide. The sand is silky smooth unlike any beach I’ve stepped on, and doesn’t stick to your feet at all because of its extremely fine consistency. Combine that with the azure blue waters and I can see why this was touted as an island paradise. Sadly though, being on all these top 10 lists for best beaches in the world has taken its toll. Commercial development is rampant, and to some extent even unchecked and all this has taken a toll on this beautiful island. There are restaurants and hotels at every nook and corner and hawkers and vendors setting up shop on the beach.
Paraw’s on White beach
Beach perfection…
The best thing to do at Boracay is to do nothing at all! White Beach is divided into three stations, with Station 2 being the most commercialized and loud, so don’t stay in that area if you are looking for peace and quiet. However just a 10-15 minute stroll will bring you to Station 1 which is much more laid back and then just grab a beach towel, grab a smoothie and chill!
Jonah’s .. a must try when in Boracay..
We stayed at the Fairways & Bluewater Resort, which is on the eastern side of the island and also has its own private beach (nowhere as good as white beach though). The rooms are decent but the main draw is the huge resort with its own golf course and lots of activities. Since Boracay is such a huge tourist magnet, you have at your fingertips some amazing restaurants with incredible food and views to match. My personal recommendations would be to have brunch at The Sunny Side Cafe for sure. Stroll on the beach with the above mentioned smoothie and wind up near Spider House for prime time viewing of Boracay’s stunning sunsets! Trust me this is not to be missed and go early otherwise all the good seats would be gone. You can also opt for a sunset cruise on a paraw and choose to enjoy the sunset from the water.
Stunning sunset from Spider House
The golden hour.. my favorite time of the day!
For dinner/drinks in a gorgeous setting look no further than Shangri La’s Solana which is treetop simulating experience like no other (also the buggy ride to get to the restaurant is quite an adventure in itself!). Lemoni Cafe near Station 2 is another great place to grab lunch when you are tired and hot of sitting on the beach. There are tons of places on either side of the small path that separates the beach from the main road and your best bet is to stroll around, look at menus and pick a place which serves the kind of cuisine you like. Seafood is excellent but the standard of food of any cuisine in general is pretty high for such an isolated island. The standard beachy watersport activities are also available in plenty. We tried paragliding and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Pretty much the view you will enjoy from any cafe/eating establishment in Boracay!
Lemoni Cafe
All in all, Boracay is a great island getaway, perfect for a 2-3 night vacation to recharge your batteries before getting back to the daily grind. It’s best to do if you have some work in and around SE Asia as I don’t feel it’s worth a trip from the USA just to visit Boracay. In that case combine it with a longer SE Asia trip. You may be slightly taken aback by the sheer urban overgrowth that greets you when you get off the ferry into Boracay, but just go to White Beach and you’ll forget all that as soon as your feet hit the silky smooth sand and you relax with a drink in your hand and watch the sunset on this beautiful tropical island.
Sunset, day 2, Boracay… I do not think people are exaggerating when they say every sunset is spectacular here.
More Paraw sailing boats
The private beach of Fairways, you can see the sand isn’t as white.
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