Best Islands in the Philippines: Which to Visit and How to Get There

1. El Nido is the best island-hopping base in the country. Four fixed boat routes (Tours A to D) cover Bacuit Bay’s Big and Small Lagoons, Secret Beach, Shimizu Island and Matinloc; a joiner seat costs PHP 1,200 to 1,800 (about $21 to $31) including lunch, plus PHP 200 per lagoon. The direct way in is AirSWIFT to Lio airport, 10 minutes from town, about 75 minutes from Manila and often PHP 5,000 to 9,000 one way. The cheap way is a flight to Puerto Princesa and a shared van north, five to five and a half hours for PHP 720 to 790. Sleep in town for nightlife and tour desks, Corong-Corong for sunsets, or Lio and Nacpan for resorts. November to May is calm; July to September brings cancelled tours.

2. Coron is for wreck diving and the clearest freshwater lakes you will swim in. A dozen Japanese WWII ships lie in 10 to 40 m around Coron Bay and Culion, and day tours reach Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake for PHP 1,500 to 2,000 including entrance fees. Fly to Busuanga airport (USU), an hour from Manila and 45 minutes by shared van (PHP 150 to 200) from Coron town, or take the fast ferry from El Nido: three and a half hours, PHP 2,750 to 3,250, several operators sailing most mornings. Budget travellers stay in town, divers near the pier, honeymooners on the outer islands. Same calm season as El Nido.

Puerto Princesa itself is a gateway rather than a destination, but the Underground River at Sabang, two hours north, is worth the day: tours cost PHP 1,500 to 2,200 with the permit, and daily visitor numbers are capped, so book a day ahead.

3. Boracay is the Philippines’ resort island: four kilometres of fine white sand on White Beach, hundreds of hotels, buffet dinners, fire dancers and the easiest logistics of any beach here. Fly to Caticlan (MPH), take a tricycle five minutes to the jetty, pay the fees (see below) and ride a pump boat 15 minutes to Cagban port; Kalibo (KLO), 90 minutes away by van, is the cheaper airport. Station 1 is quiet and upmarket, Station 2 is bars and the D’Mall, Station 3 is budget. Come November to May when the Amihan wind keeps White Beach flat; from June to October waves and algae shift life to the east-coast Bulabog Beach, which is also the kitesurfing beach in winter.

4. Siargao is the surf island, with the Cloud 9 reef break at General Luna and a dozen gentler breaks for lessons (PHP 500 to 800 an hour with board and instructor). Non-surfers go for Sugba Lagoon, the Magpupungko rock pools and the Naked, Daku and Guyam island trip, around PHP 1,500 to 2,500 per boat shared between a group. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly into Sayak airport (IAO) from Manila, Cebu and Clark; the ferry alternative is Surigao City to Dapa, two to three and a half hours, PHP 300 to 600. Peak swell is August to November, beginner season March to June. Stay in General Luna for everything, Pacifico in the north for empty surf.

5. Cebu is the hub island, and its south coast packs the most activities per kilometre in the country. From Cebu City’s South Bus Terminal, Ceres buses reach Moalboal in three to four hours for about PHP 200 to 250: snorkel the sardine run straight off Panagsama Beach, then do the Kawasan canyoneering jump route at Badian for PHP 1,500 to 2,500 with guide and transfers. Oslob’s whale shark feeding is a further hour south; the animals are fed to keep them there, so many divers skip it for Donsol or Leyte. Mactan-Cebu airport (CEB) has international flights, so you can land here and never see Manila.

6. Malapascua, off Cebu’s northern tip, is the only place in the world where you can reliably dive with thresher sharks, at Monad Shoal before sunrise. Expect PHP 1,800 to 2,500 per dive with gear. Getting there takes a day: Ceres bus from Cebu North Bus Terminal to Maya port, four to five hours and about PHP 250 to 300, then a 30 to 45 minute bangka for around PHP 200. Bounty Beach has dive resorts from dorm to boutique. Threshers are present all year; seas are calmest November to May.

7. Bantayan is a flat, slow beach island north-west of Cebu, with Santa Fe’s Kota and Paradise beaches and a sandbar day trip to Virgin Island. Bus from Cebu North Bus Terminal to Hagnaya port (three to four hours, PHP 200 to 250), then a ro-ro of 60 to 90 minutes for PHP 300 to 500. Guesthouses in Santa Fe cost half what Boracay charges. Holy Week is its one crowded week.

8. Bohol and Panglao combine beach and inland sightseeing better than anywhere else. Panglao’s Alona Beach is the resort strip, Balicasag is the turtle snorkel (PHP 1,500 to 2,000 per boat plus fees), and a day inland covers the Chocolate Hills at Carmen, the tarsier sanctuary at Corella and a lunch cruise on the Loboc River. Bohol-Panglao airport (TAG) has flights from Manila, Cebu and Clark; OceanJet fast craft run from Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran in two hours for about PHP 800 to 1,000 or to Tubigon in 90 minutes. Alona for convenience, Doljo or Dumaluan for quiet.

9. Siquijor is a scooter island: a 72 km ring road links Cambugahay Falls, Salagdoong beach, the 400-year-old balete tree, Lazi’s coral-stone church and Paliton Beach for sunset, all in a day with a PHP 400 to 500 rental. Fast ferries from Dumaguete take about an hour (PHP 300 to 450); OceanJet also links it with Tagbilaran and Cebu. Fly into Dumaguete (DGT). Stay around San Juan for beaches, Larena or Siquijor town for the ports.

10. Camiguin, off northern Mindanao, fits seven volcanoes, the White Island sandbar, the Sunken Cemetery, Katibawasan Falls and Ardent hot springs into an island you can circle in two hours. Cebu Pacific flies Cebu to Camiguin; otherwise fly to Cagayan de Oro, bus two hours to Balingoan and take the 60 to 90 minute ro-ro to Benoni for roughly PHP 200 to 250. October’s Lanzones Festival is the busy week; February to May is driest.

11. Batanes looks like nowhere else in the country: rolling green headlands, stone-walled Ivatan houses in Chavayan on Sabtang, and boulder beaches pounded by the Pacific. Flights from Manila to Basco take about an hour and 50 minutes and often cost PHP 10,000 to 20,000 round trip; book early and keep a spare day, because fog and wind cancel flights. A provincial ecotourism fee of a few hundred pesos is collected on arrival. March to June is the best window; typhoon season July to October is a gamble. Homestays and small inns in Basco charge PHP 1,000 to 2,500.

12. Romblon is the quiet option between Mindoro and Boracay: Bonbon Beach’s sandbar, Tiamban Beach, marble workshops in Romblon town, and the serious Mount Guiting-Guiting climb on Sibuyan. Fly Manila to Tablas (TBH) in about an hour, or take the overnight ro-ro from Batangas port (around eight hours). Boats also connect Tablas and Carabao Island with Boracay. Rooms run PHP 800 to 2,000.

13. Puerto Galera, Mindoro is Manila’s weekend dive island. Bus two hours to Batangas port, then a 60 to 90 minute boat to Sabang (diving), White Beach (bars and families) or Muelle for about PHP 350 to 500 including terminal and environmental fees. The Verde Island Passage has some of the richest reefs in Asia. Go midweek; weekends and holidays sell out. Further down the coast, Sablayan is the jump-off for Apo Reef.

14. Samal is a 15 minute, PHP 10 to 20 ferry from Davao’s Sasa wharf, which makes it the easiest island day trip in Mindanao: Hagimit Falls, the Monfort bat cave with its millions of fruit bats, and snorkelling off Talikud. Samal has resorts at every price; most visitors sleep in Davao.

15. Caramoan, on Camarines Sur’s Pacific tip, has El Nido-style limestone islets without the crowds. Fly to Naga (an hour from Manila), van two hours to Sabang port and boat two hours to Guijalo, or drive the whole way in four to five hours. Island hopping costs PHP 1,500 to 2,500 per boat. March to May is the safe season; the Pacific is rough from November to January.

Most island transfers happen on a bangka, the wooden outrigger with bamboo arms, and most are fine in the calm season. Pick boats with enough life jackets for every seat, sit low and central, and keep electronics in a dry bag; spray is constant. Tour operators in El Nido, Coron and Siargao are licensed and their boats are checked, but a cheap private hire from the beach may not be. If a boatman wants to leave in a squall “before the weather closes”, say no.

Between larger islands you choose between 2GO and the big ro-ro ferries, which are slow (Manila to Cebu is about 22 hours) but stable, with bunks and a canteen, and fast craft such as OceanJet, Montenegro’s and Weesam’s catamarans, which are two to four times faster and bumpier. Fast craft stop sailing sooner in bad weather.

Weather is the real risk. When PAGASA raises a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal for a province, the Philippine Coast Guard suspends small boats first, then the big ferries, and sailings can stay cancelled for two or three days after the storm passes while the swell drops. In Habagat season (June to October) build a spare day before any flight you cannot miss. Never sail on an overloaded boat; refuse, wait for the next one and you will usually be joined by locals doing the same. Check the operator’s Facebook page the night before, because that is where cancellations are posted first.

Nearly every popular island charges a fee on arrival, in cash, so carry small notes. Boracay collects about PHP 500 per foreign visitor at Caticlan jetty (PHP 300 environmental fee, PHP 150 terminal fee and PHP 50 for the boat) and will not let you board without proof of a booking at a DOT-accredited hotel; since the 2018 closure and clean-up, the island has an official carrying capacity, so walk-ins with no booking are turned back. El Nido‘s Eco-Tourism Development Fee is PHP 400 for ten days, with a further PHP 200 each for the Big and Small Lagoons, both of which have daily visitor limits booked through your tour operator. Puerto Princesa‘s Underground River runs on a daily permit cap, usually sold out a day or two ahead in peak season. Siargao, Camiguin, Batanes and Puerto Galera levy their own smaller environmental or terminal fees, typically PHP 100 to 400. Keep every receipt: checkpoints at lagoons and beaches ask to see them. Fees change almost yearly, so check before you go.

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