Disclaimer: All views expressed on this blog are my own based on my own experiences and do not represent of any entity with which I have been, are now or will be affiliated

November 16, 2022
Pasay, Philippines

Date of Trip: November 08-11

Boracay, an island in the Western Visayas, is without a doubt my favorite destination in the Philippines. It offers a beautiful sunset and a long stretch of pristine white sand. For me, November in Boracay is still the height of summer.

Boracay is one of my favorite places in the world, so when my coworkers proposed we take a trip there, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes.” I’ve now visited Boracay three times. For the second time, I wrote a blog post that lacked necessary detail here. Boracay is divided into 3 stations which has different restaurants and hotels to choose from.

At the time of writing this, I was sick with a cold since I didn’t get enough rest after spending too much time on the beach and traveling around Visayas and Mindanao.

Budget – Php17,000 for 4 days and 3 nights.

Flight cost – Cebu Pacific flight cost PHP2,774.75

MNL-MPH	5J 919
8 Nov 2022	DEPARTURE
6:15am	Manila – Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3
8 Nov 2022	ARRIVAL
7:25am	Boracay (Caticlan) – Godofredo P. Ramos Airport
MPH-MNL	5J 908
11 Nov 2022	DEPARTURE
8:50am	Boracay (Caticlan) – Godofredo P. Ramos Airport
11 Nov 2022	ARRIVAL
10:00am	Manila – Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3

Hotel Accommodation – We booked in Hennan Park, a four-star hotel. We reserved a four-person family room. It contains four separate double beds and one bathroom. I liked how it was a classy and spacious hotel. For four days and three nights, the rate is PHP 24,018. We each paid Php6,004.5. Check-in is at 3:00pm, and check-out is at 12:00nn. We waited at the hotel restaurant for three hours on our first day because we arrived early, about 10:30 a.m. We were able to check in around 2:00pm, one hour sooner, because the room was already open, but it’s best to schedule your flight later so you don’t have to wait for your check in time, especially because the weather was so hot on this particular day.

Tour/Transportation:

Southwest Tours – At the Caticlan airport, we made arrangements with a company that provided round-trip transportation to and from Hennan Park, including the cost of the ferry, for Php1,350 per person. To not having to worry about transportation is a huge plus.

For the paraw and land tours, we only reached out to people outside the hotel who’s waiting and offering land and island packages. I suggest to do this as well as it’s cheaper and you can haggle with guides.

Food Budget – Php5,000

Language

People can speak Tagalog, English and the dialect is Bisaya. Although people speak Bisaya, most people speak English and Tagalog due to it being a tourist spot. Some even speak Hangul (Korean language). A lot of Korean tourists come to Boracay these days since they already have direct flight to Boracay.

Weather

Like the rest of the Philippines, Boracay has two seasons – rainy (May-Oct) and dry (Nov-Apr). It was dry when we arrived so it’s better for beach fun!

Who can travel to Boracay

Boracay is accepting leisure travelers provided that they follow the standard health protocol. No medical certificates, S-pass, RT-PCR test or vaccination card to be presented to some establishments or checkpoints. But I suggest to always bring your vaccination card and for your protection, have yourself vaccinated.

Day01 – November 08
Caticlan Boracay

7:20am – Arrival in Caticlan airport.
7:30am – booked Southwest agency for van and ferry transport, they helped us with all the transportation arrangements.
8:30am – arrived in Boracay! Woohooo Left our baggage at Hennan Park, check in time is still at 3:00pm, Hennan Park is located at Station 2 just near beach front.

9:00am – Breakfast in Sunny Side Cafe

Sunny Side Cafe – Beachfront location beside Boracay Station 3 serving modern breakfast. I got a Sugar Toast Iced Latte for Php250, which was excellent and creamy. I also got the Sunny Side Café Roesti with crumbled Chorizo from the menu. For Php450, it came with poached eggs and sour cream on a fried potato fritter. I believe this recipe was influenced by rosti, a Swedish dish made primarily of sautéed or shallow-fried potatoes in a skillet. I didn’t like this dish; I was willing to give it a shot, but it was greasy and overcooked. I wasn’t a fan of having too many potatoes on my meal haha! I had no idea it was a giant potato fritter, akin to McDonald’s hash browns. This is not my favorite restaurant on the island of Boracay.

10:30am – Went back to the hotel and waited until 2:00pm for us to check in
11:00am-3:30pm – Rested and worked a little bit
4:00pm – Late lunch at Spicebird.

Spicebird is a BBQ restaurant in Boracay’s D’Mall Plaza. They serve a range of piri-piri dishes such as pork, shrimp, and chicken. They utilize Piri-Piri Sauce to add a unique flavor to new recipes. I ordered the Grilled Piri-piri chicken quarter for Php390, which was a little pricey for the quality.

The African Bird’s Eye Chillies, also known as PERi-PERi, grew and matured in the soil of Southern Africa, particularly in Mozambique. They were Portugal’s former Southern African possessions, and from these chilies, the Portuguese created a sauce that spread across continents but began in Mozambique.

I had better peri-peri experience in Singapore especially Nando’s who really made a delectable grilled peri-peri chicken, one of the best and also Spicebird dishes was overpriced for the taste.

5:00pm – 6:30pm Swam in the beach and did paraw sailing

Paraw Sailing, We booked paraw sailing with whoever gave us the best deal near the beach. There will be guides on the beaches who will provide paraw packages. We simply paid Php2,000 for a private sailing for 30 minutes that can fit four persons. I feared we couldn’t do this activity because it started raining at 4:00pm, however it stopped exactly in time for the sunset.

Paraw are boats that use two outriggers and two sails that only use wind for it’s direction. It was a serene experience watching how the sun sets and produced different ray of colors that spread across the sky. It was also this time that the blood moon was visible. I enjoyed the breeze while slowly sailing in the ocean, it was the best and one hell of a sight to behold!

6:00pm – 10:00pm -Our search for the Los Indios in Station 1 was fruitless, so we stopped for a bite at Jonah’s Fruit Shake and bite Bar, which serves a popular fruit drink on the island. There’s a wide selection of flavors, and the pricing is right. Like a light and healthy smoothie, I found their shakes to be really refreshing. I was able to have a mango banana shake for only Php125.

Right after we walked and went to Two Brown Boys is a pub located in Station 2. We drank a few cocktails during happy hour, so the alcohol is buy one, get one free. I drank a mojito. I did not enjoy it and would not recommend it, although they most likely have better cocktails. Nonetheless, I liked the location because it was cozy and had less noise.

Day02 – November 09

6:00am – woke up for buffet breakfast at Hennan. Loved the buffet breakfast in Hennan! It’s a complimentary breakfast that they offer. It has variety of breakfast dishes to choose from – Filipino to American.
9:00am – We booked our land tour in an e-trike just outside the hotel for only Php1,500 for 2 hours for 4 persons. I recommend to just book on the spot and haggle the price.

Bulabog Beach is 2.5km long water sports beach of Boracay and located on the east side of the island. From November to April, it is the kite boarding and windsurfing heart of Boracay. From May to October it is the water sports center of Boracay. They also have a coconut spot where you can take photo but there was a long queue so we decided to skip this, the next time I come back to Boracay, I’ll do kite surfing. We only spent 15 minutes here.

Diniwid Beach is a tranquil destination just a few minutes away from Bulabog Beach. It has peaceful atmosphere with less people and no loud activities. If you wish a more tranquil destination than usual Boracay beach, this one’s for you. There was a picturesque view in this beach with coconut. We took some pictures and left after 15 minutes.

Boracay Newcoast and Keyhole

Boracay Newcoast is a 150-acre property development in Barangay Yapak on the Boracay Island’s northern tip. It is actually inspired from beach destinations like Miami Beach. It has condominium clusters, residences, hotels and commercial spaces with ocean views and exclusive access in the beachfront. At the southern end of the Newcoast property sits Keyhole. It features a large opening on a large rock formation that tapers toward the sea.

Puka Beach

Puka Beach, also known as Yapak Beach, is less touristy and has a peaceful atmosphere, it took us 15 minutes going here from Newcoast and the end of our land tour. It was once famous for its shiny puka shells. The sand is creamy and the water is also clear, I still prefer Boracay beaches. I have been here twice and this time it was really windy and wavy at almost lunch time. The waves washed me back to the shore when I swam, it was really strong waves that my bikini had a lot of sand when I went back to the hotel.

1:00pm – We went back to hotel and freshen up, I had a lot of sand right after Puka beach but it was really fun!
2:00pm – We ate at a small eatery Jasper’s Tapsilog And Restaurant near Henna. I actually did not like the food, my barbecue was bland and I couldn’t chew it since it was really hard, it tasted like frozen food. The service was also bad, they offered cheaper food than others but will never go back to this eatery
5:00pm – We drank beer in Golden Ocean and watched the sunset. There was nothing special in the restaurant and most of the food in their menu were expensive. Our total bill is Php600 for 4 persons
6:00pm – Dinner at Tres Amigos – an alfresco Filipino-Mexican Restaurant located in D’Mall. However, we opted to order Filipino dishes haha! We ordered pork sinigang and bangus sisig. I liked the taste but not the best tasting sinigang I ever tasted. It cost Php1372 for 4 persons

7:00pm – Dessert at Aria, creamy and flavorful gelato store just beside Tres Amigos . It cost Php150 for 2 flavors of gelato
8:00pm – We came back to hotel and drink wine that we just bought in grocery store.

Day03 November 10

7:00am – We were supposed to do a sunrise paraw but was cancelled in last night. We just ate breakfast at Hennan Park instead.
11:00am We decided to have snack in Lemoni Cafe – a quaint alfresco cafe along D’Mall with inviting interior that serves fresh healthy gourmet cuisine refreshing beverages, desserts and cakes. I ordered papaya orange shake Php150 and cake flavored mango madness Php180 – it was creamy, flakey and flavorful. I loved all the things I ordered!

12:00pm – We swam in the beach.
2:00pm – We ate late lunch at Mang Inasal – a fast food chain in the Philippines which offers grilled chicken and unlimited rice. I ordered grilled chicken with unlimited rice and drink that cost Php195. I actually loved this fast food, a sister fast food chain of Jollibee, it felt like we were back in Manila haha because it’s everywhere in Manila.
4:00pm – We drank at Ole because of happy hour. I just drank beer here located in D’Mall.
5:00pm – We tried the buy 1 take 1 mojito in Hungry Monkey. It’s also located in D’Mall and offers burgers and other grilled snacks. I loved my watermelon mojito, it was really refreshing.
6:00pm – We went back to hotel and freshen up
7:20pm – We headed to Hennan Crystal Sands for Seafood Buffet from 5:30pm-9:00pm. They had variety of seafood dishes to choose from – oysters to sashimi. I loved everything as it was fresh and flavorful, we also had unlimited drinks – soda, red/white wine, and iced teas. It is a value for money, it only cost Php1370 I was too full!

Day4 November 11

5:00am – Southwest tours arrived 3 hours prior our flight to pick us up at Hennan. It was smooth as they already arranged everything for us.
6:00am – We arrived at Caticlan airport, the departure airport is on the other side of the arrival.
6:30am – Had breakfast at Starbucks inside the domestic airport
8:20am – Departure flight
10:00am – Arrived back home in Manila

I really loved travelling with people around me, I learned a lot of things and it’s shared experience with colleagues. I already felt closer and more open to them. I will arrange another trip with them next year.

Upon writing this, I heard from news and friends from Singapore that there were massive layoffs happening across tech companies. We were on hiring freeze when this trip happened. Yet, we still managed to enjoy . Being around warm and positive people make me love my life and my work even better. I really hope that our team will not be affected by this. Until then, I’d have positive mindset, travel and save! 🙂

Love,
Maria, sometimes, Niskie