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Must Do and See in the Philippines

23 items

PERRY'S WORLD

The Philippines is a great place for a vacation. I have been there, rented a car, drove around to really experience the country and its people. What I love about it besides the beautiful spots is it is English friendly. Unlike other places, most ever...

Sections

Must Do in Cebu

Waterfalls

Must Do in Cagayan De Oro (aka CDO)

Bukidnon

Siargao Island: The Philippine Surfing Capital

The Epic El Nido Adventure

Must Do in Cebu

The items listed are best to experience if you rent a car and visit them. Cebu is an island with an international airport to fly into. The airport in located in Cebu city and renting a car is not difficult. The city is a huge cosmopolitan place with ...

Car rentals average around $40\day for a compact car. Gas in the Philippines is around 50 peso per liter, so $3-4 a gallon. You may need to take a taxi to the rental site. The phone # is the local number.

Avis Car Rental

This is on everyone's list when visiting Cebu. The event is in the town of Oslob about 2 hrs from Cebu city. It is usually packed with tourists. Parking is limited. Cost for foreigners is much more than for Filipinos. Once signed in, you wait your tu...

Oslob Whale Shark Watching

Since Kawasan Falls is 30 min. from Moalboal, after the falls, another VERY cool event is snorkeling or scuba diving. Moalboal is well known for either and many foreigners go there for it. Finding a place to stay should not be an issue since it is a ...

Snorkeling in Moalboal - Where to Swim with Giant Turtles ...

Osmena Peak is over 1000m high, the tallest on Cebu Island. It is located in the back country of the island. Access to where the hike path begins is a bit tricky. From Cebu city drive to Mantalongon (3hrs), once there ask for directions to it. The en... You can do this on your way to Oslob or after you leave Moalboal.

Osmena Peak - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go ...

If you didn't already have much to do on Cebu Island, there are the beaches, some equal to Boracay, the hotspot for tourists. My favorite is Lambug Beach in Badian. This beach is in a more remote but accessible area near Kawasan Falls and Moalboal. I...

Best Beaches in Cebu Philippines

Perhaps one of the most awesome malls in the country is the SM Seaside City mall. It dwarfs all others and makes most malls in the USA tiny. This mall is massive in size and filled with so many local and international retailors, hardware, electronics...

THE BEST Cebu City Shopping Malls (Updated 2024)

Waterfalls

Cebu island has three great waterfalls that are easily accessible. It is best to rent a car for this as you must drive from the city. Plan to spend at least one night away from the city to get to them. The waterfalls are: Tumalog (about 30 min. from Oslob and whale sharks), Kawasan (on the other side of the island near Moalboal), and Aguinid (which is at the southern tip of Cebu Island and on the way to Kawasan). There are others BUT not easy to ge...

Visit all three, take your time, spend at least 1 hr. at each to enjoy them. They are not usually crowded. The photo with the man is Kawasan Falls, go early to avoid crowds. At Aguinid Falls, you can climb up to eight levels.

Must See Waterfalls

The first three hotels are near Oslob, the others in Cebu city area.

Best Hotels in Cebu, Philippines

Must Do in Cagayan De Oro (aka CDO)

CDO is a city of 700,000 or so, located in Northern Mindanao Island. It offers a lot of outdoor things to do like white water rafting, great ziplines, a few great waterfalls, and in the Bukidnon area, stunning New Zealand-like mountains and ridges fo...

Second to Cebu, I would say CDO area offers even more in outdoor activities. The only thing Cebu has that CDO does not are whale sharks. CDO offers 2-3 outdoor adventure parks, the largest water park in the country, several waterfalls that are stunni... Standout waterfalls are Tinago, Maria Christie (in Illigan), Mindumora, Sinulom. Hiking Panimahawa Ridge in Impasug is unforgettable. Dahilyan and Mapawa Adventure parks are a must for ziplines and other cool rides.

Cagayan de Oro - Philippine Gems - PwC

Not many places in the world have a beach with red sand! Totally strange and if you are in the Illigan Bay area, Sipaka, which is a tiny island just off the coast, has this red sand beach. It is about 1.5 hours from Cagayan de Oro.

Sipaka

So, just a mere 35 km from Cagayan De oro, along the coastal road is Calamcam white sand beach in Talisayan. Very easy to find as there is a large sign along the road. You can get there by car and there is the San Isidro resort there also. The beach ...

Calamcam White Beach

Bukidnon

Home to that New Zealand-like look with its mountains!

While in CDO, you must spend one day to go to Impasugong in this area. Specifically, the big attraction is the majestic New Zealand like mountains found at Communal Ranch (the 1st-3rd photos shown) for priceless pics. For even more adventure and camp...

About Bukidnon Area

The Paiyak Cave is a huge, cavernous cave that also has a small waterway. Despite the short hike to the entrance, if you like this sort of thing, it is a must do. The cave is located in Tandagui-Pangantucan area. If you are in that area of Bukidnon, ...

Mt. Palaopao - Paiyak Cave Loop - AllTrails

Like Paiyak, this too, is in Bukidnon region and is equally stunning to visit in Manolo Fortich area. I think it is the better choice because it is more tourist friendly and some of the stalagmites are incredible! To get tthere from CDO, take AH26 ro...

Sumalsag Cave

Siargao Island: The Philippine Surfing Capital

Not to be confused with Surigao (a city), this is the rising star that rivals, if not better, than Boracay and El Nido tourist destinations! Seriously, it is where one goes to surf and learn it. Unlike the crazy tourist destinations that crowd Boraca...

Discover this gem before it becomes the next Boracay or El Nido! If you have been to either, you know about the crowds. Not only does it offer plenty to do but the standout thing is its surfing!! There is nowhere else in the Philippines. The waves ar...

Siargao Island 2024: All You Need to Go Before You Go

The Epic El Nido Adventure

There are two adventures regarding El Nido: Getting there and then island hopping. The town, El Nido, is small, located at the very end of Palawan Island. From Manila, you can fly two ways- fly to Puerto Princessa (the main city in the middle of the ...

Travel magazines always nominate EL Nido, Nacpan Beach, island hopping, in the Top 5 places in the world to see. There is good reason as photos tell. It resembles some coastal waters of Vietnam. There is little to complain about except for the crowd...

El Nido, Philippines 2024: All You Need to Know Before ...

The Coolest Place is Baguio

It is a fact that this city sits at 4800 feet elevation in the mountains. Because of this, temperatures are much lower most of the time that resemble north and central Florida in Dec-Mar. It is located in northern Luzon north of Manila. The city has ...

Most everyone visits this area in the summer to escape the heat. Because it is cooler, you can actually find camping sites and where pine trees replace palm trees! Tree Top Adventure provides a day full of exercise and hiking and Dinosaur Island with...

Things to Do in Baguio - 2024

The Boracay Experience

Boracay is a small island hotspot that millions of tourists visit each year. It is always one of the top destinations to go to in the Philippines. It offers all of the same experiences that El Nido and Siargao island have. Compared to El Nido, it is ...

If I had to choose between El Nido and Boracay as a “go to” destination, I would pick Boracay, despite it being more costly for most everything. It's just easier to get there but once there you do have to deal with a lot of tourists and crowds. It al...

Boracay

Must See Volcanos

Did you know there are 300 volcanos in the Philippines and 25 are still active. That said, there are really only a few stand out ones you must get close to, if you can, by hiking. Some are easier than others to reach and some have no trail to the cra...

Even from the nearest town, Mayon, towers above it all like a massive pyramid. It is about 2500 ft tall and there are special tours to get up and personal using ATV vehicles. At some point, you will need to hike further to see the crater. But, really...

Mayon Volcano | Luzon

This is my choice. This volcano is 4800 ft. high and like others, there are tours that combine a off road vehicle and hike in. But as you can see, the crater is now a lake and from the viewing area it is stunning. Almost the perfect place for a Sci-f...

Mount Pinatubo | Zambales

This volcano is about 1000 ft and remains active today, in fact, hiking to the area is now prohibited but like Mayon, you can get close for photos when you are in Tagaytag on Luzon island.

Mount Taal Tagaytag

Sinulom, Ubol Falls, White Water Rafting

Create your perfect day trip that is not far from the city! You can visit two waterfalls, relax at Bolao Cold Springs the first half of your day, then, blast with some white water rafting over rapids! By the end of the day, you will be ready for a HU...

There are four must do attractions not far from the city off the CDO-Airport Road. It makes a GREAT day trip because you can get to all of them (well, not if you do white water rafting which is 4 hrs.) You could do them all depending how long you sta...

Sinulom+Ubol Falls+White Water Rafting

Scuba Diving and Snor

What are the best places to see sea turtles, whale sharks, tropical fish, coral reefs? Since the Philippines has been chosen as one of the Top Three spots in the world by diving and snorkeling media, keep reading!

I love to snorkel and do it often in the Florida Keys at Alligator Reef near Islamorada but the Philippines is MUCH better. There are many good places to do this, whether scuba diving or snorkeling. The island of Cebu offers the Moalboal area at Pesc...

Best Diving in the Philippines