Manila is the arrival. The islands are the trip.
Which El Nido boat actually reaches the Big Lagoon. What a canyoneering day at Kawasan costs. Whether Oslob is worth a pickup in the dark. Reviews of every tour you can book in the Philippines.
The four bookings a first Philippine trip is built around.
What each one costs, how long it takes, and what the travellers who went say about it.
01The lagoon dayIsland Hopping Tour A Lagoons and BeachesTour A out of El Nido: the Big and Small Lagoons, Shimizu, Seven Commandos. The day that sells the whole country.
02The early startWhale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls CanyoneeringWhale sharks off Oslob at first light, the canyon at Kawasan on the way back. Long, and the reason most people book Cebu.
03The one under the mountainUnderground River Full-Day TripA paddled boat a mile and a half into the river behind Sabang, headlamps on the cave roof. Permits are capped, so it goes in the diary first.
04The Bohol loopPremium Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers & River ExperienceChocolate Hills, tarsiers you have to whisper near, and lunch drifting down the Loboc, in one circuit out of Tagbilaran.
Manila lands you. Cebu, Bohol and Palawan are what you came for.
A walled city with the best street food in the country, a diving island with a canyon behind it, hills nobody can describe without pointing, two lagoon towns in Palawan and the strip of sand everyone means when they say Boracay. Six places to start, and the best day out in each.
In the Philippines the day starts when the bangka does.
Three kinds of boat day, what a seat on each one costs, and which island it leaves from.
Cebu: whale sharks before dawn, a canyon by lunch.
Everything in Cebu →
Most of the big Philippine day trips leave from here. Vans go south in the dark for Oslob, west for the canyon above Badian, and across to Moalboal where the sardines move like weather. These three carry more travellers than anything else on the island.
Oslob, and the drive in the dark
Fishermen off Oslob hand-feed krill from paddled boats, thirty metres out, and the whale sharks stay for it. Slots are half an hour, no sunscreen and no touching, and the queue forms while it is still black outside.
Canyoneering down to Kawasan
You walk upstream above Badian, then come back down through the canyon by jumping: a run of leaps, cold swims and one river-worn slide, finishing under the turquoise tiers at Kawasan. After heavy rain the guides close it.
Moalboal, straight off the beach
The bait ball sits in about six metres of water a short swim from Panagsama shore, and it holds there most of the year. Turtles feed on the seagrass on the way out. This is the one you can do on an afternoon with no plan.
The most-booked days out in the Philippines.
Every Philippine tour we have reviewed →These are the days the whole country funnels into. What each one is, what it costs, and who it actually suits.
1
Island Hopping Tour A Lagoons and Beaches
Spend eight hours around Bacuit Bay on a shared or private boat, visiting the Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Shimizu Island, Seven Commandos Beach, and a snorkeling site. Guides such as Buddy, Dexter, John, and Mark are praised for helping with photos, kayaking, and safety. Extra fees apply for the environmental fee, kayak, and Big Lagoon entry.
From · $23
Read our review →
2
Underground River Full-Day Trip
from $48
3
Premium Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers & River Experience
from $43
4
Coron Ultimate Tour: 7 Destinations with Lunch & Transfers
from $46
5
Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls Canyoneering
from $124
6
Private Boat Hire with Guided Tour and Lunch on Beach
7
El Nido Island Hopping Tour C: Hidden Beaches & Shrine
from $29
8
Island and Beach-Hopping Boat Tour with Snorkeling
from $20
Palawan is three towns with a lot of water between them.
El Nido has the lagoons, Coron the lakes and the wrecks, Puerto Princesa the river running under the mountain. Nothing between them is quick. Pick two, give each three days, and have the boats booked before you land.
Every Palawan day out →
In the Philippines the reef starts about four metres from the sand.
A million sardines turning as one body off Moalboal, turtles grazing the seagrass at Balicasag, Japanese wrecks lying in clear water off Coron. Most of it needs a mask and a boatman, not a licence.
Bohol keeps its hills, its tarsiers and its river lunch on one loop.
The countryside tour is a single road: the viewpoint over the Chocolate Hills, the sanctuary where the guides make you whisper, the man-made mahogany forest, and lunch on a raft pushed slowly up the Loboc. Do it in a day from Tagbilaran, or come over from Cebu on the fast ferry.
- 1Premium Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers & River Experiencefrom $43
- 2Boat Tour to Sandbar and Snorkeling with Turtlesfrom $51
- 3Dolphin Watching & Sea Turtle Swim Island Tourfrom $49
Whale sharks at dawn, a canyon at noon, sardines by the million.
Cebu and Bohol sell the days people fly in for. Take the whale shark boat at first light, the canyon before the afternoon rain, and the sardine ball while the water is still flat.
Three days that happen nowhere but the Philippines.
Beaches and reefs run the length of the tropics. A hand-fed whale shark at dawn, a canyon you descend by jumping, and a navigable river inside a mountain do not.
Swimming with Whale Sharks
Fishermen off Oslob began hand-feeding krill decades ago and the whale sharks never left, so the encounter happens thirty metres from the beach in paddled boats rather than out at sea. The rules are strict and enforced: no sunscreen, no touching, four metres of distance, half an hour in the water. The interaction runs from about six in the morning until midday, which is why the vans leave Cebu City in the dark.
- 1Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls Canyoneering★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 665 reviews
- 2Oslob Whale Sharks, Tumalog Falls & Sardine Snorkeling★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 343 reviews
- 3Whale Shark Swim and Kawasan Canyoneering Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 318 reviews
Canyoneering to Kawasan Falls
The route starts inland above Badian and comes back down the canyon the only way there is: jumping. A dozen or so leaps between about three and twelve metres, cold swims between them, one long slide the river has worn smooth, then the turquoise tiers at Kawasan itself. Guides read the water level before every jump and shut the whole canyon after heavy rain, so the dry-season mornings are the ones that run.
- 1Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls Canyoneering★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 665 reviews
- 2Canyoneering Experience in Kawasan Falls with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 440 reviews
- 3Whale Shark Swim and Kawasan Canyoneering Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 318 reviews
The Puerto Princesa Underground River
Behind the beach at Sabang a navigable river runs more than eight kilometres into the karst. Paddled boats go about a mile and a half in, headlamps sweeping the cave roof, bats overhead and everyone told to keep their voices down. Daily numbers are capped by permit, which is why this is booked days before you reach Palawan rather than the morning of.
- 1Underground River Full-Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 1,460 reviews
- 2Underground River Day Trip from Puerto Princesa City★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 261 reviews
- 3Underground River Guided Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 167 reviews
What a day out in the Philippines actually costs.
Every tour on the site, sorted by price. The boat people remember longest is rarely the expensive one.
Island hopping out of El Nido, the Intramuros walk, the sardine run and most half-days.
Whale sharks and canyoneering back to back, the Bohol countryside loop, the Underground River with transfers.
Private bangkas, the multi-day crossing from El Nido to Coron, and the long combination days out of Cebu.
The Philippine bookings that will not wait.
Most of this country can be arranged the night before over a beer. These run on permits, tides, alert levels and boats that leave in the dark, none of which care when your flight lands.
- 01Underground River Full-Day TripDaily visitor numbers are capped by permit. In the dry season the quota is gone days ahead and there is no turning up on spec.
- 02Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls CanyoneeringThe boats only paddle out in the early morning and each slot is half an hour. Arrive at noon and there is nothing left to join.
- 03Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls CanyoneeringHeavy rain closes the canyon with no notice, so the reliable mornings are in the dry months and they fill first.
- 04Spectacular Manila to Tagaytay: Full-Day Sightseeing TourThe lake and the crater open and close with the volcano alert level, and the good half-day slots out of Manila go early.
When the habagat blows and the bangkas stay tied up.
From June to November the southwest monsoon sits over the country and the coastguard grounds the small boats at short notice. The rain itself is usually an afternoon event, heavy and finished inside the hour. Take the water early in the day and keep the walled city, the market kitchens and the countryside drives for when it comes down.
By island and city
By kind of day — boat, reef, waterfall or walled city
Manila, Cebu, Bohol, then whichever island the cheap flight reaches.
The Philippine tours we wrote up most recently.
The rest of the new arrivals →
Tri island tour: Naked Island, Daku Island and Guyman Island
Read our review →
Twin Treasures: Discovering Dumaguete and Valencia
Read our review →
Full-Day Historical Heritage Guided Tour of Tacloban and Palo
Read our review →
Kalanggaman Island Day Tour Package from Cebu City or Mactan
Read our review →
Kawasan Falls and Mantayupan Falls in One Day from Cebu
Read our review →
Kawasan Canyoneering Adventure Package from Cebu
Read our review →
Famous Bohol Chocolate Hills Loboc River Cruise Tarsier Tour
Read our review →