I've spent about the past two years being fairly nomadic traveling through Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and a bunch of other countries in Southeast Asia, of which I must say that the Philippines is my number one choice for travel adventure. There is no better place. From the people to the landscapes, it has everything you're looking for. 

Cambodia

Boracay

Cebu City

Manila

Philippines

Thailand

Indonesia

Philippines 101

This is going to be your own unique adventure. The kind of adventure that you can't really find in Thailand or Cambodia. What I love about the Philippines is that you can immerse yourself in a culture surrounded by people you can trust, with smiling faces that speak English, that will help you out. Your car could break down in the middle of nowhere, and they will rush out there to help you fix it. They'll make sure you have food on the table. That's the kind of people you have around you as you travel to the Philippines. It gives you the confidence to know that you can just take a scooter drive wherever you want to go and experience the country. 

The Philippines is comprised of 7100 islands. You could explore any one of them and have a unique experience that almost nobody else has had before. 

The Philippines, for the most part, is an English-speaking country. Almost everyone there will speak will speak basic English. Whether they're poor or rich, they will be able to communicate with you enough to hang out with you. And that's why you really draw near to the people. They also have incredible smiles and hearts of gold. 

The reason they speak English is, in the late 1500's, the Spanish colonized the Philippines. This is why you'll see Spanish influence when you visit. Even their currency is called the Peso. The moment I landed in the Philippines, I felt like I was in Mexico.

They were also occupied by Japan after WW2, and then the Americans colonized the islands. This is why a lot of the country has a very western feel, with all the fast food & English speaking. It definitely makes it an easy place to travel if you're an English-speaking-Westerner.

They do speak their own language. Most of the population speaks a dialect called Tagalog. But as I said, you'll be able ot speak English with everyone.

The Filipino people love basketball, karaoke, and they love to hang out with Westerners.

One of the wildest nights of my entire travels was a night where Laura & I were taking a bus, and we met a group of Filipinos. At first they were singing behind us, two seats back. They were singing Taylor Swift, and I was exhuasted. I had slept 3 hours the night before, and I just wanted to get to my destination, so I was a little bit irritated.

After hearing the group laughing and singing for an hour straight, I couldn't help but introduce myself. The next thing I know, Laura and I had abandoned our plans. We actually joined them on an overnight trip to an island where we ended up singing karaoke with them the entire night.

The reason I'm telling this story, is because it defines the experience of being in the Philippines. If you open yourself up to the locals, they will open themselves up to you, even more. They are the kindest people, and you will have an amazing time with them, and so many unique adventures.

Compared to everything else the Philippines offers, the food is probably on the lower end. I wouldn't say the food is bad, but it's certainly not the shining star compared to other Southeast Asian cuisines. Thailand takes the spot for best food, but you can still find good food in the Philippines. 

This is the meal that you'll eat the most. It's chicken and rice. It's a very typical meal in the Philippines, and can be found anywhere form high-end restaurants, to street corner restaurants.

This is typically going to be rice with roasted pork. They love pork in the Philippines, and I've had some amazing pork there.

They have a ton of fast food in the Philippines. Anywhere you go that is rather touristy or developed, you'll see McDonald's, and you'll also see Jollibee. Jollibee is kind of like the McDonald's of the Philippines.

Everywhere you go you'll see fried chicken, rice, and pork.

When you're trying to find a place to eat, I recommend always eaying where the locals eat or where you see lots of foot traffic coming through. This will mean two things; a, the locals are eating there because the food is good, and b, if lots of people are coming through, the food is not sitting on a shelf for three hours at a time before making it to your plate. The more people coming through, the fresher the food will be, and the less chance you'll get sick.

I also want to add that I have never gotten sick from food in the Philippines, so don't be afraid to eat at local places or street corner restaurants. They can be absolutely fantastic. They're cheap, and the food is good. If you see lots of locals there, then you can probably eat there with no concern.

Unlike Thailand, where if you're going solo, you can meet someone anywhere within 10 minutes, it's not as easy to meet people to travel with in the Philippines. You can still 100% meet people at hostels and on different islands, but the big difference between here and Thailand, is that there are a lot of sleeper islands. Unless you find someone early on in your trip, who is willing to do the entirety of the country with you, then there will be certain places and nights where you might just have to eat dinner and enjoy sunset on your own because there aren't any hostels or good bars to go to in the area.

If you're cool with traveling alone from time to time, the Philippines will be a great place for you. But if you want to be with someone at all times, I do recommend finding a travel buddy. If you're planning on going to the Philippines, and finding that travel buddy there, try to do so in the bigger cities like Cebu City.

The nightlife in the Philippines is decent. You can find certain areas to party in, like Boracay, Cebu City,  or Manila. However, for the most part, you're probably not coming here to party. If you wanted that, you would go to Thailand.

What the Philippines can offer you that no other country in Southeast Asia can, are those unique and raw travel adventures...those unforgettable moments of being on an isolated island, with blue water surrounding you, and the most friendly people hanging out with you surrounded by the most amazing landscapes.

That's just what the Philippines is about for me.

I'm speaking from experience here, because I've been burned before. I used my debit card on a compromised machine in Thailand, and they managed to get all my information. Over about a period of 2 weeks, the maximum amount was taken out of my account until I literally had no money left, because I hadn't been checking my bank account. So here are my tips:

You don't necessarily need to have the money separated between them, though that wouldn't be a bad idea. But at least have the second account so that your parents, or a trusted other can put money into it while you're in limbo, if something were to go wrong, like it did with me. 

Luckily for me, my Canadian bank did reimburse me for the stolen amount, but since I had that second account set up, my parents were able to transfer me money in the meantime while I was waiting for my bank to figure it out. So I ended up being okay, but if I hadn't had that second account, I don't know what I would've done during that period of time when I had zero money in my account.

This way, every time money is withdrawn from your account, you'll get a little reminder or email. That way, if someone is taking money out of your account, you'll be notified early on, before they've been able to empty it completely.

I recommend Visa or MasterCard. Don't even bother bringing Amex. There are only a fraction of businesses that will accept it, and they're generally the very high-end places. 

It's a good idea to look into your home bank policies for withdarwals. For me, when I take money out of an ATM, I pay $5 to the ATM and $5 to my home branch for the transaction fee. So I end up paying $10 whether I'm taking out $20 or $300, which is a lot of money. 

Some banks will actually have international policies where you won't have to pay the transaction fees on ATM withdrawals. It's worth asking your bank, if that's important to you. You might be able to save a little bit on that.

You're going to want to aim to have a set of clothing that can last you an entire week without doing laundry. I suggest;

- 1-2 bathing suits - the second one is great for when the first one is drying.

- 2 pairs of shoes - one for when it's muddy & dirty, and the other for daily use.

- Sunblock - you're going to want to bring this from home because the the sunblock they sell in the Philippines has bleaching agent in it. You can buy normal sunblock, but you're going to pay a lot more for it. So bring it from home.

- A long sleeve shirt, or a sweatshirt - this is for your travel days. Flights and buses tend to pump the AC, so it can get cold quick. It'll be nice to have an extra layer. 

- (Optional) Jeans - this will be good for the AC travel days, or if you go to Manila and plan on having a couple of nights out in a proper club or a fancy restaurant. You'll want something that covers your legs.

- Medical supplies - I hardly ever do this, but it's great to have some Advil or Tylenol if you get a bad headache. I also carry decongestants with me to help after scuba diving, or flying in case I'm having trouble equalizing. It's also helpful to have some gauze or bandages in case you get some bad cuts. It's good to be prepared.

- (Optional) sleeping bag - If you're planning on traveling more long term through all of Southeast Asia, or you're a budget backpacker, look into bringing one. It's a big more to carry, but there are some pretty compact sleeping bags. When I was a backpacker, it saved me a couple of times. One night in the Philippines, all of the hostels & hotels in my budget were sold out. Luckily a hostel owner let us sleep on the floor of their lobby, so we were glad we had the sleeping bag for that. They're also great if your flights are late (which happens a lot in the Philippines). That way you can sleep on the floor of the airport.

For the most part, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you're in the mindset that something could happen at any moment, and you're always vigilant, that's when nothing will happen to you.

I think the reason I've never been pickpocketed or gotten into trouble is because I'm always aware of my surroundings. I'm aware of what alleys I shouldnt go down, or what situations could put me at risk. I don't want you to be paranoid because it'll ruin your trip. You don't need to be paranoid, you just need to be smart. Just like you would be if you were traveling through Paris, or Istanbul, or anywhere else in the world. There are always going to be people trying to profit off of the ignorant or aloof. So don't be that person. Don't be an easy target.

If something is going to go wrong in the Philippines, it's probably going to be a pickpocket incident. To avoid that, don't put your wallet in your back pocket. Generally, in crowded places, I'll have my wallet in my front pocket or in a backpack. 

If you have a purse, try to carry it in a secure way, not just dangling over your shoulder. There's a thing called motorbike thieves. They'll have one guy driving and another guy on the back who will snatch it as they drive past you. Purses are easy targets for that. Sometimes they'll even have knives to cut the strap off and take it, which could turn into a dangerous situation.

Again, I don't want to make you paranoid or stressed, because you should not be concerned. Just be smart and you won't have anything to worry about. Just do what you can to make sure that you're not an easy target.

Another option to secure money and your passport is to use a money belt. It's basically a very low profile fanny pack with a slim design to fit under your shirt. I think they're fairly comfortable, you probably wouldn't notice if someone was wearing one. I've never used one, but it's an option.

Things like this are more likely to happen in places like Manila or Cebu City. Any place that's more congested is going to be more prone to pickpocket incidents. Once you get outside of those areas, like in the islands, that stuff rarely happens.

I recommend bringing one, especially if you're going to be staying in hostels. It's a good way to lock up your valuables.

I recommend using Uber when you have the option, especially in Manila or Cebu City. Some of the outskirt areas probably won't have it, but the bigger cities do.

Preferably one that's outdated, expired, or not being used. It could be a student ID. If you're renting a scooter, they sometimes want ID's as collateral. It's good to give them one that you could walk away from and not have to worry about. 

In the Philippines, from my experience, scams are almost non-existant. They're common day occurences in Vietnam & Cambodia, where people are trying to nickel and dime you, or overcharge you for things. But I haven't had it happen to me in the Philippines. It's one of the things that made me love this country. I felt so safe and at peace. You will meet the kindest people.

Generally, from what I've heard, Hostelworld is the best option for finding hostels. It's what most backpackers use. I've used it a couple of times. You can book anywhere from Manila, to Thailand, to Europe. It's a go to.

Hostels Worldwide - Online Hostel Bookings, Ratings and Reviews

The booking site that I use for these options, 99% of the time is Agoda. I like it because it aggregates all of the best deals. They find all of the properties that are available that have capacity, and they'll give you the best rates. I find that 99 times out of 100, it will always be the best price. Occasionally, they even have the same price as the hotel charges itself. In that case, I sometimes like to just pay the hotel because then the money will go directly to them. But at the same time, for convenience sake, or for having an extra level of security, Agoda has a great policy. They'll give you a refund if something goes wrong, which almost never happens. I've been using Agoda for about 2.5 years now, from when I was a backpacker, to now, staying in more mid-range places.

https://www.agoda.com/

If you guys want to contribute back to me or to these guides, I really appreciate you using my Agoda link. It gives me a small kickback, and doesn't cost you anything.

Another option that is becoming bigger than ever is Airbnb. 

Airbnb: Incredible places to stay and things to do

On my recent trip to Bali, I used it a couple of times. Where I see the benefit of Airbnb vs. staying in a hotel is, Airbnb is good if you're staying longterm, like 3-5 days. If you're staying less than 2 days, I don't think it's worth the hassle because sometimes you have to coordinate with the owner, or sometimes there isn't instant booking, and then you have to wait to get a confirmation. It's good if you're booking things in advance or if you're staying for longer periods of time, but for more spontaneous trips or spur of the moment decisions, I use Agoda.

This guide breaks down how to travel to the five main areas of Palawan - Coron, El Nido, Nacpan, Port Barton, & Porta Princesa. 

Visit Palawan 

On my last visit to the Philippines, my top discovery was Siargao. This place is my number one place in my Philippines top 10, and it's an incredible island.

Visit Siargao

It's time to explore Cebu. There's so much to see on this island, I hope I don't overwhelm you. Whatever amount of time you spend here, will be really incredible, no matter what you decide to do. 
In this guide, I'll share with you some of my choice islands & destinations, and from there you can decide what you want to see. if you are really committed to seeing the Phillippines, remember, you can always extend to a 2 month visa, and even check out somewhere like Palawan after Cebu, or rework any of the information in this guide, but I think this is the most efficient route to seeing Cebu.

Visit Cebu

I have traveled through Southeast Asia for the past two years, and the Philippines is by far my favorite place that I've traveled to, yet. It's the definition of raw adventure. It comes with certain challenges, but amazing rewards that you cannot find in most other places in Southeast Asia.

Philippines 101

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