Top Travel Guide to Boracay — It's A Wonderflo World

Welcome to paradise

Where: Boracay | Number of days: 4 | Local currency: Philipinne Pesos

The island of Boracay captures everything when you think of a little piece of paradise. White beaches, crystal clear water and palm trees everywhere.

Back in 2018, the island was closed for 6 months to undergo rehabilitation efforts to tackle the sewage and garbage issues as a result of the millions of tourists that visited the 10m2 island. Following this cleanup and the several lockdowns the past three years, the island has been restored to a true tropical destination to visit.

These efforts have also resulted in a more sustainable tourism model, with electrical triciycles, improved infrastructure and a ban on single-use plastics. All in all, the perfect place to escape the rush and enjoy a few days of tranquility.

How to get there?

There are two ways to get to Boracay, the island itself doesn’t have an airport so it will welcome most tourists via its harbour. The quickest way from Manila is to book a plane to Caticlan, a quick flight of about an hour in a compact airplane. We departed Manila from Terminal 4, which is a bit further away from the other three terminals and will therefore take more time to reach., take this into account when travelling from the city center to the departure terminal. The terminal itself is a lot smaller so the time between your arrival and the gate is minimal.

We arranged a transfer via our hotel, which made the transfer from the airport to our accomodation very smooth. However, it is also a every easy trip to organise yourself. Once landed in Caticlan, you can ask a tricycle outside of the airport, to bring you to the Jetty Port, which is a quick 5 - 10min ride. At the port you are required to register your visit and pay for your boat ticket. While we were visiting, we were required to have a booking confirmation of our hotel stay and a vaccination certificate. But as these elements are subject to change, please double check this on local government websites and with your accomodation.

The boat ride itself is only 15 minutes to Boracay. At the port you can ask one of the tricycle drivers to bring you to your accomodation.

Where to stay?

Boracay is roughly split into three areas or ‘stations’. Station 1 is mostly filled with larger resorts and the widest beach. All the way up at the north side of the island you have the more exclusive stay, such as the Shangri-La. When walking along the coastline to the middle of the island you will find Station 2, here you find most shops, stores, restaurants and bars. If you continue to the more southern part of the island you arrive in station 3, which is a bit more laidback and here you will find more greener areas and backpacker places.

The good thing about Boracay, is that you can walk everywhere. We stayed right at the border of station 2 and 3, at the Villa Caemilla Beach Boutique Hotel, a place I would highly recommend. With spacious, chique and clean rooms, great food and a view that you just can’t beat. The location is perfect, when you are looking for a place that is a bit more relaxed and quiet than the hustling and bustling area of station 2. It is also one of the few places, where the beach is very quiet so it almost feels as if you have your own private beach when you are going for a quick dip in the morning.

What to do?

One thing I can assure you, is that you will not get bored in Boracay. The activities are endless and the friendly locals are more than willing to help you whenever you want to arrange something, and are open to discuss a good price. You can go scuba diving with little Nemo and get your Padi, go parasailing, jetskiing or book a sunset cruise, or just relax on the beach and go paddle boarding if you feel like a small workout.

Boat trip (Island Hopping)

To get a good impression of the entire island, we rented a boat for the day with a skipper. You can also go on a similar trip via a group tour, but we were with six people so it made sense to book the trip with our group. This also allowed us to stay longer in the places we wanted, and skip those that we weren’t interested in visiting.

The total trip took about 5 hours, and brings you around the entire island. We started a few hundred meters off the coast from our hotel and jumped into the water to explore the world below. It was a bit too deep to touch the ground but there was plenty to see underneath the surface with many different colored fish, urchins and starfishes. We continued our trip to the location of the famous ‘Hot Kawa Bath’, an interesting touristic hotspot that we decided to skip, as it was a bit too warm (33C) to step into a boiling pan.

We also had the opportunity to jump of some cliffs along the way, which looked like a lot of fun but we prioritized two other activities, as we wanted to explore the underwater world a bit more and have some time on a more secluded beach. So we jumped off the boat again, and this time saw again colourful species and even spotted a sea snake, who luckily was more afraid of use than we were of it.

We then set off to our last destination, which concluded our full circle around the island. We stopped at Puka Shell Beach, a quiet beach, perfect for getting those Instagram snaps and drinking a nice cold San Miguel Light while enjoying the refreshing and crystal clear water. Then it was time to head home and enjoy our last views of Boracay from the water.

Where to eat?

The options for going out to eat are great and diverse along the beach. Most places have an happy hour which are best enjoyed while watching the sunset. At station 1, overlooking Boracay’s grotto, you will find some nice lounge sets to watch the sun slowly disappear at the end of the day.

The Sunny Side Cafe and Cafe Maruja looked like very nice places for some brunch or drinks. Although they were quite packed when we passed them, I believe it would be well worth the wait.

We had a very nice dinner at Cha Cha’s beach cafe, which is also an hotel. Their menu is filled with different cuisines which usually isn’t the best predictor of good food, but in this case, the pizza’s, salads and fish dished were all delicious. Plus, they have a football table whenever you need to wait a bit between courses.

Definitely try calamansi, a small citrus fruit that looks like a tiny lemon but with a much sweeter taste!