Itinerary help

[chris kippax]

Hi Everyone

I need some help with my itinerary for our trip to the Philippines in 2019. We have pretty much decided where we are going but unsure of the order and most efficient mode of travel.

So places we want to go are ( in no particular order)

CORON

EL NIDO

PUERTO PRINCESA

ANILAO

ROMBLON

DUMAGUETE

MOALBOAL


So we can easily fly from Manilla-Coron, we are then going to catch a boat that island hops for 4 days from Coron to El nido, Then transfer from El nido to Puerto princesa by bus.

Then this is where it gets difficult.

Would it be best to then fly back to Manilla then to Dumaguete? Then from Dumagette to Moalboal by road, then back to Manilla then transfer by road to Anilao? Then from Anilao to Romblon by ferry? Then from Romblon to Tablas by boat? Then fly from Tablas back to Manilla?

Whoa now I am dizzy.

Or would it be best to try and fly everywhere to maximize relaxation time instead of travel time? We are allowing about 21-24 days in total. We are travelling from Australia and doing a mix of diving and sight seeing.
Thanks to anyone that takes the time to read and or comment.

Thanks Chris

 

[Centrals]

Cebu Pacific has flight from Puerto Princesa to Cebu City.
Moalboal is only about 2hrs by bus from Cebu City and Dumaguete is further 3-4hrs away by bus and ferry combined.
From Dumaguete you can reach Sipalay by public bus in 5-6hrs. Good diving there.
You fly out from Bacolod which is 6hrs away from Sipalay to Manila. Frequent buses to Batangas for your connection(jeepney) to Anilao.

 

[Maverick17]

I agree with Centrals on his comments. Flight to Cebu from PP and then ferry and bus (or driver) from Cebu to those central areas. Flying back and forth to MNL will involve delays and traffic and not be worth it. One thing I'd add is private drivers are pretty easy to get to Anilao and not expensive, if time saving and ease is the goal. They can also be arranged around Cebu.

If you find yourself short on time but with an ok budget, I'd consider going EN back to Manila. It's an expensive flight, but the bus to PP is pretty awful and PP as a tourist destination is pretty average.

If you're doing the Tao tour, it's safe but pretty pricey and no shower with all the sand you're in can wear on you. Tao seems safe though. On the other hand I don't know if the old cheap wooden boat option is around still, but they were at best horribly uncomfortable and at worst very unsafe. I would not recommend it. There's a new ferry though that started a year or two ago. It should be ok if you don't do Tao.

 

[chris kippax]

Thanks Maverick
We will scrub PP from the list and fly from EN to Manilla. We were looking at the Tao experience as it looks like something we will enjoy, no worries about the shower as long as we can swim each day.
So does this sound better

Fly Brisbane to Manilla
Fly Manilla to Coron
Boat Coron to El Nido
Fly El Nido to Manilla
Private Transfer Manilla to Anilao
Private Transfer Aniloa to Manilla
Fly Manilla to Cebu
Private transfer to Dumaguette
Dumaguete to Moalboal on boat/bus
Moalboal to cebu
Then fly from Cebu to Manilla then Brisbane

 

[saila]

Hi Chris,
if you are planning to do Dumaguete first and then Moalboal, it makes sense to fly from Manila straight to Dumaguete instead of Cebu. The flight from Manila to Dumaguete is 1,5hrs (4-6 connections daily), while land transfer from Cebu to Dumaguete is 5-6 hrs alone + the flight Manila-Cebu. This will save you almost one day of travel, and you can be diving in Dauin/Dumaguete the same day.

So maybe:
...
(after Anilao)
Fly Manila to Dumaguete
Dumaguete to Moalboal on boat/bus
Moalboal to Cebu (either bus or private transfer)
Fly from Cebu to Manila then Brisbane

Happy holiday planning!

 

[Centrals]

Thanks Maverick
We will scrub PP from the list and fly from EN to Manilla. We were looking at the Tao experience as it looks like something we will enjoy, no worries about the shower as long as we can swim each day.
So does this sound better

Fly Brisbane to Manilla
Fly Manilla to Coron
Boat Coron to El Nido
Fly El Nido to Manilla
Private Transfer Manilla to Anilao
Private Transfer Aniloa to Manilla
Fly Manilla to Cebu
Private transfer to Dumaguette
Dumaguete to Moalboal on boat/bus
Moalboal to cebu
Then fly from Cebu to Manilla then Brisbane

It doesn't make sense at all!!! What is the attraction of Manila airport?
What is wrong with the Underground River in Sabang, an UNESCO Heritage site, in Palawan.

Manila - Coron - El Nido - Puerto Princesa - Cebu - Moalboal - Dumaguete - Manila - Anilao - Manila.
The only back-trekking is getting back from Anilao to NAIA for your flight home.

 

[chris kippax]

Thanks Centrals
I have no idea as this is our first trip to the Phillipines.

 

[Centrals]

I have no idea as this is our first trip to the Phillipines.

Travelling in the country is very slow and can be frustrating. I do hope you have allocate enough time for that.
The fast ferry offers by Montenegro Shipping Lines cut the journey(Coron to El Nido) from 8 to 3hrs is everyone blessing.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I recommend going Puerto Princessa to El Nido by transfer (Daytripper Palawan is excellent. You can charter a whole van if you want and it's quite inexpensive, very comfortable and safe, clean.). From El Nido, I would then go to Coron via a dive safari with Submariner. I just returned from a 3 week trip in the Philippines and did this. It's a 4 day 3 night stint with food and diving on a large bangka and nights are at guest houses/hotels in Linacapan and Culion islands. You get to dive WW2 wrecks and reefs then get off in Coron and can fly elsewhere from there and can skip flying through Manila which is an extra headache or at that point you can go into Manila and transfer to Anilao then back to Manila to go home. I would minimize going into Manila anytime you can and to optimize your trip that way.

 

[bshort4]

Just so you know--I did the Tao trip two years ago and you will have fresh water showers every night wherever you spend the night. Some may just be bucket showers and some may be in fresh water streams but don't worry about the showers. They've upgraded the experience on shore every night from when I went and it seems the food looks better too. Lots of time to snorkel--I'd recommend a full rash guard though---we ran into tons of jelly fish just about everywhere we snorkeled--the nights on the mostly deserted islands was magical. We went the opposite direction--El Nido to Coron. We took the public Ceres bus from Puerto Princesa to El Nido--loved it--lots of room and very comfortable--all the mini vans we saw were packed to the hilt and looked uncomfortable. We looked at flying into El Nido but the price was to steep for our blood. Be prepared to drink lots of local rum and pineapple juice lol. I brought a whole case of diet Coke to drink on the trip along with a bottle of Jim Beam to drink at night--don't care for the local rum much. Enjoy Tao!