Trekking & island hopping in the Philippines

Philippines | Mar 11 - Mar 25, 2023

Our trip planned by Cami was amazing. Everything was planned down to the T. Nothing went wrong. Our transfers were always on time and our guides were so accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable. The communication from all parties was great.

Jody- Whilst trekking through the rice terraces over 3 days with Jody I felt I was with a friend rather than a guide which is what you want. He knew everything about the area and is very popular with all the local people. I loved staying in the hostels along the way. We’d often saw glimpses of Jody helping the local people which I admired. A great guide and an even better man. I said I’d be in touch again to climb the 3rd tallest mountain in the Philippines with Jody.

Guides:

Charles- Driving from Manila to Banaue and back is no small feat. Charles was very hospitable and a great driver. He’s your man if you want to get from a to b in good time.

Rich- Although we only spent a small amount of time with Rich our experience was great. He’s a Puerto Princesa local so knows his stuff. The meal prepared in Ulugan bay was a banquet. One thing I would say is the snorkelling here wasn’t great and Coron is definitely the spot to see amazing fish, lovely coral and wrecks.

Zean- It was a great to spend the last day with Zean seeing Pinatubo Volcano. We discovered we both were fascinated by anthropology. Zean put up with my 101 questions and I learn’t a lot. Definitely will be in touch to plan some more adventures. The jeep ride was really an experience and I loved every second.

Admittedly, the schedule was intense but that’s the only way you can see that amount of things in 2 weeks. If you want a relaxing holiday chilling ( which I didn’t) this is not the itinerary for you.

The highlight for me had to be the north. It was eye opening seeing the villages: how resourceful and clever the locals are. I’ve never seen anything like it. Was eye opening.
I enjoyed watching Jody show us how the rice is made with a local man. We could learn a lot about the way they live over here in the west. There’s a really community feel. If you love walking and amazing views then this trek is perfect. The world heritage site was breathtaking. Looking back I wish I’d included climbing Mount Pulag.

Accommodation:

The Manila hotel did the job. We were a bit gutted that on the last day before our flight they didn’t let us use a room for a shower despite staying with them the night before and checking out at 2am.

Banaue homestay, Cambul guesthouse and the Hillside Inn were amazing. Simple but effective. Food was good, people were lovely no complaints. I would say that the accommodation you suggested in Pula is very very simple hence why we went with Cambul which is a better option.

Atremaru was lovely, rooms were amazing and food was good. Great massage also! Although, we did have no electricity all night which meant no fans so we were very hot.

Sangat island was really a cool location, and so remote. Great for padel boarding. The food was a slight let down though.

The houseboats really were an experience and I suggest working with them as it’s not often you can sleep slap bang in the middle of the twin lagoon.

The only real limitation with the trip was it was only 2 weeks! I’ll certainly be back and I’m so keen to see the vast array of other areas the Philippines has to offer. An amazing country with great people.

Cami who planned our whole trip was amazing from the very start. Her communication was great and the hours of conversation planning are not forgotten. I highly recommend planning your trip to the Philippines with Cami. Thank you again Cami!