Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

EXPERIENCES

Experience the Philippines

The many islands of the Philippines are sure to provide lifelong memories through unforgettable experiences and activities.

Whether you want to relax, enjoy an adventure, volunteer, or cruise, there’s something for everyone to discover!

video
Play Video
image-1

Adventure

Experience the Philippines. An archipelago of 7,641 islands, the Philippines has countless thrills for you and your loved ones. You can go island-hopping forever. Or dive into the deep blue sea and get lost in its lushness, its lusciousness. (The Philippine Deep was once considered the deepest part of the ocean.) Or climb every mountain — or volcano. (We are in the Pacific rim of fire.) Or ride the strong tropical wind aboard Wizard of Oz balloons.

You can even plunge headlong into our desertscapes — the shape-shifting sand dunes in the northern Philippine city of Laoag. Or run alongside giraffes in Palawan, for many years named the best island destination in the world by glossy international luxury magazines.

And then there are out-of-this-world mystical experiences in certain mountains and islands for the brave and daring.

Here’s the thing: The rest of the archipelago is an ecotourism adventure beyond compare. Did you know that we have the world’s smallest primate (the tarsier) as well as the biggest fish (the whale shark)?

image2

Beach

Experience the Philippines. A small nation, the Philippines is nonetheless ranked top globally among the countries with the longest coastlines. The Philippine coastline of 36,289 km (22,548 miles) — the fourth longest coastline in the world — is longer than even the huge, huge United States mainland. These numbers easily translate into this one fun fact: Beaches!

If you don’t know it yet, international luxury travel magazines have for years declared that the best beach in the planet is in the Philippines. After all, our beaches are Instagram-perfect destinations, with sensuous sugary sand sending you off lolloping in the waves. And our beaches are veritable party places, throbbing with global, multicultural beats, cuisine, and happenings.

We take our beaches seriously, too. Recently, the Philippine government closed Boracay, the world’s top beach destination, for several months to clean up its waters and ensure that hotels, restaurants, bars, and other tourism establishments would be linked to a state-of-the-art sewage disposal and treatment system in the island. Now, Boracay is open for business once again — with smart environment-friendly protocols. And Boracay is just one among many beaches all over the 7,641 islands!

Read more about Philippine Islands and Beaches.

image3

Cruise

Experience the Philippines. The Philippines has largely been undiscovered, with its 7,641 islands providing many excellent opportunities for cruise tourism. The Philippines offers rich diversity – from ancient Spanish heritage, culture and history through bustling metropolitan centers to pristine beaches and stunning scenery. It boasts of world-class shopping, dining, gaming, and the warmest welcomes on the planet. Whatever escaped you choose, definitely it’s more fun cruising in the Philippines.

The Philippines expects not only to dramatically increase the number of transit calls, but also position itself as a much-needed alternative homeport between Singapore and China or Hong Kong.

image-4

Diving

Experience the Philippines. Among the top diving destinations in the world, the Philippines has become the favorite of many seasoned scuba divers. World-renowned divers and underwater photographers can attest to the underwater diversity and richness of what is known to be the “Center for Marine Biodiversity in the World.” They contend that the most biologically diverse waters on the planet can be found in the Philippines. The Verde Island Passage, in particular, is considered as a site of unparalleled marine biodiversity.

Divers and non-divers enjoy the facilities and amenities from new resorts in up-and-coming island destinations alongside the tried and tested resorts. Add reasonable value-for-money, exceptional service, and unpretentious Filipino hospitality, a diving trip to the Philippines is truly epic.

Some remarkable reefs – Anilao, Calamianes and Cebu — are accessible by shore entry. Coron, Apo Reef and Tubbataha Reef offer clear water, vigorous corals, and intense drop-offs. Then there’s the trip to Malapascua, where you may see rare thresher sharks. Rare macro and muck critters are great discoveries in many marine-protected areas.      

image-5

Golf

The moat that once secured Intramuros, the Walled City of Manila, from the onslaught of rebellion by the Filipinos against the Spanish colonial administrators has now become a golf course. Still a symbol of the deep divides in Philippine society, the golf course is nonetheless among the top golf destinations in the Asia-Pacific. With over a hundred golf courses in the 7,641 islands of the Philippines, the country has become an increasingly important hub in the global golfing map.

Golf was first played in the Philippines in 1886 by British expats employed by the Manila Railway Company. By 1901, the three-way golf course had given way to a nine-hole course beside the railway station. This gave birth to the Manila Golf Club — and the Philippine Open, the oldest national golf championship in Asia.

The story goes that the first Filipino who won the Philippine Open, Larry Montes, in 1929, was asked to vacate his seat at the awards dinner because of a club rule stipulating that caddies could not enter the clubhouse. This led to the founding of another golf course, the Wack Wack Gold & Country Club, which welcomed all golfers.

dr

Medical Tourism

Experience the Philippines. The Philippines welcomes you to its 7, 107 islands of wellness and healing. With government institutions and private sector partners continuing to develop and promote the country’s medical travel and tourism industry, the Philippines has made great strides in globally positioning the country as the heart of Asia, combining modern technology and international standards in healthcare with Philippine culture and tradition, highlighting the warmth of the Filipino people.

image-7

Wellness

“Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” Rudyard Kipling wrote once long ago, when the Philippines was not yet on the must-visit lists of globe-trotting travelers. Well, Kipling, welcome to the Pearl of the Orient! A string of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia, the Philippines can sometimes seem more Western than its neighbors: an overwhelming majority of the population of 100 million speaks some kind of English; the main religion is Roman Catholicism; the political system hews to the American model of representative democracy; and the economy is unabashedly capitalist, dominated by multinational companies from the West.

And yet the Philippines is truly in the Orient, too. Its basic social unit is the clan; the usual go-to person for strange illnesses is the community healer whose command of herbs, potions, and incantations are unquestioned; and in some places, peace-keeping is still wielded by village elders whose authority does not emanate from the threat of a lawsuit or the barrel of a gun.

Nowhere is this coming together of East and West in the Philippines more gloriously at play than in the social ecology and economy of the body undergoing, well, a massage. There is an acknowledgment of the Western mindset of the massage as relaxation, pampering, and leisure. But there is also the Eastern appreciation of the massage as touch healing, connecting with elemental energy, repairing the body from its state of misadventures, and shooing away the negative forces that have brought about brokenness. Today, the Philippines is a top destination among global citizens wanting to get away from it all to recover and reclaim themselves in a healing spa holiday.

volunteer

Volunteering

A new breed of global citizens is on the rise: volunteers.

They go around the world and teach English in far-flung villages, or nutrition in informal settlements in urban jungles, or non-verbal theater in communities ravaged by war. They help build new homes in the wake of earthquakes, tsunamis, and flooding. They clean rivers and riverbanks, oceans and beaches. They capacitate rural communities through transfer of technology. They reach out and lend a helping hand where it is needed — without seeking financial remuneration. It is their way of giving back.

In this new age of climate impacts, the Philippines has drawn its fair share of volunteers from around the world. After super typhoons and other disasters, they come to the Philippine islands to participate in relief and rescue operations, especially those with the necessary crucial expertise. Many fly in a bit later and for a bit longer, for the rehabilitation operations: rebuilding ravaged communities, restoring potable water supply, initiating supply chains to benefit community people. Even company executives and data scientists pitch in to offer support in much-needed urban planning and resource generation.

Here is a quick list of volunteer programs in the Philippines.

borocay

Romance

Experience the Philippines. When in the Philippines, there really aren’t enough to tell thee how you love them. If basking in the soft glow of a sunset that goes on for miles, or swaying in a hammock under the shade a fragrant palm frond sounds like your idea of romance and the perfect place to pop the question then the Philippines is definitely for you. The Philippines is one of the only places where you can have a wedding while being serenaded by the rhythmic crashing of azure blue waves on some of the whitest and best beaches in the world.

sandb

Stand-Up Paddling

Because the Philippines is an archipelago of so many islands, we’re always finding new ways to take our water sports to the next level. You may have seen the word SUP floating around adventure pamphlets, but aren’t completely sure what it is. SUP is the abbreviation for the water activity known as Stand Up Paddling or Stand Up Paddleboarding. Think of it as a cross between kayaking and surfing, without the waves or sitting down.

Untitled-4

Culinary

If you’re a foodie then you probably already know about Filipino adobo, or maybe even been refreshed on a hot summer day with some halo-halo. However, with a country made up of this many islands, there really isn’t one cuisine that dominates the Philippines – instead (much like Canada) our diversity is the key to enjoying our eclectic culinary food tours. What you will find when you explore our five-star and world-class restaurants is that fresh seafood and sunkissed fruit are the centre of mostly every Filipino dish.

scubadiving

SURFING

Does hanging ten on a double-up get you absolutely stoked? Then you need to line up to where the pros dub the best surfing in the world – the Philippines! Everyone already knows the Philippines are famous for its lush and vibrant forests and monumental cliffs, but amongst the starry-white Philippines beaches lie a secret treasure trove of gorgeous shores and righteous waves.

Recognized by the World Travel Awards as Asia’s leading beach destination in 2020 and Asia’s leading dive destination in 2019 and 2020.

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Destinations

Discover what some of the country’s top destinations have to offer.

ACTIVITIES

Explore the unique activities and experiences of each island.

ITINERARIES

Use our itineraries to help you plan your next visit.

TRAVEL EXPERTS

Contact our travel experts to book your vacation now

What's New