We’ve talked about visiting Boracay on our every past visit to the Philippines and every we changed our plans at the last time. So, this year we’ve finally made a stop on this most talked about island in the country.
But a journey to get there was a bit exhausting to put in mildly. We’ve left Romblon Island on a regular daily pump boat to San Agustin on Tablas. After a good hour we docked at the pier where our van driver was already waiting for us and the two hours’ drive through the mountains of Tablas began. Our destination was Odiongan town, which is mostly known as commercial entry port for Romblon Province. Here the RORO ships and big ferries from Manila, Batangas Port and Roxas are stopping on their way to their destinations.
We had a ticket for an overnight Starlight Ferry to Caticlan so we needed a place to stay since we’ve arrived around noon and the ferry was schedule to depart at 04:00 am. Getting a clean place to stay was really a struggle since most of the “hotels” were run down old establishments. At the end we’ve ended in a Harbour Chateau Resort, about 10 min away from the port. The location was fine since we had to get up in the middle of the night. We had some food, few beers and played games most of the afternoon, before the karaoke started bellow our room😊
It took us approximately …. hours to reach Caticlan – we were freezing in our bunk beds – If you’ve been to Asia, you will know what we are talking about. AC really works to the limit in these parts.
The rain was our companion through the entire entering procedure that we needed before boarding the 10 min passenger boat ride to Boracay.
Good to know:
Boracay Island is located one hour south of the capital city of Manila in the Philippines, by plane. The island is 7-kilometers long with numerous beaches, the most famous being White beach, which is a 4.5-kilometer stretch of powdery white sand and crystal-clear water.
Diniwid Beach is located north of White Beach. Coral limestone rocks surround the cove, with a cliff trail that leads directly to White Beach. Relatively secluded compared to White Beach, Diniwid has a life of its own that exudes the unique vibe and character of the area’s laidback residents with a few cozy private resorts located on the hills around the cove.
White Beach is the main tourism beach. It is a bit over four kilometers long and is lined with resorts, hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses. Starting with White Beach and extending inland, Boracay is loosely divided into Boat Stations, or just commonly referred to as Station 3, Station 2, and Station 1. Station 3 is the oldest and first inhabited tourism area in the 1990s, Station 2 is home to plenty of hotels, bars, clubs, and the outdoor D-Mall.
Boracay’s two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island’s narrow central area. White Beach faces westwards and Bulabog Beach faces eastwards.
When to go:
Boracay is located in the tropics and is under the constant influence of the ocean, the temperatures are therefore constantly high and there are only minor fluctuations during the course of the year. There are no classical seasons on Boracay, rather the climate of the Philippines island is mainly determined by the monsoon:
From about the end of November to the end of May the Amihan (north-east monsoon) prevails, from the beginning of June to the middle of November the Habagat (south-west monsoon) determines the climatic conditions decisively.
Where to stay:
There isn’t a place in the Philippines where you can choose from so many places that you want to stay. From cheap hostels, family hotels, mid-range hotels to high end 5 stars resorts with golf course. Whatever you desire and your wallet can afford is at your disposal.
We’ve chose the Diniview Villa Resort on the hillside between Diniwid Beach and White Beach, with a perfect view of the spectacular Boracay sunset. The resort is a hidden treasure secluded amidst the island jungle, with a private footpath to Diniwid Beach, less than five minutes away.
We rented the Moon Villa which is huge and easily fitted all 5 of us. We also received a complimentary breakfast for our first day (juices, jam, butter, fruits, bead, coffee). The Villa has all the amenities you need for cooking if you wish to do it yourself. We just went out for our meals since the options are really immense on Boracay. The trike is 250 php per way to D’mall area or you can just walk on the beach which will take you around 45 min per way.
The villa has a nice porch overlooking the Diniview area, two sunbeds and a hammock. It has two bathrooms one on each floor since the two bedrooms are downstairs. The resort also has a pool where our kids had lots of fun while we had our cold beer with the views over the bay. The location is really great and it is away from all the noise and hustle of station 2 or 3 area so you can easily relax after day trips.
Where to eat:
The place with most of food variety on the Island is called D’Mall. An open-air mall is located in Station 2 in between White Beach and the main road. What we enjoyed most about the mall is its street market vibe, which makes it a colourful and vibrant but still laid-back place to walk around in.
The mall also has the largest variety of shops and restaurants in Boracay making it the best place for shopping, and a convenient place to grab a bite in between activities on the beach, or before heading out at night. Basically, it’s where you’ll find almost all things you need in one place. You can find Italian, Indian, Mexican, fast food, chain restaurants and much more.
What to do/see:
- Pukka Beach
The beach is located in the Yapak district on the northern tip of Boracay Island. 800-meter-long stretch of white sand beach is adorned by various puka shells – where it was named after – in different sizes, shapes, and colors. While the sand here is not as fine as that of the more popular white beach, the crystal-clear blue waters, breathtaking view and quiet atmosphere are enough reasons to make a visit to this place a must.
The place is really nice and we were admiring it from Carabao while staying there. The waters are calm and just perfect for the kids, so we spend few hours playing in the crystal-clear waters. But be prepared for huge crowds of day trippers on beach hopping excursions and pushy vendors trying to sell you everything form fresh coconut to mat on which you can lay your towel on.
- White Beach
The white sand beach is the biggest reason Boracay is famous in the world. At night, it turns into a huge 4km-long bar, decorated with lights and music. The beach itself is well maintained, sand is so white and fine and the entrance to the ocean is shallow for tens of meters thus suitable for little children and adults who doesn’t know how to swim. The beach is alive and vivid from early morning till late in the night. We spend few hours here while kids were playing and we were just soaking our eyes on the huge crowds in disbelieve because we came from Romblon, where we were the only tourists there. When this beach is empty it is really one of the most beautiful beaches, we have ever seen but since it’s mostly full of people we must say it wasn’t really our cup of tea.
Bulabog Beach
Sadly, this beach was our biggest let down and after taking few photos we headed back to White Beach which is just across the street (10 min away). Maybe because of the wind, debris on the shore and grass in the water this just wasn’t the right time to visit since people are calling Bulabog Beach the “Number One kite-boarding beach in Asia.” During the Amihan season, strong winds coming from the east hit Bulabog Beach, which its northern and southern hills channel inwards to create torrents conducive for wind-based water sports.
The Overall Experience
Annoying vendors are everywhere: the streets, the shops, and sadly, even the beach. Every 5 minutes we had a different guy standing on top of our heads trying to sell us souvenirs or boat rides. But we were pleasantly surprised for a party island that people were respectful enough to clean up after themselves or the staff do it instead because generally the beach was clean. It was just packed with people.
In conclusion Boracay was a nice place to visit, kids could choose from plethora of food, but we were amazed with the hordes of people on this tiny island and could only imagine how beautiful it had to be decades ago. But 5 nights were more than enough for us and peacefulness of Palawan awaited us.
