Philippines is lovely to go that time of year (go March if you can) and with prices like this im tempted to go again (considering its usually £800-£1000+ normally for a return) if you go, i would recommend going straight out of manilla, boracay has one of the best beaches I've ever been on and really good resorts (not filled with drunken british groups either) so i woukd recommend there :smiley: if you stay in manilla your trip is going to be 5% "sights" and shops and 95% stuck in traffic.....no joke. Regardless of where you go, make sure to try the local delicacy, one day old chick and balut are not that bad :smiley:

£266 even when I checked. Hot!

Philippines is lovely to go that time of year (go March if you can) and with prices like this im tempted to go again (considering its usually £800-£1000+ normally for a return) if you go, i would recommend going straight out of manilla, boracay has one of the best beaches I've ever been on and really good resorts (not filled with drunken british groups either) so i woukd recommend there :smiley: if you stay in manilla your trip is going to be 5% "sights" and shops and 95% stuck in traffic.....no joke. Regardless of where you go, make sure to try the local delicacy, one day old chick and balut are not that bad :smiley:

​This guy checks out! Literally come back from there a week ago and the traffic is something else. 2 hours to cover 2 and a half miles. Definitely a place to lay over but not to stay over.

And Boracay hands down one of the most pristine places I've ever been too, foods cheap, excursions cheap (as long as you haggle the hukd way) and the entertainment is first class... All on one strip of the beach. Tiny island, mega fun to be had. Internal flights really cheap too, looking at around £20 one way. Miss that place already <3

Agree on the traffic. Been to manila 4 times in the last 7 years and it's the same story every time. But if you are clever with timings it can work out and there are some decent things to see and do there. Mall of Asia, makati bars and shopping, manila bay, resort world and even the local air Base museum is pretty good.

I do love boracay. Had my honeymoon there. Amazing beach but also loads to do. Just remember to haggle!

A special mention for guimaras island in the visayas. An island full of mangos and beaches but way fewer tourists!

Coming in just to say boracay is the bomb! Flights from Manila to boracay about 50/60 quid and accommodation is fairly reasonable. Drinks are dirt cheap as is food and you have all the American staples over there (TGIs, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, mac Donald's) if you're a fussy eater, but a lot of the restaurants there are REALLY nice and serve what you'd call 'normal' food. The Nando's rip off over there called spice bird is better than Nando's and half the price! Scuba diving course was about £250 in April but will probably have gone up - live coral and tons of fish just a few hundred metres from the beach. Well worth going if you have the dolla.

try El Nido better than Boracay with the best island hoppings

Is there good budget accommodation in Guimaras,and do you have to get there by ferry boat or is there an airport on the mainland.

Im not sure about accomodation. When i went there back in 2009 there were no hotels - it was really off the beaten track. We just did a day trip from iloilo city on the boat. It doesnt take long to get there from the mainland. Something like half an hour if that.

Nowadays there are a few more tourists and a couple of hotels have popped up - i hear they are not the cheapest but i would still consider going, if only for a day. We went island hopping and scuba diving around the island and it was real robinson crusoe stuff. Untouched, crystal clear water, lots of fish, caves etc. Really nice.