Tips for First-time Travelers to the Philippines

As we are on the topic of guest post, I contributed to A Dangerous Business some tips for those planning to travel to the Philippines for the first time.



So, you are planning for that vacation which you haven’t taken for years. Or, you are looking for an affordable, yet romantic place for your honeymoon. Or, you suddenly have that urge to travel and explore the world a bit. You take out a map to find a place where you can spend any of these. Don’t you get curious about that interesting group of islands in the Southeast Asia region called the Philippines?

It’s not a familiar destination for tourists. Probably, that’s one reason for you to head off to this tropical country. Not only will you enjoy more than the usual sights you find in travel magazines, but you’ll be surprised by the various tourist spots the Philippines has in store for you. And there’s an added bonus: English is widely spoken all over the archipelago, which makes communicating with the locals a lot easier.

For starters, the Philippines has 7,107 islands divided into three major island groups: Luzon in the north; Visayas at the center; and Mindanao in the south. It’s capital is Manila, which is the major gateway to the country.

If it is your first time to be Philippine-bound, let me direct you to some great places around the country which you might love to visit.

Read more…


6 Comments

  1. I read the post on A Dangerous Business. Looks like I will have to add Philippines to my growing list of places to visit.. It is getting really long these days as I keep checking out all the travel bloggers going all over the place. 🙂

  2. Normally when a person is travelling for the first time to some unknown places he is little bit curious as to how to travel the destination.

    And people are so see places which they have not seen such as Philippines.

  3. I have been in the philippines for four years,Mindanao to be precise.In Tokyo ,before my first arrival, ex-pats warned me not to go there.Four years later I have never been in any danger what-so-ever.Camiguin Island is my choice for the best place to live a relaxed beach life.On the shores of the sea of Mindanao,just west of Mambajoa is where the better accomodations for foreigners are.For under $500/month a very livable cottage on the beach can be had.Rather unbelievably beautiful and quiet beyond all compare,it is the place to go for peace and quiet beauty.There is almost no night life on the island so,if you are single,find a sweetheart on another island and make tracks to Camiguin.The ardent hot springs are spectacular and heaven-on-earth for less than a dollar per visit.I can not for the life of me think of a better place to live a relaxed,beach-bum existence.The only other place that even comes close ,that I have been to,is Surigao Island which is even more remote and much harder to get to.It is quite amazing to me that a place like this is not inundated with people fleeing the West.I limit my commenting on this incomparable place because I am grateful for the fact that it is the way it is:practically unvisited by Westerners,beautiful and QUIET!

    • firsttimetravel

      I’ve written about Camiguin here in my blog (you can find it in the Table of Contents tab). It is truly a paradise for me, with the serenity I enjoyed when I visited the island. You’ve described it perfectly and, yes, it is practically unvisited. I still have to visit Surigao and you’ve piqued my interest about this place. Thanks for the wonderful comment!

  4. I read the post on A Dangerous Business. Looks like I will have to add Philippines to my growing list of places to visit.. It is getting really long these days as I keep checking out all the travel bloggeru going all over the place.it is practically unvisited. I still have to visit Suriname and you’ve piqued my interest about this place. Thanks for the wonderful comment!

  5. There are a lot of nice vacation spots to visit here in the Philippines! All the 7,107 islands that comprise the archipelago comes with unique stories to tell. I may be living in the Philippines, in Cagayan de Oro City particularly, but I have not toured the whole country yet!

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