Philippines

[tommybkk]

I will travel to the Philippinnes for a few weeks, does someone know where to go?

I really dont know this country, and would appreciate any suggestions of places to go,

where I can hang around on the beach with some cocktails, eat in good restaurants, go scubadiving and ofcourse

a place with a good nightlife.

Someone can help me out here?

Thanks in advance

[Crossy]

Not Thailand related so I'll move this to the SE Asia forum

[tropo]

I will travel to the Philippinnes for a few weeks, does someone know where to go?

I really dont know this country, and would appreciate any suggestions of places to go,

where I can hang around on the beach with some cocktails, eat in good restaurants, go scubadiving and ofcourse

a place with a good nightlife.

Someone can help me out here?

Thanks in advance

All of the above on the island of Boracay except a GOOD nightlife.

A GOOD nightlife at Puerto Galera (more specifically Sabang) but restaurants and beach not as good as Boracay.

A GOOD nightlife at Subic Bay, but a lousy beach and scuba diving.

Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol: Great scuba diving, ok beaches, restuarants mediocre and nightlife nearly non-existent.

There are plenty of other places to go, but these are probably the most favoured (famous) locations overall.

Nightlife rank out of the above:

1. Subic Bay

2. Puerto Galera

3. Boracay

4. Alona Beach

Beach rank:

1. Boracay

2. Alona Beach

3. Puerto Galera

4. Subic Bay

Restaurant rank:

1. Boracay

2. Subic Bay

3. Puerto Galera

4. Alona Beach

Scuba Diving rank:

1. Alona Beach

2. Puerto Galera

3. Boracay

4. Subic Bay

Best compromise: Puerto Galera

[sunholidaysun1]

Subic Bay ? Olongapo ? very quiet there, beaches deserted and not much nightlife apart from a couple of bars with a few ladies.

Angeles City for the ladies.

Cebu for fun and everything and many islands near by are stunning and all within an hour or so from Cebu.

Just go , you will find everything you are looking for . Its great and if I can sell up here , I am coming as well.

[tropo]

Subic Bay ? Olongapo ? very quiet there, beaches deserted and not much nightlife apart from a couple of bars with a few ladies.

Angeles City for the ladies.

Cebu for fun and everything and many islands near by are stunning and all within an hour or so from Cebu.

Just go , you will find everything you are looking for . Its great and if I can sell up here , I am coming as well.

Not Olongapo as such, but a specific area called Subic Bay (or Barrio Barretto to be precise).

Subic Bay has many bars and the nightlife there is getting better every year. You obviously haven't been there for a long time. A lot of people are moving from Angeles City to Subic Bay. New hotels, restaurants and bars are springing up at a rapid rate. It has the most vibrant nightlife out of any beach location in the Philippines....by far.

There is no one place which suits the OP's requirements anywhere in Cebu. You'd have to travel south to Moalboal to find some ok diving and head to other areas such as Mactan Island for beaches and pay huge prices in expensive resorts (mostly catering to Japanese clientele) to enjoy any decent beaches at all...and head to the city for nightlife and restaurants. Even then the nightlife in Cebu City sucks...restaurants too. All this would require a lot of travelling and would not be relaxing or enjoyable at all.

The OP is looking for a one-stop place to enjoy all his activities.

[PattayaParent]

Best place in PR is the airport as you're leaving.

[siam2007]

Best place in PR is the airport as you're leaving.

....so you can go back to your tropical, unspoilt, clean, peaceful paradise resort town of PTY

oh and as for nightlife in the Phils, YES, thats definitely BORACAY..... just be aware that the airport of Caticlan is operating on a "restricted Modus" temporarily, and the two biggest airlines, PAL and CEB, don't use it at the moment (until some runway upgrades have been completed), they fly to KALIBO instead and then shuttle their passengers to the jetty in Caticlan by bus....

[tropo]

Best place in PR is the airport as you're leaving.

Where is "PR"?

[syd barrett]

To be honest Boracay Island has had its day. Forget about it. It is now completely spoiled.

Far better to head for Malapascua Island for exotic unspoiled beaches and great diving. See link below.

Malapascua Island

For good nightlife, just head for the top end bars in Makati City, Manila, plus there are a few decent places in Ermita/Malate, Manila.

[PattayaParent]

<br />

Best place in PR is the airport as you're leaving.

<br /><br />Where is "PR"?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

PR is what the expats use to when talking about The Philippine Republic.

Same as Thailand gets referred to as LOS.

[Jingthing]

Far better to head for Malapascua Island for exotic unspoiled beaches and great diving. See link below.

In the same general seas, Bantayan Island, an unspoiled paradise for visitors but a poverty trap for locals.

[siam2007]

Far better to head for Malapascua Island for exotic unspoiled beaches and great diving. See link below.

In the same general seas, Bantayan Island, an unspoiled paradise for visitors but a poverty trap for locals.

wow, you have been to lovely Bantayan (www.wowbantayan.com) ? how did you find out about that place ?

lovely beaches, almost no tourists and just regular "Filipino small town life". yeah people are poor there but they are poor at so many places in the Phils...... nevertheless, Bantayan is the only place in the Phils I feel kinda safe walking around at night (even there are virtually no street lights even at the few main roads in Santa Fe so at 9 pm it feels like the wee hours already.....).

Malapascua is much more touristic and really TINY, but the beaches are nice as well and if u enjoy a certain creature comfort or nice dining, then this is a good spot too.

unfortunately, both places are difficult to reach. probably this is the reason why still so few people make it to there (and me in an egoistic way hoping that Bantayan will remain the same for a long time.....)

[tropo]

<br />

Best place in PR is the airport as you're leaving.

<br /><br />Where is "PR"?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

PR is what the expats use to when talking about The Philippine Republic.

Same as Thailand gets referred to as LOS.

Wrong. Expats refer to the Philippines as 'PI', short for Philippine Islands. The official country name is 'RP' or Republic of the Philippines.

Anyway, contrary to what you posted earlier, the Philippines is a great country to travel around. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea as a place to reside permanently, but for travelling experiences - fantasitc.

Edited August 20, 2009 by tropo

[PattayaParent]

In the 4 years that I lived in Manila I never once heard the country called PI.

[tropo]

In the 4 years that I lived in Manila I never once heard the country called PI.

Isn't that weird?

I hear it being called PI every day. There's even internet forums using that name. I haven't heard it being called PR though...that's why I asked.

Having lived in Manila for 4 years I can now understand why you hate the Philippines so much. I couldn't live in Manila for more than a week.

Edited August 23, 2009 by tropo

[Jingthing]

I am also familiar with the PI term.

BTW, I just found out about Bantayan from reading guidebooks. I chose between Bantayan and Malapascua and decided on Bantayan. It was a bear to get to and potentially dangerous in rough seas on the ferry (which I took back).

[PattayaParent]

<br />

In the 4 years that I lived in Manila I never once heard the country called PI.

<br /><br />Isn't that weird?<br /><br />I hear it being called PI every day. There's even internet forums using that name. I haven't heard it being called PR though...that's why I asked.<br /><br />Having lived in Manila for 4 years I can now understand why you hate the Philippines so much. I couldn't live in Manila for more than a week.<br />

Don't hate it, just don't rate it.

In the 4 years that I was there the place never improved.

And in the 2 times I've been back in the 14 years since I left it's still not improved, only gotten worse.

Compare that to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia?

And having travelled around PR I wouldn't want to live anywhere but Manila.

[tropo]

And having travelled around PR I wouldn't want to live anywhere but Manila.

If you really believe Manila is the best place in the Philippines and all other places are worse, then either you're living on another planet than most of us or having us on.

I doubt you've ever been there.

[johnnyk]

Good reports from buddies about Bohol.

[JR Texas]

Good reports from buddies about Bohol.

Boracay

Dumaguete

Panglao Island

Puerto Galera

[PattayaParent]

<br />

And having travelled around PR I wouldn't want to live anywhere but Manila.

<br /><br />If you really believe Manila is the best place in the Philippines and all other places are worse, then either you're living on another planet than most of us or having us on.<br /><br />I doubt you've ever been there.<br />

You can doubt all you want but you're wrong.

[tropo]

<br />

And having travelled around PR I wouldn't want to live anywhere but Manila.

<br /><br />If you really believe Manila is the best place in the Philippines and all other places are worse, then either you're living on another planet than most of us or having us on.<br /><br />I doubt you've ever been there.<br />

You can doubt all you want but you're wrong.

Anyway, the OP was asking about good places to visit in the Philippines.

Despite what you may think, Manila is not one of the them.

[gunnyd]

As an above poster stated Cebu is a good jumping off point for all of the qualifications you listed in your OP.

Personally IDK where all of this PI and PR business is coming from but having been a frequenter/part-time expat of Cebu and being married to a Filipina for 9 years I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation).

My wife and all of my relatives either call it home, The Philippines, or RP. This from a Asawa and someone with many Balikbayan stamps in his passport, not second hand knowledge.

Cebu...period. Base yourself there and tour the Visayas. If it is mainly "Nightlife" you are concerned with stay in LOS. Visit Patpong, Soi Cowboy, and finish off in Pattaya. We don't want your kind in the RP.

Edited August 25, 2009 by gunnyd

[tropo]

Personally IDK where all of this PI and PR business is coming from but having been a frequenter/part-time expat of Cebu and being married to a Filipina for 9 years I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation).

My wife and all of my relatives either call it home, The Philippines, or RP. This from a Asawa and someone with many Balikbayan stamps in his passport, not second hand knowledge.

Seeing as you seem to want to get into the argument, allow me to clear it up for you.

No one calls the Philippines "RP" or "PI" in conversation.

When in conversation we always say "Philippines". "PI" is an abbreviation which is commonly used on internet forums.

"RP" is the abbreviation for the official country name: "Republika ng Pilipinas".

[PattayaParent]

Personally IDK where all of this PI and PR business is coming from but having been a frequenter/part-time expat of Cebu and being married to a Filipina for 9 years I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation).

My wife and all of my relatives either call it home, The Philippines, or RP. This from a Asawa and someone with many Balikbayan stamps in his passport, not second hand knowledge.

Seeing as you seem to want to get into the argument, allow me to clear it up for you.

No one calls the Philippines "RP" or "PI" in conversation.

When in conversation we always say "Philippines". "PI" is an abbreviation which is commonly used on internet forums.

"RP" is the abbreviation for the official country name: "Republika ng Pilipinas".

Nobody that you know it seems.

But plenty others do.

[tropo]

Personally IDK where all of this PI and PR business is coming from but having been a frequenter/part-time expat of Cebu and being married to a Filipina for 9 years I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation).

My wife and all of my relatives either call it home, The Philippines, or RP. This from a Asawa and someone with many Balikbayan stamps in his passport, not second hand knowledge.

Seeing as you seem to want to get into the argument, allow me to clear it up for you.

No one calls the Philippines "RP" or "PI" in conversation.

When in conversation we always say "Philippines". "PI" is an abbreviation which is commonly used on internet forums.

"RP" is the abbreviation for the official country name: "Republika ng Pilipinas".

Nobody that you know it seems.

But plenty others do.

What? .... You were the one who said you've never heard anyone call the Philippines "PI".

Remember this comment you made earlier in this thread: "In the 4 years that I lived in Manila I never once heard the country called PI".

Now you're claiming "but plenty others do".

You also claimed that "PR" was the abbreviation normally used.

[Roota]

No one calls the Philippines "RP" or "PI" in conversation.

"PI" was a favorite old military term, and one did hear it in conversation up till about the early '90s, i.e. when the US forces finally left. But no, not now.

I think there's a natural tendency for newcomers to want to use this kind of jargon to sound like they're part of the scene. But the old timers simply call it the Philippines. Just as they call Thailand . . . Thailand.

[PattayaParent]

Personally IDK where all of this PI and PR business is coming from but having been a frequenter/part-time expat of Cebu and being married to a Filipina for 9 years I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation).

My wife and all of my relatives either call it home, The Philippines, or RP. This from a Asawa and someone with many Balikbayan stamps in his passport, not second hand knowledge.

Seeing as you seem to want to get into the argument, allow me to clear it up for you.

No one calls the Philippines "RP" or "PI" in conversation.

When in conversation we always say "Philippines". "PI" is an abbreviation which is commonly used on internet forums.

"RP" is the abbreviation for the official country name: "Republika ng Pilipinas".

Nobody that you know it seems.

But plenty others do.

What? .... You were the one who said you've never heard anyone call the Philippines "PI".

Remember this comment you made earlier in this thread: "In the 4 years that I lived in Manila I never once heard the country called PI".

Now you're claiming "but plenty others do".

You also claimed that "PR" was the abbreviation normally used.

Based on the evidence of gunnyd post, he has heard it called PI and RP in conversation by Filippinos which you say it never is, and I have heard it called PR in conversation when I lived there which you say it never is.

So you seem to be wrong on all counts.

Edited August 28, 2009 by PattayaParent

[tropo]

Based on the evidence of gunnyd post, he has heard it called PI and RP in conversation by Filippinos which you say it never is, and I have heard it called PR in conversation when I lived there which you say it never is.

So you seem to be wrong on all counts.

You're getting more dizzy with confusion with each and every reply.

This is what gunnyd said in his post (I suggest you go back and read it again): "I have never heard The Philippines referred to as PI (Private Investigator "Dick") or PR (Philippine Airlines IATA designation)."

You're also confusing the correct abbreviation which is "RP" with "PR".

Considering how easily you are confused that's quite understandable.

[toptuan]

Back to the subject. Ahem.

I recommend, for a scenic place near Manila, Lake Taal. A volcano-in-a-lake-in-a-volcano-in-a-lake. Amazingly beautiful place.