Philippines Itinerary for Indians: 15 Days of Islands, Lagoons & Canyons

The Philippines gave me the best experience of my life, and that’s after 38 countries. The people are incredibly sweet, helpful, and honest, no cheats or scams anywhere, which is rarer than it should be when you’re travelling. This Philippines itinerary for Indians is basically all about water: island hopping, kayaking, lakes, endless beaches, more water than you’ll know what to do with. For Indians, it’s now visa-free with direct flights, and surprisingly, not that expensive either.

We were a group of 12 friends who explored Palawan, Cebu, Manila, and Boracay over Christmas and New Year’s, and it was pure magic. Here’s how our Philippines itinerary looked:

Cost Breakup for This Philippines Itinerary (15D, 14N)

Philippines Basics: What to Know Before You Go

The Philippines is a stunning archipelago in Southeast Asia with over 7,000 islands, shaped by centuries of Spanish occupation and later Japanese influence during WWII. Manila and Cebu are the major entry ports, Manila being the bustling capital. Here’s the practical scoop:

Connectivity from India

Genuinely easy. Air India now flies Delhi-Manila direct, daily. Every other major Indian city connects via a single hop through KL, Singapore, Vietnam, or Thailand to Manila or Cebu, with plenty of cheap options on AirAsia, Vietjet, Lion Air, and the like.

Money

The Filipino Peso (PHP) is the only legal currency, no USD or EUR accepted directly. Exchange shops take USD at better rates than INR, cards work fine in cities and bigger island establishments, but cash is king everywhere smaller. Roughly ₹1 = 0.75 PHP (so 1 PHP ≈ ₹1.6), though real-world costs feel about 1.3x pricier than India.

SIM Cards

Globe and Smart are the two main providers. We went with Smart, and it worked perfectly island-wide.

Safety and Vibe

Felt genuinely safe everywhere. People are honest, quote fair prices upfront with zero haggling, and just live simple, easygoing lives.

Food

Meat-heavy across the board, pork, beef, fish, chicken are the staples. Vegetarian options exist, but stay pretty basic.

Visa

14 days free for Indians, 30 days if you’re holding a valid US visa. Manila and Cebu are the main international airports to fly into.

15D 14N Philippines Itinerary for Indians

Day 1- 20th Dec, Saturday- Landing in Manila & First Impressions of the Philippines

A bunch of us flew in from different Indian cities, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Delhi, and met up in Bangkok before catching a Thai Airways flight to Manila. Landed around noon local time at Terminal 3, while another friend flying via Malaysia Airlines landed at Terminal 1. Quick tip for this Philippines itinerary: Manila has multiple international terminals, so if you’re meeting friends here, coordinate which terminal everyone’s landing at, or you’ll waste time shuttling between them.

Immigration and First Steps

Immigration was a breeze. As Indians, we had visa-free entry, and the queues were short. Anyone with a valid US visa got a 30-day stamp, the rest of us got 14 days. Baggage came quickly too. One cool detail: Manila airport has a live monitoring camera showing bags being loaded onto the belt, so you can literally watch your luggage get handled, and staff clearly know they’re being watched, because there was zero wild throwing of bags.

Since our onward domestic flight to Puerto Princesa (PPS) wasn’t till around 10 pm, we had the whole afternoon to kill in Manila. First order of business: SIM cards. Globe and Smart are the two main players, and after comparing plans, Smart clearly had the better, more affordable data, so we grabbed their unlimited pack for about 15-20 days, roughly ₹1,500-2,000 per person. Both physical SIM and eSIM were available, eSIM ran slightly pricier. Once everyone was connected, we could finally think about food and a shower.

Killing Time Before Our Domestic Flight

Found a small budget hostel near the airport just to freshen up. Quick showers, a change of clothes, and some of us ordered Grab food (their delivery app), Subway, safe and easy, especially for us vegetarians. After that, we headed toward SM Mall of Asia, not for shopping, but to walk the coastal promenade. Manila’s a coastal city too, and this stretch has a genuinely nice, developed seafront.

For an early dinner, we picked RICH, a North Indian restaurant nearby. Day one of an international trip, I usually go local, but the group wanted something familiar. Food was pretty average honestly, not something I’d specifically recommend.

What actually stood out was the festive vibe. Being right before Christmas, the whole area was lit up, game stalls, food counters, fairy lights, Christmas installations, even fireworks. The Philippines is a largely Catholic country, so Christmas here is a genuinely big deal, and you can feel that energy everywhere. We spent just over an hour wandering this clean, well-developed, safe stretch of Manila.

Onward to Puerto Princesa

Later, we grabbed our luggage from the hostel and headed to the domestic terminal. It’s pretty basic, small, limited coffee shops, no proper lounge, but wasn’t too crowded, and we found a decent corner to wait. Our flight got delayed, pushing our Puerto Princesa arrival even later, though the flight itself was normal length.

At Puerto Princesa, we got our first taste of local transport: tuk-tuks, essentially motorbikes with side attachments fitting about three people. They run all day and are genuinely convenient. Best part: no haggling required, everyone quotes the same fair rate. We hopped a few tuk-tuks to our stay and basically crashed on arrival. Early start the next morning meant Day 1 was really just about arriving, settling in, and getting our first real feel of the Philippines.

Day 1 ratings (out of -5 to +5): Coastal promenade in front of SM Mall: +2 | Christmas decor: +3 | RICH restaurant: +0.5

Day 2 – 21st Dec, Sunday- Underground River Wonder & First Evening in El Nido

One thing I genuinely love about this group: say “ready by 8 am,” and somehow everyone wakes up, rotates through the bathroom, and is actually ready by 8. Despite the late-night arrival, all of us were showered, packed, and done with a light breakfast at our stay, Summer Days in Puerto Princesa, complete with a small in-house café, by around 8:10-8:15. We’d pre-booked a combined Underground River Tour plus transfer to El Nido, and right on cue, our guide and driver rolled up in a big van. Luggage Tetris ensued, but we squeezed it all in and set off.

The Puerto Princesa Underground River

The Puerto Princesa Underground River is often listed among the “new seven wonders of nature,” and we were genuinely excited to tick it off, especially since we were already in Palawan. From the main pier, a small traditional boat takes you to the protected area. Our guide handled all the permits and pre-booked tickets, so we just followed along. Once you land at the conservation area, there’s a short 10-minute forest trail to the cave entrance, where everyone gets helmets and a small audio device with a pre-recorded guide hanging around your neck.

When your turn comes, you sit in a manually rowed boat, boatman at the back handling paddle and spotlight. As the boats push off, all the audio guides start in sync, so what you’re hearing matches exactly what you’re seeing inside. The river itself runs about 8 km, one of the largest cave-river systems in the world, though the standard tourist route only covers about 1 km. Pitch dark except for the boatman’s torch, pointed at stalactites, stalagmites, and bat colonies while the audio guide narrates. He even switches the light off completely for a few seconds at one point, and you’re just floating in total silence and darkness.

The whole in-and-out experience runs 45-60 minutes and feels genuinely calm, not remotely claustrophobic. There’s a longer 4 km version taking about three hours, but honestly, the 1 km route felt like more than enough, the formations would’ve started feeling repetitive beyond that point. We came out so relaxed we were almost sleepy, that kind of gentle, meditative experience. Snapped a few beach photos and took the same boat back.

My honest take: I don’t think this deserves its spot among the 7 wonders of nature. Felt like a pretty basic experience overall, good, but not worth visiting Puerto Princesa specifically for this alone.

Lunch, Included and Unavoidable

Lunch came included in the tour cost, like most tours in the Philippines. You don’t pick your restaurant, the tour partner has a fixed tie-up with a local buffet spot. Ours had an unlimited spread, but as with almost everywhere here, about 90% of the dishes were non-vegetarian, chicken, pork, fish curries, rice, some cut fruit, and usually one basic potato or vegetable curry. The flavours and smell are quite different from Indian food, and some vegetarians in our group genuinely struggled to eat beyond the fruit. Juice and smoothie counters are usually nearby too, a solid backup if the buffet doesn’t work for you.

The Long Drive to El Nido

The best part of this particular booking: we skipped going back to Puerto Princesa city entirely. From the Underground River area, we continued straight into our five-hour road journey to El Nido, with one midway snack-and-washroom stop. Roads are well-maintained throughout, but it’s a long, tiring drive, a decent car music system helps more than you’d think.

We reached El Nido by evening and checked into Diwatu Villas, about 2 km from the main beach. We’d deliberately picked a villa-style property over a regular hotel, wanted a shared living space for the whole group rather than individual rooms and a tiny lobby, which just doesn’t work for a big group like ours. Quick freshen-up, then tuk-tuks to the beach for dinner. El Nido’s cafés sit right at the beach, waves practically crashing at the walls. It’s a vibe.

Between ordering and waiting on food, a few of us slipped out to sort two-wheelers for the next few days. Rentals vary by cc, and as far as I remember, we paid around ₹800 per day per vehicle plus fuel (priced similar to India). Got scooters with two helmets each so we could double-seat. After dinner, the early start and long travel caught up fast, we rode back to the villa and crashed, ready for our first proper El Nido island-hopping day ahead.

Day 2 ratings (-5 to +5): Underground River Tour: +2 | Transfer to El Nido: +1.5 | Diwatu Villas: +4 | Riding two-wheelers in El Nido: +3

Day 3- 22nd Dec, Monday- Island Hopping in El Nido (Tour C)

El Nido runs a very structured island-hopping system: four standard group tours, A, B, C, and D, each covering a different cluster of lagoons, reefs, and beaches around the bay. In total, the area has around 20-25 “spots,” divided across these four tours. After a lot of online research, we picked Tour C, often hyped as the “best overall mix” of lagoons, snorkelling, and beaches. Booked in advance with “El Nido Paradise,” though you can just as easily book after arriving, there must be a hundred tour providers, all quoting the same price for the same experience.

Being a big group, our “group tour” effectively became a private one, so no pressure to report sharply at 9 am like everyone else. Relaxed breakfast, scooters over to the El Nido Paradise office around 10-10:30 am, and the crew was ready and waiting. Each boat runs with 4-6 staff, a captain, assistants, and guides who get in the water with you for snorkelling and safety. Since bigger boats can’t come right up to the main beach, they anchor a bit out, and you kayak over to them.

We carried the basics: phones, power banks, a Bluetooth speaker, towels, extra clothes, and a few snorkel masks from home. Honestly, you don’t need to bring gear, life jackets and snorkel masks come standard on board, and fins or GoPros are easy to rent if you want them. Swimming isn’t technically required, you can stay on the boat or just float with a life jacket. But if you can swim, your experience here easily doubles, you can free-dive a little, jump off the boat, explore more freely.

The Secret Lagoon and Beyond

Since we’d started late, our guide asked which spots we absolutely didn’t want to miss, and we built our route from there, starting with the Secret Lagoon. Tucked behind limestone rocks, you walk through a narrow reef opening into a calm, enclosed pool. Nice, but not mind-blowing for me personally, especially if you’ve seen similar lagoons in Thailand or Vietnam. From there, a snorkelling spot, another lagoon, and a beach stop to relax and swim.

Lunch was pre-cooked by the crew earlier that day and served right on the boat. This time, they’d put together a fully vegetarian spread, two veggie curries, white rice, cut fruits, drinking water. Some in our group still skipped it, the look and smell wasn’t quite what they’re used to as vegetarians, but it was genuinely decent if you’re not too picky.

All island-hopping tours in El Nido wrap by around 4 pm, boats don’t run after dark. Tired from swimming and sun, we headed back, kayaked to shore, grabbed our scooters, and rode home.

Honest take: despite Tour C’s reputation as “the best,” I found it a bit underwhelming. The limestone landscapes are beautiful, but if you’ve already seen similar islands elsewhere, it doesn’t feel especially unique. Coral at our stops was mostly dead or dull, fish life sparse, not a standout snorkelling day.

A Night In, and It Was Perfect

Back at Diwatu Villas, showered, rested, grabbed takeaway, and decided to just stay in. Turned into a genuinely fun house evening, drinks, silly drinking games, strategy games, social deduction games, hours of it. One of those cozy group nights that end up mattering just as much as the “famous spots” do. That’s how Day 3 wrapped up.

Day 3 rating (-5 to +5): Tour C: +1

Day 4- 23rd Dec, Tuesday- El Nido Tour A, Lagoon Magic & A Big Night Out

Day 4 meant Tour A, the most popular island-hopping tour in the area by sheer traveller numbers. The routine felt familiar by now: scooters into town, a relaxed breakfast at one of El Nido’s many cafés (the town’s full of vegan and international options thanks to its global backpacker crowd), and the El Nido Paradise office by 10:30 am. Same kayak-to-boat setup as before, same style of crew.

Since we already knew the drill, we spent a few minutes with the boat leader mapping out our priorities. Tour A also revolves around lagoons, beaches, and snorkelling, but the real highlight was one huge lagoon where we paid extra for kayaks. This one genuinely felt special, vast, enclosed by limestone cliffs, deep blue-green water, quieter corners if you paddle away from the crowd. Life jackets mandatory here. I hadn’t seen a lagoon quite like it anywhere else, and it instantly became the standout moment of our two El Nido island-hopping days.

Two Expensive Lessons

This day also came with a couple of costly mistakes. Even with a waterproof phone pouch, I made the classic “it’ll be fine” call. Two of us shared a kayak in the lagoon, and at one point we got into the water for better photos. It’s deep here, and in the excitement, our kayak flipped. Suddenly in the water, my phone, briefly outside its pouch, went straight in. Saltwater killed the display, back in India I paid around ₹30,000 for a screen replacement, and some parts still don’t work right. Still regret that moment. The lagoon and kayaking there are genuinely amazing, just stay strapped in, be mindful, and only get in the water where you can stand.

Second mishap, smaller but still annoying: at a snorkelling stop, I jumped off the boat with my mask resting on my head. It slipped, sank into deeper water, and vanished. Since the gear belongs to the operator, losing it meant a 1,500 peso penalty. Between the phone and the mask, this turned into a genuinely costly day. My advice if you’re doing these tours: secure your gear properly, keep valuables in proper waterproof pouches at all times, and don’t underestimate how fast things vanish in deep water.

Lunch and an Evening of Café-Hopping

Lunch that day happened at a beach stop, nicer setup than the previous day. Clean beach, basic shacks, reasonable rental tables, around 100-120 pesos for large tables fitting 4-8 people comfortably. Nothing in the Philippines felt overpriced. Food followed the same buffet format, rice, veg curries, fruit, with a slightly different curry this time.

Back in El Nido town by 4 pm as usual, rested a bit, then properly explored the town that evening, café-hopping and bar-hopping. Coffee at Grounded (a solid coffee bar), a great vegan meal at Verde (highly recommend), and Happiness Café, another good vegan spot with a fun, social atmosphere. Hopped between 4-5 places over the night, drank a fair bit, got nicely tipsy in the best way.

One of those easy, happy evenings, walking, eating, drinking, chatting with the group and random travellers along the way. Rode back late and crashed, wrapping up a day that mixed a stunning lagoon, a couple of painful mistakes, and a genuinely great night out.

Day 4 ratings (-5 to +5): Tour A: +3 | Grounded: +2 | Verde: +3.5 | Happiness Café: +3 | El Nido town vibe: +3.5

Day 5- 24th Dec, Wednesday- The Rough Sea Crossing from El Nido to Coron

Day 5 was our big transit day, moving from El Nido to Coron, both within Palawan (Puerto Princesa being the region’s capital). El Nido and Coron do have airports, but they’re tiny and poorly connected. A direct El Nido-Coron flight exists, but during peak season, prices had shot up to around ₹25,000 one way, and most flights were sold out anyway, basically non-existent for last-minute planners. Our practical option: the ferry, about five hours, roughly ₹4,000-5,000 per person.

The ferry usually leaves El Nido around noon and reaches Coron by evening, so we took the morning slow, late wake-up, breakfast, packing, then off to the port. Pre-booked through 12Go, my go-to site for ferry bookings across Asia. Luggage gets handled by the crew once you board, no weighing, no counting, a relief when you’re travelling heavy. That’s where the comfort ended, though.

A Genuinely Rough Ride

As the boat got moving, it was clear this wasn’t going to be pleasant. Around 200 people on board, and it felt like at least 150 were seasick. Staff kept running around handing out vomit bags. Plenty of passengers fled to the upper deck for open air, hoping the wind would help.

A few things worth knowing for any long boat journey like this:

• Sit facing the direction of travel
• Don’t read, scroll, or talk much, just close your eyes and keep still
• Sit somewhere with fresh air if you can
• Take anti-nausea medication in advance if you’re prone to motion sickness

Even doing all of this, one of our friends threw up the entire journey. Medication didn’t help, sitting outside didn’t help, he eventually just lay down on the upper deck for the full five hours, completely wiped. I personally spent most of the ride eyes shut, not talking, barely moving. Genuinely a terrible journey, and it made me decide I wouldn’t recommend boats for anything over an hour unless absolutely necessary. Multi-day cruises are a different story, but these point-to-point ferries can be brutal even without rough seas.

Arriving in Coron

Five long hours later, we finally reached Coron. Exiting the port means a small harbour fee, around 200 pesos per person. From there, two accommodation choices: stay simple near the port, or head about 20 minutes out to a nicer resort like Coron Westown or similar. Tuk-tuks run frequently at about 70 pesos per person per trip, so commuting wasn’t an issue. We chose comfort and checked into Coron Westown Resort.

First impressions: El Nido and Coron town are genuinely different animals. El Nido has that buzzy backpacker energy, beach right at the town centre, waves crashing, cafés and bars everywhere, generally lively. Coron town has no beach at its centre. Quieter, more subdued, fewer vegetarian options, less of that “evening stroll” charm. Restaurants and some veg food exist, but it’s a clear notch duller than El Nido on the vibe scale.

We arrived tired and a bit battered from the ferry, checked in, and headed out for dinner at Gavin’s (one of the better options in town). Ate well, then went back to hang out together in one of the rooms. No late-night adventures this time, we needed the rest after that five-hour rollercoaster on water.

Day 5 ratings: Ferry between El Nido and Coron: -5 | Coron town: 0 | Gavin’s: +1.5

Day 6: 25th Dec, Thursday- Coron “Ultimate Islands” Tour

For our first full Coron day, we booked the Ultimate Islands Tour, basically a greatest-hits combo bundling Coron’s best lagoons, snorkelling spots, and lakes into one day. Like El Nido, Coron’s island hopping runs on fixed tours, but with our group even bigger here, our “shared tour” once again became a private boat.

The scenery looks similar to El Nido at first, dramatic limestone cliffs, emerald water, small beaches, but the experience felt quite different. One key difference: kayak rentals cost noticeably more in Coron. El Nido stations kayaks at specific lagoons and rents them out repeatedly all day, keeping per-person cost low. Coron has you rent from the port itself and keep the kayak all day, so each vendor gets one client, priced accordingly.

We went for it anyway, mixing regular kayaks with transparent “glass-bottom” ones. Honestly, the transparent ones are more gimmick than function, they look great in photos but the paddle keeps hitting the sides, making them slightly annoying to row. Regular kayaks are shaped better and easier to handle, if you want practicality over aesthetics, go regular.

Twin Lagoon, Snorkelling & a Shipwreck

We talked spots with our crew and started at Twin Lagoon, one of Coron’s signature sights, teal water framed by towering limestone walls. Kayaks let us push deeper into the lagoon, away from the boat clusters, paddling around for ages just taking it in.

From there, a snorkelling spot that genuinely tipped the scales in Coron’s favour for me. Marine life here is significantly better, more fish, more colour, reefs that still feel alive. Where El Nido’s coral looked dull and dead, Coron gave us proper underwater scenes, schools of fish, vibrant coral patches. We snorkelled for ages here, easily 3x better than El Nido.

Lunch was another buffet on a small island, similar structure to El Nido but in a far prettier setting, tables right by the shore under shade, genuinely felt like a private resort beach. Same basic format, rice, dips, a veg curry or two, fruit, but the location alone made it feel premium.

After lunch, one of Coron’s famous shipwrecks, the Skeleton/Skull Wreck, a shallow WWII Japanese wreck just metres below the surface. Getting close means free-diving down, a rope tied to the wreck lets you pull yourself down holding your breath, then back up along the same line. Three of us, including me, gave it a go. Genuinely amazing feeling, equalising your ears as pressure builds, watching the wreck slowly appear, floating above this ghostly piece of history. Life jackets stayed on moving between spots, came off for the actual dive. Only downer: one life jacket got lost in the chaos, another 1,000 peso penalty.

Barracuda Lake: My Absolute Highlight

Our last stop, and honestly my favourite moment of Coron, was Barracuda Lake. Picture a lake in the middle of the sea, enclosed by sheer limestone cliffs, water that feels almost fresh instead of salty. It’s actually brackish, a mix of fresh and saltwater fed by rainwater seeping through the surrounding limestone, creating strange layers of temperature and salinity. The result is surreal, you don’t float as easily as in the sea, the water feels different, and it’s a popular dive spot where you can go 10-15 metres deep and hit crazy thermoclines.

Even just swimming and free-diving a bit here is incredible. Sharp grey cliffs plunging straight into impossibly clear water make every photo look unreal. A few of us managed to free-dive to around 8 metres, and the combo of depth, clarity, and rocky underwater walls made it one of the most memorable swims of the entire trip. There’s another famous spot, Kayangan Lake, which we skipped for time, but the four places we did, Twin Lagoon, the snorkelling reef, the shipwreck, and Barracuda Lake, left us fully satisfied.

Overall verdict: if El Nido and Coron sit in the same “genre,” Coron wins easily on water and nature experiences, especially snorkelling, wrecks, and unique lakes.

Christmas in Coron

We got back to town by late afternoon, showered, rested at the resort. This day also happened to be Christmas, and being a largely Catholic country, we’d wondered if tours would even run, they did. That evening, despite it being Christmas, most restaurants and shops stayed open, similar to how a lot of places in India stay open on Diwali.

To mark it, our group picked a dress code, white and red, and headed to Trattoria Altrove, a popular Italian-style wine-and-pizza spot in Coron. Pizzas, pastas, plenty of wine, food was excellent, and since Coron doesn’t really have a buzzing walking street or nightlife strip, we headed back to the resort after.

The night turned into another long game night, social deduction, cards, laughter, arguments, the works. One of those evenings you remember just as fondly as the big sightseeing days. Coron firmly cemented itself as a trip favourite for its water experiences.

Day 6 ratings (-5 to +5): Ultimate Coron Islands Tour: +4 | Trattoria Altrove: +3

Day 7- 26th Dec, Friday- A Slow Day in Coron & Flight to Cebu

After four heavy island days across El Nido and Coron, plus a late Christmas games night, we deliberately left 26th December plan-free. Coron has a popular viewpoint hike and the Maquinit hot springs, but nobody’s body (or brain) wanted more water activity, so we kept it open. Everyone woke at their own pace, and by late morning, smaller groups headed into Coron town for breakfast. I ended up with decent Thai food, followed by a genuinely bad massage, not one I’d recommend.

The Baggage Drama Begins

Our flight to Cebu was at 6:30 pm, Coron airport about 20-30 minutes out. The resort arranged a shuttle, so that part was painless. What wasn’t painless: baggage. Filipino domestic check-in counters are extremely strict about weight, if your allowance is 20 kg, they won’t budge even at 20.1. As a group of about ten, our combined limit was 200 kg, and we were over by just 6 kg total, roughly 600 grams per person, and still got flagged. Not just a Coron thing either, we hit the same strictness at Manila domestic, Cebu, and later Boracay too.

Another thing worth knowing: most Philippine domestic airlines don’t include checked baggage by default, unlike a lot of Indian flights. You usually add and pay for it separately at booking. Only Philippine Airlines, the national carrier, includes some checked baggage as standard, and even that’s typically 10 kg, not 15. If you’re travelling with big bags, pre-book your allowance and stay under it. Hand baggage, though, went unweighed every time, so you can go heavier there.

A Marvel-Themed Mansion in Cebu

Landed in Cebu at night, and since it was still Christmas-New Year week plus a weekend, plenty of locals were on holiday, meaning a genuine cab shortage. The airport sits on Mactan Island while we were staying in Cebu City, across the bridge. Grab wasn’t showing enough cars and wait times dragged, so we eventually gave up on app rides and booked two large private vans for the group instead.

Our Cebu stay turned out to be the coolest of the entire trip, a huge Marvel-themed mansion. Every room based on a different superhero, spread across four floors, packed with fun details. Genuinely felt like a massive themed party house, easily the best “pad” of our whole Philippines itinerary.

That first night, we just dropped our bags, freshened up, and stepped out for a simple dinner and drinks at Maya Mexicana. After that, it was straight back to our Marvel mansion to sleep — we had a brutally early start planned for the next morning.

Day 7 ratings (-5 to +5): Foot massage: -2 | Maya Mexicana: +1

Day 8- 27th Dec, Saturday- Sardine Run at Moalboal & Kawasan Canyoneering (My Best Day in the Philippines)

27th December was my favourite day of the entire trip, the kind of day that makes you think, “okay, this is why I travel.” We had a painfully early 4 am pickup from our Marvel mansion for a tour we’d pre-booked. Nobody bothered with showers or getting properly ready, we just rolled out of bed, grabbed our stuff, and piled into the van. About a 2.5-hour drive to Moalboal, a small coastal town that feels nothing like a city, cute, laid-back, a few cafés, decent vegetarian options, and full of dive shops and ocean energy.

Pescador Island and the Legendary Sardine Run

The tour opened with a quick briefing on dos and don’ts in the water, then straight to our first snorkelling stop off Pescador Island. The marine life genuinely blew my mind, even better than Coron in my opinion. So many fish and colourful coral, it felt like swimming inside a live aquarium. From there, on to the legendary sardine run and turtle reef zone.

The Moalboal sardine run is unreal. Millions of sardines swimming in dense, shifting formations just a few metres below the surface, surprisingly close to shore too. You don’t even need to swim, a life jacket and snorkel let you just float and look down at the entire spectacle happening 4-5 metres below. For those of us who could free-dive, it was next-level, diving straight into the middle of the schools, watching them ripple and part around us like liquid silver. Turtles hang around the reef too, some in our group spotted them, I personally wasn’t that lucky. We spent 45-60 minutes here, endless GoPro footage, just trying to process how insane it all looked.

Kawasan Falls: The Best Experience of My Life

After brunch at a veg/vegan-friendly café in Moalboal town (forgot the exact name, but plenty of plant-based options), we drove about an hour to Badian, where the famous Kawasan Falls canyoneering starts. This, for me, was genuinely the single best experience of my life so far. Everyone signs a waiver, gets helmets and compulsory life jackets, and preps for a few hours in the water.

There’s a walk to the starting point, but we opted for the zipline instead, highly recommend it. Costs around 650 pesos per person, decently long, and saves nearly an hour of trekking. Not a seated zipline either, you lie face-down “Superman style” and go in pairs, three lines running side by side so six people can go at once. Flying above the forest and river, thrilling but genuinely safe. From the landing point, a 20-30 minute walk down to where the actual canyoning begins.

The moment you see the water, you question if it’s even real. This unreal light aquamarine blue, completely clear, zero trash or debris, just pure, glowing water framed by rocks and jungle. Cool but not freezing, and once you’re in, you never want to get out. The route includes cliff jumps starting around 5 metres (with 3, 5, and 7-metre options later), natural rock slides shooting you down smooth stone chutes into pools, lazy floating sections, and countless photo spots under waterfalls and through narrow canyons.

Personal Guides, Free Photography & the Rope Swings

What genuinely sets this experience apart is how guided and safe it feels. Unlike most places, each person gets their own guide here, including female guides, which was genuinely nice to see. Your guide literally holds your hand on slippery rocks, tells you exactly how to jump or sit, and gets you through the whole route confidently, even if you’re scared of heights or not a strong swimmer. On top of that, one extra guide per small group carries your phone without a waterproof case and becomes your dedicated photographer for the day, jumps, slides, group shots under waterfalls, candid moments, all captured, no effort on your end.

Midway through the canyon, local vendors sell packaged snacks, fruits, and drinks, basically a floating 7-Eleven, and you pay later since obviously no cash on you in the water. There was a 10-metre jump too, closed the day we went since the water level wasn’t high enough. My personal favourites were the two rope swings toward the end, about 10 pesos per swing, you swing out over a deep blue pool and drop. Having done some calisthenics, I ended up throwing backflips and frontflips off the swing.

By the time we reached the canyon’s end and walked back to base, it was evening, and we were exhausted in the best way possible. The tour operator knew we were mostly vegetarian and had kindly arranged veg food, cheese-and-pineapple pizzas (I usually hate pineapple on pizza, but it somehow worked after that day) and some vegetarian sandwiches. A well-earned, hearty meal after hours in the water.

Cebu’s Speakeasy Scene, Somehow, Still

Then the long ride back, about 3.5 hours from Badian to Cebu City, reaching our Marvel mansion around 9:30 pm. Saturday night, and even after being up since 4 am and spending the whole day swimming, jumping, hiking, and travelling, we somehow still had energy left. A few of us went exploring Cebu’s cocktail scene, checking out The Lost Unicorn, one of Cebu’s speakeasies, tiny, hidden, tucked behind a café-style front. Intimate, cosy, all about well-made drinks rather than loud music, a nice contrast to the usual tourist bars.

A couple more regular bars and cocktails later, we finally called it and headed back.

Day 8 ratings (-5 to +5): Moalboal town: +3 | Pescador Island snorkelling: +3.5 | Sardine Run: +4.5 | Kawasan Canyoneering: +5 | The Lost Unicorn: 0 | 7-Elevens in the Philippines: +0.5

Day 9- 28th Dec, Sunday- Chill Day in Cebu: Brunch, Games & Speakeasy Night

After the madness of Moalboal and Kawasan, there was no chance we were doing a 4 am wake-up again for the Oslob whale shark experience. So 28th December was deliberately left activity-free, no pre-booked tours, no alarms. Everyone woke up late, lazed around the Marvel house, then headed into Cebu City for a long, slow brunch, mostly just to reset our bodies and brains.

After brunch at La Parisienne, the mood shifted to “no more water, but let’s still do something fun,” so we went go-karting in the city, followed by laser tag at a mall. A nice change of pace from all the nature and water.

That evening, we stayed in for dinner and ordered North Indian food on Grab back to our Marvel stay, comfort food after days of rice, veg curries, and random experiments.

A Casino Detour

Later that night, we checked out a casino in Cebu, NUSTAR. Decent enough spot, minimum roulette bets as low as 50 pesos, blackjack and other games available. Unlike casinos elsewhere in the world, food and drinks weren’t complimentary here, but it was still a fun little add-on to close the night.

The perfect mid-trip reset day overall, no pressure to sightsee, just good food, fun activities, and a slightly fancy night out before the next island hop.

Day 9 ratings (-5 to +5): La Parisienne: +1.5 | Go-karting: +3.5 | Laser Tag: +2 | NUSTAR Casino: +2

Day 10- 29th Dec, Monday- Flying to Boracay & First Night on White Beach

29th December was Boracay day. Early checkout from Cebu, off to the airport for our flight to Caticlan (MPH), Boracay’s gateway. As usual in the Philippines, the baggage drama continued, expect strict weight checks on every domestic leg, so keep bags exactly under allowance. Once we landed in Caticlan, the real transfer began.

Boracay itself has no airport, so you exit Caticlan and take a 15-minute ferry hop across. Right outside arrivals, counters offer all-in transfers, van to jetty, boat to Boracay, drop to your hotel, both ways. We booked one of these packages for about 1,000-1,200 pesos per person, handed over luggage, and got shuttled bus-to-jetty, boat-to-Boracay, taxi-to-stay. Genuinely streamlined, you barely have to think.

White Beach vs. Bulabog

Boracay is a small island with two very different coasts. One side has the famous White Beach, the main commercial strip with powdery white sand, calm turquoise water, cafés, bars, resorts. The other, Bulabog Beach, is windier, less commercial, known more for kitesurfing than sunset lounging. White Beach is almost wave-less, if it weren’t so big, you’d think it was a lake. Water’s so clear and shallow that seaweed grows in a healthy green band even 10 metres out, perfect for stand-up paddleboarding and easy swims.

After checking in, lunch at Ambassador in Paradise on White Beach, and this place deserves a special mention. Everything we ate was outstanding, easily one of the best meals of the trip.

Post-lunch, we strolled the White Beach path, soaking in the vibe. The entire beachfront feels alive, volleyball, tennis, SUP, reels being shot, frisbees, tour bookings, people just lying around waiting for sunset. We joined the frisbee crowd for a bit, lazed by the water, soaked up the classic Boracay energy.

An Annual Tradition: Quiz Night and Secret Santa

That evening, we regrouped at our stay for our annual trip quiz night and Secret Santa. Everyone had brought gifts from India, so after a fun quiz, we did the gift exchange, laughed through the reveals, a genuinely cosy, home-like evening.

But first, we went back to Ambassador in Paradise for dinner, lunch had impressed us that much. Round two was just as good, complete with fire dances and a traditional bamboo hopping dance. After dinner and Secret Santa, we were content, tired, and ready to sleep. A softer, more emotional day, arriving at one of the world’s most talked-about beaches and closing it out with our own little festival inside the group.

Day 10 ratings (-5 to +5): Transfer from Caticlan to Boracay: +0.5 | White Beach: +4 | Ambassador in Paradise: +4

Day 11- 30th Dec, Tuesday- Beach Day & Boracay’s Amazing Cocktail Bars

We kept Day 11 completely free, and honestly, I loved this day more than I can properly explain. After a late night, we woke up slow and wandered out late morning for breakfast at a vegan café near White Beach, Smooth Café. Boracay’s genuinely good for vegan and veg-friendly food, a nice, fresh, lighter start after so many heavy days.

From there, we headed to Bulabog Beach on the other end, home to those slanting coconut trees everyone uses as a photo prop. We spent ages just being kids, photos, handstands in the sand, yoga holds, backflips, hand springs, and more. A guy doing slackline/tightrope walking between two trees inspired us to attempt it too (of course), we failed gloriously, but it added to the fun.

A bit later, we joined a volleyball game with some local kids on the beach for about an hour, that perfect mix of light sport, laughter, and sweat in the sunset light. There was even a tree with a rope to climb and a bar to swing from, so we took turns swinging over sand and water, chatting through it all.

Boracay’s Nightlife Really Delivers

As evening approached, dinner at Nonie’s, then we shifted gears into Boracay’s nightlife. People rave about the cocktail bars here, and now I get why. First stop: Mai Tai, a lively tiki-style bar right on the beach, DJ and a live percussionist playing together, bartenders vibing behind the counter, everyone swaying with dark-rum cocktails in hand. Most Philippine bars skip full kitchens, they usually serve “pulutan,” basic bar snacks and packaged sides, it’s more about the drinks and music than the food.

After about ninety minutes there, we moved to a proper speakeasy called Battuta. Hidden in a genuinely fun way, from one side, it looks like the back of an Italian restaurant, from the “Indian side,” you actually walk through a wardrobe of hanging clothes to enter. From the Italian side, just a plain white door you’d never guess was an entrance. Inside, gorgeous interiors, dim, elegant, thoughtfully done.

This is where I had the best cocktail of my life: Battuta de Battida, a mango-based drink so good I had five glasses of it that night. More friends joined later, and we talked, drank, and soaked it all in. A few from our group had skipped the bar-hopping, but when we got back to the hotel, the energy was still high enough that we called everyone into one room, put on Bollywood music, and danced like college kids.

Day 11 ratings (-5 to +5): Smooth Café: +1 | Bulabog Beach: +3.5 | Volleyball in Boracay: +3 | Nonie’s: -2 | Mai Tai: +3 | Battuta: +5

Day 12- 31st Dec, Wednesday- New Year’s Eve: Goodbye Boracay, Hello Manila Fireworks

31st December started with a “last chance” moment. A couple of us woke up early for stand-up paddleboarding on White Beach, since we hadn’t done it yet and didn’t want to leave without the experience. Gliding on completely calm water, over clear shallows and soft seaweed beds, felt like floating on glass. The sand here is unreal too, so soft and powdery you can feel yourself sinking in if you stand still for a few seconds.

After the SUP session, we rushed back, showered, and ran the transfer routine in reverse: van to jetty, ferry to Caticlan, shuttle to the airport, flight to Manila. Being New Year’s Eve, Manila felt strangely peaceful during the day, emptier roads, easier cabs, at least initially. Our hotel sat in the Greenbelt area (Makati), which I genuinely loved, clean, safe, walkable, with parks and a more residential, lived-in feel. If BGC feels like a shinier, more commercial Singapore, Greenbelt feels like its calmer, homelier cousin, I’d highly recommend staying here.

The VOMIT Awards and Manila’s Fireworks

Once checked in, the plan was simple: chill, eat good Indian food, get dressed up, watch fireworks. Dinner at Swagat al Rada (a nearby Indian restaurant), finally a proper North Indian meal after days of fusion and experimental vegetarian food. Quick note: cities like Manila and Cebu are full of 7-Elevens, but compared to Thailand or Japan, the assortment’s weaker. Still solid for snacks and basics though.

Back at the hotel, we got ready for one of our annual traditions: the VOMIT Awards, “Vacationer Of Magical International Trips.” I’d circulated a Google Form earlier with fun categories, best dancer, best photographer, most careless, lost child, and everyone had voted based on the trip so far. Wine bottles out, full awards ceremony in the room, plenty of laughter and light roasting to kick off the night.

Then, on to BGC (Bonifacio Global City) for the New Year’s fireworks, and that’s when Manila reminded us it’s still a big city. Cabs were nearly impossible to find, surge fares running 3-5x. We eventually flagged down a couple of cars, paid extra, and made it just in time.

BGC was absolutely packed, thousands waiting for midnight. When the clock struck 12, fireworks went off for a full 15 minutes, not a token 2-minute show, a proper, grand, continuous display. For that entire quarter-hour, we just stood there, necks craned, soaking it all in.

Getting Back Was Its Own Adventure

Once the fireworks wrapped up, the crowd thinned into bars, parties, and homes. Hungry by then, we found Shake Shack for veg burgers and drinks, plus coffee at Harlen & Holden. Getting back to Greenbelt turned into another struggle, almost no cabs were taking app bookings since BGC was the hot exit point. Eventually negotiated with a driver for a high flat fare and piled in however we could, seven of us in a hatchback, paying 5x the fare.

We’d originally considered clubbing instead of the fireworks, but somewhere along the way, collectively accepted we were too old for a full-blown club night after so many days of drinking. So we called it, no clubbing, no FOMO. Back at the hotel, straight to bed, content with a New Year’s Eve that hit just the right mix of tradition, chaos, and spectacle.

Day 12 ratings: SUP in Boracay: +2.5 | Swagat al Rada: +3 | Fireworks at BGC: +4 | Shake Shack: +0.5 | Harlen & Holden: +3

Day 13- 1st Jan, Thursday- Intramuros, Bowling & Pub Crawling

We started our last full day slowly, late start, then headed to Intramuros, Manila’s old Spanish-walled city. Genuinely striking how much colonial charm survives here, cobblestoned alleys, old churches, stone walls, arches, plazas, cute cafés, souvenir shops. Tried purple yam (ube) ice cream, wasn’t great. The whole area feels like stepping into a different time, and it’s very walkable.

There are four main ways to explore Intramuros: on foot with an online map, by tuk-tuk/pedicab with a local guide hitting 10-12 key viewpoints, on a bambike (the area’s famous bamboo bicycle), or on a Segway tour, which is what we chose, and honestly, wouldn’t recommend.

The Segway Regret

The Segway part is fun for about 10 minutes, then it becomes more annoying than exciting. You’re stuck in a tight single-file line, moving slowly, pinned to the pace of the slowest rider, with a constant risk of leaning wrong and falling face-first. No freedom to stop where you want, linger where you like, or weave through lanes, feels like being on a school excursion train. The guide did explain the major sights and churches, and we covered multiple points, but in hindsight, I genuinely wish we’d taken the tuk-tuk tour or just walked, the Bambike option was closed for New Year’s Day anyway.

After the Segway tour, our first proper meal of the day at a Spanish restaurant in Intramuros.

Bowling, Almost Pickleball, and Poblacion Bar Hopping

From there, back into “trip tradition” mode: bowling. It’s somehow become a ritual on our New Year trips, so we found an alley, grabbed some beers, played a few rounds. Next up was supposed to be pickleball. Manila runs an interesting roster-based setup, imagine four courts (16 players at a time) and a roster of up to 30 people, players rotating in and out after each game, matched by skill level as you keep winning. We wanted courts just for our group, but everything was full that evening, and the roster system didn’t suit our plan of mostly playing among ourselves. So we dropped it.

Instead, we pivoted to something Manila does very well: bar-hopping in Poblacion, also the city’s red-light district. We tried a few places, but my favourite by far was The Filling Station, a retro, American-diner-style spot with wild décor, neon lights, vintage posters, and a genuinely fun atmosphere. The kind of place where you keep noticing new details every time you look around.

Day 13 ratings (-5 to +5): Intramuros: +2.5 | Segway tour: -3 | Bowling: +2.5 | The Filling Station: +2.5

Day 14- 2nd Jan, Friday- Malls, Souvenirs & Manila’s Best Cocktails

2nd January was our final full day. We started with a vegan breakfast at Green Bar, a plant-based café, then visited a nearby mall with a teamLab-style light installation called Space and Time Cube, interactive digital art, glowing structures, immersive light play. Honest verdict: it sucked, badly. Genuinely disappointing.

For our last real day, though, we wanted to shop properly, so back to SM Mall of Asia. Genuinely loved this mall, massive, endless souvenir outlets, restaurants of every kind. We split up for free time, I picked up shoes (Nike had what felt like the best collection I’d seen anywhere), a few T-shirts, and some gifts to take home.

One Last Round of Cocktail-Hunting

As evening rolled in, we switched into cocktail-hunt mode one final time. First, Edoya, a Japanese restaurant, for an early dinner, simple, comforting food to line the stomach before drinks. Then Fat Cat, a cat-themed cocktail-and-tarot bar serving drinks inspired by cat tarot archetypes, quirky concept, genuinely interesting cocktails.

Our final stop was the city’s most reputed cocktail spot: The Curator Coffee & Cocktails in Legazpi Village, Makati. By day, a speciality coffee shop, by night, a hidden section opens into a dark, moody speakeasy. You walk through the coffee area into low lighting, intimate tables, and a serious focus on the drinks. The menu’s creative, cocktails themed around personalities and stories from around the world, and the place is consistently ranked among Asia’s best bars. We each picked something different, sipped slowly, let the evening wind down.

After a few beautifully crafted cocktails, we walked back to the hotel, chilled quietly in the room, then slept, bags packed, alarms set.

Day 14 ratings (-5 to +5): Green Bar: -2 | Space & Time Cube: -3.5 | SM Mall of Asia: +3.5 | Edoya: +3 | Fat Cat: +2.5 | The Curator Coffee: +3

Day 15- 3rd Jan, Saturday, Goodbye Philippines

Packed our bags, booked cabs, headed to Manila airport, mentally bracing for the infamous check-in queues. Some airlines had genuinely long lines, Cathay Pacific looked the worst, so we were relieved Thai Airways was far better organised, smooth check-in for our flight.

Post check-in, we tried our luck with the airport lounges, only to hit a very familiar Indian-traveller problem: almost no vegetarian food. Our cards got us into three different lounges, and every single one told the same story, plenty of meat, but for vegetarians, basically just bread and cut fruit. So we munched on fruit, accepted defeat, and headed to the gate.

Our Thai Airways flight to Bangkok was on time, and from there, everyone connected onward to their respective Indian home cities. Just like that, after nearly two weeks of islands, waterfalls, lagoons, cities, cocktails, and group traditions, our Philippines chapter, and this Philippines itinerary for Indians, came to an end.

FAQ Section

Q: How many days do you need for a Philippines itinerary?
15 days works well for a Philippines itinerary covering Palawan (El Nido and Coron), Cebu, Boracay, and Manila, though you could trim it to 10-12 days by dropping one island-hopping day or the Manila stopover.

Q: Do Indians need a visa for the Philippines?
No, Indians get visa-free entry for 14 days, extended to 30 days with a valid US visa.

Q: Is the Philippines expensive for Indian travellers?
Not particularly. This 15-day trip for a group of 12 cost around ₹2,35,000 per person including international and domestic flights, stays, food, and activities like canyoneering and island hopping.

Q: El Nido or Coron, which is better for island hopping?
Both are worth it, but they shine differently. El Nido has a livelier backpacker town and famous lagoons, while Coron generally wins on marine life, snorkelling, and unique spots like Barracuda Lake and WWII shipwrecks.

Q: Is the Philippines safe for tourists?
Yes, it felt safe throughout, with genuinely honest locals who quote fair prices upfront rather than haggling or overcharging tourists.

Q: Is vegetarian food easily available in the Philippines?
It’s manageable but not abundant. Most local food is meat-heavy, though tourist towns like El Nido and Boracay have decent vegan and vegetarian cafés, and tour operators can usually arrange a basic veg spread on request.

End Note

The Philippines quietly became the best trip of 38 countries, and it wasn’t a close call. Lagoons in El Nido, a sardine run that felt like swimming inside a live aquarium, canyoneering through water so clear it barely looks real, and a group of people who never once tried to scam us. Fifteen days across four regions barely felt like enough.

If you’re building your own Philippines itinerary, don’t skip Coron for El Nido or vice versa, they’re different enough to both deserve their own days, and block out at least one full day for Kawasan Falls canyoneering. It might just end up being the best day of your trip too.