Where To Go...

[JustB]

Long story short, decided last minute (about 4:30am this morning) to book 3 weeks in PI arriving in Manila on Monday...

Also decided to make it a solo trip (ie not tell my Filipina Princess I'm coming, should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area :)) & was looking to visit some places I haven't been before (funny enough, 1 of which is Manila as I've only ever transited through there on my way to Davao, Cebu, Boracay).

So if you had a few weeks in PI & were free to travel where you wanted to, where would you go? (Suggestions of places to stay there would also be appreciated)...

At the moment I've got Palawan & maybe a trip up north (Vigan City) in mind but any & all suggestions welcomed.

Oh, apart from AC, I've another (Lads birthday weekend) trip lined up soon so won't be visiting there on this trip...

Thanks

JB

[Jollygoodfellow]

not tell my Filipina Princess I'm coming, should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area

 

Im sure our members will let you know of where you should go.  :)

[Mike J]

Also decided to make it a solo trip (ie not tell my Filipina Princess I'm coming, should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area ) & was looking to visit some places I haven't been before (funny enough, 1 of which is Manila as I've only ever transited through there on my way to Davao, Cebu, Boracay).

 

If really do think of her as your Filipina Princess, maybe you should rethink the "solo" trip.  JMO

[Old55]

:th_thbestpost:

[scott h]

should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area

 

Smart move,,,,Butterfly knives are readily available in Davao region :hystery: . Not so much in Manila :unsure:

[Gerald Glatt]

Im sure our members will let you know of where you should go. 

 

:tiphat: Good thing Fe doesn't read this blog,  she would be sure to suggest somewhere...even warmer then Manila  :mocking: 

[JustB]

Also decided to make it a solo trip (ie not tell my Filipina Princess I'm coming, should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area ) & was looking to visit some places I haven't been before (funny enough, 1 of which is Manila as I've only ever transited through there on my way to Davao, Cebu, Boracay).

If really do think of her as your Filipina Princess, maybe you should rethink the "solo" trip. JMO

Ahhh... Sorry, I was being a little flippant, It's not quite what you think...

I was made redundant at the end of January & have taken some time out to travel (my 1st trip was to Davao even though I was there at Xmas) so after moving my stuff from Singapore to my mates place in KL (which I'm using as my base for traveling), I've spent the past 6 months traveling around Malaysia, Thailand & Indonesia (plus family visit to UK & a short trip to Australia/New Zealand).

So now I'd love to see more of the Philippines, the problem I have if I go to see FP is that I'll have to stay in the Davao area as she won't be able to get time off work & if she could, she'd (understandably) prefer to go overseas (she loves beach places like Bali, Krabi, Penang, Phuket etc...)

As I have 3 weeks I'm trying to put a plan together to see a few places that she wouldn't be interested in seeing e.g. (apart from Singapore where she worked for a few years & where we met) she doesn't like big cities (hated Hong Kong) so wouldn't enjoy spending time in Manila, which is why I've only ever transited there.

The one place that would tick both of our "Boxes" would be Palawan (we've done Boracay a couple of times) so I'm thinking that I could arrange things so that I visit there towards the end of the trip & she can fly out to meet me.

As an aside, it's a pain in the posterior how difficult it is for Filipinas to travel internationally on their own otherwise she would have joined me on a lot more of my trips than she's been able to (again, work permitting).

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[chris49]

Long story short, decided last minute (about 4:30am this morning) to book 3 weeks in PI arriving in Manila on Monday...

Also decided to make it a solo trip (ie not tell my Filipina Princess I'm coming, should be safe as long as I avoid the Davao area :)) & was looking to visit some places I haven't been before (funny enough, 1 of which is Manila as I've only ever transited through there on my way to Davao, Cebu, Boracay).

So if you had a few weeks in PI & were free to travel where you wanted to, where would you go? (Suggestions of places to stay there would also be appreciated)...

At the moment I've got Palawan & maybe a trip up north (Vigan City) in mind but any & all suggestions welcomed.

Oh, apart from AC, I've another (Lads birthday weekend) trip lined up soon so won't be visiting there on this trip...

Thanks

JB

Vigan City is quite far north, 409 km and would normally require an overnight bus trip. Vigan in nice but recent visitors said 2 days was the absolute maximum for touring old churches and historical sites. It has also restored buildings and cobblestone streets and some say it's like Spain or Old Mexico.

Given your 3 week agenda, I would tour the north separately, seeing Banaue Rice Terraces, Vigan, Batac, Laoag and Pagupud all in one trip over maybe a week. Touring the north would be much cheaper than visitingresorts in the south, but would normally require a car.

It really doesn't work combining the north and south in one trip, due to time and distance.

Where is "Princess" from?

[JustB]

Thanks Chris,

My interest in visiting Vigan came from reading an article on the top new "wonder cities" in the world (sorry I can't find the article now but here's a similar one... http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/ph-travel/77345-vigan-new-seven-wonders-cities-list-2014 if I remember correctly the article I originally read listed all 7 SEA "Wonder Cities" as being in PI)

Have only briefly checked how to get there & was hoping to fly into Mindoro but having quickly checked my usual flight booking site (skyscanner) I can't see any flights from Manila to there so will do some more digging or revert to the bus (6-8 hours I believe so overnight would be best).

Thanks for all of the suggestions, can see I have lots of planning to do this afternoon (part of the fun of traveling [emoji4])

Princess is from Kapalong, around 2 hours north of Davao City, 30 minutes up from Tagum City.

[chris49]

We believe the "Wonder Cities" tag is a bit overrated. The put in there bid and made a tremendous lobby to get selected. It is very clean, public restrooms in several venues. It has light traffic, because it's off the highway. But the other cities I have mentioned, Laoag and Batac, are equally nice.

Princess is from Mindanao. And they speak Bisayan down there. Here it's Ilocano with Tagalog mixed in.That might negate the advantage of having her with you as she would not understand Ilocano.

If you do go here, I can meet you.

No airport in Vigan, that's why you can't find flights. It is tricky, but bus is still the best option. Or flight to Laoag and commute back down, about 2 hours.