Have you ever dreamed of traveling to El Nido, Palawan? I know you do, and I certainly know the feeling. El Nido easily became one of my dream destinations the first time I heard about it from my college professor way back then, but the impression as an expensive destination had always scared me off. Anyway, I still placed it on top of my bucket list while wishing and hoping that I could set foot in this place someday.
The last time I've been to Alubihod Beach in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras was probably about ten years ago. I've been here for several times already so I wasn't really excited to see the beach after all those years. However, the memories of how it looks are still fresh in my mind -- the beach is short, just a bit better than the ones we have in Iloilo but not half as good as Boracay. Having been to the best beaches in the country such as El Nido and Caramoan, Alubihod Beach was nowhere in my list of top ten. Heck, there are even better beaches in Guimaras than Alubihod.
On May 23, 2012, Meet Manila held its launch party entitled "Tertulia Night for #ThoughtfulTourism" which is an advocacy to promote thoughtful tourism and to take Philippine tourism to the next level. Being an ordinary person who just love to travel, it was truly an honor to be chosen as one of the Empowered Travelers during the event.
Our 5-day trip in Palawan was capped off by Puerto Princesa City tour. When we arrived on our first day, we immediately headed to El Nido and never had a chance to explore Palawan's capital city. So the morning before our flight back to Manila on our last day we had a few hours to visit the famous tourist spots Puerto Princesa City is known for.
Apart from the famous Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, Bohol is also popular for its white sandy beaches, caves, waterfalls and bee farm - most of which can be found in the island of Panglao. Panglao Island is one of the islands in the province of Bohol that offers various amazing attractions for different types of tourists and travelers. Recently, Panglao Island made it to the international scene after being recognized as one of the "15 Best Secret Beaches on Earth" by the New York City-based travel magazine Travel+Leisure.
April 2012 - Palawan’s best-kept secret, Arena Island in the town of Narra invites everyone to help spread awareness on its conservation efforts for the endangered pawikan or native sea turtles by joining its 'Click to Save’ Facebook contest. Participants in turn get the chance to have a free vacation to the island.
Where to stay in Baguio City? Having been to Baguio City myself numerous times, let me share one of the accommodations I've stayed at. Safari Lodge is one of the affordable lodging houses in Baguio City and its close proximity to most tourist attractions makes it a perfect place to stay.
Our second day in Caramoan was intended for another island hopping adventure to more distant islands, which is why it is called the long trip. If you read what happened on our first day, we did the short trip which took us only a half day to explore the islands closer from Paniman. The experience that we had on our first day was more than enough to say that the 12-hour road and boat trips to Caramoan were all worth it. Caramoan Peninsula is, indeed, paradise.
