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My husband and I spent 7 days in Philippines as part of our Cambodia / Singapore trip in December 2023. We went from Manila → El Nido → Puerto Princesa → Manila. To be honest, we didn’t have the best time in Philippines, so instead of my normal Things to Do posts, I will instead do a deeper dive on why we didn’t have a good time and share the tips that will hopefully help you have a more enjoyable trip.
1. It’s Hard to Get Around in Manila
Manila has very bad traffic and not enough Grab drivers. We tried calling Grab multiple times and waited more than 30 minutes each time before giving up and either walked or took public transit. Public transit worked, but not convenient to many locations. We had stayed in a hotel that was not close to public transit and had to walk along big roads that sometimes had no pedestrian lane. I recommend either staying near public transit or skip Manila altogether.
2. Tours Don’t Start on Time
Start times for tours in El Nido don’t seem to mean much. Our El Nido Tour A tour started one hour late waiting for other tourists to show up (we had to wait on the boat which was bad for my motion sickness), and our shuttle transfer from El Nido to Puerto Princesa didn’t leave until 1.5 hours later with the car circling around town trying to find last minute passengers. I recommend booking private tours or transfers to save time and frustration.
3. Leave Buffer Time for Island Travel
It was a long journey to get to Puerto Princesa (5–6 hours van ride from El Nido), and we only planned for 1 full day in Puerto Princesa to see the Subterranean River National Park. Unfortunately the tour got canceled last minute due to weather, so we ended up just walking around the mall — pretty lame for the amount of effort it took to get there. I recommend leaving buffer time for staying on islands to ensure you get to see the things you want.
4. Bring a Waterproof Bag for Island Tours
For parts of the El Nido Tour A, we had to swim from the boat to the shore. Some of the tourists on our group brought their luxury purses instead of waterproof bags, so we had to wait for the guide to kayak their belongings there and back. Don’t be like those people and bring your own waterproof bag.
5. Do a Food Tour
One of the few things we liked from the trip was the food, and doing a food tour is a fun and safe way to sample the local cuisine. We did a food tour in Manila and it gave us a tasty introduction to Filipino street food. We didn’t see any food tour options in El Nido, but all the seafood we tried there were fresh and delicious.