Philippines forum

SBE,

virtually all these places have very good snorkelling/diving opportunities. If you happen to be in Romblon Province, try Looc Bay Marine Refuge and Sanctuary in Tablas Island, it's a protected 60-ha coral reef area. Siquijor has very nice reefs also.

Although Palawan seems to be "on the beaten track" nowadays have a look at this

www.taophilippines.com

planning to go in January

Am i right in assuming the north is much more attractive than the south?

whats your problem?

Posted from within Vietnam.

You can also check Island Garden City of Samal. It is safe for tourists wanting to go diving and snorkeling. You can go there by ferry from Davao City or through private boats. Usually the private boats will be arranged by the resorts operating in the area, they have that as package once you book to any of them. By the way there are several resorts depending on your choice and budget, from high end to budget accommodations and most of them have offices in Davao City. If you will go there by ferry and you won't be with a local, it would be hard for you because there's only few public beaches. Most of the beaches are privately owned, so I suggest check with the various resort operators (online), if not ask the help of the government run City Tourism Office, it's located at the City Hall building, easy to find.

My personal favorite for snorkling is Coron in the northern part of Palawan (Calamian Islands). Not only a ton of isolated white sand beaches with great snorkling, but a few places you can snorkle and see the wrecks. It is a diving paradise to - with local PADI instruction available. And to top it all off there is affordable lodging, fresh water lakes, fantastic scenery, a nature preserve, horseback riding, etc.

For some pictures of this (as well as a few other destinations in the Philippines), my wife has a few small picture galleries on her site - http://connie.kehres.com/photos/phils

Re: your comment on "limited number of places..." is a mystery to me. If anything I would consider the number of fantastic beach destinations in the Philippines to be limitless....

I should have said hot spring resorts in Laguna are too crowded.

Babalugats
How's the nightlife in Iligan city?

Thanks for the info - doesn't sound good though. I'm not into nature, so that's not a draw for me. I love to dance, so I am always looking for out of the way places with interesting dance scenes. Prefer salsa, but other dances can be interesting as long as they are social dances (vice performance dances, like Thai traditional dance).

another off beaten track I've been to this past weekend was Conception, Iloilo..I has a lot of White sand beaches in some of it's islands..the place is so beautiful, quiet and very rich both with nature and friendly people.

Thanks for posting this millionaro! The Philippines is totally under-rated as a tourist destination compared to places like Thailand, Bali and other places in SE Asia.

Other places to include would be Cam Sur in Bicol - it has one of the best Wakeboarding areas in the world.

Zambales and Pagudpud for surfers - I went surfing for the first time in Zambales - great prices for both accommodation and surfing gear.

Boracay is great for all because of the variety in options for food, accomodation and activities.

I agree on Palawan being a great place to go. I have family there. Coron Island and Honda Bay are some top attractions there.

I have family in Iloilo too. It's always great going there - best part is the people - unlike in Manila - the folks in Iloilo are just more laid-back and 'chill' - rarely see any angry or frustrated people, even in the city.