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Trip start
January 5, 2026
Philippines
Panglao
January 5 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
6 dives ea
Happy to leave the cold weather of South Korea, we landed in the Philippines at one thirty in the morning.
It was an interesting trip. You would have thought we were rookies.
We made it to the airport with plenty of time. We got checked in, got our bags checked, got our tax refund, had plenty of time to enjoy the lounge, but then it all went awry.
Keep in mind, all announcements are in Korean, so we were at a bit of a disadvantage. We thought the flight was just delayed, and that's why they hadn't started boarding yet, but when it came close to departure, time and they still hadn't started boarding, we decided to ask. We were at the wrong gate. We quickly grabbed our stuff and took off running for the correct gate. Luckily, it was just a short distance away. They were of course waiting for us. We were the last aboard.
That was bad enough, but that wasn't the end of it.
When we landed in Panglao at 1 am, we were reminded that we needed to fill out e-travel documents prior to landing in the Philippines. Oops! We spent most of an hour at the baggage claim area trying to get the documents filled out. We were fortunate to have a young lady who worked at the airport help us out, saving us a ton of time.
We got a half price ride to the hotel by a driver picking up guests for an other hotel. Great, except the vehicle was too big to drive down the last road to the hostel. So we ended up having a block and a half walk carrying our suitcases because the road was to rocky and muddy to roll them. Did I forget to mention that we were only staying in that hotel because I got the days mixed up and we needed to check in a day earlier to the hotel we were really staying at. Which, by the way, had a nice concrete drive.
But hey, it was warm.
We got up the next day after our very short night and we managed to move our stuff to the correct hotel But this time we hired one of the motorized tricycles that could make it all the way to the hotel, so we didn't have to carry our bags back through the muddy road. We found a delicious vegan restaurant and we booked dive trips for the next two days.
JASDIP!Read more
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Philippines
Chocolate Hills
January 8 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
Just a short 2 hour scooter ride onto the next island is what is known as the Chocolate Hills. So named, because at the right time of year, they turn a golden brown and they look a lot like a Hershey Kiss. They were green when we saw them, but still somewhat fascinating. It was a fun ride out there, though because it went through some beautiful wooded areas. And traffic wasn't bad so I could build my confidence back riding a scooter.Read more
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Philippines
Hinagdanan Festival
January 9 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
Today was a really good day, full of many fails.
We started out with a great plan to get our visas renewed at the airport, but as we left breakfast, we realized we forgot our passports. Back to the hotel for those, then on to the airport. Only to find out you can't get your visas renewed at that airport.
Next, it was off to snorkle with the sardine balls on the other side of the island, but no sardines today.
Well hey, there's a cave just up the road. Let's go see that. Nope, it's closed today because of a festival celebrating it. You would think with such bad luck, we would have been frustrated and disappointed, but not so much. We were still having a great day. It's like with the parking attendant told us. The good news, the parking for the cave is free today. The bad news, the cave is closed. He also told us about the festival going on later that day.
We went to a beach swam in the ocean, and came back at three to watch the dancers, and see the costumes.
It was a very interesting show. There were at least 10 different dance troops performing a tribute to the cave. Each troop at their own moves, but they were all to the same song.Read more
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Philippines
Hinagdanan Cave
January 10 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
We made it to the cave that we failed to see the day before. It was a bit of a letdown. But we paid to go in and swim. It was a wonderful reprise from the outdoor heat.
Little did we know until we left, but it had started raining outside. Not just raining, pouring. So we got a delicious ice cream (vegan) and waited out the storm for about an hour before we left to the beach.Read more
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Philippines
Meet up with Ed!
January 12 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
This was a long story, and we have very little pictures. It starts with all of our winter clothes that we had with us in Japan and South Korea that we no longer need in the Philippines. Due to ongoing tarrif wars caused by the current USA administration, we couldn't simply just put a clothes in a box and ship them back to the USA without paying tariffs. Our next option was to meet up with my friend Ed, who was in the philippines, and let him carry him back in one of his empty suitcases. The big challenge was meeting him with his busy schedule and our busy schedule. We managed.
We met up with him on his last full day in the country and unloaded all of our unneeded clothes. We also got to meet most of his girlfriend's family.
We had some time after dropping Ed off at the airport, so we did a little sight seeing in Manila. But first we found a place to store our big bags for the rest of the time we are going to be in the Philippines.
We went to a huge street market and bought some rash guards and then toured a large catholic church before heading back to the airport to catch our flight to DumageteRead more
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Philippines
Porto Princessa
January 14 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
3 dives B
We came here mostly for the diving, but unfortunately for Anna, she was not feeling well and then get to go.
The diving was good though.
We also met up with the Canadian couple we had met in Panglau, and agreed to do the underground river tour with them the next day.Read more
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Philippines
Underground river & Mangrove tour
January 15 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Despite what a pain organizing this tour was, it turned out to be a really nice tour. It's about a two hour drive from porto to the underground river.
You're given audio headsets to hear a narrative as your canoe is guided silently along the river inside the cave.
Afterwards, you're given the option of a mangrove tour or a zip line or both. I don't recommend either, but we did do the mangrove tour. We did see a cool snake and a large bees nest. Then we had to wait while the ones who chose the zip line finished their tour.Read more
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Philippines
Port Barton
January 17 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F
3 dives ea
Poor Barton was a quaint little backpacking town. The diving was mediocre compared to other places in the Philippines. We did stay in a nice little place up on the hill out of town. It was really cute but not for the mobility challenged. We spent the first day diving, and the next day, we walked out to a waterfall, and went for a swim.Read more
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Philippines
El Nido
January 20 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
This was just a stop over town. We arrived in the evening and had to catch a ferry in the morning so there wasn't much time to do any sightseeing. We met our Canadian friends for dinner, and got our ferry tickets for in the morning.
It looks like a pretty neat town. Maybe we'll come back when they're not having sewer problems and stay longer.Read more
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Philippines
Coron
January 21 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
6 dives ea
These were our first official
wreck dives. It confirmed for me that I don't really enjoy wreck dives. But parts of it were pretty neat. Going through the ships that were laying on their side and seeing the big holes in them from the bombs and their messed up engines. These were all Japanese ships that were sunk by the Americans during WW2.
I found the reefs on the outside of the ships much more fascinating. There were tons of fish, and coral and other cool stuff. We got to see an electric clam. I didn't even know there was such a thing.
We rented a scooter and got to see a couple of other things in and around Coron, such as the Hot Springs and a beautiful snorkeling spot and generally exploring the island..
There was a really nice vegan restaurant just a short walk from where we were staying, which made eating very convenient.Read more
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Philippines
Ferry to Manilla
January 25 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
Instead of flying back to Manila to then fly to Dumagate, we decided to take an overnight ferry. It didn't leave till the evening, so we killed some time going to a beach on Coron before heading down to the ferry terminal and killing a bunch more time before it was time for the boat to leave.
It was an uneventful boat ride, and we docked in Manila the following morning. There were six bunks to a cabin, so we shared our cabin with a family of four.
I think we would probably choose this option again.Read more
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Philippines
Manilla and Dumaguete
January 26 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
We arrived in the morning on the ferry. The area around the ferry terminal in the Bay was full of collapsed, dilapidated houses built out over the water.
Our flight to Dumagate didn't leave till the next day, so we had to find something to do. We booked a hotel, which was actually kind of nice except for the fact that it was right at the junction of two highways. The road noise was incredibly loud and obnoxious.
One night, and we got a flight the next day.Read more
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Philippines
Dauin
January 30 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
5 dives ea
Three nights with two days of diving. One day at Apo island and the other off the shore of Dauin.
We met up with our friend Jim from Coron on the second day for the shore dives. They were some of the best dives we've done so far. We saw seahorse, frog fish, octopus, ghost pipe fish, banded pipe fish, and who knows what else. I think a sea turtle. The dives were incredible. It was also nice that the shore dives were with a brand new dive company called The Dive Hub. Coincidentally, located at the hotel, where we were staying.
But we had a schedule, so we were off to Siquijor the next day. We walked up to the street, flagged down the bus that took us to Dumagate. From there, we rode, a tricycle (motorized) to the ferry terminal.Read more
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Philippines
Siquijor
January 31 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
3 dives ea
This island turned out to be one of my favorite places in the Philippines regarding vibe and energy. It was much more chill, not overcrowded,
and not poverty left and right. We rented a scooter when we arrived, so we had a way to get around the island. We looked pretty good with our suitcase, backpack, and both of us on the scooter.
We dove one day and then toured the island the next. We snorkeled at a marine park on the north side of the island and got to see giant clams. We hiked to a waterfall where we slid down the rocks, swung on a rope swing and explored a cave in the water. We had a fish pedicure.Read more
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Philippines
Dauin 2.0
February 8 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
4 dives B 6 dives A
Liking the diving in Dauin much better than we did in Siquijor, we went back. It helped a lot that we liked the dive shop so much. Unfortunately, I came down with a case of bronchitis, and I had to back out of a couple of dives. We did one night dive before.I had to back out.
Jim's significant other Emily, arrived from the US and we got to meet a new friend. We had most meals together and got to know each other pretty good.Read more
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Philippines
Oslob
February 11 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
1 dive A
On our way from Dauin to Malipasqua, we stopped at Oslob to dive with the whale sharks. Unfortunately, I was not comfortable yet with diving, so I passed, but Anna got to do a wonderful dive with the sharks and a turtle.
We stayed the night there in a dumpy hotel that had some really cool features on the property, and then got a private car with our friends up to Cebu city.Read more
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Philippines
Malapascua
February 12 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
7 dives ea
From Oslob we went to Cebu city, spent the night, had dinner with and said goodbye to Jim and Emily.
The following morning we made our way to Malapascua. It required a taxi, crowded shared van, and a wet crowded ferry ride. When we arrived we found out we hadn't booked a room for that night. We thought it might take an extra day to get there, and when it didn't. Oops! Rookie move.
The first two places were fully booked, and the place we stayed said they were too. But I booked online and suddenly they had one last room.
We made arrangements to dive the next two days, had dinner and retired to our room. Which didn't include towels, but had a great view of the sunset.
We spent the next two days diving and had some amazing dives with thresher sharks. And a not so amazing dive with the mandarin fish.Read more
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Philippines
Final days in the Philippines
February 15 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
We had the adventure from Malapascua. We got to the ferry dock just as they started loading. Perfect. There was a bus leaving in ten minutes when we arrived at Maya port. Almost perfect. It wasn't air-conditioned. So we ran up to the bus terminal to check on an ac bus. 45 minutes. Hmmm. We went back out to the road just in time to flag the non ac bus and off we went. The problem with the non ac bus is it's cheaper so all the locals use it and it stops often.
Five hours later the bus stopped at a mall that was on a short direct route towards our hotel in Cebu. We unloaded there saving us the time of going all the way to the bus stop and then catching a grab back to the hotel.
So like I said, almost perfect.

We flew to Manila and picked up our suitcases that we had stored there.
We spend the night and catch a late flight for Chaing Mai.
It was a great time in the Philippines. We're looking forward to Thailand.Read more
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Trip end
February 17, 2026