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10 Philippine Backpacking Routes for Newbies

Posted on July 4, 2012 by journeyingjames 40 Comments
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After traveling for almost a decade now (I’m not that old, I just started young) and setting foot on each of the 80 provinces of the Philippines on a budget, I guess it would be of great help to suggest some backpacking routes for those who are just starting out. I made it plain and simple with some suggestions on each route. I also don’t want to give a detailed itinerary for most of the places below as I want the traveler to be excited in his/her journey. Please do your best to make your own adventure and not copy mine.

Let this Philippine map guide you where the places are. This is especially helpful for foreigners:


1. Central Visayas Loop: Cebu-Bohol-Dumaguete-Siquijor

Highlights: Chocolate Hills (If you want to take a different shot, go to Sagbayan Peak) and Apo Island

Add to your itinerary: Cebu City Heritage tour, Osmena Peak, Tumalog Falls, Boljoon, Chocolate Hills, Tarsier at Corella, Panglao island, Silliman University, Apo island, Salagdoong Beach and Cambughay Falls.

Related Posts: An Unexpected Trip to Cebu City. Watch my 2 videos featuring southern Cebu- Oslob and Boljoon, Dalaguete and Argao

Accommodations: Cebu City Cheap Accommodations, Dumaguete: Harold’s Mansion has Php250/night (dorm-type, AC), Siquijor: I stayed at JJ Backpacker’s Inn in San Juan, rented a tent for only Php150/night

Tumalog Falls, Oslob, Cebu

 

2. Bicolandia: Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon

Highlights: Calaguas Island, Mt. Mayon and Whaleshark Watching

Add to your itinerary: CWC in Pili, CamSur, Food Trip in Naga City, Albay Tour, Whaleshark Encounter, Daraga Church and Bulusan Lake

Related blogs: 10 Things I Want to Experience in Bicol, Close Encounter with the Whalesharks, Calaguas Islands Trip Guide, 10 Food Destinations in Naga City

Accommodations: Naga City- Old Sampaguita Inn (as low as Php150/night, common CR, fanroom), Beach Camping in Calaguas island.

Mayon Volcano, Albay

 

3. Diver’s Paradise: Coron, Palawan

Highlights: Wreck dive and Kayangan Lake

Add to your itinerary: Mt. Tapyas, Banana Island, Maquinit hotspring, Siete Pecados, Kayangan Lake and Calawit Safari Park.

Cheap Accommodations: Seadive, Coron Bay Lodge.

Kayangan Lake, Coron

 

4. The Heritage of Ilocandia: Vigan-Paoay-Batac-Laoag-Pagudpud-Adams

Highlights: UNESCO-Stamped Heritage Village in Vigan and Paoay Church

Add to your itinerary: Sta. Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, Kalesa Tour in Vigan, Bangui Windmills, Saud Beach, Kapurpurawan Rock Formations and Adams waterfalls.

Related Blog: Astonishing Adams, UNESCO-Stamped Churches and Heritage Village.

Cheap Accommodations: Vigan- Grandpa’s inn. Pagudpud- Edu’s Homestay (0920-2504858, Php500/night). Adams- Log Cabin and winery (Php150/night).

Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte

 

5. Busy to Beach: Iloilo City to Boracay (via Antique)

Highlights: River-kayaking in Tibiao, Antique, Puka Beach and Party in Boracay

Add to your itinerary: 7 Things to do in Tibiao, Iloilo & Guimaras too, Visita Iglesia in Southern Iloilo.

Related Blog: Not Your Ordinary Boracay,

Cheap Accommodations: Boracay Cheap Accommodations

Puka Beach, Boracay

 

6. Rice Terraces Overload: Ifugao Rice Terraces

Highlight: Trekking from Batad to Bangaan Rice Terraces (5-6 hours trek, local guide needed)

If you want to explore the UNESCO-inscribed terraced mountains, read this:

The five inscribed clusters are; (i) the Nagacadan terrace cluster in the municipality of Kiangan, a rice terrace cluster manifested in two distinct ascending rows of terraces bisected by a river; (ii) the Hungduan terrace cluster that uniquely emerges into a spider web; (iii) the central Mayoyao terrace cluster which is characterized by terraces interspersed with traditional farmers’ bale (houses) and alang (granaries); (iv) the Bangaan terrace cluster in the municipality of Banaue that backdrops a typical Ifugao traditional village; and (v) the Batad terrace cluster of the municipality of Banaue that is nestled in amphitheatre-like semi-circular terraces with a village at its base. (lifted from UNESCO website)

Related blog: Batad, What Happened to Your Charm?

Cheap Accommodations: I stayed at Batad Pension and Guesthouse (choose between regular oom and Ifugao hut), Php200/night. They serve sumptuous food- adobo is FTW! Also check this helpful accommodation guide.

Batad Rice Terraces, Ifugao

 

7. Adrenaline Rush: CDO-Camiguin-Iligan-Bukidnon

Highlights: Whitewater Rafting and Tinago Falls

Add to your itinerary: CDO-Whitewater rafting; Camiguin- White island, Mantigue island, Sunken Cemetery; Iligan- Maria Cristina Falls, Tinago Falls, Lechon in front of Timoga Falls; Bukidnon- Dahilayan Park, Trek to 2 trees in Malaybalay City.

Related blog: Northern Mindanao Escapade Summary and Expenses

Accommodations: Cheap Accommodations in Camiguin Island

Whitewater Rafting, CDO

 

8. Southern and Central Mindanao: Davao to Gen. Santos City and Saranggani

Highlights: Tuna Fish Port and Gumasa White Beach

Add to your itinerary: Samal Island, Davao Foodtrip, Drink and Party at MTS, Mt. Apo, Kapatagan, GenSan Tuna Fishport, Gumasa White Beach in Glan, Saranggani.

Related Blog: Samal Island Tour, Gumasa White Beach, Glan

Cheap Accommodations:Green Window and Homitori in Davao City (both less than Php200/night) and Residencia Heneral Traveller’s Inn, General Santos City (Php250/night).

Gumasa White Beach, Glan, Saranggani

 

9. White Beach Only: Puerto Princesa City and El Nido, Palawan

Highlights: Underground River and El Nido island hopping, Tour C

Add to your itinerary: Not Your Ordinary Palawan, Puerto Princesa City to El Nido Travel Guide, DIY Puerto Princesa City Tour

Cheap Accommodations in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

Helicopter Island, El Nido, Palawan

 

10. The Ultimate Dream: Batanes- Batan and Sabtang islands

Highlight: Sabtang Island.

Related blog: Visit Batanes Series

Cheap Accommodations in Batanes.

Chavayan, Sabtang Island, Batanes

 

NOTE: The following routes are best explored for a week or more. I don’t recommend you cramming it to a 3D/2N holiday.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO NOW AND EXPLORE THE PHILIPPINES.

Need extra help? Read: How to Start Your Own Backpacking Trip

Related Posts with Thumbnails
This entry was posted in Luzon, Mindanao, Philippines, Travel Guide, Visayas and tagged 10 Philippine Backpacking Routes for Newbies, Backpacking, Backpacking in the Philippines, Philippine Backpacking, Philippines. Bookmark the permalink.

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40 thoughts on “10 Philippine Backpacking Routes for Newbies”

  1. Earl said:
    Reply
    July 4, 2012 at 3:36 am

    Thanks for including our very own “Two Trees” in this list James. I’m planning to do your list # 4 next year.

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 5, 2012 at 8:13 am

      have fun in ilocos bosing earl!

  2. ikatlo said:
    Reply
    July 4, 2012 at 3:50 am

    This is really nice James. Kudos to you and more travels.

  3. cea said:
    Reply
    July 4, 2012 at 9:51 am

    ..hi james!
    ..medyo naguguluhan lang ako, yung route mo ba, travel at a time ba yan per destination o tuloy tuloy na travel? kung tuloy tuloy bakit hindi magkakasunod yung magkakalapit na destinations..? sorry for my being so naive, medyo bago kasi ako sa ganito eh..pero “lakwatsera” talaga ako!
    ..nabuhay lang ang dugong lakwatsera kung nung mabasa ko itong blog mo nung June 26 and then after..
    ..thanks for the inspiration! GOD bless always..

  4. jell said:
    Reply
    July 4, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    I salute you on how you put up every bits of information your readers need to know about the places around pinas.. there’s an automatic answer with the questions that would probably come up when their reading this.. husay ng pagkakatagni-tagni ng links ng places and accomodation that we could use as a refference.

    thanx for this very informative post! 😀

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 5, 2012 at 7:50 am

      what’s “pagkakatagni-tagni”?
      hope you will be encouraged to travel more of our country jell!

  5. Rhye said:
    Reply
    July 5, 2012 at 3:58 am

    Laking tulong nito James.. Lalo ngaung nakaka-aray na sa pocket ung airline tickets…

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 5, 2012 at 7:31 am

      yep, better book in advance nlang then road trip nalang.

  6. rhye said:
    Reply
    July 7, 2012 at 5:51 am

    Ganun na nga plan ko hopefully.. Pa Luzon nman since kaya nman xia ng bus rides.. See you around.. ;D

  7. Joy said:
    Reply
    July 10, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    Hi James! ask ko lang gano katagal travel by boat from santander cebu to dumaguete? 🙂 Thank you.

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 14, 2012 at 5:13 am

      25minutes or less, boat leaves every 30minutes.

  8. Tin said:
    Reply
    July 11, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    For the Davao-Gensan-Sarangani route, you can also include South Cotabato on the itinerary. It’s less than an hour away from Gensan and it boasts of beautiful lakes (Lake Sebu and Lake Holon), a mountain (Mt. Matutum), waterfalls, and so many delicious ways of cooking tilapia, among other things.

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 14, 2012 at 5:09 am

      definitely! i did that one a year ago. thanks for adding that option tin!

  9. lauvee said:
    Reply
    July 14, 2012 at 3:54 am

    hmmm…#10 is really an ultimate dream for me! hope to visit it ASAP. haha

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 14, 2012 at 4:54 am

      everyone wants to visit batanes

  10. rizza said:
    Reply
    July 18, 2012 at 8:12 am

    items 2, 4, and 6 done! next stop is item #7! sana makisama ang weather! this is very helpful. Thanks, James!

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 22, 2012 at 10:24 am

      enjoy the whitewater rafting!

  11. Lilly said:
    Reply
    July 18, 2012 at 11:38 am

    Hi James! Its my first time to comment but ive been reading your blog quite frequently in the past few months. Thank you for this very informative post! Ill be graduating college soon and i cant wait to try your suggested routes for newbies like me. 🙂 Keep inspiring and happy travels! – lilly

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 22, 2012 at 10:23 am

      hi lilly! glad you took time to make some comments. i hope you explore the country, aral ka ng mabuti.

  12. Ching said:
    Reply
    July 24, 2012 at 4:45 am

    GREAT post James!

    9/10 for me. No. 10 is indeed an ultimate dream! When are u going to be a real thing for me? The fare alone is much too expensive! (sigh)

    Done with all other 9 routes but it seems that i’ve to re-trace my footsteps for #2 (for Camarines Norte), #4 (for the “Astonishing Adams”) and #9 (for El Nido – another ultimate dream!). Im looking forward to revisit these places “your way” (on a backpacker’s budget!)

    Cheers to more travels!

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 30, 2012 at 7:31 am

      hey Ching, that’s nice!
      batanes nalng kulang 🙂
      go go go

  13. Pau said:
    Reply
    August 15, 2012 at 2:00 am

    Thank youuuu! 😀

  14. Riz said:
    Reply
    January 25, 2013 at 6:44 am

    This is great James! #6,7,8,10 looks like andami ko pa pla eksena sa pinas. 🙁 #10 prang ang hirap mahal pamasahe! haha. pero sana matupad na din pangarap q na makapunta sa batanes.Will bookmark and tweet this! thanks for sharing idol! 🙂

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      January 29, 2013 at 9:02 am

      thanks for the RT riz! yes, a lot of places to explore here in the country

  15. Loise Garcia said:
    Reply
    July 26, 2013 at 8:55 am

    Thanks for this!! Will probably do #02 on my birthday. <3 Thanks!

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      July 26, 2013 at 10:16 am

      enjoy the trip loise and advance happy bday

  16. Momo said:
    Reply
    August 19, 2013 at 10:39 am

    Hi guys
    Im momo …i really like backpacker Then i need to joy …if its ok with u …plzzz add me on facebook …MMo GGran… Salamat

  17. jaypee said:
    Reply
    September 12, 2013 at 11:58 am

    hello.. im a comm. student and our thesis/docu is about back packers.. sino po may plans by dec. or jan. na mag bagpack? please contact us ….jayput05@gmail.com

  18. Noora said:
    Reply
    October 3, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Hi there! We are coming from cold cold Finland to Philippines on 10th of January and we have to be back in Hongkong on 9th of February. Which islands woud you recommend? We are travelling low budget and we are huge nature fans. Some walking tours in the nature, like hiking would be nice. Any ideas? 🙂 Thanks!

    • journeyingjames said:
      Reply
      October 13, 2013 at 9:44 am

      hi noora, welcome to the philippines in advance!
      my suggestion would be number 6 and 9

  19. Mayank said:
    Reply
    August 15, 2014 at 7:59 am

    Hi James ,
    Im doing a Philippines solo backpack for a month.soon!
    could you suggest me few things please?
    It would be great if we could talk.

  20. Manvinder S Bhullar said:
    Reply
    September 7, 2014 at 3:34 am

    Hi James,

    Excellent work. I have been trying to figure out where I want to go in the Philippines (PI) in Dec this year (this would be my first trip to the PI) but so far it has been very confusing considering the PI is so varied geographically and culturally. But your site has really helped me narrow down my choices and make sense of the PI.

    If it’s not too much trouble, any suggestions for a backpacking route from
    a) Manila back to Manila (Nov 29 to Dec 15,2014) or
    b) Cebu to Manila (Nov 29 to Dec 15, 2014)

    I want to either fly in and out of Manila or fly into Cebu and fly out from Manila.

    If any visitors are reading this, I’d welcome some suggestions from any of you too.

    Thanks! Philippines here I come!

  21. Lina @ Divergent Travelers said:
    Reply
    October 1, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    Thanks for the great ideas! Headed to the Philippines in 2 weeks and it just looks amazing!

  22. Kayle said:
    Reply
    May 6, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    Thanks for the heads up. I’m planning to backpack travel to the Phils this coming September. Will the weather be favorable then?

  23. alice said:
    Reply
    July 25, 2015 at 12:24 pm

    Tumalog Falls were really cool! i have been there after vising Whale Sharks.

    I enjoyed a lot and its not that far. But dont rent a van from travel agency and dont take their tours: expensive and useless. Just rent a motorbike and go there yourself using google map.
    I rented from ceburentalmotorbike. com they have their information there. Very cheap and really helped me to get around

  24. Carl said:
    Reply
    February 17, 2016 at 8:00 am

    I am from Denmark and currently taking my internship in the Philippines, most reason so I can travel in the Philippines. I went to Boracay, it was the most amazing place. Let me guide you with a few things. If you are coming to Kalibo airport, you have to take a bus to come to Caticlan, then you can take a small boat to the island. There are a lot of terminal fees on the way. The most thing I enjoyed on the island is renting a motorcycle. I found a website called: http://book2wheel.com/. This website has a list of all rental shops in the Philippines. The daily rental rate in Boracay is extremely high, but you can rent per hour like 200 pesos per hour. Go around and see the nature of the island.

  25. Amy said:
    Reply
    February 25, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Hi James,

    If I were to take Route 1 (Central Visayas Loop: Cebu-Bohol-Dumaguete-Siquijor), how many days do you think is enough? 🙂 Thanks!

  26. Juliet Mountaineer said:
    Reply
    March 9, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Interesting list! I think the mountaineering activities in Mt. Mayon, Albay is the most exciting one because it provides extreme adventure though it is quite an endless hike and walk, the hardship during the ascent is still worth it when you reach the peak of the mountain and witness its breathtaking view.

  27. Cebu Safari and Adventure Park said:
    Reply
    May 19, 2018 at 7:46 am

    Awesome set of list! I think the mountaineering activities in Mt. Mayon, Albay is the most exciting one because it provides extreme adventure though it is quite an endless hike and walk. Thanks for sharing this amazing guide for newbies!
    Cebu Safari and Adventure Park

  28. Kai said:
    Reply
    May 19, 2018 at 7:47 am

    Totally loved your lists of guides for newbies. Thanks for this!

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