Saturday 28 November 2009

Time Magazine Lauds Boracay!


The outside world discovered the Philippine island of Boracay back in the 1970s, but this tiny isle less than an hour's flight south of Manila (followed by a quick ferry ride) has managed to retain an air of Crusoe-esque seclusion. To get away from the small but growing crowd, stay at one of the resorts at either end of White Beach, where rooms open right onto open stretches of luxurious white sand.

Read more

Talk to us about booking a holiday on Boracay. Info here...

Thursday 19 November 2009

Higher tourist arrivals expected with cruise ship in Manila


As much as 22,000 tourists are expected to visit Manila from now until November 2010 as Costa Cruises, Italy ’s largest tourism group and Europe’s no. 1 cruise company, begins regular calls to Manila. Costa Classica, one of its 14-storey, 53,000 gross-tonnage ships recently docked at South Harbour for the very first time, bringing 1,300 guests to Manila.
FULL ARTICLE...

Book Costa Cruises directly from our website HERE

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Help With Devising Tours of the Philippines

We've now added panels of information to many of the Philippines destinations we offer. See the example, right.

We hope that this device will help those considering a tour of the Philippines to get an idea of what destinations go well together, and they can then create a "trail" that we can then organise. We'll arrange the trip so that getting from destination to destination within the Philippines is achieved with minimum fuss. We use our knowledge of flight and sailing timetables to achieve this.

We also try to give an idea on what we consider to the the minimum number of nights one should allow for at each destination.

The Philippines is a vast country of 7,107 scattered islands, and it is easy to try and do too much in one go! You won't see it all at once, so work to an itinerary that's not too demanding, and then there'll be plenty of reasons to come back again!

Sunday 15 November 2009

Latest Atlantis Resort Newsletter


Once again, we're proud to link to the monthly Newsletter of our friends at the Atlantis Resorts. This can be downloaded HERE...

We offer diving holidays to Atlantis at Puerto Galera, on the island of Mindoro, and also Dumaguete, on Negros Oriental. Even if you don't dive, these are relaxing resorts at which to stay, offering a high standard of accommodation and facilities.

Download the Newsletter HERE...

Don't forget, we also offer Liveaboard Dive Cruises with Atlantis. Full information on our website HERE...

Saturday 14 November 2009

Pawikan Conservation


The ultimate patriots, the Pawikans (Filipino for Marine Turtles) return after 25-30 years and go back to where they were hatched to lay eggs. This cycle remained unbroken for ages until recently when these beautiful sea animals have become highly threatened for extinction, due to poaching and hunting- their numbers are alarmingly dwindling.
Discover more in Ryan Buaron's fascinating article HERE...

Friday 6 November 2009

More about El Nido...


"I've travelled far and wide. So when I say Bacuit Bay in southwest El Nido is probably the most beautiful place I've seen, you've got to realise the scale here.
There are 45 isles around El Nido, located at the northern tip of Palawan, known as the “Last Ecological Frontier'' in the Philippines.
These islands are mostly deserted, protected by law and harbouring beaches as private as they are beautiful. "

Just an excerpt from another great article here...

El Nido wins 'responsible tourism' award


A posh tourist destination in Palawan, Philippines won this year's Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards - the first awards series of its kind in the region.

El Nido Resorts, a hotel complex built near a beach cove and surrounded by lush forests, won the "Mid to Small Accommodation" category at the Wild Asia awards program last October 28. Full story...

At Philippine Trails, we can tailor in a visit to this fabulous destination. Please enquire!

Tuesday 3 November 2009

New Liveaboard Destination Announced.



Atlantis have now added an itinerary that covers Apo Reef and the wrecks of Coron - spectacular wall diving and pretty special Japanese WWII wreck diving, only available at very few places in the world.

As they say: "Why go all the way to Truk Lagoon?"

We all know how appealing wreck diving is to the British diver and combined with a week in one of the Atlantis resorts makes this a perfect diving holiday.

Read all about Liveaboard and The Azores, HERE.

Monday 2 November 2009

Misamis Oriental


"Called Mindanao’s nature front, Misamis Oriental is home to fine beaches, fertile mountains and lush forest reserves, interesting dive sites, caves that wait to be explored, and a diverse culture that begs to be experienced."

"While adventure tourism in Cagayan de Oro is promoted heavily in the tourism circles, there are other things to see and do in Misamis Oriental. Such as the ancestral houses of Vega Ancestral Home in Balingasag and the Lagbas Ancestral Home in Sugbongcogon. Like in many parts of the Philippines, the province has a lot of beautiful dive sites."

These extracts are taken from an article Ryan Buaron has just written about Misamis Oriental on the great website at Tourism-Philippines. See the full story HERE.

If you'd like to visit Mindanao, or any part of the Philippines for that matter, don't hesitate to contact us at Philippine Trails.