0Experience the beauty of the Philippines at a relaxed pace with our Essential Philippines holiday. Explore the islands of Bohol, Palawan, and El Nido. Marvel at the Chocolate Hills, enjoy a leisurely cruise through Puerto Princesa National Park, and encounter a diverse array of wildlife, from dolphins to tarsiers. In between, take ample time to unwind on stunning, postcard-perfect beaches.
Highlights
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Itinerary ideas
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On arrival in the Philippines, you’ll be met by your private guide, who will accompany you to your Cebu hotel.
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Set off to the port in time for your ferry to Tagbilaran, the capital of the island province of Bohol, where you’ll meet your local guide and head to your hotel on Panglao Island.
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Spend a day at leisure in Panglao’s picture-perfect paradise, laying on the beach, snorkelling in the shallows or trekking to hidden waterfalls.
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Head over the bridge to Bohol, driving through a bucolic landscape of coconut plantations and small villages, to the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella. Wander through a small section of the sanctuary, keeping your eyes peeled for dozing tarsiers, and possibly meeting famous conservationist ‘Tarsier Man’ Carlito Pizzaras. Continue inland to a viewpoint near Carmen, for panoramic views across Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills. This unique landscape of conical hills, covering an area of 20 square miles, turns brown during winter, making them look like domes of chocolate, but is lush green during summer. Soak up the scenery before driving south to Loboc for a leisurely cruise along a picturesque section of river, with palm trees and jungle foliage lining the banks, enjoying a typical Filipino lunch as you travel.
Bohol
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Depart early for Pamilacan island to board a motorised outrigger and spot dolphin and whales offshore. The boat crews are former fishermen who previously made an income hunting the whales, but now safeguard the future of the marine life through tourism. Several cetacean species, including the playful spinner dolphins, can be spotted in these waters year round, and at least six different types of whales are seen between April and June, though these sightings are rarer. Enjoy lunch prepared by the locals on Pamilacan Island, then transfer back to your hotel where the rest of your day will be at leisure.
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Transfer to Tagbilaran and board the ferry to Cebu, from where you’ll catch a flight to Puerto Princesa, the capital of the island province of Palawan. Meet your local guide and set off along a winding road to your Sabang hotel where the rest of your day will be at leisure to wander along the town’s calm, pristine shoreline.
Cebu
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Start out early to avoid the crowds, and spend the morning exploring Puerto Princesa Underground River. After a 45-minute boat ride from Sabang, take a short walk through the jungle to the cave entrance to board a shared paddle boat for your subterranean river journey. Drift through giant caverns and cathedral-sized chambers, full of dramatic geological formations lit only by the boatman’s torch. The caves are home to a complex ecosystem, and several species of crab, giant spider and snake can only be found here (though you’re only likely to spot bats and swallows!) Reunited with your guide at the cave entrance, trek for a couple of hours along a well-worn jungle trail back to your hotel, where the rest of your day will be at leisure to relax in your natural surroundings.
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Embark on the drive north to El Nido town at the tip of Palawan, where you’ll board a shared boat to your chosen resort. The rest of your day will be at leisure to relax.
Spend a few days getting to know this stunning region. Take advantage of the varied watersports, including paddleboarding, windsurfing and kayaking to neighbouring deserted islands. If you can tear yourself away from the reefs, there are excellent trekking and hiking trails into the jungle.
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Beach time
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Relax until it’s time to fly to Manila for your onward flight.
Accommodation options
Booking Policy
- English speaking, local guide
- All accommodation listed
- Land transportation by private air-conditioned vehicles
- Any domestic flights listed (unless marked otherwise)
- All admission fees at attractions, temples and activities as mentioned in the itinerary
- All meals listed
- Entry visas
- International airport departure taxes
- Any meals not listed in the itinerary
- Drinks, other than water on activity days
- Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, drinks, tip…)
- Travel insurance
- All other services not listed in ‘inclusive’
Please note: During high season periods (such as Christmas and New Year) hotels often levy a surcharge and these are not included in the above prices. Your consultant will be happy to advise you of these.
We'll help plan your trip based on you like and want to do. We know a lot about the place you're gomg. so we can give you good advice. WIIether you're into history, food, or culture, ue'll make sure your trip is just right for you. With us. your travel will be easy and fun!
We carefully choose our expert guides and travel concierges to make sure you have an authentic experience. They're passionate about their work and will bring your destination to life with care and enthusiasm.
We design our luxury trips with responsible travel principles in mind. This means we prioritize experiences that benefit both you and the planet.
It is easy to customize your Highlights of Vietnam tours with us
What our clients say about us
Heather
9 May 2024 ★★★★★Our 2-week trip to Thailand was fantastic! Chiang Mai felt completely magical and Koh Samui was beautiful. We managed to have fun even on the rainy days. Our guides were perfect, very knowledgeable and a lot of fun, with great insights into the local culture. I've been recommending Absolute Asia Tours to all my friends and I can't wait to travel with you guys again! The coordination of everything was very well done.
Gari
22 May 2024 ★★★★★Our recent trip to China and Mongolia was a great success. Overall we found Absolute Asia Tours services to be excellent throughout the two weeks we were in Asia. For us, Mongolia was definitely the highlight. We thoroughly enjoyed or local guides and drives and they were unfailingly knowledgeable, helpful and amusing. Their languages skills were excellent and we felt that we recieved real insight into this fascinating country. We were intinially drawn to the idea of this trip by the reports of the world class fihing and we were absolutely not disappointed. The fishing guide was first rate and we caught more fish than we could have hoped for - more than 25 each day - with the added bonus of being the only other people in sight for miles arround. AAT created a private ger camp for us on the Onon River and we enjoyed delicious food prepared by our chef in a beautiful unspoled atmosphere. They alo arranged for us to visit a nomadic family and spend time with them at home and organized a dinner with an anthropologist with expert knowledge of the region. AAT fullfilled their promise to tkae us to us to one of the world's best fishing destinations in comfort and style. We would be happy to travel with AAT again and will definitely recommend them to our friends.
Cherry
16 May 2024 ★★★★★We've had two "A+" experience with Absolute Asia Tours. It is a pleasure to work with an organization where I feel confident that what you say will happen, happens. This was true with our complicated China itinerary six years ago, and was true with our recent itinerary in Vietnam. your on the ground guides and logistics were top - notch, and I would recommend you to anyone to visit Asia.
James
17 January 2024 ★★★★★Absolute Asia tours gave us a wonderful tour of Southeast Asia (working with sister-agency My Way Travel based in Vietnam). For our Siem Reap/Angkor Wat journey, our party of two had a private driver and guide named Jak, who was a cheerful and knowledgeable companion, explaining the history, culture, architecture and religious significance of the sites while keeping it always fun. We moved efficiently from site to site, and finished with a boat tour of the fishing village on stilts at Kampong Pluk on the Tonle Sap Lake. During most of our trip we stayed at top-notch locally-owned hotels, but in Siem Reap we were at the excellent local Hyatt hotel. Absolute Asia and My Way Travel our outstanding local providers, less expensive than name-brand group tours, and customized to our interests and schedule.
Hope
2 January 2024 ★★★★★We had an awesome time on cycling tour with AAT! It was incredible, filled with good vibes, laughs & a fantastic way to explore Vietnam & Cambodia. Tony our guide made it special by introducing us to locals and showing us the real charm of these countries. The whole tour was well-organized & the way they took care of us awesome. It's an unforgettable trip and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of Southeast Asia.
Nas
1 January 2024 ★★★★★My group of six completed a 30 day cycling tour in Asia with AAT. We traveled form Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket & Saigon to Siem Reap. Every day we pedaled through stunning countryside views, passing villages, fields & limestone karsts. Our guide Tony was fantastic-interesting, friendly & personable. This experience stood out as the highlight of our Asia trip.
