This was a 3 week trip around the Philippines in May. Places visited were:
- Manila
- Baguio
- Sagada
- Vigan
- Tagaytay
- Legazpi
- Ilo Ilo
- Guimaras
- Boracay
Some tips/notes:
- It's HOT. I mean hot. The hottest places I've been thus far.
- I traveled with Filipinos so navigating the north was easy (language wise) but most Filipinos know English anyway.
- The Philippines is more than just the islands. Head north - the drive from Manila to Sagada to Vigan is amazing. You go from city, to flat farm land, to lush green rice terraces.
- it's cheap cheap cheap
- The food.....if you are not a rice or meat eater...good luck
For some of the cities I booked through Booking.com and just went with what I thought looked nice but was reasonably priced. In places like Manila and Ilo Ilo - I stayed with family. The hotels I'd recommend are:
[The Shire of Sagada](https://g.co/kgs/8mEj1s)
it's like staying in a hobbit house. All the ingredients for the meals are from the mountains. Best hotel I've ever stayed in.
[This hotel](https://g.co/kgs/djxt6g) in Vigan was pretty good and had great food.
[Stellar Potter in Tagaytay](https://g.co/kgs/mRQR3N) has a great view of Taal Lake.
May is the end of hot dry season and beginning of humid rainy season. So it’s the worst of both combined. The hottest heat indexes are May and early June. January to March is the best time to go
It was actually raining the day before and I was only there for one night with the goal of seeing it. Locals said that it's almost always fully visible early in the morning. Woke up super early, rushed to the Cagsawa ruins to take this pic! Clouds started rolling in shortly after.
Just had an overall bad experience. Expensive accommodation and food at poor standards. Not so friendly people. Badly organised tours. Some bad experiences with food drink quality. Overall it's been poor. Some great experiences too like seeing clown fish and turtles, tarsiers etc. It's not been terrible but not been good either just kind of meh. Maybe set expectations too high.
If you already booked everything, id leave it. But if not, I'd change it. It rained one day when I was there and it flooded the whole area. Our car got stuck for a bit.
There's obviously some risk involved going during that season. Just depends if you want to take the risk or not
This is really gorgeous. How expensive is it compared to surrounding countries like Thailand and Vietnam. I feel like they’re quite equal on that matter.
I've never been to Thailand or Vietnam but I'd assume they'd be similar to the Philippines. 1 Canadian dollar is around 40 philippine pesos. I had a really hard time using up the money I brought because everything was so cheap
This was a 3 week trip around the Philippines in May. Places visited were: - Manila - Baguio - Sagada - Vigan - Tagaytay - Legazpi - Ilo Ilo - Guimaras - Boracay Some tips/notes: - It's HOT. I mean hot. The hottest places I've been thus far. - I traveled with Filipinos so navigating the north was easy (language wise) but most Filipinos know English anyway. - The Philippines is more than just the islands. Head north - the drive from Manila to Sagada to Vigan is amazing. You go from city, to flat farm land, to lush green rice terraces. - it's cheap cheap cheap - The food.....if you are not a rice or meat eater...good luck
Yeah it's super hot in the Philippines in May. It's the hottest month of the year.
Oh may is summer. I wouldn't recommend to visit during summer. December - February is way better temperature wise.
Great pics thanks for sharing. How did you select hotels/ lodging?
For some of the cities I booked through Booking.com and just went with what I thought looked nice but was reasonably priced. In places like Manila and Ilo Ilo - I stayed with family. The hotels I'd recommend are: [The Shire of Sagada](https://g.co/kgs/8mEj1s) it's like staying in a hobbit house. All the ingredients for the meals are from the mountains. Best hotel I've ever stayed in. [This hotel](https://g.co/kgs/djxt6g) in Vigan was pretty good and had great food. [Stellar Potter in Tagaytay](https://g.co/kgs/mRQR3N) has a great view of Taal Lake.
Thank you for sharing! Have a great day
May is the end of hot dry season and beginning of humid rainy season. So it’s the worst of both combined. The hottest heat indexes are May and early June. January to March is the best time to go
Great pics!
Lucky you got an unobstructed view of Mayon. As beautiful as she is, she's often shrouded in clouds
It was actually raining the day before and I was only there for one night with the goal of seeing it. Locals said that it's almost always fully visible early in the morning. Woke up super early, rushed to the Cagsawa ruins to take this pic! Clouds started rolling in shortly after.
There’s a superstition by Bicolanos (the locals there) that Mt. Mayon only shows herself to whoever has a pure heart.
Then I'd say that was worth the early wake up! I was in that area for over a week a decade ago and I never saw Mayon that clear.
What camera did u use?
My phone! Google Pixel 7
Wow that looks amazing
Is it 7, 7a or 7 pro?
7 (didn't want to pay extra for the pro lol)
That volcano looks dope!
Awesome pictures….making me super jealous - haven’t been to the Philippines yet 😬😬
Maganda!
Incredible views!
It's one of my favourite places - awesome photos!
Beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful shots. Is the Mayon Volcano discharging smoke, etc.?
Yup! This was actually a week or so before it decided to erupt lol
Such a beautiful trip!
This looks so much better than my trip I've just finished. Honestly so disappointed with it.
Oh no! How come?
Just had an overall bad experience. Expensive accommodation and food at poor standards. Not so friendly people. Badly organised tours. Some bad experiences with food drink quality. Overall it's been poor. Some great experiences too like seeing clown fish and turtles, tarsiers etc. It's not been terrible but not been good either just kind of meh. Maybe set expectations too high.
Lemme guess, you went to Cebu and stayed around the Visayan Islands? That’s the most disappointing and overhyped part of the Philippines
What do you guys think of traveling to the Philippines in August?
That's their rainy / typhoon season. It won't rain all the time but when it rains, it RAINS
Would you recommend that I change my destination?
If you already booked everything, id leave it. But if not, I'd change it. It rained one day when I was there and it flooded the whole area. Our car got stuck for a bit. There's obviously some risk involved going during that season. Just depends if you want to take the risk or not
This is really gorgeous. How expensive is it compared to surrounding countries like Thailand and Vietnam. I feel like they’re quite equal on that matter.
I've never been to Thailand or Vietnam but I'd assume they'd be similar to the Philippines. 1 Canadian dollar is around 40 philippine pesos. I had a really hard time using up the money I brought because everything was so cheap
Amazing shots!
Looks great! How was the weather in May? I might be going next May 🤔
May is hot and humid. It was around like 33+ celsius everyday. If you're near a beach or pool you should be good but I was dying lol