2 Weeks In The Philippines: The Ultimate Itinerary

I spent 2 weeks in the Philippines last November and it was an absolutely incredible trip. With over 7,000 islands scattered across the Pacific, the Philippines is a destination where turquoise waters, dramatic landscapes and warm hospitality come together. From powder-white beaches and vibrant coral reefs to lush rice terraces and buzzing cities, the country offers an incredible variety of experiences in one trip.

With so many islands to explore, it’s quite daunting at first choosing which ones to visit and subsequently how much time to spend on each one too. I personally found this Philippines trip difficult to plan, with it being a somewhat underrated country to visit from the UK – and that’s exactly why I wanted to visit!

2 weeks in the Philippines is the perfect amount of time to experience both its natural beauty and rich culture, without feeling rushed. This tropical archipelago promises adventure, relaxation and unforgettable moments at every stop. So I’m going to share our 14 day Philippines itinerary to show you just how much you do and see in this time frame and how to make the most of your time there.

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My Philippines 2 Week Itinerary

We flew from London to Manila with a free two night stop over in Abu Dhabi with Etihad en route. From there, we went to Cebu, Bohol and El Nido, Palawan and finally back to Manila to fly home.

We planned our itinerary based on the cost of domestic flights versus geographically as this made the most sense to us. Each of our domestic flights were approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes long.

Day 1 – flying into Manila

Our flight from Abu Dhabi landed in Manila at 15.10. Not having the desire to spend more time than necessary in Manila, we had a domestic flight booked to Cebu at 19.30 on the same day. This meant a very long day of travel, but cities in Asia don’t excite me, I was there purely for the stunning islands and beaches.

Having heard the Philippines has the worst wi-fi in Asia, the first thing we did was purchase a local sim card each at the airport. There are two companies to choose from and they’re hard to miss as every tourist heads straight there.

As predicted, our flight to Cebu with AirAsia was delayed for 4 hours, but we managed to speak to a member of staff in the AirAsia office who thankfully got us on a much earlier flight. This did mean a lot of rushing around though as the terminals are a 15-20 minute taxi ride away from one another and there is a lot of traffic in Manila!

The domestic terminal was absolute chaos (again, to be expected), with crazy queues snaking around the building to the check-in desks and people pushing in. We got through to security with only minutes to spare.. to then find out this flight was delayed too. This is extremely normal across Asia and the Philippines was no different.

Where to stay in Cebu

We spent 5 nights at Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort. We landed in Cebu at around 21.00 and had arranged a hotel transfer from the airport, but the complication over our flight times constantly changing meant our transfer didn’t arrive – which actually turned out to be a good thing. The cost of the hotel transfer was 950 Php (around £15) and we ended up hailing a taxi outside that cost us about half that price.

This 5 star resort was the height of luxury with a fabulous infinity pool. We didn’t know it at the time, but it ended up being the best, and our favourite hotel of our entire trip. You can watch a room tour in my vlog below.

Upon checking in, we had dinner in the hotel and went straight to bed.

Day 2 – rest day

We woke up early and headed down to the huge breakfast buffet at the hotel – one of the biggest I’ve seen. There wasn’t a ton of veggie options, but they were happy to cook items to order such as the stir fries without oyster sauce.

We’d set this day aside to just relax and recuperate after an arduous day of travelling the day before – and we did just that. With any itinerary, remember to factor in some rest days to just relax and soak up the culture and your surroundings. You can’t be on the go 24/7 and you may need some time to recover from the jetlag.

Having spent all morning in the infinity pool, we grabbed a snack for lunch as we were too full after breakfast and then spent the afternoon studying for our PADI certification before heading down the the Sports Bar in the hotel for dinner. Margherita pizza and chips – standard fare for a vegetarian abroad!

Day 3 – diving training

We were up at 5.30am to have an early breakfast before heading to the diving training centre for 8am.

The reason we chose to stay in Mactan over Cebu itself was because we’d found some great reviews on the diving centres here. As much as I loved the hotel, if I were to do this trip all over again, I’d stay in Moalboal – that’s the best place for diving in Cebu.

We opted to save a day by doing the e-learning at home, and completed the examination online the day before. So we only needed two full days in order to get complete our PADI certification.

Today was our first full day of diving. We had a safety briefing first to check we remembered how to signal for help underwater and test how the equipment works, before practicing with it on in the water. The morning was outstanding – we dived straight in (pun intended) and went out into the sea carrying our heavy cylinders and equipment on our backs.

A short break for lunch which we mostly spent walking around trying to find somewhere to eat. We assumed from what we’d read online that there are places to eat nearby, but sadly vegetarian food is virtually impossible to find in the Philippines – a running theme you’ll find across all of my Philippines content!

We only just had enough time to grab a bottle of water and a croissant each before heading back. The afternoon was really tough – for me, in particular. We went 10 metres deep in the sea, which was amazing – we saw an array of gorgeous fish, eels, parts of a shipwreck and so much more. However, we had more safety checks to do – this time underwater, such as turning the oxygen off so you know what to do in an emergency and having to remove the pipe from your mouth etc. This caused me to have 3 panic attacks under the water (something that has never happened to me before) and I just wanted to get out of there.

We got back to the hotel at around 5pm, had dinner (a gorgeous penne arrabbiata) at the Sports Bar again and an early night.

Day 4 – day trip to Cebu City

We woke up early, debating whether to go and complete our diving training as had been the plan, but aside from the panic attacks and fear I had felt, I also had what can only be described as food poisoning. If you’ve been here a while, you might know that I am mildly lactose intolerant, so I wasn’t sure if I’d accidentally been served cows milk at breakfast or whether it was something to do with the big bowl of pasta (gluten) from the night before. Regardless, I felt dreadful and couldn’t face the thought of diving again.

Though I was happy to hang out by the pool all day on my own, Jass wasn’t keen to go on his own either, so we decided to skip it. We had tried the scuba diving, like we’d wanted to and the certification wasn’t important to us, as we were never going to become professional divers any way, so we were satisfied with our attempts.

Instead, we texted our taxi driver from the airport (top tip – always ask for the phone numbers of drivers you like when travelling) and asked him to take us to Cebu City – an hour away.

Traffic in Cebu City is crazy and the infrastructure isn’t great, so you need to account for that if you’re planning a day trip. We were hit with severe floods from where it had rained overnight and a landslide while driving up a mountain – it was scary!

Our first stop was Sirao Garden also known as Little Amsterdam. Not only is this gem an Instagrammers paradise, it really is so well put together, with gorgeous views and the gardens tendered to so beautifully. There are several structures where one can pose for photos against lovely beautiful mountainous backdrop, the most famous being the giant hands. They have truly captured the essence of Amsterdam well with a canal, bikes, a giant clog and beautiful flower beds. You can have a closer look at the gardens in my vlog below.

We’d planned to have lunch at a vegetarian restaurant, a 50 minute drive away in the city, however due to the traffic, it took us 2.5 hours to get there, and on arrival, we’d discovered it had closed down! Very annoying to say the least.

On our way back to Mactan, our driver stopped off at a big shopping centre where he was certain I’d find some vegetarian food. Alas, all that was available was some very greasy lumpia (vegetable spring rolls) and a coffee. Safe to say I was hangry!

We got back to the hotel, got changed and headed to Benjarong – the fancier Thai restaurant in the hotel. With no vegetarian items on the menu, I was assured they can swap the meat for tofu in the curries, so I was sold. Starters were great, but the curries terrible – it wasn’t Thai food as we know it. Very disappointing.

Day 5 – pool day

It was our last full day in Cebu and an unexpected free day due to skipping the last day of our PADI training.

I couldn’t stay somewhere with such a fabulous infinity pool and not want to spend every minute in there, so we did just that. After a big breakfast, we spent pretty much all day in or by the pool and it was glorious!

We searched local hotels to see what their menus were like for dinner and it was all just as terrible as ours. The Sheraton literally just had garlic roasted broccoli on their menu that was suitable for vegetarians, so we decided to stay at eat at the Sports Bar again.

Day 6 – ferry to Bohol

We checked out of our hotel got a taxi to the port in Cebu City to take the ferry to Bohol. Accounting for traffic, we arrived an hour early, which was great as we hadn’t yet purchased our tickets.

Treating ourselves to business class tickets on OceanJet, we hung out in the terminal which we were pleasantly surprised to find was much nicer and cleaner than the airports we’d encountered so far!

The journey from Cebu to Bohol took two hours and you can watch all about the journey and fees in my vlog; Travelling Business Class On OceanJet From Cebu To Bohol Tagbilaran below.

We’d arranged a taxi to pick us up at the terminal in Tagbilaran to take us to our hotel 45 minutes away, which was lucky as we later found out there are only about 5 taxis on the whole island. Bohol is so different to Cebu; calm, lots of open space, rice fields, very few tourists and cars – no traffic.

In fact, every island seems to have it’s own personality and be so different to each other.

Where to stay in Bohol

We spent two nights at Loboc River Resort – a very rustic 3 star resort on the banks of the Loboc River. While the location and service was perfection, the resort was far too shabby for my liking (I genuinely don’t know how I’d accidentally booked a 3 star hotel, that is not typical of me) and I was glad to not be spending much time there at all. To me, it seemed like an upmarket hostel perhaps – it was full of groups of backpackers and I think we were the only couple that had booked directly with the hotel.

Let’s just say, I can’t cope with trails of ants in the shower, an uncooperative toilet flush, dirty sheets and towels.. you get the picture. I just need some luxury in my life when it comes to hotel rooms.

Day 7 – countryside tour Bohol

We were up early for the highlight of our time in Bohol; the countryside tour (2900Php). After a very sad looking breakfast at the hotel (see it in this vlog), our driver was waiting to take us out for the day.

The stops include a visit to the oldest church in Bohol, the man-made forest, the Chocolate Hills tour, a visit to the Tarsier Conservation area and the floating Loboc river cruise for lunch, which was outstanding.

We opted for the ATV buggy drive up to the chocolate hills over a quad bike as we’ve done this many times before, and it was so much fun. The rain meant we were covered in mud, but still so worth it. Top tip, don’t wear flip flops and buy the poncho for some protection against the rain and mud!

You can also go zip lining, but as you’ll see in my vlog below, we had to cut our day trip short due to a smashed phone screen and having to travel all the way to the city, Tagbilaran to get it fixed.

The activities are all optional extras that you have to pay for, excluding the church and man-made forest. For a total of approximately 8000Php (around £120) for two people including the driver, entrance fees and lunch, it was well worth it and we had the best day out!

It’s worth noting that you don’t need to stay in Bohol. Many people do a day trip from Cebu, which would be a long day given that the ferry takes around 2 hours each way. However, we opted to stay as our flights to El Nido were a lot more affordable from Bohol than Cebu. The flights also went directly to Lio as oppose to Puerto Princesa which was ideal for us.

Day 8 – fly to El Nido

After another pathetic hotel breakfast, we checked out early and headed to the airport for our flight at 11am to El Nido, Palawan. Again, we arrived at the airport far too early and typically the flight was delayed. The airport in Bohol is very nice and clean though in comparison to Manila, just be warned there isn’t much by way of food or drink there as always – so always pack some Pringles with you at the very least!

We flew directly from Bohol to Lio, El Nido via AirSwift; the best domestic airline I have ever experienced. The majority of flights to El Nido land in Puerto Princesa, but I would highly recommend flying to Lio if you can. This way, you don’t have to deal with at least 6 hours of onward travel to get to either Lio or El Nido Town.

Where to stay in El Nido

We spent 4 nights at Seda Lio, a 5-Star sustainable resort located on Lio Beach. Also conveniently a 4 minute buggy ride away from Lio airport which was incredible.

You can read an in-depth review of our stay at Seda Lio here.

It is important to note that regardless of where you stay in Palawan, it needs to be a DOT–accredited hotel (this is the most up-to-date list I have found), which is a requirement to enter the country. The accreditation provides assurance that the hotel has assessed its risk and put in place credible systems, policies and practices to deter and prevent crime and to respond effectively in the event of a security incident.

Upon checking in, we spent the afternoon in the pool and having cocktails at the pool bar. Followed by a buffet dinner at Misto – the hotel’s restaurant. It was okay, but nothing special and quite overpriced, particularly if you’re vegetarian/vegan.

Day 9 – a rainy day on the beach

After a lie in and late breakfast, we headed to the beach, just a few steps away from the pool.

We hung out in the sea for about an hour or so before the weather had different ideas to show us what rainy season in the Philippines is all about! It was crazy – our first day in the Philippines with full on rain and there was a yellow weather warning due to the flooding it had caused all around and inside the hotel. We sheltered under a parasol waiting for the rain to die down before making a run for the pool bar – the closest spot away with proper shelter.

After one too many cocktails, we went back to the room to get changed and head out to El Nido town. We took a tricycle (the main mode of transport on the island) into the town, a 20 minute ride away. That was pretty frightening in the dark, with floods all around, cars overtaking us and the engine slowing down to a halt when going uphill. It was a relief when we arrived at Taste El Nido – a vegan gem I had scoped out for an early dinner having skipped lunch.

Food here was outstanding, I almost cried with excitement when I discovered somewhere that I can actually eat proper food. Not only was it open, they had a great looking menu! The staff were mildly amused at my reaction and said most vegans react this way as vegan food is so rare to come across in the Philippines.

We wandered the wet streets of El Nido, weaving in and out of the shops and market stalls before stocking up on some snacks for the hotel and heading back.

Day 10 – El Nido Island Hopping Tour A

This was the day we’d been waiting for – getting out on to the water to discover what beautiful El Nido has to offer.

Island Hopping is one of the most popular activities in El Nido, where you can discover many hidden beaches, lagoons ( I loved the Secret Lagoon experience), and caves. While on these tours, you can go snorkelling, kayaking and scuba diving, all of which we did on Tour A.

We went snorkelling at 7 Commando Beach, Secret Lagoon and Secret Beach, snorkelled at Twin Rocks, had a lunch buffet on Shimizu Island and went kayaking in the Big Lagoon.

Tour A and Tour C are the most popular, though there are four to choose from; A, B, C and D – and the tours can be booked through the hotel. We booked this tour via Klook as it was a fraction of the price in comparison. It was our first time using Klook and we were very impressed at how effortless it was and the tour providers were brilliant. Highly recommend!

Watch our incredible day out in this vlog below – it was our favourite of the entire trip!

Of course, we headed back to Taste El Nido for dinner, a short walk away. It was that good, I would have eaten there every night of our time here!

Day 11 – spa day

We’d planned to go on Tour C today, but unfortunately it had been cancelled for the week due to the yellow weather warning and flooding.

Instead, we spent a glorious (rain-free) morning at the beach followed by another tricycle ride to the town. We spent all afternoon there browsing the shops followed by dinner at Café Athena – Jass convinced me to try somewhere different this time. It was fine, but the hummus was awful (ironic, considering this is a Greek restaurant). If you’re a hummus fan, go to Taste, the had the best hummus I have ever had – bold statement, I know.

Heading back to the hotel for 8pm as we had massages booked for each of us at Seda Spa for our last night here. I had a Swedish massage and Jass went for the Hilot massage. The therapists however were lovely and I left feeling incredibly relaxed – in fact, I still cannot get over just how relaxed I looked after my massage!

Day 12 – flying to Manila

We checked out of the hotel and went back to Lio Airport for our flight to Manila at midday. Again, flying with AirSwift, we had the most effortless and pleasant experience.

Landing in Manila is crazy – it’s a busy, heavily congested city with nothing much to offer, if you ask me. As I mentioned, I don’t find cities in Asia appealing. We got a taxi to our hotel which took around 30 minutes and just walked around the city and Robinsons Mall before finding a spot for dinner and walking back to the hotel bar for a drink.

Where to stay in Manila

We spent two nights, which actually turned out to be one night in the end at New Coast Hotel Manila. A very large, quite dated, in terms of decor 5 star hotel in the city. We weren’t wowed by it, it was just somewhere to sleep, and I’d intentionally booked somewhere with a pool, being the water enthusiast I am.

Day 13 – flying back to London

I had wrongly assumed we had two nights here, getting the flight times confused as we were due to fly at 00.25 the following day. Thankfully Jass checked and we realised that meant we were leaving tonight – not 24 hours later! Can you imagine!?

We went to Starbucks around the corner from our hotel for breakfast (our first Starbucks in the Philippines!) and spent the rest of the day at the pool and wandering around the shopping centre. It was nice not having to check out of the hotel earlier in the day, so we had somewhere to relax before our long journey home.

Manila airport is terrible and unsurprisingly nearly all of the eateries were closed as we were probably on the last flight out of there. We departed at 00.25 and landed in Abu Dhabi 8 hours later. With a 2 hour and 20 minutes stop over, we then flew around 6 hours to land in the UK at midday. It was such a long journey having not slept the night before too, we almost felt hungover on arrival.

The Most Popular Tourist Destinations In The Philippines

With over 7600 islands to choose from and the popular tourist destinations scattered across the map, I’d strongly recommend you choose a maximum of three places to visit if you only have 2 weeks in the Philippines.

Travelling between the islands with the unpredictable island weather, can take some time and more often than not, there are always delays with domestic flights and ferries.

Don’t try and fit too much into your Philippines travel itinerary or you’ll end up rushing around too much without enjoying it properly. Think about what sort of thing you’d like to experience, for example, our goal was to do as many water sports as possible including getting our PADI (scuba diving) certification.

These are the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines:

Boracay – the party capital of the Philippines

Cebu – an island with amazing diving spots and training centres

Bohol – countryside tour of the Chocolate Hills are the Tarsiers conservation

Siargao – the surfing capital of the Philippines

El Nido, Palawan – the most crystal waters, white sand beaches, lagoons and insane island hopping

Coron, Palawan – picturesque islands with jungle treks and wreck diving

Manila – the capital of the Philippines, mostly a concrete jungle and a city to fly in and out of

Best Time To Visit The Visit The Philippines

The Philippines are most popular during the dry season, between November and April. Temperatures are at their highest during March and April, so it’s better to travel during the cooler months between December to February.

Typhoons can happen all year round in the Philippines, but the peak of the typhoon season is July to October, so it’s advisable not to travel then.

Read more: Philippines Travel Tips: 25 Things to Know Before Visiting

What To Pack For The Philippines

Dry Bag – If you’re planning to do any water sports, island hopping or even spending time on the beach, you’ll be so thankful for a dry bag. With waterproof, tough durable fabric, they are designed to keep all your valuables dry. We bought a small one in El Nido, but I’d go for a slightly larger; medium or large sized one to hold your clothing and shoes as well as your phone and camera etc.

Aqua Shoes – If you’re planning to go island hopping or visit any beaches, you will need good quality aqua shoes with thick soles. The beaches can be rocky, sharp and quite slippery, particularly on the island hopping tours where you’re getting in and out of boats. We made the mistake of buying cheap shoes on ebay and it was painful!

Waterproof Phone Case – always an essential if you’re planning to spend time in or near water. Particularly useful for taking underwater photos and videos in the crystal clear waters.

GoPro Hero – another must have if you’re planning on any under water activities, zip lining or quad biking.

Fast charging powerbank

Reusable Water Bottle

Toilet roll – this isn’t something you necessarily need to pack, but if you’re out on a day trip, just pinch one from your hotel room and you’ll thank me later!

How many days is enough to explore the Philippines?

I would say around 2 weeks is enough to explore the Philippines – we were only there for 12 days and found our Philippines two week itinerary to be plenty. Planning a trip like this is essential – you need to figure out exactly what you want to do and see, factor in some rest days and allow for transport delays and unpredictable weather. If you are considering a longer trip, feel free to adapt my itinerary and tweak it to your liking.

If you have any questions about putting together your Philippines travel itinerary, just let me know in the comments below and if I can help, I will.

Would I recommend the Philippines as a travel destination?

There is no easy way to answer this one. The Philippines is stunning, with so much to discover and some of the friendliest people you will meet. If you’re into water sports or just simply love spending time on outstanding beaches – this is the country to visit. The beaches in El Nido were quite possibly the most breathtaking beaches I have ever seen.

As a (mostly) vegan, I never expect it to be easy to find meals that I can eat abroad, but this was on another level of difficult. The food was a massive let down; far worse than I’d imagined and so for me, it tainted the entire trip.

It was reminiscent of my trip to Hong Kong 14 years ago, when it was virtually impossible to find any vegetarian dish that didn’t contain pork, but I had naively expected better in 2022. For this reason, I wouldn’t go back to the Philippines or recommend it to anyone who has any dietary requirements.

So yes, go to the Philippines for the sheer beauty of the country and to see a different part of the world. If you’re after a foodie trip, this is not the place to be.

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