Welcome to my guide to the Philippines! My name is Lidia, I am 35 years old and I am from Barcelona in Spain. Since I was little I have been fascinated by discovering new places. I liked to pick up books and discover places in other parts of the world through them. I have always imagined myself traveling with my camera, another of my great hobbies.
Over time, when I was older, I decided to travel to Australia for a while, in a town right near the sea in Byron Bay, that place changed my life. From there I knew that my goal was to travel and combine my profession as a photographer. I created my travel blog www.coconuttravell.com and my Instagram @coconutravell , where I explain how you can organize your trips on your own and also a section where I teach you how to get started in travel photography.
I will soon be creating group photography trips to places like Iceland, Costa Rica or Namibia, the best way to travel with other people who enjoy travel and photography like you, where we will learn to improve our photos while living an incredible trip.
Philippines: the thousand islands you must discover
In this article I will explain our experience in the Philippines, one of our latest trips and we believe one of the best trips we have ever experienced. We spent 3 weeks touring this paradise in August and we had the feeling that we needed more days to discover more islands.
The Philippines is an incredible country ideal for traveling for several reasons;
- A trip that can be very cheap.
- Dream islands with white sand and turquoise waters full of palm trees
- Endless activities or on the contrary you can relax on its beaches or hotels with cabins facing the sea.
- Paradisiacal islands where you can explore on foot
- Authentic wonders under the sea if you like diving or snorkeling
- Swim with whale sharks or thresher sharks, one of the unique places where you can do it
- Many of its islands are still places unexplored by tourism, being authentic paradises
Siargao: our favorite island in the Philippines
There are many islands that you can explore in this country and they all have something special about them, but I personally choose one that made us feel really good and left us with the feeling of wanting to stay there for a while without hesitation, that island is Siargao.
Siargao is one of the islands of the Philippines that is in the south of the country, the best time to discover it is between the months of June to October, which is the dry season in this area, unlike in the north, and it is an island full of palm trees and beautiful islands.
One of the things we liked most about this island is its joyful energy, it reminds us of Bali a few years ago, when it was not so touristy and still maintained its essence, a place where you can live calmly, practice surfing and have a good atmosphere. .
It has many things you can do and places you can visit, you can be in Siargao for a week and you won’t get bored.
An undiscovered paradise, the little Hawaii of the Philippines
Camiguin is another of the islands whose best time to visit is between the months of June to October, it is one of the most beautiful islands and still not very crowded by tourism.
It was the island we chose to ensure good weather and several travelers recommended it to us but we had little information since it is not such a well-known island, but it really was a success.
Camiguin is an island that stands out for its volcanic island landscapes, as it is one of the smallest islands in the world with more volcanoes per square meter, which is why you will know it as the little Hawaii of the Philippines because it is an island whose landscapes are exactly the same as in Hawaii, with lush forests and dreamy sunsets.
The island has black sand beaches but it has two white sand island hopping spots, being one of the best places we were and it also stands out for its seawater spring on Mantigue Island, one of the best places for diving.
What is the best time to visit the Philippines?
We have two areas in the Philippines, the northern area (Manila, Luzon, Coron, El Nido, etc.) its best time is between December and May, the best months being between February and March as they correspond to the dry season of the area, thus avoiding typhoons or tropical rains.
The best time to visit the southern area (Siargao, Camiguin, etc.) is from June to October because that is when it is the dry season in the area.
We traveled to the Philippines at the end of July and beginning of August, we traveled to the islands of Coron, El Nido, Puerto Princesa, Camiguin and Siargao, but it only rained for 1 day in El Nido.
By this I mean that you can go in February and have days of rain or have a few sunny days in the middle of the rainy season.
There is no exact science to tell you if you are going to have good weather or not, it is a tropical country so we have to go with the idea that it can rain at any time of the year, the normal thing is that it is intermittent rain that does not bother you in your activities, therefore, I recommend that you travel to the Philippines at any time and enjoy it.
My tips for capturing impressive photographs in the Philippines
As I mentioned, I combine my passion for traveling with photography, which is my profession apart from leading trips. Therefore, on my trips I try to analyze each place to be able to capture the best of each country, I am going to give you some tips so that you can capture the true essence of the Philippines with your camera;
- Take advantage of the sunsets or sunrises and take photos on the beach, it is the time with the best light for the portrait and you can capture incredible colors.
- Take a drone, I consider it an ideal tool to capture the landscapes of the Philippines from another perspective, you will enjoy these landscapes much more
- Take a GoPro since the best of the Philippines is under water.
Remember to look at the low tide hours to be able to see the white sand tongues of the island hopping and make them look incredible.
Hire private tours to have the possibility of seeing the islands completely alone or with fewer crowds of tourists.
How do you avoid the crowds of tourists?
The best way to avoid it is to get up early mainly, it is better to get up first thing in the morning and thus you will avoid the crowds of tourists who go later to visit the places.
You should hire private island hopping tours, it is the best way to avoid tourists since these tours will leave before the rest of the boats, apart from that they will give you a more authentic experience.
Another option is to choose the less visited islands like Camiguin, Malapascua, Siquijor or Balabac, you will discover islands less saturated by tourism and you will see the authentic Philippines.
Would it improve my next trip to the Philippines?
After this wonderful 20-day trip through the Philippines, perhaps we would have changed the option of avoiding fewer days in Camiguin and enjoying Port Barton, since it is an area between Puerto Princesa, where we swam with the whale shark, and El Nido, it is ideal to go there and discover its white sand beaches full of palm trees.
We know that we will travel to the Philippines again and this time we will enjoy diving more, visiting the island of Malapascua and other areas that are said to be the best for diving.
You must travel to the Philippines, it is a perfect country, incredible landscapes, paradisiacal islands, a beautiful culture and friendly people, here you will learn that sometimes the simplest things are the most important things in life.
Photography & Authored by Lidia Moya
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