The Ultimate Philippines Itinerary | How to Create the Best Philippines Itinerary

My 20+ Days Philippines Itinerary

My nearly month-long Philippines trip is right around the corner. Today, I will give you some insights on my Philippines tour and I will also give you some tips on how to create the perfect Philippines itinerary.

Here is an overview of how every day unfolds:

Day 1 – EVA Air Flight YYZ – TPE

Day 2 - EVA Air Flight TPE – MNL

Manila to Lucena | 2 Nights in Lucena

Day 4 – Check out and bus to Manila

Cebu Pacific flight to Boracay from Manila

Check in at Calypso Dive Resort hotel in Boracay

Day 5 – Check out and check in at Airbnb Absolute Beachfront Studio with Kitchen & Balcony - 2 nights

Day 6 – Boracay Island and Beach-Hopping Boat Tour

Day 7 – Check out and check in at Diamond Water Edge Resort

Day 8 – Check out and check in at Airbnb Beachfront Loft - 3 nights

Day 9 - Boracay Sunset Cruise Experience

Day 11 - Check out and check in at Boracay Ocean Club hotel

Day 12 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Double room w/ balcony, Ocean view, Bulabog Beach - 2 nights

Day 14 - Check out | Cebu Pacific Flight to Manila

Check in at The Bayleaf Intramuros, Manila

Day 15 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Penthouse view on 60th - 3 nights

Day 18 - Check out and check in Manila Marriott Hotel

Day 19 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Spectular Sunset Views 59th Flr Gramercy Poblacion - 2 nights

Day 21 - Check out and check in at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria - 3 nights

Day 24 - Check out | EVA Air flight MNL – TPE – YYZ

Although my Philippines trip itinerary looks simple, it is actually quite complex. If you miss one day or double book the same day twice, it will ruin the whole trip.

My tips are to put the whole trip day by day on a piece of paper or physical planner and then start booking. Once you finish booking, forward all your confirmation emails to an online trip planning service like TripIt or Kayak.

TripIt or Kayak will show you your full trip day by day and if you made any mistakes, you will be able to find out right away.

I have a video showing more details which can be viewed here:

Philippines Itinerary | How to Create The Best Philippines Travel Itinerary

Don’t Make This Cox’s Bazar Mistake - World’s Longest Sea Beach

What Foreigners Don’t Understand About Cox’s Bazar – The World’s Longest Sea Beach

On my last Bangladesh trip, I had the opportunity to visit Cox’s Bazar – The World’s Longest Sea Beach. What I realized is that most tourists make a big mistake and that’s what I will talk about today.

Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh is the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. Cox's Bazar beach has a gentle slope and an unbroken, uninterrupted length of 155 km (96 mi). It is so big that there are many beaches on its unbroken shore with different names.

Most foreigners only visit the main part of the beach known as Cox’s Bazar beach, as this is adjacent to Cox’s Bazar city and next to the hotels. In my opinion, this is the worst of the all beaches and also too crowded.

What tourists don’t realise is that the other beaches which are still part of Cox’s Bazar’s 155 km (96 mi) stretch and offer a much better experience because they are a lot better, cleaner, provide a better visual awe-inspiring experience, and are less crowded than the main beach.

Some of these beaches are Laboni Beach, Inani Beach, Patuartek Beach, Sohnkhali Beach, Bestway Long Beach, Sonadia Island Beach, and I’m not even sure how many more there are.

I have visited a few of these beaches and I was shocked to find out that most tourists have never heard of or stepped on these beaches. It’s like you are leaving after reading the first chapter of a book, but the book gets better as you go through the remaining chapters.

So next time you are visiting Cox’s Bazar, I recommend not spending all your time on the main Cox’s Bazar beach. Rather, look for the other hidden gems which will make your travel to the world’s longest sea beach more meaningful and memorable.

Taipei to Toronto - Eva Air Business Class Flight Review | Travel Blog

Eva Air Business Class BR 36 – Taipei to Toronto

Singapore to Toronto via Taipei Dec 20, 2018

After visiting the Infinity Lounge TPE airport, I headed to the aircraft. Eva Air business calls their business class Royal Business Class. There is no 1st class on this Boeing 777-300ER.

Inside the Business Class Cabin

Like my other Eva Air business class flights, this one had same configuration as 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone layout. All lie-flat seats offer direct aisle access. My seat was next to the window.

The Amenity Kit

The Amenity Kit was made by high-quality German manufacturer RIMOWA. It was a nice ,red hard-shell box wrapped in a red fabric jacket. Inside were the usual goodies, such as compression socks, eye mask, lotion, comb, toothpaste, toothbrush, and many other items. This Amenity Kit was one of the best ones I have had.

Also, there was a full sleeping wear set provided by designer brand APUJAN and it was of high quality.

Food & Drinks

Because it was a long flight (13H, 50M), there were several meals and in-between snacks  served throughout the flight. Some of the items I ate were:

- Smoked Salmon with Sesame with Zucchini Slice

- Cajun Spiced Scallop Topped with Shrimp Roes

- Garden Vegetable Salad

- Grilled USDA Prime Beef Fillet with Garlic and Anchovy Sauce

- Ice Cream

- Coke, Coffee and Tea many times

The food was unparalleled and EVA AIR Business Class was one of the best airlines when it comes to food.

The Washroom

The washrooms were extremely clean, well maintained, and flawless. So far, all my EVA Flight experiences were the same.

Entertainment System

There were fairly recent movies and TV shows, but I didn’t watch anything for long. Eva Air does not provide free Wi-Fi in business.

Final Thoughts

This flight had a night mode feature on the ceiling, like my Toronto to Taipei flight, creating stars in the night sky. When it was dark outside, this feature kept the inside alive by creating space-like environment and I enjoyed it all night.

I have had a few other EVA Air business class flights and they were consistent in terms of excellent service and satisfaction. So far, I have not found any flaws or anything to complain about on any of their flights, and I will be looking forward to experiencing EVA AIR again in the future.

Singapore to Taipei - Eva Air Business Class Flight Review | Travel Blog

Eva Air Business Class BR 226 - Singapore to Taipei

Singapore to Toronto via Taipei Dec 20, 2018

After completing airport formalities, I headed towards the business class lounge at Singapore Airport.  Eva Air business calls their business class Royal Business Class. There was no 1st class on this Boeing 777-300ER.

SilverKris Lounge | Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3

I talked about the SilverKris lounge in my previous post. The lounge had an extensive selection of foods and drinks.

The best part was its shower facility. Each shower room was private and lots of amenities were provided.

Inside the Business Class Cabin

Eva Air business class configuration is 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone layout. All lie-flat seats offer direct aisle access. My seat was next to the window.

The Amenity Kit

There was no amenity kit provided because I guess the flight was short and only 4H 30 M long.

Food & Drinks

Like my other EVA Air business class flights, food and drink selections were great. My main course was Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Shiitake Mushroom Brown Sauce, Mixed Vegetables and Lyonnaise Potatoes. My dessert was fruit Chocolate Mousse with Ginger and Apricot Chiboust Cream.

The Washroom

The washrooms were extremely clean and well maintained. So far, all my EVA Flight experiences were the same.

Entertainment System

There were fairly recent movies and TV shows, but I didn’t watch anything as the flight was short. Eva Air does not provide free Wi-Fi in business class.

Final Thoughts

I have had a few other EVA Air business class flights and they were consistent in terms of excellent service and satisfaction. 

Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge Review

SilverKris Lounge | Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3

I was worried about the short layover time at Singapore, but security and other formalities went through so fast that I still had a little bit of time to check out SilverKris Lounge.

SilverKris Business Class Lounge is also used by Star Alliance partners and located one floor above the departure hall. This was a huge lounge and in addition I found there were sofas or chairs everywhere.

Also, I saw lots of high chairs at the buffet counters and there were also dining tables and chairs in the dining area. I saw some long sofas as well that possibly could be used to lie down and take a mini nap.

The food section had an extensive selection of foods and desserts. If I had time, I would go nuts trying all these foods.

I will name a few of the items: Snapper with honey ginger, pasta, sweet curried potato, braised noodles, braised beef, a variety of curry, a variety of pre-made sandwiches, Mee siam, Dau suan, Siu mai, lots of seafoods, a variety of salads, fruits, cakes, yogurts, and much more.

However, my short time there made it impossible to try anything. I only had time to walk around and look at everything there.

The best part was the shower facility. I went into one just to see how it looked. Each shower room was like a private bathroom with a standing shower on one side and a basin on the other side. It looked like a small Hilton hotel bathroom, but without the toilet.

They even had mini soap, shampoo, a disposable razor, a comb, and lotion like you find at hotels. The SilverKris Business Class Lounge had one of the best shower facilities I have seen at airport lounges.

Although quite big, I found the SilverKris Business Class Lounge crowded. But it would definitely be a good choice if you want to sample lots of food and take a nice shower.