Boracay Island, Philippines

The main attraction of Boracay is the White Beach. The sparkling white sand stretches for miles, flanked by crystal clear green water on one side and a thriving commercial district on the other. There are other, more remote beaches on the island but the White Beach is what most people come to Boracay to see. Several resorts and cottages, restaurants, bars, and a shopping mall are all located along the White Beach.

During the day, you can relax on the beach and soak up the rays or take a dip in the invitingly warm water. There are locals who build huge sandcastles on the beach, and for a tip you can take pictures with their work. Just don’t try and take a picture without paying, or they will hunt you down for a "donation." You can peruse the jewelry, sunglasses, and other wares being sold by local merchants or indulge in a massage or henna tattoo. Water-centric activities include snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing, banana boat riding, parasailing, and windsurfing.

There is also a very active night life. You can opt for a romantic evening with a candlelit dinner followed by a moonlit swim. Or for a wild and raucous time, you can head to any of the bars where drinks flow heavily, music is lively, and you can dance all night!

There are restaurants on the island to suit every palate. Thai, Indian, Italian, German, Greek, Filipino, fast food. A mouth-watering aroma wafts from several barbecues located along the strip. Choose your meal from a colorful array of fresh seafood on ice, and it will be grilled and brought to your table at an amazing bargain. When we were there, we had a bucket of oysters for 80 pesos, a whole blue marlin for 160 pesos and bangus (milkfish) for 85 pesos. One of my favorite delights was the Banana-que – a deep-fried sugary banana on a stick, served fresh and warm each morning by women stationed along the beach walk.

There are also a couple Internet cafes, and a large post office should you want to email or snail mail your family back home.

Quick Tips:

Pack light when you go to the island. The boat to get to the island is crowded and there is not much room for excessive luggage. Plus, you have to disembark in waist deep water, so make sure you can carry all your belongings or else you will have to pay the porters to help you. And wear clothes that can get wet on your way there!

Make sure and haggle when you purchase souvenirs at the beach stands or at D’Mall (the large outdoor shopping mall), since most of the vendors jack up the prices for tourists. Shop around and compare prices, since most vendors carry similar items.

If you look like a foreigner, expect quotes much higher than the average local might receive. This includes lodging, motorcycle/tricycle rides, boat rides and other services. It is best to go with a local, or do your research ahead of time so that you are aware of the going rates and can haggle out a fair rate.

For the best rates, go during "lean" season, which is the rainy months of June through September. Expect long lines and crazy crowds during the peak season.

Best Way To Get Around:

To get to Boracay, you have to take an hour boat ride from Caticlan Port. Once you get there, everything on the White Beach is within walking distance. The best way to see the island is by walking up and down the beach walk. You can rent mountain bikes to get around if you wish. Also, motorized tricycles are available if you don’t want to make the trek from the port to your hotel with your luggage. You can also rent a boat by the hour to go sightseeing around the more remote parts of the island.

The main strip of Boracay is just teeming with bars and nightlife activity, and they're all located within sight of the beach. Our first night there, we ended up at the Hey! Jude Bar & Bistro where we sat in plastic beach chairs in the sand with waves lapping in the not-too-distant background. Hey! Jude had quite an expansive drink selection with a variety of beers and liqueurs as well as exotic blends. Their very friendly wait staff was more than happy to help you pick out something suit your tastes. At roughly $1USD per drink, the prices were probably steep for the Philippines, due to the touristy nature of the island. Our total bill came to roughly $10USD for three people, at 3-4 mixed drinks per person.

On to the drinks: While I usually love a good margarita, I did NOT like their mango margarita. It was very artificial tasting and just plain BLEGH. Fortunately, I only wasted, what, a buck? The caiperinas (Brazilian drink) with calamansi (Filipino lime juice) were quite tasty. We also tried absinthe for the first time. Very strong, menthol taste that went down surprisingly smooth. The waiter lit spoonfuls of sugar on fire before dropping it in the drink and telling us to drink through a straw in one gulp. Interesting presentation, to say the least. By this time, we were quite "happy," so we didn’t have the Sambuca which the waiter recommended, as the only liquor stronger than absinthe. Thank goodness for sober cousins, who escorted us to the hotel when we were done! At this point, my friend was muttering something about chocolate bracelets. No clue what that was about.

If you're looking for a place to chill out with a nice ambiance, friendly wait staff, and expansive drink selection, Hey! Jude may be a good stop on your island-hopping agenda.

After the boat docked, my first impression of the island was of the natives rushing at me, waving their arms in my face (as if to say ‘Pick me, Pick me’), yelling "Porter, porter?" For a minimal fee (we usually gave them 20 pesos = about $0.40), they’ll carry your bags off the boat, and safely to shore. I of course had over packed, so I was weighed down by these HEAVY bags. I was glad for the help, so I handed over my bags and made my way down the rickety wooden plank, into the waste-deep water, and sloshed my way to shore.

Then I looked around and saw the crystal clear green water and sparkling white sand. Beautiful! Just like a postcard! The water was the color of jade, and the sand was smooth and unblemished. Blue sails skimmed the ocean and red buoys bobbed in the waves, like over-sized beach balls. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and grey for most of our stay, with the rain drizzling off and on. Only once did it really pour down in skin-drenching torrents, flooding the dirt paths and causing all the merchants to scamper for shelter beneath huge umbrellas. For a few hours each day, however, the clouds parted and the sun broke free, beating down on the sand and reflecting off the green sea, momentarily blinding us with picture perfect serenity.

One of the first things we noticed was that the island was swarming with Koreans. I’d say roughly 90% of the tourists were Korean. And they came in packs. Wherever there was one Korean, there was surely 30 or more to follow. Reserving entire restaurants, lining the beach getting massages, shopping at all the side stalls, and scuba diving in droves. Apparently Boracay has become a popular Korean vacation destination since it’s only a short flight away. The rest of the tourists were either European or Filipino. I was no longer an anomaly – there were other white(ish) people on the island. That didn’t keep the natives from commenting, though. I have learned that white girl is synonymous with beautiful in the Philippines. There are two English words that everyone seems to know – "Beautiful" and "Ma’am". Except they pronounce "ma’am" like "mom," so it sort of confused me when I first heard the natives, waving their wares in my face, erupting in a chorus of "Mom, mom!"

During our stay, we went on a small boat ride around the island, shopped in many of the beach-side stalls, spent hours exploring the shopping mall, got massages on the beach, feasted on fresh seafood, and took in some of the night life. We tried to go snorkeling, but the water was too choppy to get to the prime spot for snorkeling. Poor Marla got seasick. Make sure and take your Dramamine with you if you are prone to motion sickness! One interesting thing to note – the natives find every way possible to make a livelihood, even out on the sea. There was one older, shriveled fellow selling Nestle ice cream sandwiches from a little tiny boat. And a young kid selling fresh coconut juice (basically fresh coconuts with a straw sticking out of them) from another tiny little boat.

When we went swimming in the ocean, we found that the water was incredibly salty, and as a result very buoyant. So buoyant, in fact, that it took no effort at all to float! And this coming from a girl who has NEVER floated on her back before! So I spent a good amount of time enjoying this new feat, just floating motionless on the surface, my head and feet sticking out of the water. Christianne and I also tried to do some yoga moves in the sand. Our feet kept sinking, so it was quite difficult to balance. But we got a few good shots of us attempting.

All in all, our trip to Boracay was well worth the $10/night I spent on the hotel! My only wish is that we could have spent more than 3 days there!