Best of the Philippines

Manila - Cauayan - Banaue. Your day begins at Manila airport, where you check in for your included flight to Cauayan. On arrival, a private vehicle takes you on the three-hour drive to Banaue, with a stop for lunch at a local restaurant along the way.

The road zigzags over the Caraballo Range, the southern gateway to the Cagayan Valley, before climbing towards Banaue from the Bagabag junction, where the Banaue road meets the main valley highway heading northwest to Isabela. Midway, you pass through Lagawe, the capital of Ifugao province and home of the ‘People from the High Mountains’. You reach Banaue in the late afternoon, where you have dinner before checking in to your accommodation.

Please note: We highly recommend booking a pre-tour night in Manila. Please contact us if you would like us to arrange this.

Please note: Flight times are subject to availability and may be in the morning or afternoon. Please contact us for further information.

Banaue - Bontoc - Sagada. After breakfast, you climb aboard a local jeepney to explore Banaue’s scenery and traditional culture. Beside the road near the local church stands a 10-storey house built into the mountainside, a sign of the Ifugao people’s engineering skill and how they have adapted to the terrain. Nearby, you can also spot a tilapia pond and fighting cocks being reared. The winding main road leads past numerous rice terraces, with plenty of stops for photos.

Your first full view of the terraces comes at Barangay Viewpoint, where a marker names the Banaue Rice Terraces a UNESCO World Heritage Area and an international historic civil engineering landmark. Thought to be more than 2,000 years old, the terraces were cut into the slopes with simple tools by ancient tribespeople in a landscape with almost no flat ground, their walls bound with clay. A network of channels carries water from the upper paddies down to the lower ones, and when mist gathers over the summits, the terraces resemble steps rising to the heavens, earning them the name ‘Stairway to the Sky’.

In the afternoon, you continue to Sagada, pausing at viewpoints along the highway to take in more of the terraced landscape. On the way, you stop at the Bontoc Museum, founded by Belgian nuns, which displays artefacts from the region’s mountain tribes. You arrive in Sagada in the evening and check in to your accommodation.

Routing: Sagada - Baguio. Following breakfast, you visit one of Sagada’s burial caves, then take a short hike along one of the town’s trails to see its famous hanging coffins. You also stop at a weaving house, where local women work at hand looms.

Later, you follow the Halsema Highway across the Cordillera Mountains, with sweeping views of terraced vegetable fields, to Baguio City. Known as the ‘Summer Capital of the Philippines’, Baguio sits at 1,540 metres, and on arrival you check in to your accommodation.

Baguio - Manila. This morning, you set off on a driving tour of Baguio, taking in Session Road, Burnham Park and the Mansion House, the President’s summer residence. You then visit the public market, one of the most colourful in the Philippines.

Afterwards, you travel back to Manila on the national highway across the Central Plains of Luzon, arriving in the evening.

Manila - Bohol. After breakfast, you have free time until your transfer to the domestic airport for your included flight to Bohol. On arrival at Panglao Airport, you transfer to your accommodation and check in. The rest of the day is yours, perhaps to relax on the beach or enjoy a spa treatment.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before your pickup for today's Bohol tour, which includes lunch.

Start your day at the Philippine Tarsier Foundation in Corella to see the smallest primate in the world, the tarsier, in its natural habitat. Observe these rare, nocturnal creatures in their natural habitat and be amazed by their agility as they move about, leaping from one tree to the other. Next, you will stop at the historical Blood Compact site in Baclayon, where Spain’s Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna, a native chieftain sealed their friendship with a symbolic drink.

You will then visit the centuries-old stone church in Baclayon, housing a museum with religious art and church music inscribed in Latin on animal skins. Continue to the Bilar man-made forest of mahogany trees, leading to the iconic Chocolate Hills, which look like candy drops from a distance.

Next, hike to the viewpoint for stunning views before enjoying a river cruise on Loboc River aboard a floating restaurant, complete with lunch onboard. Return to your hotel by late afternoon.

You have a free day to enjoy the unspoilt beaches of Bohol.

Bohol - El Nido. After check-out, you will be transferred to Panglao Airport for your included flight to El Nido, Palawan. You can enjoy the rest of the day at leisure, perhaps lounging by the beach or taking a scenic walk along the coastline.

You have two free days to enjoy the beaches of El Nido. If you would like to see more of the area, you can join an optional full-day island hopping tour at an additional cost, with a minimum of 2 people. The tour includes paddling through the calm waters of Cadlao Lagoon, snorkelling the reefs of Shimizu Island, slipping into Secret Lagoon and walking the sandbar at Snake Island, with clear water and limestone cliffs throughout.

El Nido - Caticlan - Boracay. After breakfast, you have free time until your transfer to Lio Airport for your included flight to Caticlan. On arrival, you transfer to Boracay Island and check in to your accommodation, with the rest of the day free to relax on the beach or browse the local shops.

You have two free days to enjoy the beaches of Boracay. Alternatively, you can join an optional island hopping tour at an additional cost, with a minimum of 2 people, running from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. The tour stops at Puka Beach or Balinghai Beach and a snorkelling spot at Coral Garden or Crocodile Island, with a plated lunch, snorkelling gear and life vests included. You can also visit Crystal Cove for an entrance fee of PHP 300 per person.

Please note: The island hopping tour meets at Astoria Boracay Station 1 or TGH The Grill House Sportsbar (Activity Area). During the Habagat season, it meets at Bulabog Beach, near Reef Retreat Resort.

After breakfast, you have free time until your transfer to Caticlan Airport for your included flight to Manila, where services end.

Please note: We highly recommend booking an additional night in Manila. Please check the flight schedule with us before making onward arrangements.