Philippines Guide

Coming to the Philippines offers a lot of travel and tour possibilities but there is one thing you should never miss; having a feel of one of the numerous breathtaking dive sites in the Philippines. One should never miss out on the chance of seeing the wonderful and colorful life in marine waters. To help you make it happen, here are some of the must-see dive sites in the country.

Driving north of Manila for two and a half hours brings you to a Philippine diving spot featuring a blue mountain and sea—Subic. This place was originally a naval base used by Spanish colonizers in 1885. Then it was transformed into a naval facility; but when the Americans left the country, it became a Freeport economic and tourism zone.

Let us now go south of the country’s capital. Only 140 kilometers away from Manila, Anilao, in Batangas province, is a favorite diving spot on weekends and holidays. It houses 24 diving sites which are mostly shallow gardens among sandy patches and coral slopes. Of these 24 diving sites, the Cathedral is the most popular. Imagine a roofless cavern with a blessed cross in between two huge sea mounts and don’t forget the serenity of watching schools of emperor angelfish and yellow damsel fish.

Only a boat-ride away from Anilao is another popular dive site—Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro. This diving spot harbors fine beaches, green scenery and sheltered coves. Moreover, it has diverse marine life forms that will surely paint unforgettable memories.

Further south is Busuanga, the largest in the group of Lamian Islands in Northern Palawan. Busuanga as a diving spot is considered one of a kind due to the reserve and wildlife sanctuary and wrecks around Coron Bay. There are twelve of these wrecks that can be seen at diveable depths.

Divers say that you can pay a visit to the world under water anytime but they greatly recommend doing so in Busuanga from October to May. They say that the visibility and current are best during these months.

Aside from the wrecks and the sanctuaries, limestone cliffs and tiny isolated beach coves are pleasing to the eyes. One even features hot springs that can be accessed by climbing over the limestone pinnacles. Last but not the least, we guarantee that pearl farms will fancy your eyes.

So, whenever you pay a visit to this tropical country, never forget to visit any of these dive sites in the Philippines for it will surely make your trip breathtaking, adventurous and worthwhile.

Tags: Philippine Islands, Cebu, Davao, vacation, Tourist, Philippines, White Beach

• » Comments (0)

Perfect diving and snorkeling for an amazing view of the sea underworld… This is what a grand dive site in Anilao, Batangas is all about.

Anilao boasts of an azure sea teeming with fish life and coral formations along with an abundance of diving spots. A glimpse into waist-deep crystal clear waters shows a microcosm of the spectacular sea world beneath.

Anilao is a three-hour travel from Buendia, Makati (where one can take a bus to Batangas), passing through the Mabini, Bauan terminal. From there, a ride to the Mabini dock area is available, and finally another ride (special trips are available) to Anilao diving spots.

For good diving spots, a short raft trip to deeper waters is recommended. Rented rafts and small boats for this purpose are available in Anilao. As one goes farther into the bay, this dive site reveals more fish and other sea creature havens and undulating coral reefs.

Macro photography is ideal as one sinks deeper into this dive site and discovers divisions of diving spots that offer fantastic views of the Anilao deep. Crinoids of different bright colors sprawl copiously on the sea floors and coral ridges. This dive site also reveals different varieties of other sea flora and fauna, like the nudibranchs, among others.

A more adventurous diving aficionado can choose a night session in the diving spots and discover nocturnal sea animals like sea hares and goblins to take macro photo shots of. There are also plenty of catfish eels and ghost pipe fishes to feast the eyes with. Not far away from coral reefs are blue-ringed octopuses and schools of mandarin fish.

A diving spot to look for deep down the sea floor is the so-called “Cathedral.” Seen at some 50 feet below, this is marked by a strange cross flanked by two heaps of coral reefs. Lots of fish species get their food at this site. Thus, a night visit in this diving spot rewards one with a stunning show of reef formations and sea life. Another diving spot of Anilao dive site is what divers fondly call “Sombrero.” It is like a hat of coral formations where fish linger and scour for food. Nearer to shore are Beatrice and Bajura, where also fish groups abound.

Anilao waters is a dive site off Batangas offering superb underwater sceneries that will impress even professional divers. It has different diving spots perfect with massive coral reefs and abundant sea life.

Tags: Mindanao, Tourist, Bicol, asia travel, vacation, Divers, Travel Philippines

• » Comments (0)

What’s a fast route or an easy metro travel option to North Quezon City, or Novaliches and Fairview?

Going to Novaliches can be a very arduous task coming from south of Metro Manila via the Kamachile intersection where the highway splits into North Luzon Express(NLEX) and Quirino Avenue. Traffic can sometimes be a bottleneck experience even at Balintawak, EDSA. The same can be true coming from Manila via A. Bonifacio Avenue. So what can be the wisest metro travel advice or a really fast route to north of Quezon City?

A really fast route is taking Circumferential 5 or fondly called C-5 by metro motorists. At times new drivers ask where C-5 begins. Well, one can hardly tell. It’s a big circle traversing Metro Manila, and circles are known to have no beginning, no end. A good place to start coming from south of Metro Manila is to take the Villamor Exit going to FTI-Tenement.

This metro travel will end up at the C-5 Paranaque entry point. From there, it will be a long but fairly smooth sailing, passing portions of Taguig, Pasig, and the famous Eastwood district. These places afford interesting scenic sites like the Heritage Memorial, a hilly army training camp, a view of The Fort, Market Market Mall, Tiensesitas, and the classy fast food and business district of Eastwood.

After Eastwood is the long Aurora Flyover that offers a sweeping view of Marikina, Cainta, and the hills of Antipolo, landing on Katipunan Avenue, passing Ateneo de Manila and Merriam College. This fast route takes us into the UP Diliman Campus and out Philcoa area and into Quezon Memorial Circle. Then the metro travel turns right on Visayas Avenue, left on Congressional Avenue and right on Mindanao Avenue. Finally the fast route turns right on Quirino Avenue past Splash Manufacturing Company.

On Quirino the last stretch of this metro travel leads easily to Novaliches or Fairview. Together this fast route from Paranaque to Novaliches takes only one and half to two hours, compared to the traditional EDSA through NLEX route that can last from three to three and half hours.

South to north metro travel using the traditional EDSA through NLEX route can often be grueling, to say the least. But an alternative fast route can be a wise option especially in rush hour traffic. The ride not only becomes a lot faster but the sights and sounds more pleasurable and relaxing, reducing the stress of a typical metro travel.

Tags: philippines-beaches, traveling, White Beach, Pinoy, Mindanao, Davao, Philippine Islands

• » Comments (0)

Traveling around cities in the Philippines can often have lots of hassles, in private or public vehicles. But travels can be made daily pleasant experiences if the following tips below are observed.

Never go out the house without informing somebody of one’s travel destination. Even with mobile phones around, it’s still advisable to let people at home know one’s travel plans and options, special or everyday travels. With mobile phones in hand, it’s good to inform a guy or two about travel status, at least every two hours.

Keep informed beforehand of the latest road lane travel policies of a locality. One-way or two-way lane policies can sometimes change over night. Traffic updates on TV or in the radio give helpful travel tips on this at times. Or better, watch out for road signs or posts.

In Metro Manila, always be aware of car plate number policies. They are called number or color coding regulated by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Each day of the week is regulated by a specific MMDA number or color coding. If a car’s plate number falls under a specified coding for the day, it’s banned from travel in highways and streets. The travel ban is on for specific travel hours of the day.

In special group trips, make sure rented public vehicles are not overloaded and necessary travel permits are secured. In any case, no children are permitted to ride in front of any vehicle. Make sure seat belts are always strapped to the driver and passengers, and drivers are not allowed to call or text messages via cell phones. This is not just a safety travel precaution but also to avoid travel hassles. Authorities on field work are hot over erring vehicles on the road. To avoid delays and travel hassles, pay attention to these rules.

For travels on foot, never ever forget to use pedestrian overpasses and lanes. Some cities are very particular about jay walking. Some people ignore it simply due to laziness. Jaywalking can prove to be a terrible travel hassle. That’s not just about the fine. Think of the humiliation and waste of travel time waiting at a police or MMDA precinct.

Make every travel activity pleasant by learning to go by the rules. Everyone has the right to travel, but everyone is also obligated to observe travel rules. In cars or out on the streets, travel will be a joy if we know how to travel in style and in propriety.

Tags: Divers, Diving, Tagalog, Philippine Islands, Travel Philippines, Boracay, Manila

• » Comments (0)

As a photographer, there will be a constant need for a change of scenery. If you’re tired of the same old scene in your town, traveling would be a great change from monotony, and Metro Manila would be the ideal place for someone like you.

There are a million things that can catch your fancy in a place like Metro Manila, and everything is just an hour or two’s (depending on the traffic) worth of travel away. Manila is very diverse! You can be in the slums one second and then be in the very heart of the Philippine economy in a few steps.

This is what makes the Philippines such a great photograph resource. It has so much to offer to any photographer who travels there. If you’re an urban life photographer, there is so much emotion that can be captured in the streets of Tondo, Cubao, Quezon City, and even downtown Manila.

If you’re more of a lifestyle photographer, you can visit the sprawling estates in Forbes, Rockwell, Corinthian Gardens, and the like. There are also new trendy spots like Bonifacio High Street and Serendra where a high-class lifestyle is what they offer.
Manila is especially wonderful for those who like to take pictures of architecture. Almost around every corner is a church, and the design of the churches in the Philippines vary in influence, era, and material. For the more modern eye, Makati and Ortigas Center, and Fort Bonifacio are abound with structures that are bound to give you a beautiful picture.

For the nature lover there are tree-lined streets in New Manila and in the campuses of University of the Philippines Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University. There are also botanical gardens in Luneta and Pasig.

For the photographer who can never miss a good sunset, an afternoon at Roxas Boulevard is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss. Manila Bay is famous for its golden sunsets, wherein the colors of the sky come alive in such a breathtaking manner.

For someone who likes skylines especially at night, there is a beautiful view of Manila from a spot in Antipolo, which is less than an hour’s travel away. An amazing play of lights can also be seen on the various bridges in downtown Manila that are built over Pasig River.

Lastly, for the photographer who likes portraiture, Manila is the best place for that purpose. It is a melting pot of different races be it Asian, American, or European. Nobody looks the same because hardly anyone is purely from one race only, therefore providing variety.

We’ve given some examples of why the Philippines is a great place for photography, but you’re sure to find more. Just be ready with your camera in hand because you’ll never know when that moment will come and be exactly right for the perfect photograph.

Tags: scuba diving, Filipina, Philippine Islands, Boracay, philippine-beaches, Travel Philippines, Diving

• » Comments (2)

What’s the perfect way of having a Philippine travel tour? Touring the cities? Touring the countryside? A new trend being discovered today by many tourists is a travel tour with or among the people.

The traditional travel tour in the Philippines is to ride in posh tourist bus and lodge in classy hotels. But a new revolutionary way of doing a travel tour in the country is to travel and live among the common people. It’s a unique way of experiencing the Philippines. Common travel tours only afford beautiful sights of the country, but not its life and heart. Often, what the tourist gets with traditional travel tours are on-the-spot sceneries of what Philippine post cards show. The tourist misses the most important Philippine sight of all—real life in the country.

A travel tour with and among the people is a “live” travel tour. It’s opting to take rides in public jeepneys and ordinary buses on highways and byways, taking in dust, smoke, and the various smells of the cities. It is a travel tour of actually taking rides in crisscrossing and zooming tricycles and slow moving pedicabs. This radical travel tour opts for taking walks along sidewalks, crossing pedestrian lanes, climbing up and down overpasses and underpasses, and standing in line in bus, cabs, and train stations, or in buses and trains themselves, rubbing elbows with ordinary Filipinos.

This unusual travel tour option also means hiking long hours to get to the next town or barrio, or riding on carabao’s (native water buffalo) back, or hitching ride on a bamboo sled pulled by a native cow or carabao. This strange travel tour means riding makeshift canoes on rivers, crossing rice paddies, or hacking away at wild bushes to establish a new dirt path.

Finally, this travel tour option means asking lodging and board among residents in small apartments or bungalows in crowded city communities, or in huts or makeshift shanties in simple rural villages. It means eating native dishes (with bare hands) with common native folks and sleeping in creaking beds with natural air conditioning through wide open windows. With some 70 percent of the whole population forming the masses, we can safely assume that this is the Philippines.

Thus, with this travel tour alternative one sees and feels the true Philippines—the sights, smells, sounds, and people. And it’s the perfect travel tour to experience the heart and soul of the country. Then the tourist leaves, better equipped in heart of what the Philippines is really about.

Tags: Cebu, Visayas, White Beach, Pinoy, Davao, Beach, Makati

• » Comments (1)

Travelling around cities in the Philippines can be very confusing even to locals. How many times have we heard tourists taking cabs to get to a place which turns out to be just at the next corner? Or first-timers taking tricycles or pedicabs to get to another city? So to keep traveling blunders to a limit here’s a summary of short city travels.

But often we find ourselves travelling around cities alone. In such case we need to know where we’re going. Most first-timers travelling around cities often take confidence in taking cabs. But often (not always) cab drivers would take unsuspecting passengers around the locality (or even around the city) when actually the destination is just right at the next corner. So it’s vital to get an idea where one is going. How far is it? Five kilometers? How long to get to it? An hour? One may ask around; ask a traffic police or traffic aide, go to a barangay post, or call operator service. These are safe people to ask directions from when travelling around cities and will readily lend a hand. But don’t ask just anybody.

Get a handy map, too. A city atlas will help pinpoint a street or locality and the access roads leading to it. With this, one gets a better grasp of how to get there. If it’s more than 2 or 3 kilometers, it’s probably a jeepney ride. Farther destinations may need a bus ride or a combination of jeepney, bus and tricycle. The general rule is, buses are for highways, jeepneys for main roads and inner streets, tricycles are for streets and alleys inaccessible to jeepneys. Again, as one is travelling around cities, don’t hesitate to ask directions.

A cab is only advisable when one gets familiar with travelling around cities. Blindly trusting a cab to take us places we don’t have an inkling of is a pitfall. Check a route in the map and insist on taking that path. Cab drivers are known to offer “short-cuts” that later churn up the meter like crazy—though some drivers do care for passengers to get cheaper and shorter rides travelling around cities. It’s best to sit at the back where checking the atlas would be undetected by the driver and one doesn’t appear new in the territory.

So when travelling around cities just keep cool and know first where one’s going. Then the rest of the travel ought to be smooth sailing.

Tags: Dive Sites, Asia, scuba diving, Diving, Tourist Destinations, philippine-beaches, Philippine Islands

• » Comments (0)

When new in a locality in the Philippines, the first travel challenge is how to go around the place without getting lost. Most neighborhoods in the country have seemingly endless and odd routes For new comers they’re sure formulas for getting lost. How do we overcome this first-timers’ travel pitfall?

To get familiar with a place, it always pays to roam around the vicinity on weekends, especially on the first day of arrival. Consider it one’s first schedule for leisure travel. After locking all doors in the house (and bringing the key along), walk around the block. Then walk around several blocks, then around the district. Don’t use a car. Walk and ride public vehicles. Getting lost may be good here.

Use every public vehicle seen around—travel on buses, jeepneys, tricycles, pedicabs. Study all routes going north, east, west, and south from one’s location. Enter every road, street, or alley that seems safe. Ask around where certain paths lead to. Study how to get there from one’s place, and vice versa, not getting lost.

Very important route studies are the following: travel route from home to food stores, home to drugstores, home to the nearest clinic and hospitals, home to the nearest police station and barangay outpost, home to the nearest fire station, and home to one’s work place—all without getting lost.

How far should one go with these travel route studies? The best thing is to go as far as where the work place is. From home to work place, study vicinity routes. Get a map. Draw a circle using one’s home as the center and the work place as starting point of the perimeter. That circle is one’s targeted route study. Do it per area. One area this weekend, another next weekend, and so on, without getting lost.

What if a work place is two cities away from home? That’s a big circle to draw, and a huge area to target for travel route study. The remedy here is to choose an apartment near the work place. That limits route study and getting lost. But if there’s no choice, then by all means, get that huge route study started—even if it covers 6 cities. Do it an area at a time. Think of it as a short weekend excursion.

It’s very important to get familiar with a place for travel convenience. After all, getting lost is a most unwelcome experience when one’s new in the neighborhood.

Tags: Filipina, Scuba, Tourist, Cebu, Divers, Tagalog, scuba diving

• » Comments (0)

When going long distance travel to Central or Northern Luzon the best option is take the Northern Luzon Expressway or the NLEX. There’s also the MacArthur Highway option beginning at the Andres Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan, or the Quirino Avenue Option at the Cloverleaf Interchange at EDSA in Quezon City, but the NLEX is the fastest, trouble-free route.

What does the NLEX has to offer long-distance travelers?

Taking the NLEX will update the motorist on traffic guidelines very relevant to the vicinity to make the needed precaution or speed adjustment in a long distance travel. These are highway signage posts similar to those found in Australia andother western countries.

One of the NLEX’s objectives is safe driving. To this end, emergency telephone stops are now visible along the NLEX. Telephone stops are posted every 2 kilometers from the Cloverleaf or Balintawak to Burol (Bulacan) stretch, and every kilometer from the Burol to Sta. Ines (Pampanga) stretch. This feature makes for a safe 88-kilometer long distance travel. Some 7 rest and service areas are provided, 14 toll plazas, and 15 exit points.

Aside from its hi-tech close-circuit TV, the NLEX is equipped with underground car density censors to check vehicle weight and make. Motorists should take heed on the indicated speed limits posted along the way. There are hidden speed guns to check car speed on the road, and a violator may be in for a surprise at the toll gate when the highway patrol guys approach for questioning. The fastest recorded car speed so far is 320 km/hr made by a converted Nissan Skyline.

The NLEX also features state-of-the-art digital toll payment for fast transactions to lessen the build up of vehicles waiting in line. There are also provisions for prepaid methods for extra fast service. Best of all, the NLEX has smoothly paved eight lanes, with provisions for shoulder emergency stops and a sandy byway for dealing with loose or failing brakes. This makes the NLEX the best long distance travel highway in the country.

Speed limit in Metro Manila (at Balintawak and parts of Andres Bonifacio Avenue) is at 80 km/hr, while in rural areas it’s at 100 to 120 km/hr. However, the NLEX continues to be a favorite venue, not only for long distance travel, but also for testing fast cars. A surefire drainage system keeps the NLEX free from the usual flood hassles that not only induce motor failure but windshield obstruction in fast lanes.

The next time a long distance travel is contemplated to Central or Northern Luzon, take the NLEX and enjoy safe and comfortable driving on world class lanes.

Tags: philippines travel tips, Boracay, filipino food, Travel Philippines, philippine-beaches, vacation, Filipino

• » Comments (1)