Boracay

Why Boracay:

Boracay is the most popular tourist destination in the Philippines. It is known for its white sand beaches, perfect for a honeymoon. Boracay was also conveniently just a four-hour drive from Roxas City, our previous stop. 

May 14, 2024: Funny Logistics

After 2 days in Roxas City, we said goodbye to Leticia. Dave and Hide agreed to drive us to Boracay, saving us the logistics, cost, and extra time associated with the bus trip. The drive took approximately 3.5 hours on two-lane roads. 

Along the way we passed numerous villages and a surprising amount of road construction. Driving in the Philippines is not for the faint of heart – Dave was constantly dodging vehicles of questionable street-worthiness.

Dave dropped us off at the ferry terminal in the town of Catlican where we could catch the boat to Boracay. The government seemed to make the process as difficult as possible. 

After filling out a government form with our booking information and ignoring the touts from baggage handlers, we entered a large room. There, we had to visit three counters all right next to each other. At the first counter, we paid 150 pesos (under $3 for the terminal fee). At the second counter, we paid a 300-peso environmental fee. At the third counter, we purchased the 50-peso boat ticket. Why these fees which all totaled less than $10 USD are not either bundled or included in the hotel stay in beyond me. 

We then boarded the non-air-conditioned boat and waited 5 minutes for it to fill. Then we took off. The ride took about 10 minutes to reach Boracay Island. There we caught a motorized tricycle to our hotel for 100 pesos. In total, we paid four separate fees (would have been 5 if we flew in) over a 30-minute span. 

Boracay is a tiny island. It is seven kilometers long and just 500 meters wide. Most of the action is on White Beach, a four-kilometer beach on the west side of the island. 

We arrived at our beachfront hotel at noon. However, our room was not ready, so we headed out to get lunch before checking in. 

Our room was conveniently ready right after lunch. When we walked in, romantic music was playing and the TV showed the text “Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Caster”. Maisie is not changing her name, but this still made me smile from ear to ear. We really are a married couple!

White Beach’s “main street” is actually a path on the sand. When you step out of your hotel, you are on the sand. The walk to the water from our hotel was 20 meters. I have never seen a setup quite like this. 

Our stretch of the beach was touristy with many chains including Starbucks, Shakey’s Pizza (which weirdly is a big deal in the Philippines) and Jollybee. That said, it did not feel overwhelmingly and there were still local businesses worked into the mix. 

The ocean water felt like a swimming pool with a temperature of 30 C (86 F). Absolute perfection. 

The one downside were the large number of people trying to sell you tours, coconuts, sunglasses, etc. While the people were polite and took no for an answer, they were everywhere including in the water!

Around sunset at 18:00, Maisie and I went to a nearby bar to get a cocktail. They had a 2 for 1 happy hour special and the drinks were just $2 USD. We also had their special Long Island Iced Tea served in a mason jar for $10. It got me good. 

We ate dinner at a healthy Filipino restaurant.

On the way back to the hotel, we overheard a karaoke version of “I Will” by The Beatles, the song my mom and I danced to at our wedding. Still jetlagged,  we passed out around 20:00. 

May 15, 2024: Diniwid

After a leisurely morning, Maisie and I set out to explore the island. White Beach has three districts known as Station 1, Station 2 and Station 3. We were staying on Station 2, which was at the center of all the action. 

We then walked north towards Station 1, which is far less crowded and has some of the fancier hotels.

Past Station 1, we walked on a walkway around the cliffs to reach Diniwid Beach. While not as wide and sandy, Diniwid was just as beautiful and was nearly empty.

Behind the beach was a single snack shack and a boutique Wyndham hotel, the only Western chain we saw on the island. We hung out here for a couple hours before getting lunch at the hotel’s delicious seafood restaurant. 

For the afternoon, we stayed near the hotel on White Beach. I noticed some funny signs mentioning a ton of rules including: no defecating on the beach, no sandcastles and no fire dancing. The rules stem back to 2018 when Boracay was considered a post-child for overtourism. There were so many tourists it was hard to sit on the beach and businesses were letting sewage seep into the ocean causing algae to bloom. 

The island was in such bad shape that the President Duarte called it a cesspool and ordered it shut down for six months. This was a very controversial decision because 400 hotels closed, and 700,000 tourist bookings were cancelled. This resulted in an economic loss of 320-550 million USD. 

While this certainly hurt the people in the short-term, the island was repaired. Within a month of the closure, whale sharks were spotted off the coast for the first time. The algae were cleaned. Numerous illegally built buildings in the beach easement zone were demolished and the coastal path was rebuilt. To combat overtourism, tourists are limited to 19,000 per day and only tourists with a hotel booking are allowed to visit the island. In 2022, the government called the rehabilitation a huge success. 

While the beaches were all relatively calm during the day, they got extremely busy as sunset. Thousands of people were lining the beach, eand we could see dozens of corporate branded sailboats in the water. Despite the frenzy, the sunset was dazzling. 

For dinner, Maisie and I left the beach to eat at a restaurant on the main road called Pig Out Bistro. The interior of the island is far less magical than the beach but the food was unreal. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. 

Walking back to the hotel, we noticed a very large sandcastle lit up with the text Boracay May 15, 2024. Attendants were asking for tips to take photos with the castle. This was an illegal sandcastle! Apparently before the closure, there were way more of these and people could make more than double a typical wage by building sand castles for tourist photo ops. 

Further down the beach, we saw fire dancers. This was legal because it was on the property of a hotel separated from the beach by a barrier. 

May 16, 2024: Beach Day

After another leisurely morning, Maisie and I headed up to Station 1 to swim in the ocean by a tiny offshore island. The island had a small Catholic shrine. The water was perfect and knee deep. Holding Maisie in the crystal-clear water and looking at her gorgeous smiling face is an image that will forever be with me and will always bring me joy. 

For lunch, we walked south towards Station 3 to try the famed ube pancakes at Sunny Side Café. We got a half order, and it was still large enough for us both. We then hung out at the beach in Station 3 which had cheaper hotels than the rest of the island. Some people nostalgically call this the “Old Boracay”. 

After watching yet another sunset, we went to an outdoor mall for some delicious peri peri chicken. 

The next morning, we had an early 9 am flight to Siargao. While we could have hailed a tricycle and done the whole dance again (minus the environmental fee), we opted to use the hotel’s private transport for $20/person which included a private boat ride and private vans on both sides. We were a bit nervous about the boats not running that early (they were running) and wanted to do something bougie and fun since it was our honeymoon. In retrospect, this was not a good use of money, but it was fun!

Final Thoughts:

Boracay is the beach. The beach is probably the nicest I have ever seen, and the vibes are amazing, but there is nothing else to do. For a honeymoon, this was perfect because it gave us the opportunity to relax, enjoy each other’s company and take in the fact that we were married. This would also be a good place to visit with a family. However, if this were a normal Bryce trip, I would not want to spend more than 1 night here. 

If you are looking for things to do, there are water-based tours you can take including to a cliff jumping spot on the mainland and on an island-hopping tour. But since the beach 30 steps from our room was so good, it made no sense to do those things.