Welcome to www.travel-philippines.com
This site features independent information and suggestions for travel in the Philippines and may be useful as a supplementary travel guide, especially if you are travelling to Northern Luzon or Palawan. John is travelling through Palawan at the moment so that information is being updated frequently.
Latest Articles for 2009
Baragatan Festival. June 29, 2009
This festival is held yearly and runs for the whole month of June. The highlight of the 2009 festival was the Jun 23rd dance performances by the 7 participating municipalities of Palawan. The nearly 100 pictures in this article show the extraordinary costumes, makeup and performances of these young people. What struck me most was the gaiety of the event and the energy and fun that the performers put into their dances .
Palawan - Updated June 26, 2009
All of the Palawan information is currently being rewritten as I am currently travelling around the island. The following have been updated so far - Puerto Princesa - Sabang and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park - Port Barton . More to come soon...
Coron, Palawan. March 4, 2009
Coron, with a population of about 40,000, is the largest city on the Island of Busuanga, which is in the province of Palawan. Our Coron holiday was during the peak season - Christmas day, December 25, 2008 to Jan2, 2009. The highlights of our holiday were sea kayaking, which we had never done before, eating great food every night, watching the stunningly beautiful ocean sunsets, relaxing in the Maquinit Hot Springs and snorkeling around the islands. Coron is becoming a popular destination because it is only 3/4 hours from Manila and it is now serviced by 4 airline companies.Camping at Buasao (again) - Mountain Province. Updated January 27, 2009
You are not going to find Buasao on any map, or any reference to it anywhere. It is located somewhere in the common-land border region near where Mountain Province, Abra and Kalinga borders meet in the Cordilleras of central Luzon. We camped here, under the stars, for three days over the Easter long weekend in 2004. Updated to include John's experiences of a second trip on January 19-21, 2009.
Latest Articles for 2008
Central Luzon - Rice terraces and mountains - Updated 31st May
Luzon is the major Island of the Philippines and includes the capital city of Manila. Central Luzon covers the rugged mountain range called the Cordillera, which has been home to the "Igorot" people for over 2000 years. This is where you get spectacular scenery plus an ancient culture, all-in-one. Janet spends most of her time painting in Sagada so we update this section regularly. This update includes a new section on Bangaan village near Banaue and the section on Sagada has been completely rewritten.
Banaue Rice Terraces | Batad Rice Terraces | Bangaan Village | Bontoc | Sagada | Tinglayan | Baguio
Latest Articles for 2005
Palawan - Updated 23rd January
Palawan is a large Island at the west of the Philippines. It stretches down almost to Borneo. It is sparsely populated and is famous for some of its stunning seascapes, especially those near the town of El Nido. Near Sabang is the world heritage listed St. Paul's Underground River, renamed the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. This is a major tourist attraction, and rightly so.
Palawan | Puerto Princesa | Sabang | Cacnipa Island | Port Barton | El Nido
Latest Articles for 2004
GPS Tracks and Waypoints - 20th April
This is a selection of tracks and waypoints that I have been collecting over several years. They specifically relate to the places mentioned here on our website. I have a very compact Garmin Etrex Vista GPS, which I carry with me on all of my outings. It has been very useful on the many occasions when I have got lost, especially in the maze of the rice terraces. I also find it interesting to know where I am in relationship to other places, how far I have walked or what altitude I am at. Many more tracks and waypoints to to follow soon.
Tracks & Waypoints | Palawan GPS | Central Luzon GPS
Articles for 2003Pahiyas festival - The Feast of San Isidro de Labrador - 14th December
The Feast of San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of the farmers, is celebrated each year on the 15th of May. The most famous of these harvest festivals is in Lucban, a town situated about 2 hours (depending on traffic) south east of Manila. Janet, Michael and friend Robert did the day trip by car and thoroughly enjoyed the festival's visual beauty. The pictures speak for themselves.
Philippines books - What's on our bookshelf - 12th October
Janet and John's bookshelf of Philippines books - reading material that you may want to consider taking or reading before your Philippines' holiday. They are arranged in order of favorite and/or usefulness. There is a strong emphasis on Philippines culture, social anthropology and history in our reading - as you will notice.Donsol - Encounters with Whale Sharks - 22nd April
Donsol is a small, coastal fishing town, 600km from Manila, on the southwest coast of Luzon. From about February to May every year, the surrounding waters are frequented by Whale Sharks.
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