3-Day Philippines Itinerary

Day 1

🌿 Nature & Outdoors

4 places

El Nido

Limestone karst cliffs rise straight out of water so clear you can count the fish from a kayak. The lagoons — Big and Small — are surrounded by walls of jungle-covered rock that block out everything except the sound of water dripping off stalactites. It gets crowded by midday but the 6am boat tours are still almost empty, and that's the only way to do it properly.

Also nearby

Intramuros

Banaue Rice Terraces

San Agustin Church

Day 2

🌿 Nature & Outdoors

4 places

natural

Chocolate Hills

Over 1,200 grass-covered limestone mounds spread across 50 square kilometres, turning brown in the dry season and earning the name. The viewing deck at Carmen gives the best panorama but the real trick is renting a scooter and riding through the hills at ground level where the scale actually hits you. They're geological oddities — coral deposits lifted by tectonic activity — and they look completely unreal.

Also nearby

Magellan's Cross

Siquijor Island

Kawasan Falls

Day 3

🌿 Nature & Outdoors

4 places

natural

Cloud 9

A reef break that puts out one of the most consistent right-hand barrel waves in the Pacific. The wooden boardwalk tower is the viewing spot even if you don't surf — watching the locals thread through hollow waves at dawn is free entertainment. The island itself has transformed from a fishing village into a surf-and-coconut scene but hasn't lost its edge yet. General Luna town has the food and the nightlife.

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Also nearby