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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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 Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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| BoholDiver wrote: |
Bohol for a week for sure. If you are not a diver, 1 week is long enough.
You could try Palawan or Boracay for the other week. |
Do I need certification to dive? I don't have a PADI, but I'm assuming the single dives in Panglao (Around $30 USD) include a dive? |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:43 am Post subject: |
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Well Palawan does look very interesting indeed. Unfortunately I booked a flight to Boracay last night... oh well. I have two other questions I hope someone could help with:
1. My friend and I are going to take a bus back to Manila and were hoping to stop somewhere for two days on the way that's different from Boracay: a quiet, relaxing, bare-bones island or area where we can relax and unwind from the excitement of Boracay. Recommendations?
2. I was planning to exchange 500,000 won for US dollars at Incheon, then the US dollars for Pesos in Manila. Is this advisable? Will $500 take me pretty far in the Philippines? |
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OculisOrbis
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:52 am Post subject: |
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| the best way to maximize it is to exchange to dollars here and then to pesos in the philippines. The exchange difference from won to dollars in korea is about -2% and won to peso in korea is about -10%. you get an extra 8% pesos by doing it that way. |
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b0101
Joined: 24 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:53 am Post subject: |
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| Did you book a flight to Caticlan directly? Is SEAIR the only airline flying there now? I'm going to Boracay as well and trying to figure this out. |
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asams
Joined: 17 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
Well Palawan does look very interesting indeed. Unfortunately I booked a flight to Boracay last night... oh well. I have two other questions I hope someone could help with:
1. My friend and I are going to take a bus back to Manila and were hoping to stop somewhere for two days on the way that's different from Boracay: a quiet, relaxing, bare-bones island or area where we can relax and unwind from the excitement of Boracay. Recommendations?
2. I was planning to exchange 500,000 won for US dollars at Incheon, then the US dollars for Pesos in Manila. Is this advisable? Will $500 take me pretty far in the Philippines? |
1. Boracay and Manila are quite far apart, and on separate islands. At some point you're going to either have to take a boat or plane. If you can make it to Legaspi from Boracay then you can bus it back to Manila. Legaspi is on the southern tip of Luzon. Legaspi is known for its whale sharks so that would be cool.
2. $500 is a little low unless you already have your hotel paid for. Boracay isn't that expensive, but it's definitely more expensive than other parts of the Philippines. I would suggest around $1,000 and that way you know you'll have plenty and can do whatever you want. I took $1,000 and paid for a hotel in Manila for 3 days, a hotel in Boracay for 6 days, a hotel in Taipei for a day, and went diving, jet skiing, island hopping, and drank, ate steak and did a bunch of shopping. |
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BoholDiver
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:02 am Post subject: |
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| If you want bargain basement, you can room up in Bohol for about $10 a night. $30 is more realistic and nicer. I bet Boracay is a bit more. |
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guava
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| BoholDiver wrote: |
| If you want bargain basement, you can room up in Bohol for about $10 a night. $30 is more realistic and nicer. I bet Boracay is a bit more. |
I'm staying for 18 days so I'm going to be hosteling it. I don't need ritzy accommodations. If I wanted cable, I would stay at home. |
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sugarkane59
Joined: 10 Jun 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:36 pm Post subject: Philippines |
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| Good Advice! |
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imakemyselflaugh
Joined: 13 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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I second that Cebu Pacific is decent and cheap... we used it a bunch of times to fly around the Philippines. It's budget though- no snacks or blankets, but the price makes up for that, the only strange thing is on some of their small flights they weigh you. It must be for balance on the plane but the "Please step on the scale ma'am" was shocking...
I would also recommend Bohol- you can do the Chocolate hills, see the tarsiers and all the touristy stuff in a day or so, we went out to Panglao as well but it was as (or more) expensive for accommodation as Boracay... and the beach wasn't nearly as nice. |
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BoholDiver
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Cebu Pacific is good. Safety record is important, and theirs is good.
You can always buy a sandwich in the terminal and stuff it in your bag. 4 hours isn't that long. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:07 am Post subject: |
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| BoholDiver wrote: |
Cebu Pacific is good. Safety record is important, and theirs is good.
You can always buy a sandwich in the terminal and stuff it in your bag. 4 hours isn't that long. |
Por p100 you can get a croissant on Cebu pacific. Sea air has no snacks.
They also have beverages for p50.
| Triban wrote: |
| BoholDiver wrote: |
| If you want bargain basement, you can room up in Bohol for about $10 a night. $30 is more realistic and nicer. I bet Boracay is a bit more. |
I'm staying for 18 days so I'm going to be hosteling it. I don't need ritzy accommodations. If I wanted cable, I would stay at home. |
You can get fan rooms on Boracay for as little as p800 at places like alice's or saging-saging.
You can get similar rooms or a decent pension house at alona or in tagbilaran for p500-p800 and resort rooms starting at p800 off the beach and p1200 on the beach. |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:14 am Post subject: |
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Okay, so I'm in Boracay now and have another problem: it's too expensive! I've found cheap accommodations no problem, but everything else is pricey: a decent meal seems to be at least 250 pesos (~6,000 won), which is cheap by Korean standards, but I was expecting the Philippines to be cheap.
What's really killing me is activities: 30 minutes of scuba diving at 2,500 pesos (~60,000 won), 4 hours of kiteboarding at 7,000 pesos (~178,000 won), and even renting a bicycle that doesn't pedal right at 250 pesos (~600 won) for 2 hours (the bicycle I rented in Phuket, Thailand last year was about 10,000 won per week).
Is anything cheap on this island? If I can't find anything, I'm thinking of going somewhere else early. Can anyone suggest a cheaper place? I'd greatly appreciate your help. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
Okay, so I'm in Boracay now and have another problem: it's too expensive! I've found cheap accommodations no problem, but everything else is pricey: a decent meal seems to be at least 250 pesos (~6,000 won), which is cheap by Korean standards, but I was expecting the Philippines to be cheap.
What's really killing me is activities: 30 minutes of scuba diving at 2,500 pesos (~60,000 won), 4 hours of kiteboarding at 7,000 pesos (~178,000 won), and even renting a bicycle that doesn't pedal right at 250 pesos (~600 won) for 2 hours (the bicycle I rented in Phuket, Thailand last year was about 10,000 won per week).
Is anything cheap on this island? If I can't find anything, I'm thinking of going somewhere else early. Can anyone suggest a cheaper place? I'd greatly appreciate your help. |
Welcome to peak tourist season in Paradise. Those prices are double and more what they should be.
Catch a banka back to Panay (The big island next to boracay) and work your way down the island (if you are adventurous) or grab a flight over to cebu (sea air from caticlan ) and then the ferry over to Bohol. I'll buy you a beer in Tagbilaran.
. |
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ty7180
Joined: 02 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| Triban wrote: |
| BoholDiver wrote: |
Bohol for a week for sure. If you are not a diver, 1 week is long enough.
You could try Palawan or Boracay for the other week. |
Do I need certification to dive? I don't have a PADI, but I'm assuming the single dives in Panglao (Around $30 USD) include a dive? |
If you go with a large group you will need your PADI or other certs, as people would view you as a liability. There are plenty of mellow dive sites where you can promise a nice tip, get your gear, and they will look the other way. I am assuming that you know how to dive, but never took the time to get your OW cert. If not diving disasters can happen in the most tranquil waters very quickly. I dove for years before finally deciding to get my certification. Whatever you decide, be careful and have fun. |
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