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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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 Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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| wow! that's a good deal! shame im going xmas week. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
| Thanks for the tip. I got tickets to Kalibo from Incheon for 418,000 won tax included flying Asian Spirit. Screw Jeju Island, Boracay is the place to go. |
Pack light. You have a 2 hour v-hire ride from Kalibo to Caticlan then the boat ride from Caticlan to the beach. Typically, your luggage will be in your lap for the ride.
Wear pants that you can roll up or have shorts handy to change into so you don't get your feet wet.
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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I visited Boracay in April this year, and you no longer have to get your feet wet after getting off the ferry, so don't worry.
Anyway, thanks for your help, dude. |
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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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| Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| I just thought of something. I have a late flight (arrives at 1 am or so) to Manila and then get the flight to Caticlan at 6 am. Will I have the opportunity at the airport to change dollars into pesos? Sorry, never been to the Manila airport. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| reactionary wrote: |
| I just thought of something. I have a late flight (arrives at 1 am or so) to Manila and then get the flight to Caticlan at 6 am. Will I have the opportunity at the airport to change dollars into pesos? Sorry, never been to the Manila airport. |
Yes, but the exhange rates at the Manila airport are NOT good.
Buy about 10,000 pesos (~200k won) at the airport in Incheon and get the smallest bills you can (100's and 500's are best if you can get them). No-one outside of the resorts or department stores will be able to break/make change for 1000 peso notes.
You will need to take a taxi between terminals and they are famous for overcharging and not making change. If they cheat you for 100 pesos it is not too bad (2000 won) but it sucks if they screw you for 1000 pesos (20k won). They won't make change.
You will get a better $ to Peso rate from the money changers in Boracay (42-44 pesos /$1) as compared to 40/1 or less at the Manila airport.
Oh, and avoid the touts at the Manila airport. Pack light and carry your own bags. The friendly people there only see you as $$$ and will NOT do you any favors.
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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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| Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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hmm, this site disagrees:
http://www.boracaytrip.com/Money_in_Boracay.html
do you know any money changers in particular with good rates? i'm a bit wary...
or what if i don't mind taking money out of my american account back home? is it best to just use an ATM from D'Mall? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| reactionary wrote: |
hmm, this site disagrees:
http://www.boracaytrip.com/Money_in_Boracay.html
do you know any money changers in particular with good rates? i'm a bit wary...
or what if i don't mind taking money out of my american account back home? is it best to just use an ATM from D'Mall? |
There were a couple that were OK. I used the one behind Alices and the one over by the A-rock and got rates comparable to the ones I was receiving from the better money changers in Cebu.
Do NOT change money at the tourist info center. They are (or were) thieves when it came to exchange rates (about 3-5% more expensive).
You can get OK rates, just look around (or ask around) for them.
You are still better off buying 10k pesos here before you go so you don't have to sweat it when you are there and can locate decent rates at your convenience.
Use your plastic to pay for your hotel or you can use the ATM (if / when it is running). Don't depend on it. Have a backup plan.
IF your hotel is on the plastic, you can get buy for a week on less than 10k pesos anyway. Meals run about 100p, drinks the same for liquors and San Mig from p25-50 depending on which bar you are at or 12p at the store.
The happy hour at Nigi-nigi runs from 5pm-9pm and all drinks and beers are 2 for 1. (6 bottles of San Mig for $3).
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But what do I know. I' just a newbie here. |
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reactionary
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: korreia
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| Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| haha, didn't mean to downplay your advice. i know you know your shit and thanks for the info. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
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| What's the best Web search engine for Boracay hotel prices? I'm eyeing my third trip to that beautiful island soon. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
| What's the best Web search engine for Boracay hotel prices? I'm eyeing my third trip to that beautiful island soon. |
http://www.boracay.com is OK for general information, the list of hotels and general price ranges.
After that, pick your flavor favorite and negotiate your best deal.
If you get off white beach and over to Bulabog beach (directly opposite D'mall on the back side of the island) you can get rooms at Banana Saging for as little as p750 per night. I checked it out in Feb and it was OK.
It is only an 800 meter walk across the island to white beach. |
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Harpeau
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Location: Coquitlam, BC
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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I've been there 3 times and love it! With money~ exchange~ banking - they see you coming. You are basically a fish in a barrel and they're shooting you. It is a rip-off, so do be careful. Bring pesos onto the island. ATMs are unpredictable at times and are not always dependable. Money can be stressful to deal with if you don't come prepared.
The SCUBA Diving is lovely! Have a great time!
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:04 am Post subject: |
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So if I have just 5 days to spend in the Philippines and want to be able to find somewhere fairly quiet is Boracay the best bet? If not where else would you recommend.. I'd prefer it if the travel time in the Philippines was low since it'll only be a 5 day trip.
Are the Asian Spirit flights still running between Kalibo and Incheon? I can't find the information on Asian Spirit's website. If they're not, what is the best way to get there from Korea?
Also how much is a low-end bungalow style hotel gonna be per night? Doesn't have to be too fancy. This would be in July or August by the way, so low season. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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I'm off to Boracay for the third time after considering other destinations in the Phils to go. I was there last year around this time but I'll have longer this time.
I bought a Cebu Pacific flight into Manila for 433,000 won including tax for an eight-day stay, then bought a connecting flight to Caticlan roundtrip for 2,793 pesos on the Philippine Air site.
I'm going to follow Ttompatz's advice and just go without a hotel reservation. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
I'm off to Boracay for the third time after considering other destinations in the Phils to go. I was there last year around this time but I'll have longer this time.
I bought a Cebu Pacific flight into Manila for 433,000 won including tax for an eight-day stay, then bought a connecting flight to Caticlan roundtrip for 2,793 pesos on the Philippine Air site.
I'm going to follow Ttompatz's advice and just go without a hotel reservation. |
Hotels are not usually a problem except around Christmas or Holy Week so you should be fine. The best deals are usually around boat station 1 (the end of the beach closest to Caticlan), one street back from the beach (like the A-rock) or on the back side of the island.
If you want something mid-beach and up scale I really liked the Crystal cove (just up from D'Mall). I also like Nigi-Nigi Noo-noos at boat station 2 if you are more into Nipa huts and not interested in satellite TV and room service.
The good news is that your US$ is back up to about p50/$1 (up from P40 last summer) so as much as it hurts to buy your dollars here it feels pretty good exchanging them to pisos there.
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:02 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Yaya wrote: |
I'm off to Boracay for the third time after considering other destinations in the Phils to go. I was there last year around this time but I'll have longer this time.
I bought a Cebu Pacific flight into Manila for 433,000 won including tax for an eight-day stay, then bought a connecting flight to Caticlan roundtrip for 2,793 pesos on the Philippine Air site.
I'm going to follow Ttompatz's advice and just go without a hotel reservation. |
Hotels are not usually a problem except around Christmas or Holy Week so you should be fine. The best deals are usually around boat station 1 (the end of the beach closest to Caticlan), one street back from the beach (like the A-rock) or on the back side of the island.
If you want something mid-beach and up scale I really liked the Crystal cove (just up from D'Mall). I also like Nigi-Nigi Noo-noos at boat station 2 if you are more into Nipa huts and not interested in satellite TV and room service.
The good news is that your US$ is back up to about p50/$1 (up from P40 last summer) so as much as it hurts to buy your dollars here it feels pretty good exchanging them to pisos there.
. |
The bad news is, I sold all of my dollars earlier this year. UGH! |
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