Philippines Trip: 20 Days

Itinerary

East Philippines (10 Days)

• Day 1   (Cebu)
  

  Group flights arrive late in the evening, and upon arrival at the guesthouse you will meet your group over drinks.

• Day 2-5   (Malapascua)
  

  Take private* A/C minibus transfer to the pier. Take a private boat to Malapascua.

  Spend your days scuba diving at this legendary dive spot famous for Thresher Sharks and Manta Rays or sit back and relax in paradise. *all bus transfers will be private on this trip. Only ferries will be public.

• Day 6-10   (Siargao)
  

  Take a private boat to the ferry terminal in Cebu. Take minibus transfer to the airport and fly to Siargao.

  This laid back island combines gorgeous scenery and wicked beaches with a world-class surf scene. Just around the corner from our ocean view hotel lies famous surf-breaks like "Cloud 9" and "QuickSilver".

West Philippines (10 Days)

• Day 1   (Cebu)
  

  Group arrives in Cebu. Meet your group and relax in a nice hotel in the middle of Cebu city where you can walk around and try different restaurants with local and international food available.

• Day 2-3   (Sabang)
  

  Fly to Puerto Princessa and take a minibus to Sabang. This is a nice quiet town with the perfect beach that stretches on forever.

  Wake up enjoy breakfast. Explore the world-famous UNESCO Puerto Princesa underground river with the crew. A once in a lifetime experience where you go inside the cave and see the amazing rock formations that go on for hours. It was recently named 1 of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, it is one of the most impressive and pristine cave systems in the world that you can paddle right through!

  After lunch on Day 4, we take a 5-hour drive in a minibus to Nacpan.

• Day 4-6   (El Nido)
  

  El Nido is a true tropical beach paradise but this isn't just a place to get your tan on, its soaring limestone cliffs provide awesome rock-climbing and hiking opportunities.

• Day 7-9   (Nacpan)
  

  In Nacpan you have the opportunity to sit back, relax, and soak in this paradise. Add in some adventure with epic snorkeling opportunities. After lunch on Day 6, we take a minibus to El Nido.

• Day 10   (Manila)
  

  Take minibus to the airport and fly to Manila. Explore the city and enjoy local street-foods, shopping, and nightlife. On the last day, the group will take taxis to fly out from Manila.

What's included?

• The Free & Easy Commitment

  We strive to ensure everyone who wants to travel has the opportunity to have the most epic experience ever. Free & Easy delivers awe-inspiring travel experiences and creates lifelong connections between incredible people + incredible places.

  See below for more details about what else is included in this amazing adventure.

• Included Experiences: Philippines East 10
  • NEW for 2021! All Free & Easy travelers will have access to our industry leading app to help manage your trip. This provides pre-trip planning advice, itinerary management, activity suggestions for free time, maps, chat support and more!
  • Light tower viewpoint hike
  • Boat trip to Naked Island and Daku island. Lunch included
• Included Experiences: Philippines West 10
  • NEW for 2021! All Free & Easy travelers will have access to our industry leading app to help manage your trip. This provides pre-trip planning advice, itinerary management, activity suggestions for free time, maps, chat support and more!
  • 4 beach destinations
  • Boat trip to hidden lagoon
  • Amazing snorkeling spts
  • Travel through the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Sabang, guide included

   

• Accommodation: Philippines East 10

  All accommodations - We send our trip planners to each of our destinations so they can do on the ground, research. Checking for the best location, comfort and vibe that we can get for our budget while also supporting local businesses.

• Accommodation: Philippines West 10

  All accommodations - We send our trip planners to each of our destinations so they can do on the ground, research. Checking for the best location, comfort and vibe that we can get for our budget while also supporting local businesses.

• Transportation: Philippines East 10

  All transport - This trip will find us taking ferries, private A/C vans, private boats and public transport.

• Transportation: Philippines West 10

  All transport - This trip will find us taking ferries, private A/C vans, private boats and public transport.

• Leaders: Philippines East 10

  1-2 group leaders - Our staff is consistently ranked as the #1 reason that people loved their trips. We meet most of our leaders while traveling with them so we can see in person if they are fun yet responsible, cool yet down to earth, professional yet laid back. This creates that perfect mix which makes our "tours" feel like a group of friends.

• Leaders: Philippines West 10

  1-2 group leaders - Our staff is consistently ranked as the #1 reason that people loved their trips. We meet most of our leaders while traveling with them so we can see in person if they are fun yet responsible, cool yet down to earth, professional yet laid back. This creates that perfect mix which makes our "tours" feel like a group of friends.

• Optional Experiences: Philippines East 10
  • Fishing
  • Yoga
  • Siargao local bar scene w/live music
  • Surfing lessons
  • Surf world-class breaks
  • Wake Boarding
  • Paddle Boarding
  •  Diving
  • Snorkeling
  • Kayak
  • Sound healing and meditation
  • and so much more! If you're interested in something that isn't on the list just ask us, if it's possible we will find you some options.  We are here to try and help you find your ideal trip!
• Optional Experiences: Philippines West 10
  • Scuba Diving (Dive World War 2 ship wrecks!)
  • Beach Parties
  • Fishing
  • Party Boat trip
  • Kayaking
  • Ziplining
  • Yoga 
  • and so much more! If you're interested in something that isn't on the list just ask us and if it's possible we will find you some options.  We are here to try and help you find your ideal trip!

   

• Not Included
  • All meals and drinks (except those mentioned above)
  • Activities outside of the ones listed above (optional activities are not included)
  • Any Visa or Visa fees

  Find out how much spending money you will need here.

Activities

Surf a Wave

Nothing compares to the feeling you get the first time you paddle into a wave, stand up as it breaks and ride the face of it – this is the incomparable feeling of surfing. When you get it right, you'll know, because you'll be more excited than the first time you had sex and probably more addicted to it, too!

Surfing is arguably the most challenging sport in the world and requires you to learn much more than physical coordination. In order to surf a wave, you'll need patience, discipline, a lack of fear and an insatiable urge to have fun. It's no coincidence that 7 of the countries that we run trips to (Indonesia, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, & Peru) have wicked surf scenes because there's nothing quite like it. *** PLEASE NOTE surfing is dependent on the right conditions and not always possible

Travel through the Puerto Princesa Underground River

Named 1 of the new 7 Wonders of the World, the Puerto Princesa Underground River is one of the most stunning sights to see in the world. The underground river is 8.2 km long and navigates its way through a magnificent limestone karst mountain landscape.

The caves are filled with massive formations of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as several large chambers and lagoons that truly make this sight a wonder!

Go Snorkelling

Snorkelling is a great alternative for those looking to save a little money on diving costs or those who can’t dive for medical reasons. Floating along the surface of the water at any one of our incredible destinations around the world will give you a peek into a magical underwater world.

More confident snorkelers can even dive down to get a closer look at the fauna and flora found in our oceans. From glittering fish, to colourful anemone, and super cool sharks (don’t worry, the non-carnivorous ones), snorkelling is a wonderful experience for the non-diver. So snap on a mask and grab your flippers (and DON’T inhale while diving) and you’ll be all set for a little adventure under the sea.

Catch a Fish and Eat It, Too

There's just no getting around it, fish is meant to be eaten fresh! And the only thing tastier than a fresh fish is one that you caught, too! Catching the fish that you eat used to be a part of life and still is in many parts of the world.

We offer the option to go fishing on nearly all of our trips with friendly, local fisherman that show you their tricks - it's an experience that not only teaches you the importance of fishing but is also a hell of a good time: on a boat, with friends, with beer, in the sun, drifting down a tropical coastline… 'nuff said!

Practice Yoga on the Beach

Practicing yoga on the beach in warm, tropical weather provides you with the perfect environment to learn how to find a calm within yourself and feel your mind truly relax.

Listening to the sounds of the jungle and the crashing of the waves onshore only adds to the bliss of this experience. You can experience practicing yoga in a beautiful and isolated setting under the expert guidance of yoga instructors on several of our our trips.

So take an hour or so out of your day to stretch, breathe and enjoy one of the best yoga sessions of your life in paradise!

Have a Tropical Island All to Yourself

This experience is one we all dream about, but think is only possible for the rich and famous, however, we are able to do this on our Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand trips!

And it's true that having an entire island to yourself seems a bit lavish, but it's a luxurious and relaxing experience that also leads to a whole lot of fun! It's like when you were younger and you first got to experience what having a house to yourself was like, but this time there’s no neighbours or even cops.

We like to head to the island with our groups for a night or sometimes several stocked with frisbees, food, snorkel gear, coolers of beer, guitars, bottles of rum, fishing gear and our hammocks - everything we could possibly need. And then we just literally do whatever we want!

Beach Cleanup

Our beach cleanups are a great way to do good, feel good, and get some sunshine all at the same time. With thousands of tons of trash swirling around the oceans, the unfortunate reality is that some of it washes up onto the beautiful beaches we fall in love with around the world. So we thought ‘Let’s do something about this!’.  Whenever possible, we grab some garbage bags and take it upon ourselves to leave the places we visit better than we found them.  A beach cleanup day is always one of the most fun and rewarding days on a trip.

 ** We will always strive to make a beach cleanup happen, but sometimes due to time constraints we may not be able to.  Or maybe the beaches are just already clean in that region!**

Go Scuba Diving

Life under the water is silent and peaceful, everything is flowing and moving in a way that we land creatures are unaccustomed to. Despite all of our high tech equipment, we are extremely out of our element in the water and it is a humbling experience to watch and observe what life is like under the sea.

Fish come in all shapes, sizes, and colours and move together in a harmonious unison through beautiful coral and twisted sunlight. On our trips, scuba diving is a huge activity as we travel to countries that offer some of the best diving in the world. The Caribbean in Central America possesses the second largest reef in the world, the warm waters of the South Pacific in Southeast Asia are home to the largest diversity of sea-life in the world and the seas of the Mediterranean are full of rich history and beauty.

There is a whole universe under the ocean and experiencing what it's like to be in it is a must at least once in your life!