Top 4: Tagaytay
If you’re looking for a colder place near metro Manila (which is the capital of the Philippines), Tagaytay is the right place for you.
You can reach the beautiful Tagaytay with a short 2-3 hour car ride from the capital. This spot is known for its delicious food like bulalo, or bone marrow, and halayang ube, purple yam jam. The best place for eating these foods is at the Tagaytay Picnic Grove where you can breathe the fresh air and take in the famous sight of the Taal volcano, one of the most popular and active volcanoes in the Philippines. While there, if you want to see the lake, just ask a tricycle driver outside the Picnic Grove, and they will take you on a scenic ride. If you are planning to stay overnight, there are many resorts and hotels, as well.
TOP 3: Puerto Galera
Puerto Galera, located about 130 kilometers south of Manila at the southwestern end of the Isla Verde Passage, offers a mix of water adventure and camping fun. The island is surrounded by warm water and the beach is great: you’ll find banana boats, jet skis, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, and much more. Plus, when night comes, the beach is still happening so you can bar hop and meet new people. Then, because the island is overlooked by lush mountains, if you get tired of the beach, you can go visit the mountains and forests and maybe do some overnight camping: the best of both worlds.
TOP 2: Corregidor Island
Let’s now go to one of the most prominent places and active seaports in the history of the Philippines, Corregidor Island. This island is nestled in the southwestern part of Luzon Island, at the entrance of Manila Bay. (An island in a bay on an island! How cool is that?) It was the last island in the Philippines to be captured by the Japanese during WWII and is therefore a historic and sentimental place not only for the Filipinos and Japanese, but also for the US, who aided its liberation. You can still see remnants and relics of those battles, including the tunnels where Filipinos and Americans hid during the war and cannons they used to fight the Japanese ships and aircraft.
TOP 1: Palawan
Our top destination in the Philippines is Palawan. If we took all the tourist spots that I mentioned above and put them in one place, we’d call it Palawan. I’d even say that Palawan is the most beautiful place in the Philippines.
Just recently, the underground river in Palawan was named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The Cabayugan River runs for more than 15 miles (24 km) underground, through caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites before it flows directly into the West Philippine Sea. You can explore it by boat.
If you go to Palawan, you will know why this is our top destination in the Philippines.
EXPEdition 