Visiting Boracay!!

First time visiting Boracay? You're not alone. It was my first time visiting in May 2022 and these are the steps I had to go through.

GETTING TO BORACAY

First off, if you're visiting from out of the Philippines, they require a negative covid test prior to departure (within 48 hours for a PCR or 24 hours for a rapid antigen). You also need to fill out the one health pass to show at immigration (earliest to fill out is within 3 days), this is where you upload your negative covid test and vaccination status. With all international flights, there are no direct flights into Boracay, most likely you will have a layover in Manila. The best airport to fly into is Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, also known as Caticlan, that's closest to all the resorts. Flying into Kalibo is much further, with less transportation to get you to the Stations. When landing from the airport, you will have to go through the pier in which you will take an actual boat ride to the resorts (the boat ride itself is roughly 15 minutes) OR if you have arranged a shuttle with the resort you are staying at, you will go through their private boat. Prior to boarding the boat, you have to fill out another tourist form to show your QR code. We made the mistake of not filling out prior because there was no free wifi within the facility (unless you already had a Philippines sim card), so make sure it's filled out prior (earliest to fill out is 3 days prior to departure)! They require you to upload your flight info (both arrival and return), hotel stay, vaccination status, and personal information- it's quite a lengthy process if you're doing it on your mobile phone. After arriving from the boat, there are a few options to get to your resort: either you have arranged a shuttle from your resort, you can schedule a shuttle there ($$$), or you can take the e-trikes (electric tricycles) for much much cheaper but that can only fit around 3 people.

TIPS

• If you're the type to not want to deal with all of the hassle when arriving at the airport for getting to your resort, schedule a shuttle directly with your resort to and from the airport! It is so much less of a headache. We scheduled a shuttle coming back and the process was so much smoother because they have their own bus shuttle and boat getting to the airport, there was none of that waiting. Depending on the resort, it does cost more than doing the ride arrangements on your own- we spent about $32USD/person.

• Make sure all required paperwork is filled prior! Trust me, you do not want to deal with that hassle of having to fill it out on your phone.

• If you do not want to pay that much per person for the shuttle from/to the airport with your resort, make sure you give yourself enough time at the airports!

• Bring tip money

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WHAT TO DO IN BORACAY

1. BE A BEACH BUM

The whole point of visiting Boracay is for the beaches right??? Nothing beats being in that baby powder texture sand and perfect temperature water. Grab a beach towel and soak in that sun!

2. HELMET DIVE

This was by far the highlight of my trip!! I loved helmet diving and I would do it all again! The activity cost about $20USD for about 15-20 minutes under water. They put a heavy helmet supplied with oxygen on you and you go about 18-20 feet under water. Yes, you need to know how to swim but you do not do any actual swimming. A diver guides you down, gives you some bread to attract the fishes and takes some amazing pictures! So amazing that it even looks fake.

3. CRYSTAL CLEAR KAYAK

This was really just for the pictures and the workers know that. You have someone paddling you to an empty space near shore and they take pictures of you. It cost about $5USD for about 10-15 minutes of picture taking. The workers even tell you how to pose! It was actually a great experience and I loved the pictures so much that I did it was twice!

4. PRIVATE ISLAND TOUR

There will be a lot of workers on the strip right outside of the resorts trying to sell you excursion packages. One of them is a private island tour, where they take you to two caves, a private beach, snorkeling, and lunch! The tour was about $30USD and takes about the whole day. It was a nice way of seeing the island.

5. NIGHT LIFE

On the strip of Station 2, there is a whole bunch of bars along the beach that has something going on almost every night, even weekdays! It's a nice vibe to chill and grab a drink or two (or five).

6. SOUVENIR SHOPPING

On that same strip, you'll find a lot of stands there selling souvenirs! Best place to get your souvenirs and you can find almost anything. Most places here are cash only!