Sitting on the beach in Boracay now, looking at sailboats passing by and tourists arriving by wooden trimaran ‘ferries’. A nice breeze, and very comforable temperatures (around 30 degrees). The first days here the weather was a bit mixed, sunshine mixed with an occasional rainshower, and also some heavy winds. But now the weather has become very nice, with clear blue skies.
Boracay is a small island. I rented a mountainbike and drove from north to south in just over an hour (most of it was either up or downhill). From east to west takes only a few minutes, at some points the island it only a few hundred meters wide. Although the island has no airport there is quite some tourism here. The quickest way to get here is by plane from Manila to Caticlan, then by tricycle to the harbour, and then on one of the many local wooden trimarans to Boracay. Because there is no pier you will have to wade through the surf (or ask a porter to carry you). An interesting way to arrive here.
The main attraction is the White Beach, a stretch of 4 km of fine, white sand dotted with palm trees. The northern and southern parts are the least developed, but the middle is very touristic. Well, compared to the rest of the Philippines that is. Compared to many places in Thailand it is still quite OK. Most resorts are very small and give you a very personal feeling. Qi and I are staying at the Boracay Regency, one of the bigger places (but still not that big), directly on the White Beach. We first stayed at Paradise Bay, but found its location on the other side of the island not that convenient, so we decided to change hotels. I looked at many of them, and found Boracay Regency to be one of the very best. Big modern rooms with large balconies (and both sea- and poolview in our case). And they even have free wifi on the beach!
Most tourists on Boracay are either expats from Manila or Hong Kong, or they are South Koreans. Probably half the guests in our hotel are from South Korea! Most are here only for 4 days, and these days are fully filed with activities. This morning I went running on the beach at 6:30 AM, and all Koreans were already having breakfast in order to be on time for their first activity. No clue what they do all day, but I have not seen them at the pool or beach yet, which makes those places nice and quiet.
boracay is the best!!!!!!!!