Boracay

Boracay Island, a small island in the Philippines, is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH i’ve visited in my life.  I would say Redang Island in Malaysia comes in 2nd and Fiji 3rd.  In 2012, Boracay was awarded as the best island in the world from the international travel magazine Travel & Leisure.  The turquoise water is crystal clear and the soft sand is white and fine.   We stayed at a hotel on White Beach (definitely where you want to be) in Station 1, which was the recommended section of White Beach as having the most stunning beach.  Try and visit during the dry season which is November-May and it is a short 1 hour flight from Manila.

 

 

HOTEL:

*Discovery Shores– We loved this hotel because it was in station 1 of white beach, it is 5 star yet has a boutique feel and walking distance to town  At night we would walk down the beach with the kids and have dinner at one of the many restaurants/bars on the sand.  I loved having access to nightlife and restaurants.  It was awarded 2016 Travelers Choice on Tripadvisor!!  It has 3 restaurants, a bar, a lovely spa, activiites for the kids at 4 pm and it is beachfront.  The service was wonderful, for example, while lying on the beach, someone would come with sand toys for the kids, a paper for my husband and cucumbers for my eyes along with tropical drinks.  If you are looking for a large hotel with a kids club and lots of amenities, then I would go with the Shangri-la, but if you like boutique feel with 5 star service and having accessibility to the center for restaurants and shopping–this is the place!  They had a welcome basket for us when we arrived, the room had a small day bed for our daughter and at sunset there are lounge chairs and tables set up on the sand for cocktail hour.

 

 

 

 

*Shangri-la-  This hotel was being built when we were there and i’ve had many friends stay here since, it just depends what you are looking for.  The Shangri-la is isolated so you need to take a tuk tuk to town, and the beach isn’t as beautiful as the station 1 beach; however, there is an all day kids club and many more amenities at this hotel.

 

 

 

SIGHTS:

*Crystal Cove Island–  This is a must if you are in Boracay!  http://www.boracaycrystalcove.com/ .   It’s a 20 minute boat ride from Boracay.  There is some trekking to see stone houses and snorkeling but the best part was exploring the caves.  You can walk down steep stairs into the cave or for the more adventurous, lower your self in by a rope or jump into a jade green pool of water.

 

 

*Water sports- This is obvious, there is alot of windsurfing, boating, snorkeling, etc….Not much else to do on the island outside of water sports and beach time.

 

 

 

FOOD: 

*Honestly we weren’t that impressed with philippino cuisine, it’s basically rice and chicken.  Most nights we either ate at the hotel or walked down the beach to one of the local places in the city center.