Boracay

In recent years, Boracay has received accolades and top ratings by international travel magazines as one of the best beach islands to visit worldwide.  But I'd also heard people say it has been over-developed.  I had to see for myself.  So in March, off we went to Boracay!

We flew into Caticlan, less than an hour south of Manila.  You can also fly into the larger airport at Kalibo, but you have to take a 2 hour bus ride from there.  Caticlan isn't big enough to handle jet aircraft, but its just a short boat ride across the straights to Boracay.  Much more convenient.  Once you dock at the Boracay pier, you take a tricycle to your hotel.

White beach is the well known area that is commonly the subject of travel magazines.  That's where we stayed.  The sand is a fine white powder, the water is crystal clear and the beaches are lined with coconut palms.  It really is stunningly beautiful. Facing west, the sunsets are as beautiful as I've ever seen.  But the reports of over-development are true as well.  The entire white beach area has been built up with small hotels, restaurants and shopping.  Yet it all seems to work together ok and didn't detract from our delight in being there.

The island is small enough that you can easily walk to Bulabog beach on the other side.  Much less touristy, its where the wind and kite surfers hang out.  From there, we also walked up to the top of Mt. Luho that has a panoramic view of the entire island.  Really enjoyed that.

The Shangi La, probably the top hotel on the island, runs a free shuttle to their place at the north end of the island, so we headed out there for drinks and dinner one evening.  That was a real treat.  We happened to be there at sunset when we saw a colony of fruit bats at that end of the island fly off in search of fruit for the evening.  They're often called "flying foxes" because of their size - huge!

In spite of the development, Boracay is a place we'll visit again.

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