# What to do/where to go in the Philippines?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 10, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916 "2014-10-10T02:01:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916/1 "2014-10-10T02:01:40Z")
Hi all:
My boy (mid-20s) is footloose and fancy-free and traveling around SE Asia before taking on a new job. He’s in the Philippines now, and has asked me for suggestions. Problem is, it’s been 30 years since I was there, and I’m sure things have changed. Anyone have any recent suggestions/experience/advice they’d care to share?
Thanks much I advance.
Bizz
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916/2 "2014-10-10T02:47:29Z")
Palawan is the place to be-- remote, gorgeous, cheap and friendly. If he wants more of a Cancun style spring break vibe, Boracay is a lot of fun, though somewhat sordid. But if I had to pick once place, I’d go up to El Nido and stay a while.
Honestly though, in the Philippines it’s hard to go wrong.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916/3 "2014-10-10T03:46:03Z")
Yeah, Palawan is fantastic (and I haven’t even been up to El Nido). It’s the most forested of the islands, and really beautiful.
I had a great time at Subic Bay. When the US had a base there they protected the forest so it’s now one of the more natural parts of Luzon.
[QUOTE=even sven]
Honestly though, in the Philippines it’s hard to go wrong.
[/QUOTE]
Well, there’s a few parts of Manila I wouldn’t recommend…😉
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### Author:  [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916/4 "2014-10-10T11:49:09Z")
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> Palawan is the place to be-- remote, gorgeous, cheap and friendly. If he wants more of a Cancun style spring break vibe, Boracay is a lot of fun, though somewhat sordid. But if I had to pick once place, I’d go up to El Nido and stay a while.
>
> Honestly though, in the Philippines it’s hard to go wrong.
Thanks for the feedback.
Sad to hear that Borocay is like Cancun now. When I was there, there was no plumbing, no electricity, and no hotels. Just a couple of thatched huts, a “post office” where you could buy 'special ’ mushrooms but not stamps, and a whole lot of coconuts. Good Times.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-where-to-go-in-the-philippines/700916/5 "2014-10-10T14:06:15Z")
You don’t want my advice. I would suggest that you do what I want to do, but that is probably not what you want to do.