Thanks guys!

With your advice, I think we are going to skip Manila and instead fly directly from there to El Nido (with SwiftAir) on the day we arrive, and stay the last night in Manila just before flying out--so we at least spend one afternoon/evening in the city. The plan is to arrive MNL around noon and try to catch the 2PM flight to ENS same day. Please tell me if this plan is misguidedly optimistic.

This means 5 nights in El Nido, 2 nights in Cebu, 7 in Boracay, and 1 in Manila (in that order)

After doing some research on hotel options--I think we have plenty of choices in Manila and Cebu.

In Boracay--does anyone have experience at Discovery Shore vs. Shangri-La vs. some other option? I know Shangri-La is removed from the downtown area--this is a plus for us since we prefer the private beach over what I understand is a very rowdy scene at the "white beach". Does anyone have experience?

We have no idea where to stay in El Nido--so suggestions are very welcome. Seems like there aren't really many big resorts.

As for diving--yes we will probably get certified in El Nido. Can anyone recommend a good dive shop? Dive shop recommendations in other places (El Nido, Boracay) are also quite welcome.

Thanks very much again for all your help so far!