A week in the Philippines
 

I will be spending a week in the Philippines, end of August first week of September. Anybody been to Boracay during this time? What is the weather like? I am told May and June are the best months for beach time. Basically I would like a week on the beach, lazying and reading WAR and PEACE. This is the plan. Any suggestion? Different city? A friend of mine would like to take me to Cebu, she likes it there but I think it is a sort of a big city. Thank you

No, it is not the best time of the year for Boracay - that is probably late February and March, before it gets too hot and before the rain/typhoons start. Unfortunately August can be Typhoon season - it might rain, it might be windy, or it might be hot, humid and sunny. Is difficult to tell. Boracay is a smallish island. There are heaps of resorts/apartment complexes and heaps of bars and restaurants ($1 beers). Boracay is a great place for relaxing and doing nothing - if the weather is on your side. But expect hot, otherwise hot and wet.

Cebu has about 4million people in it - so it is a city. Shangri-la Resort is good though, but is not in the city. Perfect to laze around the pool and beach.

Depends on your budget and style, but if it was me, I would go to Boracay for a week and take whatever comes. It rarely rains continuously (unless there is a typhoon) and it won't be cold, so take the opportunity and give it a go. You might want to check out tripadvisor.com for more info.

Good luck.

Definitely rainy season, but that doesn't necessarily cancel out beach time unless there's a typhoon hitting anywhere close, which generally means INSANE amounts of non-stop rain. Often rainy season just means brief PM thunderstorms.

Cebu is a total S**t hole, its filthy, full of some very dubious westerners, and there are many many problems there, despite what people say. Boracay is also very over rated and a rip off. The pictures you see on the internet have not been produced by camera, they are for sure experts with photoshop. The food is truly awful, without a doubt the effects of the US military spending too long there. Spam is a luxury !!! go figure. Service is a joke, dont expect anything to be brought to you in a short time or even hot. I have to say this part of the world is a tgruly awful place.

Yeah, a little more rain during this time period. But, usually the rain doesn't last all day and the sun comes out.

Not sure if you are a guy or a girl.

Were you going to visit Manila at all? I usually stay in the Ermita section of Manila. Reasonable (for Manila) priced hotels can be found in this part of Manila. Ermita is the part of Manila off Roxas, where the US Embassy is located and the Robinson Mall. Short ride to the Mall of Asia on Roxas by meter taxi if you are into shopping. One bar I like in Manila is the G Point Pub and Bar. http://www.gpointmanila.com/ Daily food and drink specials, they can also find hotels for you at a discount. Band at night, lots of girls show up.

Drinking and partying you might check out Angeles City too. Angeles City is around 3 hours by bus from Manila. Angeles is where the USAF had a base and now that airfield is used for international flights. Lots of bars and travel agencies, you can take a trip up to the Mt. Pinatubo the volcano that almost wiped everybody out. Good bar for food and drinks is the Margarita Station. (http://www.margaritastation.com/)

Have a nice trip.

How's the weather in Boracay at the end of January?

Just lest anyone gets the wrong idea, Angeles City (or at least the Fields Avenue area which he is referring to) is one of the seediest places on Earth. It is one of the world centres of child prostitution, nearly all of the bars are basically brothels, there are no reputable hotels, and the average age gap of the "couples" you see there is well in excess of 30 years.

On no account should female travellers even think about going there, and only a certain type of male traveller will not find the whole place sickening as well.

It is probably a great time to go - there will be little rain and the days are not too hot. I have been in February a few times and it has definitely been the best time, although it is starting to get very hot during the day.

+1

If you haven't heard of Angeles City, then you don't want to go there. If you have heard of it, you still shouldn't want to go there.

Recommend Cebu
 

I'm a big fan of Cebu. The people are very friendly and the resorts are great. I've stayed at the Shangri-La and Plantation Village. Both were great stays. The massages at Plantation Village were amazing.

A big plus to Cebu is that there are nearby destinations that make for great day trips. They have day trips to Bohol, a neighboring island. You can see the chocolate hills and go to the tasiers (monkeys) park. http://www.bohol.ph/
If you snorkel, Mactan Island (Cebu) has some decent spots as does Bohol.

End of August / early september will not be as rainy as say june or july but the driest months are Feb to May.

If you have a friend who wants to take you there...well go for it. It's always great to have a local show you around. (assuming they're local)

Yes it's seedy. No it's not "one of the world centres of child prostitution" (those would include Cambodia, Thailand, India, Cuba, and portions of Africa) since all of the legal p/u bars in Angeles City are required to have all employees licensed and tested weekly for venereal diseases. (and it takes proof of 18+ age to get the permit). And while there are a few arrests for under-age prostitution, you're more likely to find such out in the provinces where such behavior is not subject to official regulation (and used as an ongoing revenue source).

Yes, Angeles is mostly a destination of men looking to get their ashes hauled...with a few women (straight and gay) doing the same. And if you're not looking for that, it's not much of a tourist destination. Very much like the red light districts of Amsterdam or Tijuana.

And no, it's not much of my cup of tea... But then again, neither are a lot of tourist destinations.

You have a bizarre faith in Philippines regulation. I'm pretty sure all of the bars in Cambodia, Thailand, India, Cuba and (probably) Africa have legal age limits as well.

Everything can be bought in The Philippines. "Proof of age 18+" costs maybe a couple of thousand pesos, even for a 14 year old. Even Hong Kong has 16 & 17 year old prostitutes from the Philippines on passports saying that they are 18. Fields Avenue is MUCH worse. The medical test certificates are probably only a few pesos each. These costs are insignificant compared to what, for example, a certain type of (normally) western tourist will pay for a night with a 14 year old.

Yeah, I come across these "centers of child prostitution" posts every now and then. The truth is that when authorities discover underage bar workers they are immediately removed from those places just the same as in Britain, Canada and the U.S. It is against the law to exploit children in the Philippines and other countries! I see posts about this subject on other travel forums too. However, sometimes they are written by people who have never been to the places they are complaining about and are only passing on erroneous information!

Some posts complaining about sex, bars and prostitution are written by fat, old, bald men (another time worn cliche) with wives or girlfriends 20 to 40 years younger than themselves! People who are really serious about child molestation should first take care of their own hometowns! Cano's will find more children (altar boys for instance) being molested by priests in churches in their own hometowns than in Angeles!

Yes, Angeles has lots of bars, always has! Lots of bar girls too! When the military base was open the bars were even worse than now! Lots of bars and "bar girls" in other cities in the Philippines too! If having bars and bar girls in a city means tourists should not go there - that would eliminate quite a few popular destinations including Manila!

Since the airport in Angeles is now being used for civilian flights there are more tourists staying in that town. Angeles is cheaper than Manila and a hotel there beats getting up at a real early hour to make a morning flight.

I am sure that the original poster would take any information for what it is - free advice - and do some research on HIS or HER own and then make a decision!

Have a nice day.

No doubt so, but in my case my wife is from an area of Pampanga about 30 minutes drive from Angeles. We own a business and property in her home town and, unfortunately, from time to time we cannot avoid passing through (and occasionally having to have business meetings in) that area of Angeles. The evidence is all around you on the street, and it is sickening.

Sorry but I have to totally disagree with you, Cebu is down right dodgy, Bohol is awful and the only attraction is the chocolate hills and its great if you dont mind been squashed in with all the other tourists who have zero idea on how to consider anyone else but themselves.

What country in the world sells Gin cheaper than water and treats Spam as a delicacy