Planning my Philippines trip

3 weeks in the Philippines in September.

I land in Manila and fly from Manila at the end of my trip. To get the most out of my trip I want to leave Manila airport that same night to my first destination. However I land in Manila at 6.55pm which limits where I can fly to at this time.

I'd like to visit in no order:

1) Palawan

2) Bohol

3) Cebu island as my base and from there go to Oslob, Siquijor, Siargao, Camiguin, Apo Island.

I have realised I have chosen too many places to see in only 21 days. Where should I remove from my trip? In terms of not worth doing/seeing but also being a pain to get to or requiring a lot of time to see.

Also in which order should I do it to save the most time and save costs?

Not too many, guy. 21 days are just fine for those place. check the transport map to decide your route. Good luck

Depending on what day you arrive in Manila, the latest outbound flight to Cebu (from Manila) is 10 pm.

You may check Cebu Pacific or Air Asia for domestic flight options other than Philippine airlines...
So I did check in these airlines for their flight availabilities and it seems your best option is to continue on to Cebu if you want to skip Manila upon your arrival. Cebu Pacific offers late night flights to Cebu.
You can spend 2-3-days in Manila before you leave the country. This way you can check out Manila's historic sites and nightlife. Also from Manila you can hire a ride to bring you to Tagaytay to see the scenic Taal Volcano and lake.

From Cebu, you can easily connect to Palawan. Go to Puerto Princesa to visit the Underground River.. and take a tour to El Nido. From El Nido there is a ferry service that can bring you to Coron. You can spend about 5-7 days to check out Palawan. Be minded though that you need to reserve a slot at least a day before your visit to the underground river as they limit visitors to it.

For me, I'd spend more time in Bohol than metro Cebu. But in Cebu island yes you can check out Oslob. Also check out Bantayan Island to the north of the island. There is an hourly fastcraft service between Cebu City and Tagbilaran City in Bohol island via Ocean Jet. For Bohol you may spend another 3-5 days to check the Chocolate Hills, Tarsier and the beaches in Panglao island. For Cebu probably around 3-5 days as well to see the historic sites in Metro Cebu and to check the whaleshark in Oslob, its waterfalls and to Bantayan Island.

Apo Island may be reached by flying to Dumaguete from Cebu and on to a ferry to the island.

I think that you may either visit Siargao or Camiguin and may be a stretch to visit both... Camiguin may be more challenging to reach.

If you have time to spare you can also check the Mayon volcano in Legazpi City or the Banaue Rice Terraces which can reach while in Manila via bus going up there. But looks like you would be more into water-based destinations known for scubadiving so I think the islands in the Visayas are very good options. you may also want to dive into the Tubbataha Reef... there are scuba tours going there from Puerto Princesa in Palawan if I'm not mistaken

[ Edit: Edited on 02-May-2017, at 23:05 by pau_p1 ]

1. Palawan itself rates your 3 weeks if you want to really get the whole Palawan experience
Palawan includes:
a. Puerto Princesa
b. El Nido
c. Coron
d. Port Barton
e. Cuyo
f. Busuanga
Each item above are really interesting places to visit.

2. I once did Manila-Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City-Camiguin-Cebu-Bohol-Manila. Flew from Manila to CDO, took a ferry to Camiguin from Balingoan Port in CDO, another ferry to Cebu from Camiguin and a fast craft to Bohol from Cebu. Since Cebu has an international airport, you might want to check if you can fly out from there instead of going back to Manila at the end of your vacation.

3. Siquijor is easier reached via Iloilo than Cebu. Apo Island can be reached via Dumaguete which is a little too far from Cebu.

I hope this helps you make revisions on your iti instead of confusing you!

[ Edit: Edited on 03-May-2017, at 00:01 by neena329_cab ]

Quoting neena329_cab

1. Palawan itself rates your 3 weeks if you want to really get the whole Palawan experience
Palawan includes:
a. Puerto Princesa
b. El Nido
c. Coron
d. Port Barton
e. Cuyo
f. Busuanga
Each item above are really interesting places to visit.

2. I once did Manila-Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City-Camiguin-Cebu-Bohol-Manila. Flew from Manila to CDO, took a ferry to Camiguin from Balingoan Port in CDO, another ferry to Cebu from Camiguin and a fast craft to Bohol from Cebu. Since Cebu has an international airport, you might want to check if you can fly out from there instead of going back to Manila at the end of your vacation.

==3. Siquijor is easier reached via Iloilo than Cebu. Apo Island can be reached via Dumaguete which is a little too far from Cebu.==

I hope this helps you make revisions on your iti instead of confusing you!

Siquijor is right next to Cebu and Negros. It is not not near to Iloilo by the way

Quoting bwiiian

Quoting neena329_cab

1. Palawan itself rates your 3 weeks if you want to really get the whole Palawan experience
Palawan includes:
a. Puerto Princesa
b. El Nido
c. Coron
d. Port Barton
e. Cuyo
f. Busuanga
Each item above are really interesting places to visit.

2. I once did Manila-Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City-Camiguin-Cebu-Bohol-Manila. Flew from Manila to CDO, took a ferry to Camiguin from Balingoan Port in CDO, another ferry to Cebu from Camiguin and a fast craft to Bohol from Cebu. Since Cebu has an international airport, you might want to check if you can fly out from there instead of going back to Manila at the end of your vacation.

==3. Siquijor is easier reached via Iloilo than Cebu. Apo Island can be reached via Dumaguete which is a little too far from Cebu.==

I hope this helps you make revisions on your iti instead of confusing you!

Siquijor is right next to Cebu and Negros. It is not not near to Iloilo by the way

OPPPPS! SORRY! I was thinking of Guimaras but then I typed Siquijor which is actually nearer to Dumaguete (Dum. is about 8++ hrs by ferry from Cebu)

NIce itenerary.

Man I been wanting to go the Philippines so bad but after reading about all this -snip- on the news about koreans dying there. No way.

[ Edit: Removed inappropriate language ]