Hotels in Boracay

The island had the great beach it is known for. It is beautiful as long as you are looking at the water and the actual beach. Just don't look up at the establishments along the beach. It looks like the slums of Manila or any large Philippine city. A couple nice buildings in between a lot of construction, boarded up places, simple shacks, and rotted away establishments. Rusted out roofs, and half missing thatched roofs. Lots of things to do if you come with a well stocked wallet. Prices probably in line with what it would cost in Calif., or Florida for the same activity. For that reason we did not participate in any of these so can't report on anything but the beach itself. We also did not eat out. Since we had cooking facilities and are diabetic, we cooked our own meals. I will say that lots of people were kite surfing and sailing. We also received many recommendations for different restaurants that were supposed to be good places to eat. We like to walk, so we walked most everywhere. For long distances though P10.00 each rider will get you most everywhere you want to go between stations 1,2,and 3.Would I go again?, probably not due to my age and physical condition. If I was 25 with a pocket full of money, you bet I would. Some things are best left for the young.

Boracay was without doubt my favourite place I have travelled to so far!! The beach is amazing and its very easy to see once you get there why it was voted the best beach in the world many times. From relaxing on the beach in the mornings to wild partying at night. This place has everything to offer. D'mall has everything you could need from shopping to rock climbing! There is so much to do there on a daily basis. The Hobbit House was my favourite place to eat while in Boracay. They offered a wide variety of food. You could eat local dishes or European, whatever took your fancy, and the food was always good! Its very easy to get around Boracay, you can grab a quick tricycle and that will take you wherever you want to go on the island. We paid 60 peso from our hotel to D'mall each time, which worked out at the time as about $2. All in all I would recommend Boracay to anyone looking for a tropical island getaway :)

Wow the local Filipino people are so kind and generous and helpful, they literally go out of their way to help you. Staff and locals in general. There was so much security everywhere, people in uniform near the beaches, at hotels, malls, it felt very safe. We've been to Fiji and Thailand and this tops it. The beaches were amazing, clean, crystal clear water and shallow for up to 20 metres out so you could wade and splash around without getting too deep. It was super warm, I am terrible in cold water! So this was great. We travelled with friends as we attended a wedding, they were all Filipino so helped with translating and negotiating. We never get ripped off. Most speak quite good English anyway. We tried and loved lots of Filo foods, pork liempo, sisig, longuniesa, and more! They love their fried chicken too. We regularly went to D Mall in Boracay, just a few mins from our hotel, for shopping and food. It's easy to get around, walk or catch a trike (like a tuk tuk) and just pay 50-80 pesos for the ride. We ate at TGI Fridays which was yum but a little expensive- proper restaurant. And in D Mall, we ate at Mang's and Andok's. So cheap! Try the traditional dessert Halo Halo (shaved ice, jellies and icecream) and definitely try a smoothie from Jonah's on the beach. Enjoy! We tried some water sports - fly fishing (hanging onto an inflatable raft for dear life whilst being pulled by a boat) was hilarious. Jet skiing was not cheap so we didn't. We did ATV driving but it was on road and slow... meh. Would go again but probably again with friends to get the best out of it.

I usually visit Boracay every year and this time it's even more commercialized, new hotels, expanding d'mall phase 2, but if you're not into these thins just the beach itself, Boracay still have this charm to fall in love every time you walk into the white powdery sands that never gets hot under the sun and the sea water feels like you are in the best tropical beach in Asia. small island but incredible. A lot of activities to offer, but be aware that some parts of the island offers cheap food specially not in the beach side they sell it in tourist price compare to the other side of the island which they give you fresh seafood at very cheap price. In choosing the best room of course you have to look a hotel which is not luxurious but have this amazing views of the white beach. I recommend Water Colors and Blue Lilly Villa Which I stayed there last year and its accessible to any activities and places you want to go and it is located in Station 1.

Its best to stay in Station 1 where the beach is wider/bigger and the resorts/hotels are bigger, more spacious and the area is more tamed compared to Station 2. The area is best for family and couples vacationing. But most of the good places to eat are in Station 2 like Real Coffee, Tibraz, Aplaya, Manana and in Station 3, there's Dos Mestizos. There's also D Mall in Station 2 where there are stores and more restaurants. You can actually walk the whole strip of Boracay from end to end (more or less) but there are also "trikes" you can ride at the back road to make things faster for you - or if you're too tired to walk it out. The trikes cost about P60 - P150 depending where you're going and where you came from. Some hotels also offer shuttle service at scheduled times or if requested. Best time to go to Boracay without huge crowds is from November to February.

If your adventurous, you have to go cliff jumping at Ariel's Point. For 2500php you get a fun boat ride where drinks are served, lunch, jumping points from 4 different heights ranging from 1.5meters to 15 meters. You can also snorkel and kayak. There are tons of places to eat all along the beach and main road. Note, if you choose to eat at a local restaurant is will be cheaper, about 120php per meal. You have to go to Puka beach! It's about a 20 min tricycle ride and will cost you 150php each way. Try to find people to go with you so you split the cost of the ride. The beach is beautiful and with a lot less vendors trying to sell you something. The waters current is pretty strong here, so don't swim out too far. Playing in the waves that crash against the the shore is a lot more fun.