Philippines Itinerary 2 Weeks: the island route, stop by stop

The short answer: two weeks in the Philippines

Fly into Cebu City and spend one night there. Take the bus south to Moalboal for three nights of sardines and waterfalls, then cross to Bohol for three nights on Panglao with a day among the Chocolate Hills. A short boat brings you to Siquijor for three slow nights on a motorbike. Ferry back to Cebu City for one night, then fly to Palawan for three nights of lagoons in El Nido or lakes and wrecks in Coron.

Why this order? The Visayas are the easiest part of the country to move around, with short buses and ferries between islands. Palawan needs a flight, so it goes last, where one flight in and one flight home to Manila do the whole job.

Here's the full 15 day itinerary for the Philippines at a glance, with the way in to every stop:

Drop these stops into Stippl and you can shift a night or swap an island before you book anything.

Is 2 weeks enough for the Philippines?

Two weeks is enough for two regions if you keep it to one flight between them and pick one base on Palawan. Try to add a third region and the trip turns into airports. This 14 day Philippines itinerary covers the Visayas properly and gives Palawan its three best days.

Our own data backs up the rhythm. Across the 64,180 trips that include the Philippines on Stippl, a typical stop lasts three nights, and almost a third of all stops are a single night. Those one night stops are Manila, Cebu City and the transfer towns: travellers use them as hinges between the three night island stays. Plan your trip the same way and you'll have time to actually enjoy each island instead of packing every second morning.

Cebu City and Moalboal

Day 1Land in Cebu City

Cebu's airport is on Mactan, a separate island, so take a Grab across the bridge: 35 to 50 minutes and ₱250 to ₱500 (€3.50 to €7). If you land in time, the old downtown is the part of the city worth walking. Magellan's Cross, from 1521, sits a two minute walk from the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, and Fort San Pedro is a few blocks on.

Dinner is an easy choice: Cebu is famous for lechon, whole roast pig, and House of Lechon is the MICHELIN-listed place to try it. For something cheaper and louder, point at raw skewers at Larsian BBQ by Fuente Osmeña and wait for the grill.

Day 2Bus south to Moalboal

Head to the South Bus Terminal (not the North one, which costs you an hour and a half) and catch a Ceres bus signed "Bato via Barili". They leave every 30 to 60 minutes from about 5 am, take 3 to 4 hours and cost ₱180 to ₱250 (€2.50 to €3.50). The bus drops you on the highway, so take a tricycle for the last ten minutes to Panagsama Beach.

Then grab your snorkel. Moalboal's sardine run is a shoal of millions of sardines about fifteen metres off Panagsama, there every day of the year, and you swim to it straight from the seawall. You'll pay a small environmental fee at the beach before you get in.

Evening: Ven'z Kitchen does Filipino cooking at local prices, with a mango float people order twice. Mila's Restaurant is the family carinderia for the goat kaldereta.

Day 3Canyoneering to Kawasan Falls

Canyoneering is the reason most travellers come to this corner of Cebu: three to four hours of jumping, sliding and floating down a limestone river until you reach the turquoise pool of Kawasan Falls. Tours cost about €22 (₱1,580) with transport and lunch, and every jump has an opt-out. People have been seriously hurt here and the tours stop after heavy rain or a rockfall, so go with an operator you trust and listen to the guides.

Afternoon: rent a scooter (₱300 to ₱400, or €4 to €5.50 a day) and ride three kilometres north to White Beach, the sand Panagsama's seawall doesn't have.

Day 4Pescador Island or Osmeña Peak

Divers should head for Pescador Island, a small island of vertical walls twenty minutes offshore. Savedra and Cebu Fun Divers are two long-standing dive shops on the strip. Prefer to stay dry? Ride up to Osmeña Peak, Cebu's highest point, a twenty minute climb to a ridge of jagged limestone hills. Take the coast road via Alegria rather than the Google Maps route, fill up before you turn inland, and pay ₱50 entry plus ₱100 for the compulsory guide (about €2 together).

Sleep in Cebu City near the downtown and the South Bus Terminal: One Central Hotel is the polished budget pick beside the terminal, and Cebu Hotel Plus near Fuente Osmeña is spotless and cheap. In Moalboal, stay on Panagsama Beach: Chief Mau is the social hostel, Sunset Paradise has air-conditioned doubles for under €30 (₱2,160), and Turtle Bay Dive Resort south of the strip is the comfortable option with a pool and its own house reef.

One thing to skip: the whale shark trips to Oslob, two hours south. The sharks there are fed by hand every day, which disrupts their migration.

Getting there from Cebu City: Ceres bus, 3 to 4 hours, ₱180 to ₱250 (€2.50 to €3.50).

Bohol and Panglao

Day 5Ferry to Bohol

Take the bus back to Cebu City (3 to 4 hours) and the OceanJet fast ferry from Pier 1 to Tagbilaran, about two hours, with roughly ten sailings a day. Book online rather than at the counter, which is heaving, and check in 45 minutes before departure. From Tagbilaran it's 30 to 40 minutes over the causeway to Alona Beach on Panglao.

Evening: Alona is the island's short, lively strip of sand. Giuseppe Pizzeria & Sicilian Roast is the default good dinner, and Oasis Restaurant & Beach Club is the strip's best-rated table.

Day 6Chocolate Hills and Loboc

Give the interior a full day: it's a road trip, not an afternoon. Rent a scooter or book a countryside tour, from about ₱1,800 (€25) per vehicle. Loboc is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Panglao, and the Chocolate Hills at Carmen another 50 minutes on, through the cool mahogany tunnel of the Bilar Man-Made Forest. There are more than a thousand hills, brown from March to May and green the rest of the year.

Lunch: the Loboc River Cruise is a floating bamboo buffet with live Visayan music. Food & Fables, by the same river, is the calmer garden alternative.

About the tarsiers: these tiny primates are nocturnal and easily stressed, and the newest advice is to skip them altogether. If you do go, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary at Corella is the only responsible place, with no touching, talking or flash.

Day 7Balicasag or Napaling Reef

Balicasag Island is Bohol's famous wall dive, with turtles, 30 to 45 minutes off Alona by bangka. There's a daily visitor quota and a ₱250 (€3.50) environmental fee per diver per day, so book with a shop like Bohol Divers Club or Haka the day before. For a free alternative, Napaling Reef is a shore snorkel straight into a sardine ball, twenty minutes from Alona by scooter.

Evening: ride to the clifftop Bohol Bee Farm for the coconut ice cream everyone mentions.

Sleep on Panglao. Alona Beach puts you next to every boat and dive shop: Mad Monkey Panglao is the party hostel, Island World Panglao a small design-minded guesthouse, and Amorita Resort sits on the cliff above the beach without the noise. For quiet sand, stay at Dumaluan or White Beach, where South Palms Resort and Bohol Beach Club have the widest beachfront on the island.

Getting there from Moalboal: bus to Cebu City and the OceanJet ferry, 4 to 6 hours in total.

Siquijor

Day 8Boat to Siquijor

The direct boat from Tagbilaran to Larena takes 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the vessel, and it sells out, so book a day or two ahead. Motorbikes are rented right at the pier for ₱350 to ₱500 (€5 to €7) a day, and San Juan, where most of the beds and the best sunsets are, is twenty minutes away.

Evening: watch the sun go down at Paliton Beach, a few minutes north of San Juan, then eat at Dagsa Resto Bar, the island's seafood favourite, on the water with live music.

Day 9The Siquijor island loop

The whole island is one 60 km road, sealed nearly all the way, and riding it is the day: four to six hours with stops. Start at Cambugahay Falls before 10 am, when the three tiers of turquoise pools and rope swings are still quiet (about 150 steps down). Then stop at the 400 year old Enchanted Balete Tree, where a cold spring runs into a fish spa, and the coral stone Lazi Church and Convent.

Afternoon: jump off the five or ten metre platforms at Salagdoong Beach on the east coast. For lunch on the way, Roadside Diners in San Juan does chicken inasal with rice for about ₱135 (€1.90).

Day 10Reef, cave or hammock

This is your slow day, and two weeks of islands needs one. Snorkel Tubod Marine Sanctuary straight off the San Juan beach, or walk and wade through Cantabon Cave with a local guide. Or don't do much at all: Siquijor is a place to ride and swim, not a party island.

Sleep in San Juan. Tagbalayon Lodging House on Tubod Beach is the guides' pick for solo travellers, Coco Grove Beach Resort is the island's one full resort, beside the marine sanctuary, and Infinity Heights has hillside rooms above the west coast. A small tourism fee (₱50, about €0.70) is collected when you leave the island.

Getting there from Bohol: direct boat, 1.5 to 3 hours.

Palawan, El Nido or Coron

Day 11Ferry back to Cebu City

There's no direct way from Siquijor to Palawan, so this is your hinge day: the OceanJet fast ferry runs back to Cebu City via Bohol in about five hours. Spend one night in the city and fly out the next morning. For dinner, Sugbo Mercado in IT Park is an evening food market with barbecue, lechon and smoked brisket under one roof.

Day 12Fly to Palawan

To Coron: Cebu has direct flights to Busuanga, about 1.5 hours, from around €30 (₱2,160). A shared van waits for every arrival and takes 30 to 45 minutes into Coron town. Walk up the 721 steps of Mount Tapyas for sunset over the bay.

To El Nido: fly direct from Cebu to Puerto Princesa, about 1.5 hours, then take a shared van for 5 to 6 hours (₱500 to ₱700, or €7 to €10) or the 35 minute flight. Arrive in time for sunset drinks on Las Cabañas Beach.

Day 13The big boat day

In El Nido, book Tour A at least two days ahead, as there's a daily visitor cap on the lagoons. It covers the Big Lagoon, the kayak through the gap into the Small Lagoon and lunch at Seven Commandos Beach. Tours run ₱1,200 to ₱2,200 (€17 to €31), plus the ₱400 (€5.60) Eco-Tourism Development Fee, which is valid for ten days.

In Coron, the classic day takes in Kayangan Lake (the viewpoint everyone photographs, then the cleanest lake in the country), Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake. Expect a ₱200 (€2.80) municipal fee on arrival and a small fee at every site, as there's no combined pass.

Day 14Beach day or wrecks

In El Nido, rent a motorbike (₱350 to ₱500, or €5 to €7 a day) and ride 45 minutes north to Nacpan Beach, four kilometres of golden sand that never feels busy. In Coron, snorkel over the Lusong Gunboat, a Japanese wreck that breaks the surface at low tide, then soak in the saltwater Maquinit Hot Springs at around 40°C as the sun sets.

Day 15Fly home via Manila

Coron has several daily flights to Manila, and El Nido's small Lio airport has AirSwift flights of about 1 hour 20 minutes. Domestic flights run late often enough that you should be back in Manila at least ten hours before an international departure.

Sleep in El Nido at Corong-Corong for sunsets and quiet (Corong Beach Resort is right on the sand, and Bella Vita next door is the town's most consistent kitchen), or in El Nido town for tours and bars, where Spin Designer Hostel and Frendz Hostel are the social picks. Freshwater is a known problem in El Nido, so check reviews before you eat. In Coron, stay in Coron Town and book somewhere with a pool, since there's no beach at the door: Hop Hostel has the rooftop sunset, Bay Area Lodge is a spotless B&B, and Corto del Mar is the most polished hotel in town.

Getting there from Cebu City: flight to Coron, about 1.5 hours, or flight to Puerto Princesa plus van to El Nido.

El Nido or Coron: which one for two weeks?

With only two weeks, most travellers pick one of the two, and both make a great finale. The difference is what you do on the water.

El Nido is about lagoons and beaches. The standard Tours A to D cover different corners of Bacuit Bay's roughly 45 limestone islands, and back on land you have Nacpan Beach and a lively little town with bars and restaurants. Choose it if you want swimming, kayaking and sunsets on the sand.

Coron is about lakes and wrecks. A fleet of Japanese ships sunk in one air raid in September 1944 lies in the bay, several shallow enough to snorkel, and Kayangan and Barracuda lakes are unlike anything on the El Nido tours. Coron Town itself is a base rather than a destination. Choose it if you dive, or if you want the simpler connection from Cebu. Both live on their boat days, so check when the sea around Palawan is calmest before you fix your dates.

Can you do both? Yes, if you drop Siquijor. The fast ferry between El Nido and Coron takes about 3.5 hours and costs around €26 (₱1,870). The slower and more memorable way is the multi-day expedition, two to four nights sleeping in bamboo huts on a different island each night, from €295 to €590 (₱21,200 to ₱42,400) depending on operator and length. It books out months ahead.

Alternative routes: 7 days, 10 days, 3 weeks or 4 weeks

The rhythm stays the same whatever the length: add islands as three night stays, never as one night dashes.

Alternative two week routes

Not every two weeks looks the same. Three swaps that keep the same rhythm:

• Palawan only. Coron (4 nights), El Nido (4), Port Barton (3) and Puerto Princesa (2), with a ferry, a van and no domestic flight between stops. Best from December to March, when the sea is calm enough for daily boat trips.
• Siargao instead of Siquijor. For surf, fly from Cebu to Siargao in about an hour and stay four or five nights, as most travellers there do. Only do this between April and September: December to February is Siargao's rainy season, the opposite of the rest of the country.
• Boracay instead of Siquijor. For a classic beach week, fly to Caticlan for the ten minute boat. You need a confirmed booking at an accredited hotel to be allowed on the island, and it's best from November to April.

Philippines itinerary 7 days

A Philippines itinerary for 7 days works best on one island cluster: Coron for three nights and El Nido for four, linked by the fast ferry, or Cebu and Bohol together.

Philippines itinerary 10 days

Keep it to Palawan, end to end. Fly into Puerto Princesa for one or two nights (two if you want the Underground River, capped at 900 visitors a day), take the van to El Nido for four nights, then the fast ferry to Coron for three and fly home from there. One island group, no backtracking.

3 week Philippines itinerary

Three weeks lets you do this route at a gentler pace and keep both Palawan stops. The classic version: Siquijor (4 nights), Bohol (3) and Moalboal (3), then a bus back to Cebu City and a flight to Coron (4 nights), the ferry to El Nido (4), Port Barton (3) and a final night in Puerto Princesa before your flight. Between April and September, Siargao makes a great alternative to Port Barton.

Cebu or Palawan, if you have to choose? Palawan wins for lagoons, limestone and boat days, Cebu for diving, waterfalls and easy ferries to Bohol and Siquijor. In three weeks you don't have to choose, and many travellers add Thailand or Vietnam to the same trip.

Philippines itinerary 4 weeks

A month covers the grand tour: Manila, El Nido, Coron, Cebu City, Bohol, Siquijor and Siargao, around four nights each with one night gateways in between. Time Siargao for its dry months, or finish on Moalboal instead. For a full four week version, stop by stop, see our one month Philippines route.

Whichever version you pick, keep the same rule: three nights where you want to be, one night where you have to change transport.

Getting between the islands

Two things decide every route in the Philippines: domestic flights are unavoidable once you change island group, and ferries are cheap but run on the weather. Each island hop takes most of a day, which is why this route never stacks two in a row.

Booking domestic flights months ahead is the biggest single saving on this trip: an early ticket often costs less than half the last-minute price, and the El Nido, Coron and Siargao routes sell out first. Grab works in Cebu City but not on the islands, where tricycles and rented scooters take over.

What a two week trip costs

The biggest lines on a Philippines budget are the domestic flight and the boat tours, while food and local transport stay cheap. Here's what travellers typically spent, from the prices they logged while planning their Philippines trips with Stippl:

• Domestic flight: ₱6,350 (€88), the price of about eight dinners
• A boat tour or day trip: ₱3,400 (€47)
• Dinner: ₱800 (€11), lunch ₱600 (€8) and breakfast ₱490 (€7)
• A hostel night: ₱1,430 (€20)
• A taxi ride: ₱300 (€4)

Over 14 days that adds up to roughly €266 to €658 (₱19,100 to ₱47,300) per person on a budget, or €770 to €1,400 (₱55,400 to ₱100,700) mid-range, before international flights. Beds range from €8.50 (₱610) for a dorm to €34 to €55 (₱2,450 to ₱3,950) for a boutique double, with resorts from about €85 (₱6,110). A carinderia plate of rice and stew costs from about €1.30, and boats and tricycles are priced per vehicle, so travelling as two halves the transport line.

Two habits keep the total down: book flights and the good small hotels early, and book boat tours locally in El Nido or Coron rather than online, where prices are padded. For daily budgets by travel style and what each island costs, read our Philippines trip cost guide.

Best time for this route

Run it between December and April for dry weather and calm seas at every stop, with February and March the calmest of all. The Visayas half of the route works almost all year, as Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor get showers rather than a monsoon. Palawan is the part that depends on the season: El Nido and Coron are wet and rough from June to September.

In May or June, flip the order and start in Palawan before its rain arrives, then finish in the Visayas. Avoid August and September if you can, when typhoon risk peaks and boats are cancelled most often. And watch the dates: Holy Week and the Christmas fortnight fill every boat, and Sinulog (the third Sunday of January) empties Cebu City's hotels. For every month and every island group, our guide to the best time to visit the Philippines goes through the whole year.