Philippines Island Experience — Self-Launched

Land at Mactan-Cebu International (CEB) and take a Grab or white metered taxi to the city (~₱400–600 / £6–8). Check into a budget hotel near IT Park or Fuente Osmeña — Hop Inn Cebu (the operator's own hotel) is bookable direct and often £18–25 a night. Settle in, get a local SIM at the airport (Globe/Smart, ~£10 for 30 days of data) and eat at a local carenderia or the Ayala Terraces street-food row. Get an early night for tomorrow.

🚌Airport Grab/taxi ~£7

🛏Hop Inn Hotel Cebu (book direct) or nearby budget guesthouse — ~£20

• →Airport SIM + data package
• →Evening food walk around Fuente Osmeña

Take a Ceres Liner aircon bus from Cebu South Bus Terminal to Sibonga (~₱80 / £1.10, 1.5 hrs) and hop off for Simala Shrine — a spectacular fairy-tale church, free entry, small donations welcome. Continue by bus to Moalboal (~₱150 / £2) — the bus runs past the village; get off at Moalboal proper and walk/tricycle to Panagsama Beach. In the afternoon, stroll Panagsama's waterfront and grab a lechon-style lunch at a local eatery (£3–5). Check into Love's Beach & Dive Resort Moalboal or a similar Panagsama guesthouse.

🚌Ceres bus Cebu–Sibonga–Moalboal ~£3.50; tricycles ~£1

🛏Love's Beach & Dive Resort Moalboal or equivalent Panagsama guesthouse — ~£18

• →Simala Shrine (free entry)
• →Panagsama Beach walking tour
• →Local lechon lunch

Walk 20 m off Panagsama Beach and you're in the famous sardine run — no boat needed. Rent a mask and fins from a beach vendor (~₱200–300 / £3–4) or join a cheap boat snorkel trip (£8–10) that includes Pescador Island and turtle sightings. Afternoon: chill at a beach bar, then explore Panagsama's nightlife — small beach bars and backpacker hangouts, cheap rum-and-cokes (~£2 each).

🚌Walk

🛏Love's Beach & Dive Resort Moalboal or equivalent — ~£18

• →Sardine run snorkel (gear rental ~£4)
• →Turtle snorkel boat trip ~£9
• →Panagsama nightlife

Book a Kawasan Falls canyoneering day through Klook or GetYourGuide (~£30–38 including guide, gear, helmet, lunch, and transport from Moalboal) or arrange it directly with a Badian operator. Expect 3–5 hours of scrambling, cliff jumps (2–12 m), and swimming down the turquoise gorge to Kawasan Falls. Bring quick-dry clothes, water shoes and a dry bag. Evening back in Moalboal for dinner — a BBQ grill plate is about £5.

🚌Included in canyoneering tour

🛏Love's Beach & Dive Resort Moalboal or equivalent — ~£18

• →Canyoneering + waterfall jumps (Klook/GetYourGuide)
• →Kawasan Falls swim

Travel day: bus or van back to Cebu City (~£3) then fly Cebu–Caticlan on Cebu Pacific or PAL (~£30–50 one way, 1 hr). From Caticlan airport, walk to Caticlan Jetty Port and take the bangka ferry to Boracay (~₱150 + terminal fees / £3). Pay the environmental fee on arrival. Check into Grand Blue Beach Hotel or a similar Station 2/3 budget hotel. Sunset drink on White Beach — free, and the best thing in Boracay.

🚌Bus to Cebu ~£3; flight ~£40; ferry + fees ~£3

🛏Grand Blue Beach Hotel or Station 2/3 budget hotel — ~£25

• →White Beach sunset

Book a traditional paraw sailboat sunset ride directly on White Beach (~₱800–1,200 / £12–17 for 45 mins, cheaper if you share). Spend the day on White Beach or quieter Diniwid Beach, and walk up to Puka Beach if you want a crowd-free stretch. Grab grilled seafood at D'Talipapa wet market — pick your fish, pay for cooking — about £6–8.

🚌Tricycles ~£1 each

🛏Grand Blue Beach Hotel or equivalent — ~£25

• →Paraw sunset sailing ~£14
• →Puka Beach walk
• →D'Talipapa seafood dinner

Join a public island-hopping boat tour sold along White Beach (~₱1,200–1,800 / £17–25 including buffet lunch, snorkelling gear, and stops at Crystal Cove, Crocodile Island and Puka). If you want the party version, the operator's boat party is really just a private charter — a shared version with a cooler of drinks from the sari-sari store costs about £25 total. Swim, snorkel, and hit the bars on White Beach after.

🚌Walk / tricycle

🛏Grand Blue Beach Hotel or equivalent — ~£25

• →Island-hopping boat tour with snorkelling ~£20
• →Beach bar drinks

Ferry back to Caticlan and fly Caticlan–Cebu (~£30–45). The tour builds in an overnight near the Cebu airport hotel here before continuing to Bohol — do the same: cheap Hop Inn near Mactan or IT Park. Use the afternoon for laundry (~£3/kg) and a proper supermarket stock-up. Book your Bohol ferry (OceanJet Cebu–Tagbilaran, ~£12, 2 hrs) for tomorrow morning online or at Pier 1.

🚌Ferry to Caticlan ~£3; flight ~£38

🛏Hop Inn Hotel Cebu or Mactan budget hotel — ~£20

• →Laundry and resupply
• →Book OceanJet ferry to Bohol

Take the OceanJet fast ferry from Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran (~2 hrs, ~£12), then a tricycle or van to Alona Beach on Panglao Island (~£4, 30 mins). Check into MGH Alona Bohol Hotel or a similar Alona budget hotel. Afternoon swim at Alona Beach, then sunset at nearby Dumaluan Beach. Dinner of grilled fish and rice ~£5.

🚌OceanJet ferry ~£12; tricycle to Alona ~£4

🛏MGH Alona Bohol Hotel or equivalent — ~£18

• →Alona Beach swim
• →Dumaluan Beach sunset

Book a shared countryside day tour through Klook or GetYourGuide (~£25–32) or hire a van driver directly in Alona for ~₱3,000 split between 4–6 people. Highlights: the Chocolate Hills viewing deck, the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella (real conservation site — avoid the roadside petting zoos), the Loboc River lunch cruise (~£8–10, buffet + live music), and the man-made forest. Optional: pay a small fee to plant a tree with a Loboc community reforestation group to mirror the operator's tree-planting stop.

🚌Shared van tour ~£28 shared

🛏MGH Alona Bohol Hotel or equivalent — ~£18

• →Chocolate Hills
• →Tarsier Sanctuary
• →Loboc River cruise lunch
• →Community tree-planting

A free day. Rent a scooter (~£8/day) and beach-hop: Alona, Dumaluan, Libaong (white sand, quiet), and the Hinagdanan Cave swim (~£2). Join a beach volleyball game at Alona in the late afternoon — the courts are public and pick-up games happen most evenings. Cheap dinner at a local barbecue stand on the beach road (~£4).

🚌Scooter rental ~£8

🛏MGH Alona Bohol Hotel or equivalent — ~£18

• →Scooter beach-hopping
• →Hinagdanan Cave
• →Beach volleyball

Fly Tagbilaran–Siargao (Sayak Airport) via Cebu with Cebu Pacific/PAL (~£65–90, often 1 stop in Cebu — book early). Alternatively take the ferry back to Cebu and fly direct. From Sayak, a shared van to General Luna is ~₱300 / £4 (45 mins). Check into a General Luna hostel or guesthouse — dorm beds are ~£8–12, private rooms £18–25. Evening: Cloud 9 boardwalk and a beer at a beach bar.

🚌Domestic flights ~£75; shared van ~£4

🛏General Luna hostel/guesthouse — dorm ~£10

• →Cloud 9 boardwalk at sunset

Book a beginner surf lesson at Cloud 9 or Jacking Horse — either through Klook (~£20–25) or directly with one of the many surf schools in General Luna (Bayanihan, Pilar, Kermit). Includes board, instructor and 2 hours in the water. Afternoon: rent a scooter (~£7) and explore — Magpupungko rock pools are tide-dependent so check timings, or head to Secret Beach. Sunset at Catangnan Bridge.

🚌Scooter rental ~£7

🛏General Luna hostel/guesthouse — ~£10

• →Beginner surf lesson ~£22
• →Catangnan Bridge sunset
• →Secret Beach

Join a public joiner island-hopping tour from General Luna (~₱1,500–2,000 / £21–28 including boat, lunch and snorkelling) covering Naked Island, Daku Island and Guyam Island — the classic Siargao trio. Snorkel for tropical fish and, if you're lucky, turtles. Or book the Sohoton/three-islands variant via Klook if you want lagoons and stingless jellyfish. Back for dinner at a local eatery — £5.

🚌Boat included in tour

🛏General Luna hostel/guesthouse — ~£10

• →Three-island hopping tour with snorkelling ~£25

Last morning: coffee at a General Luna café, a final swim at Cloud 9, and a shared van to Sayak Airport (~£4). Fly Siargao–Cebu–home (book the connection with a 3-hour buffer). If you're extending, Surigao City ferry is a cheaper albeit much longer alternative.

🚌Shared van to airport ~£4; onward domestic/international flights

🛏None (departure day)

• →Final beach morning