Daydreaming about escaping the bone-chilling winter that has Beijing and the rest of China feeling blue? If you have time off between now until the end of the Spring Festival and cannot stand to book another flight to Sanya, but long for some sunshine and soothing waves, the tropical island Boracay in the Philippines should be on your radar.
Boracay’s white sand beaches are known to travel experts and beach lovers over the world for a long time. But only of late have a growing number of Chinese, Americans and Southeast Asian travelers have been showing up to bask on the white sandy beaches that travel writers describe as “another Phuket.”
Boracay is full of friendly people, all types of hotels (five star to budget), an array of international restaurants, and suitable for honeymooners, singles and families.
According to the Philippines tourism department, during the first five months of 2010, there was a 12 percent increase in tourism over 2009 to Boracay alone. Not surprisingly, travelers from China including Hong Kong and Taiwan, Japan and South Korea made up 41.78 percent of all visitors to all destinations in the country.
There are numerous flights to Manila and from there several small airlines offer multiple options to Boracay. Prices are higher this holiday season, as they are around the world.
The flight from Manila to Boracay is under an hour. And after an adventurous tricycle ride or two, you will find lounging on the beach with a pina colada in hand and looking at young Filipino people show off their sand gliding skills is very relaxing.
Getting to Boracay could be intimidating to some. You should not consider going unless you have at least a week to spare, because the stopover in Manila requires a hotel stay that could knock two days off your holiday.
Most flights arrive in the late afternoon or evening, too late for connecting to the small planes flying to the island. While returning, you can take an early enough flight to reach China without spending the night in Manila.
I will never forget the small propeller plane that I boarded at Manila airport to Boracay two months ago. At the Cebu Pacific Airlines counter, passengers were required to step on a scale usually seen in a doctor’s office. I later realized the distribution of passengers on the aircraft is crucial to ensure that it does not tilt to one side.
On landing, unless you have made prior arrangements or organized a private boat, there’s only one way of getting to your hotel: hopping on a tricycle for the short ride to the dock. Once there, you can either haul your own suitcase or tip the young men eager to help.