We were a big group of 16 people who head to the Philippines for a tour organized by the Tropical Experience Travel Services last November 2 to November 14. It was an unforgettable experience. We visited Manila, Bohol, Cebu and the legendary Boracay, plus some small islands during day tours. Even if our group was quite big and Haiyan typhoon passed during our holiday, the tour was handled very well and the organization was great. 

The only inconvenience the typhoon brought us about was limited only to a 1 day delay on the schedule (as all flights and ferry trips were cancelled for safety reasons). But, amazingly,  this would mean that we would have to stay for another amazing day in a very cozy place in Bohol, a very nice destination that we suggest because of its great cuisine, warm welcoming locals and a lot of activities that allowed us to have a closer glance on local life.

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​We also got to experience for ourselves activities like palm-fiber crafting and tours to coconut or pinapple farms, plus discovery a lot of more interesting products that were unknown to us. We also got to taste great ice cream, locally produced and served with strange yet surprisingly great flavors (like tomato and other exotic fruits) using carabao (water buffalo) milk served in a crunchy cone made with sweet potatoes.

 

We have a limited space here to describe all our experiences, but believe it was fascinating and fun! We had continuous adventures going up and down boats and ferries, seeing dolphins play free in wild sea, interacting with kind pearl-sellers by the shores, new flavor discoveries with mango shakes or a refreshing drink form a very fresh just-picked coconut. We also had rejuvinating professional massages using homegrown hand techniques with local oils and, why not, also our hand read in the Quiapo outdoor market.

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Among other things, the ladies tried a famous (and safe!) outdoor-walk on a transparent glass at the 38th floor of a skyscraper in Cebu (when we were teenagers we did not have things like those, so we guess it’s never too late to recover). We experienced the thrill and at the same time viewed the lights of the beautiful city by night!

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Of course, we also had many swims in crystal-clear waters: we went back to Italy with a nice tan and a lot of nostalgia. It was a dive into a very far world, kind and cozy, with a stunning nature and a nice countryside.

We are also sincerely thinking about those people that were hit by the typhoon, that as some locals told us, was badly affected.

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The Philippines is such a great country and is working a lot for its development. We noticed high education levels and you can find schools even in the most hidden villages. I think that the best way to help the Philippines is to go on (or start) visiting this country, because tourism is an important source of work and livelihood to its people. We also believe that the choice of Tropical Experience of privileging locally-managed hotels, amenities and services, instead of big resort chains, which gives greater development opportunities. The best travellers are those that really want to experience and understand the essense of the people and places they visit.

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Thank you very much, Tropical Experience, surely we will go back there!