After many years of trying to plan this trip, we finally made it the Philippines! The babies have never been, it’s been nearly 17 years since the girls and I visited in 2009 and Ty hasn’t been back since 2003. Needless to say, this visit was long overdue. We jammed packed as much as we could in 2 weeks, so here’s everything we got into.
Layover in Dubai
Day 1 – After 19 hours of traveling, we made it safely to the motherland
Manila International Airport, waiting for our taxi vans
Day 2 – Explored around the condo in BGC. Everything you could want or need was within walking distance.
Dinner at a Michelin star rated Spanish restaurant
Day 3 – Headed to the airport for our flight to El Nido, Palawan
Checked into our resort, Seda Lo El Nido, dropped off our luggage and headed straight to the beach in time to watch the sunset
Dinner at the resort restaurant and some pre-bedtime games
Day 3 – Chill day Seda Lo – pools & private beach
Walked down the beach to find lunch
Lots of beach volleyball during this trip
Afternoon paddleboarding. Basically had the water and beach all to ourselves
Took tricycles into town for dinner
Day 5 – Island hopping tour
Early morning pickup time from the resort
After some not-so-fun issues with our original tour company, we were finally on our way
Seven Commandos Beach
Entalula Island
Shimizu Island – walking over to the Secret Lagoon
Canoeing in the Big Lagoon
Back at the hotel
Day 6 – Last day in Palawan
Day 7 – Christmas Eve back in Manila
Buffet dinner at the Grand Hyatt with Tito & Tita
So many decisions…
We stayed up til midnight and let the kids open their blind boxes for Christmas
Santa found us in the PI. He enjoyed the boiled eggs, ensaymada and milk. LOL
Day 8 – Spent the day celebrating the birth of Jesus by discount shopping and haggling at Green Hills
Christmas dinner at Din Tai Fung
Day 9 – Flight to Panglao Island
Immediately into the pool after checking in to Hennan Alona Beach Resort Bohol
Mini spa day for the older girls
Birthday dinner for this debutant. Happy 18th, my girl. We celebrated with a private beach dinner organized by the resort.
Day 10 – Swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu. Early hotel pick up then a 2 hour ferry to Oslob
Ferry ride back to Panglao. This is before we were soaked by the waves and rain.
Day 11 – Dolphin watching and snorkeling with the sea turtles
Can’t get enough of the water
All the seafood
She sells sea shells by the sea shore
Day 12 – Killing time before our flight back to Manila
Day 13 – Snuck into the Planet Fitness near the condo for a much needed pump session and then more shopping around BGC
Another Christmas Market!
Dinner at the new Chinese restaurant around the corner
Day 14 – Ney Years Eve
Ana did a thing
Back to Green Hills for these shopaholics
Last dinner
Waiting for the NYE concert in BGC and the fireworks
APL.DE.AP from the Black Eyed Peas
Day 15 – Last day in the Philippines. Brunch at Wildflour, walk around the BGC trails
10 hour layover in Dubai. After retrieving a bag we left behind on the airplane, we made our way to a nearby hotel (paid for by Emirates Air) to wash up and get a few hours of sleep before our flight to Brussels
Final leg
Home sweet home. Opened Christmas gifts and tried to recover from our jet lag.
Some of the things I bought on our trip
Holy moly that was a huge update! Not sure these pictures fully capture how much we enjoyed our time in the Philippines. It was certainly challenging at times and, of course so hot, even in December, but we loved it and Ty is even considering retiring there. Can’t wait to go back!