Boracay is a small island situated in Central Philippines. The island is famous for its white sand beaches, watersports, luxury resorts and party culture. The island has been voted multiple times as the No. 1 beach destination of the world and people from all corner of the world visit Boracay. Caticlan is the closest airport to Boracay and it takes about 1 hour to fly from Manila to Caticlan. From Caticlan airport it is just 10-minutes boat ride to Boracay island. You can also save some travelling cost by flying to Kalibo airport but you have to add additional 2 hours of bus ride to Caticlan jetty point. The flights to Kalibo is cheaper compared to that of Caticlan. I took my flight from Manila to Kalibo and from the Kalibo airport you can book your transfer till your hotel in Borcay. It took around 3 hours in order to reach my hotel from Kalibo airport but the ticket price was almost 40% cheaper compared to flying directly to Caticlan airport.
White sand beach is the main beach at boracay and the beach is separated into 3 stations. Station 3 is closest to the pier and almost all the watersports activity happens at station 3. Station 2 is famous for its night clubs, bars and restaurant. Station 1 is more peaceful and less crowded compared to other 2 stations. Most of the luxury resorts are situated at station 1.
Watersports: Borcay is a great destination to try different types of Watersports. During my first day at Borcay I decided to try Parasailing for the first time. The condition was very windy so we decided to wait for some good weather. After long 1 hour wait we started our activity. In no time I was up in the air enjoying beautiful views of Boracay island. The view from the top was amazing and you could see entire Boracay island from top. The white sand beach and the crystal clear blue water was enhancing the beauty of the Boracay island to a significant extent. The view of the tradition tour boats parked on the beach of the island was amazing. After 15 minutes I came down and without wasting anytime I enrolled for next activity.
My next activity was Flying Fish. In this activity an inflatable rubber boat in the form of a fish is used. The rubber boat is pulled by the speed boat at high speed. When the boat travels fast the flying fish boat literally fly above water with little contact with the water for small period of time. You have to hold on to the Flying fish boat really hard otherwise you might end up falling into the sea. It was a great adventure packed activity. We were total 6 people in the boat and almost all of us fell inside the water.
Our next ride was Banana boat ride. Banana boat ride is a popular watersports. Banana boat didn’t feel that exciting after riding flying fish. It was much easier to hold on to Banana boat compared to Flying fish so there is no thrill of falling into the sea.
There were also other activities like Jet Ski, Kayaking and Stand up paddle boat ride. I skipped Jet Ski and Kayaking because I have tried the activity multiple times before. You can do 1 hour stand up paddle boat ride near station 2. The structure of the boat was similar to surf board but it was longer and wider. The cost of the paddle boarding is around 500 pesos for one hour and the guide will give you basic instruction to balance the board.
Boracay is also becoming an upcoming destination for Kite surfing and wind surfing. These activities are available at Bulabog beach which is situated at the other side of the island opposite to white beach. Bulabog beach is windy compared to Borcay beach so it is perfect for these activities. You have to spend whole day if you are interested in doing these activities. There is one day, two days and three days’ packages available for the activity.
Borcay Happy Planet Zip-line – The place was located by around 20 minutes tri-cycle ride from Station 3. I paid for the ticket at the ticket booth and went up the tower for Zip-Line. The view from the top was fantastic and this was a long Zip-line which goes over a golf course. The view of the Llig-Lligan beach was amazing from the Zip-line station. You fly like a superman after being harnessed and go down roughly 70 m. You achieve a top speed of whopping 100 kmph !!! during your Zip-Line ride. The entire ride lasts around 1 minute and it gives you great adrenaline rush. You can return back to the station by using a cable car. Overall it was great experience and the total cost of the Zip-line was 1200 pesos.
Buggy Car ride to Mt Luho observation deck– After Zip-line ride I joined Buggy car tour to Mt Luho observation deck. From the buggy car station you ride the buggy car uphill in order to reach Mt Luho observation tower. The observation deck is the tallest point in the island and from the top you get to see great 360 degree views of the island. The drive to Mt Luho was around 20 minutes and the tour ended after a downhill ride to the Buggy car station.
Sunset Cruise by Paraw– My last activity for the day was sunset cruise by Paraw. Paraw is a traditional boat in Philippines. The Paraw was blue in color and it looked fantastic during sunset time. The weather was fantastic during that day and the the sea was calm. It was a great 1 hour cruise and we came back to the shore after sunset.
Boracay is a great place to try seafood. But most restaurants at Boracay are bit pricey. Lots of hotels offer buffet lunch and dinner and I would totally recommend to try it. The spread of the buffet was huge and you can try different types of cuisine at a reasonable rate.
After sunset I will totally recommend to walk from station 3 till station 1. There are lots of pubs, bars and restaurants along the way. The roads along the beach is not that wide and it might get really crowded if you visit the place during peak season.
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