Category Pages For: LIVING Ideas

Special events and fun things to do

Boracay - Mount Luho Road
MARCH 2016: Why not read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. INTRODUCTION: I was staying on White Beach Station 3 in Boracay Island for 5 weeks. I wanted to see the rest of the island to see what else it had to offer… BY FOOT: The cost of a scooter in Boracay is a ridiculous PHP2000 / day. You can take Tribikes to different places at PHP10 / kilometre (shared) or look to charter a Tribike for a day (which wouldn’t be cheap). Boracay Island is only 10 square kilometres. So, I decided to walk it over 3 days: The South, The East, and The North. […]

Boracay – Philippines – Around The Island ...

FEBRUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying at the AGLICAY BEACH RESORT on Tablas Island. I was impressed by what I had found. The Aglicay was the best value for money accommodation that I had found in my 5 weeks in The Philippines so far. The room was a good size and clean; so was the ensuite. It had a lovely beach setting. However, when you use online search engines, there are very few Hotels listed for Tablas Island (less than 10). I wanted to know whether or not there were more such places around the island that were not on the internet… did […]

Tablas – Philippines – Around The Island ...

FEBRUARY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I have already provided Information about Coron and the GRANDPAcking Costs. The Cost Of Existence (COE) in Coron Town comes out at 76% of a GRANDPAcking couple’s budget (US$41 out of a daily budget of US$52). This doesn’t leave much for LIVING. In this post, I suggest how GRANDPAckers can LIVE 10 nights in Coron on a GRANDPAcking budget of US$52 / day. To do so, GRANDPAckers need to compromise on the quality of their accommodation (but not too much)… GETTING THERE: I assume that you are in El Nido (the most likely place). If […]

Coron – Philippines – LIVING on a ...

FEBRUARY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. INTRODUCTION: It was time to move on from Palawan Island. It was also time to do some LIVING… I had done a 1 Day Island Hopping Trip in Honda Bay near Puerto Princesa. I had done another 1 Day Island Hopping Trip in Port Barton. I had also tried a 2 Day 1 Night Island Hopping Trip in El Nido – which was abandoned on the 2nd day. This was a little bit of LIVING but not enough. I was in search of something more…  In El Nido, the SCUBA Diving wasn’t good. […]

Coron – Philippines – Apo Reef SCUBA ...

FEBRUARY 2016: Click here to read our Philippines Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I was disappointed with El Nido Town; it doesn’t live up to its ‘hype’: The accommodation is over-priced and poor value for money; it is almost impossible to find anything decent on the beachfront for less than PHP2500 / night The island hopping is over-priced and poor value for money; it is twice the price of the better Island Hopping Trips that you can get in Port Barton The restaurants are over-priced and poor value for money; it is almost impossible to find anything decent to eat for less than PHP200 – if you do, expect small […]

El Nido – Philippines – Nacpan Beach

FEBRUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying in El Nido for 8 nights. One of the main things to do in El Nido is Island Hopping. I had already done Island Hopping in Honda Bay whilst in Puerto Princesa and, again, Island Hopping in Port Barton. The Honda Bay trip cost PHP1200 PLUS PHP150 for Mask & Snorkel PLUS PHP150 for Watershoes PLUS PHP150 for Fins. A total of PHP1650 with less than 5 hours on the water. The Port Barton Trip cost PHP700 PLUS PHP50 for the Permit. The Port Barton Trip was much better than the Honda Bay one, had better […]

El Nido – Philippines – Island Hopping ...

JANUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying in Port Barton for 6 nights. One of the main things to do is Island Hopping. I had already done Island Hopping in Honda Bay whilst in Puerto Princesa. The Honda Bay trip cost PHP1200 PLUS PHP150 for Mask & Snorkel PLUS PHP150 for Watershoes PLUS PHP150 for Fins. A total of PHP1650 with less than 5 hours on the water. It was time to try out another one in Port Barton and compare. BOOKING THE TRIP: There are people advertising trips everywhere in Port Barton. There are, usually, 4 trips to choose from: A, […]

Port Barton – Philippines – Island Hopping ...

JANUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying in Sabang for 4 nights. The main reason that I was in Sabang was to go to the Underground River. I had read online that you had to get a Permit for the Underground River in Puerto Princesa at the ‘Coliseum’ or book a package tour (which comes with a Permit included). However, one blog said that you could get one in Sabang as long as you were staying in a Sabang hotel. I took a chance and made my own way from Puerto Princesa to Sabang by Lexxus bus without a Permit. I walked […]

Sabang – Philippines – Underground River Trip

JANUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying in Puerto Princesa for a week and one of the top 2 things that are recommended online is a trip to Honda Bay. I had already gone up The Coast By Scooter, and I was planning to make my own way to Sabang for the Underground River Trip. I planned to stay 3 or 4 nights in Sabang and to organise my river trip once I got there. Today, it was time to try out Snorkelling in Honda Bay… BOOKING THE TRIP: I was staying at the Casitas De Az Pension in Puerto Princesa. I […]

Puerto Princesa – Philippines – Honda Bay ...

JANUARY 2016: INTRODUCTION: I was staying in Puerto Princesa and one of the top 2 things that are recommended online is a trip to Honda Bay; so I decided to jump on my scooter and go and have a look up the east coast. I was hoping to find something similar to what I found when I went from Padang Bai to Amed By Scooter back in Indonesia… beautiful scenery with picturesque sandy bays and little fishing villages… I planned to do a 150km round trip. I set off at 10:00am and stopped at the start of the North Road just after […]

Puerto Princesa – Coast By Scooter – ...

JANUARY 2016: Click here to read our Vietnam Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I arrived in Quan Lan from Cat Ba. I had not planned to be in Quan Lan; I was, actually, trying to get to Co To… Anyway, I arrived in Quan Lan without any pre-booked accommodation. I booked into the Ngan Ha Hotel just walking in off the street. I was only staying 3 nights, so I booked all 3 at the Ngan Ha. The room rate was VND300k / night; I negotiated them down to VND200k / night. On my second day I decided to rent a scooter and have a look at […]

Quan Lan – Vietnam – Around The ...

  DECEMBER 2015:   Click here to read our Vietnam Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I am impressed by Hoi An. It is a Tourist Town – but a nice Tourist Town. I haven’t written up my Hoi An – Vietnam – Information yet (nor my Hoi An – Vietnam – GRANDPAcking Costs), but I will when I leave on the 14th December 2015. Hoi An will, also, be making it into my RETIREMENT REVIEWS at the same time. I wanted to get out of the Old Town and look around the ‘edges’ a bit to get a better feel for what it might be like to […]

Hoi An – Vietnam – Around Hoi ...