12 Days Ultimate Manila & Cebu – Self-Launched Philippines Island Hopping

Land at NAIA, take a Grab (≈£5–7) or airport bus to a hostel or budget hotel in Poblacion, Makati — the backpacker-friendly, food-and-bar-heavy district. The original package starts at U Hotels Makati; equivalent budget stays like Z Hostel, Junction Hostel or a Makati guesthouse cost around £12–18 per night. Use the afternoon to sort a local SIM (Globe or Smart tourist SIM, ≈£5 for 30 days data), draw cash, and download Grab and the Klook/GetYourGuide apps. Evening: eat your way down Poblacion — Filipino BBQ, sisig, halo-halo — and if you want to go out, the rooftop bars around Poblacion are the easy choice. Book tonight your cheap domestic flight to Bohol (Panglao, TAG) for tomorrow morning.

🚌Grab from NAIA to Makati ≈£5–7

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Poblacion, Makati (£12–18)

• →Settle in and buy SIM card / data
• →Download Grab, Klook and GetYourGuide
• →Poblacion food and bar evening

Skip the package's multi-leg car-and-ferry slogged day (which one reviewer rightly criticised) and fly direct from Manila to Bohol's Panglao airport (TAG). Cebu Pacific / PAL flights vary wildly but a booked-ahead seat can be £25–50 one way; allow for up to £60. From Panglao airport, a tricycle to Alona Beach is ≈£2–3. Base yourself on Alona Beach, where dorms run £10–16 and private fan/AC rooms £16–25. Afternoon: swim, hire a scooter for the next two days (≈£7/day plus fuel) or agree a tricycle driver for a fixed day rate. Book a Bohol Countryside day tour for tomorrow via Klook or ask your guesthouse — a shared small-group version costs ≈£20–28 including entrance fees.

🚌Flight Manila–Bohol ≈£25–60; tricycle from airport ≈£2–3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse at Alona Beach, Panglao (£14–20)

• →Fly to Panglao (Bohol)
• →Hire scooter or arrange tricycle driver
• →Alona Beach sunset swim

Do the full countryside loop the packaged tour covers, but at your own pace. Join a shared small-group tour (≈£22) or DIY with a rented scooter: Sandugo (Blood Compact) Shrine at Tagbilaran, Baclayon Church, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary near Corella (quiet, ethical sanctuary — keep voices low, no flash), the Bilar Manmade Forest, and the Chocolate Hills viewpoint at Carmen. Grab lunch at a Loboc floating restaurant (the buffet lunch is ≈£8–10, or just eat at a Loboc riverside café for £4). Keep the afternoon flexible for the Loboc River cruise or a Man-made Forest photo stop. Return to Panglao for dinner.

🚌Scooter rental ≈£7 + fuel £2, or shared tour ≈£22

🛏Hostel or guesthouse at Alona Beach, Panglao (£14–20)

• →Sandugo Shrine
• →Baclayon Church
• →Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary (≈£3 entry)
• →Chocolate Hills viewpoint (≈£5 entry)
• →Bilar Manmade Forest
• →Loboc floating restaurant lunch

Join a bangka boat trip from Alona Beach to Balicasag and Virgin Island — this is the same route as the package's included day. Book direct at Alona Beach the night before or through your hostel; a shared joiner boat costs ≈£18–25 including mask/snorkel and marine sanctuary fees (Balicasag fees are charged extra at the island, ≈£3–5). Leave by 6am for dolphins on the crossing and to beat the crowds at the Balicasag snorkelling site (turtles, jacks, coral gardens), then drift over to Virgin Island's white sandbar at high tide. Afternoon free: beach, cheap seafood dinner, cold beer on Alona.

🚌Bangka boat trip ≈£20 (sanctuary fees extra)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse at Alona Beach, Panglao (£14–20)

• →Sunrise dolphin watching
• →Balicasag Island snorkelling
• →Virgin Island sandbar
• →Seafood dinner on Alona Beach

Travel day, but a scenic one. From Alona Beach take a tricycle/van to Tagbilaran or Jagna port (≈£4–6), then a ferry to Dumaguete (Ocean Jet / Awell; ≈£8–12, 2 hours). From Dumaguete pier take the short ferry to Siquijor (≈£3–5, 45–60 min) — or take the direct Bohol–Siquijor bangka if a local operator is running one. Check ferry schedules the day before; book on arrival at the pier or via the operator's site. Base in San Juan on Siquijor, where beach guesthouses and hostels run £10–18 per night. Afternoon: swim at Paliton Beach, watch sunset at the famous beach bars, and arrange a scooter for tomorrow (≈£6–7/day).

🚌Tricycle to port ≈£5; ferry Bohol–Dumaguete ≈£10; ferry Dumaguete–Siquijor ≈£4

🛏Beach hostel or guesthouse in San Juan, Siquijor (£10–18)

• →Ferry hop through Dumaguete
• →Paliton Beach
• →Sunset drinks in San Juan

Rent a scooter and ride the coastal loop — this is the island the tour covers by vehicle. Stop at St. Francis de Assisi Bell Tower in Siquijor town, then work your way around: the century-old Balete Tree with its fish spa (≈£1), Cambugahay Falls for the rope swings and turquoise pools (≈£1–2 entry/parking), Salagdoong Beach for cliff jumps (small fee), Cang-Isok House, and the quiet towns of Enrique Villanueva and Maria. Lunch at a viewpoint café such as Triad Cafe above Larena (≈£6–8). Bring cash — ATMs on the island are limited. Return to San Juan for sunset.

🚌Scooter rental ≈£7 + fuel £2

🛏Beach hostel or guesthouse in San Juan, Siquijor (£10–18)

• →St. Francis de Assisi Bell Tower
• →Balete Tree fish spa
• →Cambugahay Falls rope swings
• →Salagdoong Beach cliff jumping
• →Cang-Isok House
• →Lunch at Triad Cafe viewpoint

Morning ferry back to Dumaguete (≈£4–5), then check into a budget hotel or guesthouse near the Rizal Boulevard or Valencia road (≈£14–20). Afternoon: hire a tricycle for a couple of hours (≈£10–14 for the vehicle, split if you can) to reach Red Rock (Pulangbato) Falls and the Red Rock hot springs in Valencia, plus a stop at The Forest Camp nature resort if you fancy a cool swim and a meal (entry ≈£2–3). Evening: walk Rizal Boulevard for street food — budbud kabog and painitan stalls — and pick up supplies. Confirm tomorrow's ferry to Cebu (Sibulan–Bato or Dumaguete–Samboan banca).

🚌Ferry Siquijor–Dumaguete ≈£5; tricycle hire ≈£12

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse in Dumaguete (£14–20)

• →Red Rock (Pulangbato) Falls
• →Red Rock Hot Spring
• →The Forest Camp Nature Resort
• →Rizal Boulevard street food

Cross to Cebu by ferry from Sibulan (near Dumaguete) to Bato on Cebu's south coast (≈£3–5), then take a Ceres bus up the coast to Moalboal (≈£3–4, 2–2.5 hours). This is exactly the smarter routing the reviewers recommended — you sleep in Moalboal rather than pushing through to Cebu City. Base in Panagsama Beach, where backpacker guesthouses run £10–18. Afternoon: snorkel straight off Panagsama Beach — the sardine run and turtles are a shore swim away, free if you have your own mask. Book a Kawasan Falls canyoneering trip and the Oslob whale shark trip (or a combined day) with a local Moalboal operator for tomorrow.

🚌Ferry Sibulan–Bato ≈£4; Ceres bus Bato–Moalboal ≈£4

🛏Backpacker guesthouse in Panagsama Beach, Moalboal (£10–18)

• →Shore snorkel at Panagsama Beach
• →Sardine run and sea turtles (free from shore)
• →Book canyoneering and Oslob tours

Big day out. Join a Kawasan Falls canyoneering trip from Badian — a shared group with guide, helmet and lunch runs ≈£35–45; it's 3–4 hours of jumps, slides and swims and finishes at Kawasan Falls. Pair it with the Oslob whale shark snorkel (≈£25–30 from Moalboal, or ≈£15–20 if you get to Oslob yourself by bus and book at the briefing centre; government interaction fee included) — the operator's combined day trip is the easiest way to do both without a car. Whichever order you do it, the tour includes a simple lunch (the package's Kawasan lunch). You'll be back in Moalboal by late afternoon — shower, eat, early night.

🚌Included in day tour, or public bus Moalboal–Oslob ≈£4 each way

🛏Backpacker guesthouse in Panagsama Beach, Moalboal (£10–18)

• →Kawasan Falls canyoneering with guide
• →Swimming at Kawasan Falls
• →Oslob whale shark snorkelling

Morning joiner boat trip to Pescador Island with the sardine run and turtle snorkelling — book on Panagsama Beach, ≈£15–20 per person including gear and sanctuary fees. Back by midday, shower, then Ceres bus or a van transfer up to Cebu City (≈£4–6, 3 hours; book a van through your guesthouse or take the bus from Moalboal junction). Check into a budget hotel or hostel near Fuente Osmeña / IT Park (≈£14–22). Evening: eat at a lechon spot — Cebu lechon is the local obsession — and plan tomorrow's city loop.

🚌Boat trip included; bus/van Moalboal–Cebu City ≈£5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Cebu City (£14–22)

• →Pescador Island snorkelling
• →Sardine run and sea turtle encounters
• →Cebu lechon dinner

Full day of the city and highland sights covered by the package, done by Grab and public transport. Start early with a Grab or bus down to Simala Church in Sibonga (≈£10–14 each way by Grab, or a cheap bus from the south terminal ≈£2 — the shrine is a 30–40 min drive from the highway). Back in the city: Fort San Pedro (≈£1), Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, Magellan's Cross and Plaza Independencia, all walkable around the port. Lunch at a local restaurant (≈£4–6). Late afternoon, Grab up to the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills (free entry, great city views). Evening: Colon Street or a rooftop bar to wrap up.

🚌Grab and local buses ≈£12–18 total

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Cebu City (£14–22)

• →Simala Church
• →Fort San Pedro
• →Basilica Minore del Santo Niño
• →Magellan's Cross
• →Plaza Independencia
• →Taoist Temple

If your international flight leaves from Manila, take a domestic hop Cebu–Manila (≈£30–50 booked in advance) with a buffer of at least three hours before any long-haul connection. If you're flying home from Cebu, you're already there — an airport transfer by Grab to Mactan is ≈£6–8. Use the morning for a final swim, souvenir shopping at a pasalubong market (dried mangoes, otap), and one last plate of lechon. Reconfirm all onward flights and remember the domestic terminal at Cebu (T1) is separate from the international one (T2).

🚌Flight Cebu–Manila ≈£30–50, or Grab to Mactan airport ≈£7

🛏None (departure day) or one final night in Cebu ≈£15–20 if needed

• →Souvenir shopping
• →Final meal in Cebu
• →Onward flight