With a reputation for being chaotic and corrupt, the Paradise Philippines has something of an image problem. But most who make the journey to the 7000-odd islands that comprise the Paradise Philippines are pleasantly surprised by their beauty and by the friendliness of the people.
Most of the Philippines is laidback, stable and relatively safe. The locals are an exceptionally helpful bunch and there are fantastic reefs and fish. On top of this, transport is cheap, the food is good, accommodation is plentiful and (for the monolinguistic) English is widely spoken.
When To Go
Generally, the best time to travel is in the typhoon off-season from September to the middle of May. In the Christmas and Easter breaks, however, everyone is travelling and you’ll have trouble getting a seat on any form of transport or accommodation for that matter. Holy Week (around Easter) presents similar problems.
The most colourful and lovely festivals fall between January and May, the rice terraces of Luzon look best in March and April, and the best time for island-hopping is between October and March.