Now I'm about to let you in on a little secret here.
The hidden gem of Southeast Asia is right here.
The Philippines.
My favorite of all countries that I've traveled to.
It is some of the most beautiful landscapes and the most incredible people you will ever come across.
Now, before you start taking advice from a random stranger, I want to give you a bit of my background.
My name is Christian LeBlanc, and I've spent the last two years traveling Southeast Asia.
And with that, I've spent about three months of it in the Philippines.
It's a country I plan to revisit very soon. let's get started with the countdown number 10 is boracay boracay is easily one of the most popular islands in all of the philippines and with that it can get pretty busy sometimes now that can be a good thing that can be a bad thing the great thing is you can guarantee you can find some extremely beautiful hotels if that's in your budget You can also find some relatively discount ones too, so budget shouldn't be too much of an issue here.
The nightlife is pretty good and the food selection is great.
Boracay has everything from low-end hostels all the way up to extreme luxury hotels.
It can be backpacked, but definitely expect to spend a bit more money here.
The island of Boracay itself is extremely beautiful.
Some of the bluest waters you'll see, and some of the finest white sand beaches.
I would assume this is how it got so popular.
The population of the island has outgrown the infrastructure at least 10 times over, and this can lead to a lot of congestion.
But you're going to spend most of your time on the beach anyway, so what does that matter?
Number nine, Oslob.
Oslob is extremely well known for one thing, and that is the whale sharks.
This is a place where you can actually go and swim right next to these gentle beasts.
Now, there is a little bit of controversy that surrounds this, because the whale sharks are fed, but I'll leave that up to your discretion.
It's such a humbling experience swimming next to an animal that could literally grow as large as a small bus.
In record, they grow up to 40 feet, although it's very unlikely you'll see one this large.
Only 30 minutes away, there's a couple sets of waterfalls.
Tumalog is the most impressive of the two.
It's a massive drop-off that creates a beautiful mist.
Now, if you're looking for more of an experience with the waterfalls, check out Aguinid Waterfalls, because you can actually scale up them.
You can jump off of them.
It's much more interactive than just looking at a waterfall like you do at Tumalog.
It's definitely worth a visit.
Number eight on my list is Malapascua.
It's very unlikely that you've heard of this place before, but there's a great reason to go, and it's this one animal that lives below the sea.
It's very unlikely you've ever heard of this place, but Malapascua is home to one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen the thresher shark.
If you're a scuba diver, this is a must.
There is no fish more impressive than the Thresher shark.
It has a long tail just like a scythe.
You see it beautifully cutting through the water.
For me, this made going to Malapascua 100% worth it.
Now, the dive scene is incredible, but it's not the only thing.
Malapascua Island itself is extraordinarily beautiful.
Again, if you haven't already noticed the trend extremely blue water, fine white sand beaches and relatively expensive accommodations.
So this definitely has to be something that you save up for.
It's a very small island, and all the accommodations on the island are quite expensive.
Do a little research.
We even managed to find a bit of nightlife on this incredibly dormant island.
My girlfriend Laura really hit it off with the locals.
If you know anything about the Philippines, you'll probably be shocked that I put El Nido in seventh place.
El Nido is easily one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines and arguably the world.
The beauty of this place leaves you in awe.
Now let's start with the great things about this place.
The four island tour is incredible because it lets you see the cerulean blue waters, the jagged cliff sides.
It's seriously earth porn.
It's nothing like you've ever seen before.
The days in El Nido are unforgettable because you'll spend your entire day hanging around these beautiful landscapes.
But this is where the problems start.
When night hits, it becomes A bit less enjoyable, I'd say.
El Nido's electrical grid is archaic at best.
When we backpacked, we spent at least half of our nights in darkness.
And worse than the dark, we spent it without any fan or air conditioning.
It gets extremely hot in the Philippines and when the power goes out I become a pretty unhappy camper.
In addition to this, if you're planning to do anything like I do as a YouTuber, Uploading is basically a no-go.
The internet speeds are so slow and it will drive you mad.
Now there are some ways you can get around these inconveniences.
If you spend a lot more money, you can actually stay at accommodations that will have backup generators, and this will at least help take care of the problem of your air conditioning going out, so you won't sweat to death at night.
I want to end this on a positive note because, despite all the inconveniences of El Nido, the beauty of this place makes it all worth it.
So you have to go check it out.
If you end up going, make sure you do the four island tour and make sure you climb Tara Cliff if you're willing to risk your life.
It's extremely jagged, but the view you get is unforgettable.
The next on my list is Bohol.
Bohol is a large and magical island.
There's so many things to see and do here.
It never hurts to go around with locals.
That's how we find some of the cool hidden gems, like this little hole in the ground.
No pun intended.
With Bohol being a big island, you could easily spend five to ten days here.
The most popular of the beaches is Alona Beach.
And this is a place where you can stay at a five-star hotel or at a guest house or hostel.
The pricing is definitely on the expensive end, but nothing unreasonable.
Also a must in Bohol is to rent a scooter.
Some of the most incredible riding I've ever done has been done here on this island.
You take the scooter, you drive up further north from Alona Beach and you'll end up visiting these guys.
These are tarsiers, animals only found in Bohol.
They basically sit like this all day, but what more could you ask for?
I mean, just look at him, he's chilling.
Mondays, am I right?
Also worth mentioning.
I did go up further north, to Anda Beach, and although I liked Anda, I didn't love it.
I found it a bit of a dirty beach.
For me, I would have preferred to have stayed in Alona Beach, rented a scooter and used it to do day trips like seeing the Tarsiers, the Chocolate Hills, etc.
You'll also see a lot of European-inspired churches while exploring the Philippines.
This one here was built by the Spanish, and it was actually shook up during an earthquake a few years ago.
Just after visiting the Tarsiers, you're gonna see the Man Made Forest.
And true to its name, it's a forest that was actually hand-planted by men.
It's a really awesome feeling because as you drive down this narrow road, you feel like you're going through a tree tunnel.
It's great for Instagram goals and it's definitely an awesome feeling as you're riding on your scooter.
After the man-made forest, about another 35-45 minutes up north, you'll be going through what some people deem the main attraction of Bohol.
These are the Chocolate Hills, and you'll notice they look extremely similar to a Hershey Kiss.
I don't know if that's why they've been called that, but the name is definitely fitting.
You can drive up to the top of one of the hills and actually get a pretty good vista of the entire mountain range.
I definitely recommend it.
Number five is a place that's on very few people's lists.
Dumaguete is an incredible place, and there's a lot to see and do here.
It's a place I spent almost two weeks scuba diving and exploring its beautiful nature.
If you go to Dumaguete, check out Casa Roro Falls.
I know I'm probably butchering it, but I'll write it down below.
Right across from Dumaguete is a short boat ride to Apo Island.
Make sure you check out this place.
Apo Island translates into English as Turtle Island, and it's well-named because everywhere you go is serious dirt bro.
There's sea turtles everywhere, and these chillers are used to having people around, so they don't mind when you swim up next to them.
Just make sure not to touch them.
This is by no means in Dumaguete, but this is one of the must, must, must do's of the Philippines.
This here is Manjuyud Sandbar.
I call this place the Maldives of the Philippines.
It's about a 2-3 hour drive to get here from Dumaguete, but every single minute of the ride is worth it.
Once you arrive, you arrive at a little dock, you take a boat across about 45 minutes and you arrive in paradise.
If you have that extra time or you want to take your Instagram to a whole nother level, you better check out Manjuyud Sandbar.
Those are just a few of the things you can do in Dumaguete.
There's some nightlife, there's great restaurants, and a whole lot of nice hotels and resorts.
This is a place for anyone on any budget.
Number four, almost on the podium but not quite, Kawasan Falls, also known as Badean Canyoneering.
Now, before I even get into this, if you're not too afraid of heights and you're not afraid to get wet, this is one of the coolest things that you can do in the Philippines.
It's a full day trip where you're guided through these very narrow crevasses where the water flows down, creating these awesome little waterfalls.
It's such a unique and amazing experience that you really can't find that many places in the world.
I brought my expensive slow-motion camera in a lousy waterproof housing.
I risked it for you guys.
You're welcome.
Baryon Canyoneering is a guided expedition and you cannot do this alone.
By law, you need to have a guide and I highly recommend it anyways.
You would not want to do this alone.
It's not too expensive from my memory it's about 30 us dollars.
You get a guide and he shows you through the canyons, he pushes you off the cliffs and you even get a meal out of it, so it's not too bad.
At the end of the canyon is the world-renowned kawasan fall.
This waterfall literally looks like the exit to the gatorade factory.
The water is this weird fluorescent blue that looks like it should be bottled and sold to people at a very high price.
The water is quite cold, so it's a very nice refreshing break after a long day of jumping through canyons.
Now I must mention that when this was filmed, I was actually one of the last groups to have gone through the Badeon Canyon in quite some time, and I'm not even sure if they've reopened.
The municipal government shut it down because they were worried about erosion.
So do a little research.
Hopefully it's reopened because it is one of the top things to do in the Philippines.
Also, random insert, you'll see roosters everywhere in the Philippines.
Cockfighting is basically a national sport.
I named him Fred.
The bronze medal goes to my favorite landscape in the entire world.
This beach is seriously heaven, and I don't use that word lightly.
It is my favorite.
And I'm honestly blown away that to this day, Nakhpan has not been developed as a resort town.
This is the most incredible landscape that I've ever seen.
Now, if you remember, we talked about El Nido being in seventh or sixth place.
Well, Nakapan is about a 45 minute scooter ride away from El Nido.
So again, if you were on the edge of going to El Nido, consider this you will get Nakapan and El Nido together because they're only a scooter ride away from each other.
The problem with Nakhpan is this.
Because it's such a beautifully untouched landscape, there's nothing on it.
There's really only a couple guest houses with which they have no electricity after a certain hour.
I think it's after 6 p.m.
You have two options.
You can either rough the heat and stay in a very basic guest house on one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire world, or you can just rent a scooter from el nido and drive back to your hotel resort, wherever you're staying in el nido, but one of the most epic day trips you'll ever do This island here is my silver medal.
It's probably my favorite island in the entire world and it's easily the best island in the Philippines.
It is the definition of exploring, getting lost and seeing things that few others have ever seen before.
Bantean Island is basically like Boracay before Boracay blew up.
It has the beauty that will one day become a developed area, but for right now, this is a place that you can experience to yourself.
There's so much to do here, from exploring the jungle to exploring the beautiful beach that surrounds the entire island.
There's even goats that freely roam.
This is Jerome.
Definitely check out the mangroves.
They're these little trees that grow on the water.
Go explore the other side of the island where there's literally no identifiable landmarks.
Just beautiful untouched nature and so many kids just playing on the side of the road.
Definitely say hi to them.
They really appreciate it and they're a lot of fun to hang out with.
I joined a few kids in playing some basketball and it was definitely one of the highlights to my day.
It wouldn't be a perfect island experience without a perfect sunset, and Bantean certainly has a lot of them.
In fact, the Philippines has plenty of them.
I don't think I've seen more beautiful sunsets in my entire life.
You really start to take them for granted, because every single night you get a sunset that could easily be one of the most beautiful you've ever seen.
Now, I don't want to call it the winner because everyone's a winner, guys.
But just kidding.
This is the winner of my top 10 of the Philippines, Coron.
Coron is definitely not the easiest of places to get to.
It's pretty far north.
In fact, it's even farther north than El Nido.
It's more inaccessible than El Nido.
And it can definitely be a bit of an expensive place to visit because it's so inaccessible.
You either take like a five hour ferry from El Nido or you can fly directly from Manila.
Definitely expect to pay top dollar because the flights aren't cheap.
This is not a cheap place to go.
Now it's time to show you why you're willing to spend your money to come here and why you're willing to deal with the inconvenience of getting here.
Koran is simply out of this world.
I can't compare it to anything to be honest.
It's like New Zealand and Africa had a baby and it was beautiful.
As always, my favorite thing to do is rent a scooter.
It's the first thing I do whenever I get to a new place.
Get a scooter, go explore this island.
You will be blown away.
Now I must say that the roads we took on our scooters were basically like off-roading.
There was some very loose gravel, some huge rocks that we were driving over, but the feeling of exploring where few have explored before was so worth it.
Similar to Bohol, they have mountains that look like the Hershey Kisses.
They're not called the Chocolate Hills, but they're very similar looking.
When we drove down this road we probably didn't see tourists for the entire day.
This might sound scary to some of you, but it's one of the most amazing things.
The local Filipino people are some of the friendliest and most accommodating people.
Definitely don't take that as a bad thing.
It's an incredible feeling of truly getting lost in a place that you've never been before.
Now after exploring the rural side of Coron for the day, we went to the more touristy spots.
There's these beautiful hot springs where people generally come for sunset.
If you come here around 5 p.m., you can definitely expect to see tons of other travelers.
It's a really cool way to meet people.
The next day, my girlfriend and I and a couple of friends rented kayaks and we went and kayaked all the way across to a set of islands.
Now I don't know if I recommend the kayaking, because it truly was a very very very very, very difficult workout, but it's good to stay in shape while traveling, so maybe this is the best option for you.
There's also the option to do island tours similar to an El Nido, so maybe check that out if you don't want to go through excruciating heat in a kayak.
But when we made it to the other side, the work was so worth it.
Similar to the landscapes of El Nido.
You have the jagged cliff sides, the incredibly blue water and the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world.
It's extremely energizing to do that every now and then.
These are among some of my favorite drone shots I've ever captured.
Thank you, Korun.
This is Laura looking graceful, but then she got bit by a fish.
At the end of the day, we put up the white flag and we paid someone to tow our kayaks back behind their motorboat.
It was the best decision we ever made.
If you like this video and want to see more like this, check out the video's link below.
I have top 10 lists to Thailand.
I have a how to travel the Philippines video that actually shows you the routes that you should take, and I'm constantly making new content.
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Thanks for watching guys and let's get lost in the next one.
