The Philippines — December 2025

December 2025

We visited three islands: the southern part of Pulo ng Leyte, Peters Dive Resort, Bohol (mostly Panglao Island) and then Siquijor.

Whale Sharks at Pulo ng Leyte

The first big wish was to see whale sharks and we did — and I think we were lucky. We arrived at the end of the rainy season and we had our share for the first few days, but what does it do when you’re on a boat with a wetsuit? Not so much.

Bohol and Panglao Island

We were actually supposed to see a lot on the island of Bohol itself, but when we drove across the island in a taxi we could see that it was full of tourists and everything was built to drain the tourists as much as possible. We came to see nature, not to drive through a mud track in a little go-kart. We therefore continued on to our hotel, Bohol Bee Farm on Panglao Island.

The hotel was very nice and helpful in getting small boats so we could sail out to a couple of the small islands an hour’s sail from the coast. Bohol Bee Farm has a small bathing place where you can be picked up and sailed back if it is not low tide.

Siquijor

Siquijor is a small island and does not yet have their own airport, so that limits the number of visitors. We celebrated Christmas at our hotel, Infinity Heights Resort — highly recommended. 😊

As a starting point, you cannot just swim out to coral reefs — you must always have a guide with you. This is to protect the reefs from tourists who do not respect the rules of not touching, only looking. On the first snorkelling trip I thought it was strange, but after seeing some tourists from China I thought it was an excellent measure.

Although Siquijor is small, it can offer a lot of exciting attractions. We rented a car with air conditioning at the hotel and were driven around to the places we wanted to see. It’s easy and cheap.

Cantabon Cave

The cave itself stretches at least 1,000 metres into the mountain — you follow an underground stream and most of the time you climb or walk in water up to your feet. In some places it is so narrow that you cannot wear a backpack. The actual trip in and out takes at least a couple of hours, with time to take pictures. It is a good idea to bring a good headlamp yourself — the ones you are given are not worth much.

Butterfly Sanctuary

A small zoo specialising in local butterflies. They work to preserve, reproduce and release back into the wild. It is a really good piece of work that should be rewarded.

Cebu City

The last few days we spent in Cebu City. There are some nice excursion destinations outside the city, but the city itself is, in my opinion, a big noisy city which in many places smells like bad sewage.

Practical Tips

• Hearing protection: Remember to bring good earplugs — all their small boats have no exhaust pipes on the engine and they are noisy with over 140 dB.
• Swimming shirt: Remember to bring a swimming shirt to avoid getting sunburned when snorkelling on the surface.