Tailor-Made Trips to Philippines

Our trip was amazing but limited by time. The travel was excessive considering how much time we had. None of us like Cebu but loved the swimming with whale sharks and canyoneering. The Beach club hotel was nice but the beach was ugly and rocky. I wouldn’t stay there again. We had to do whale sharks on our own (your agency won’t book the one we did). Please tell future clients to be there at 7 AM. We arrived at 8 and had to wait 2.5 hours which was pretty miserable. I would highly recommend encouraging whale sharks in AM and canyoneering in pm. We also did turtles and sardines which I might skip. Puerto Princesss was very nice- the hotel was fantastic and incredibly reasonable. The beach was awesome. The hundred caves was fantastic- highly recommend. Underground river also very cool. Could have skipped mangroves. We also did a jungle tour which I would not recommend- no animals or birds seen at all. Encourage the guides to spend more time letting tourists see monkeys and lizard dragons- our favorite part and we were rushed through. El Nido was super cool and it would have been nice to have a. Couple nights in the town before going to Lagen resort. Lagen was extremely expensive but incredible. The lagoon tour was fantastic. Recommend guests to bring travel tissues- the toilets are frankly disgusting at a few places- no seats and you have to go on a hunt for toilet paper which is sometimes not available. Even though tons of places require cash only/ it was impossible to break 1000 bills- then it made tipping very hard. I would travel with my own snorkel mask in future- they only have one size and my head was too small.
Kimkim was excellent in their responsiveness (Ana) and the thorough itinerary. I was an idiot and didn’t realize the detailed advice and hadn’t read it beforehand. Big mistake. On the canyoneering everyone wore water shoes- not Tivas. Including the guides. Tell people to bring a go pro and waterproof floatable phone cases. I wished I had a GoPro.

Hotel Reviews

Lagen Island Resort

El Nido

Beautiful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Please place hooks for towels and provide a place for toiletries in the bathroom.

Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort

Loved this hotels. I’m rating it a 4 because the room smelled horribly musty and there was zero water pressure in the shower. Beach was awesome and so were the masssges

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The smell in room. No hooks for towels.

Cebu Beach Club

Argao

Horrible beach and so-so food

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from activitied

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belmont Hotel Manila

Pasay City

Restaurant was terrible. Food was inedible

Authenticity & Character

Food!!!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Puerto Princesa Underground River Day Tour from Sabang

Sabang, Palawan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hundred Caves of Tagabinet

Sabang, Palawan

Amazing!! Loved thid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling with Sardines in Moalboal and Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls

Argao

Hard to get into the water. Saw plenty of turtles and sardines.

Quality of Experience

Easier access into the water

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Where do I begin? I can't put into words the magical experience Sarah, Angela, and the rest of the team put together for our 20th wedding anniversary in the Philippines. I'm so happy that Sarah and I were able to lock down the perfect itinerary for me and my family. Her ideas were amazing, but she also took into consideration the things that were important to me in planning our trip. For example, I wanted to visit my dad's grave and also show my family where I grew up. Sarah incorporated my requests seamlessly into our itinerary. This proved to me that Sarah is genuinely looking out for our best interests. After several changes to our itinerary, the fifth one was the charm. We were all set for our trip to Manila, Angeles City, El Nido, Cebu, Bohol, and back to Manila to shop for some pasalubongs before returning home to California. Our point of contact in Manila was Angela, Sarah's right-hand woman in the Philippines. Angela was amazing. Any questions I had regarding the local operators, such as drivers, tour guides, or even the boat crew, Angela would respond without hesitation.

I often referred to them as "The Team" because it was definitely a team effort in making our Vacation/Anniversary magical. From Arrival to Departure everything was on point. I can't even fathom how much planning our trip took. To me, it was a monumental task that the Team made look easy. The most touching moment for us was our unforgettable 20th Anniversary Lunch on our own private beach with a personal note from Sarah and Angela wishing us a happy 20th anniversary. Thank you again, Sarah and Angela. My kids loved the Tarsiers and the whale sharks. Me personally, I just enjoyed the crystal clear beaches with the Limestone cliffs in the background doing absolutely nothing in El Nido.

Everyone we interacted with will always remain in our hearts. The kindness and warmth everyone showed us made it feel like a home away from. I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved, Sarah, Angela, our drivers, our boat crew, our tour guides, and all the people involved that help make our dream vacation come true. I will definitely be booking our next trip with Sarah and her A-TEAM!!!

Thank you so much,

Ribac Family of California, USA.

Hotel Reviews

Maayo Hotel Cebu

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Nido Coco Resort

El Nido

Our Apartment style suite with our own private pool was mind blowing. Few steps to the beach.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belmont Hotel Manila

Pasay City

Staff was awesome. Newport City is conveniently located by the airport and we felt safe walking around the surrounding area

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Oslob Whale Shark Watching Experience

Philippines

Quality of Experience

⁶

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bohol Country Side Tour

Philippines

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: El Nido Island Hopping Tour B: Caves & Islands

El Nido

Quality of Experience

⁶

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: El Nido Island Hopping Tour A: Lagoons and Beaches

El Nido

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Manila and Surrounds with Private Driver

Manila

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cami did a very good job planning my trip! My flight arrived in Puerto Princesa 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, so I arrived before my guide, Rick, who did arrive at the scheduled time :-). Rick gave me a nice city tour as planned, skipping a temple, at my request — I had seen more than enough temples! My day tour of the Subterranean River NP (mangrove and cave tours) was very nice — the highlight of my visit to Puerto Princesa!

My trip in a “public van” was a nightmare — one of the worse travel experiences of my life! I was the 10th of 10 oassengers, squeezed into a temporary seat with no seat belt or headrest squeezed between two oversized men pressing hard against me on my sides! This was a 6 hour ride — I feel lucky to have lived through it !

My 2 days in El Nido went as planned — 2 days island hopping with snorkeling at each island including lunch and some caving. I was not picked up by a tricycle as expected, but by a tour agent on foot, as I was in easy walking distance of the gathering spot.

I was picked up on time for my ride to the El Nido airpprt and again at the Manila airport for my ride to the hotel. I used the Grab app to visit downtown Nanila before deoarting for Guam :-)

I had goid weather throughout ;-)