Manila To Boracay – How To Get There & How To Plan Your Holiday!
Planning a holiday to the beautiful white sands of Boracay island but confused by the many plane, boat and shuttle bus options? You’ve come to the right place! Here you’ll find everything you need to know about how to get from Manila to Boracay, where to stay and what to do on Boracay island!
How To Get From Manila To Boracay
You may not realise it, but Boracay island doesn’t have its own airport. So the first step to getting there is to book a flight to its closest neighbouring island of Panay, where there are two main airport options. The closest of which is Caticlan Airport, otherwise known as Boracay Airport or Godofredo P. Ramos Airport.
From this airport, it’s only a short 10 minute land transfer to Caticlan jetty port, where there are speedboats and local outrigger boats to ferry you to Boracay. The boat journey takes approximately 15 minutes. Currently, the main airline options to Caticlan Airport are Cebu Pacific (otherwise known as ‘Cebgo’) or Philippine Airlines, both of which run various daily services.
The other main airport option is Kalibo, an approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes bus ride from Caticlan jetty port. Flights to here are usually cheaper, however you must factor in the cost of the transfer. In addition to Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines, Air Asia also provide daily flights to Kalibo.
As it’s much quicker and easier, we recommend flying to Caticlan Airport and transferring to Boracay Island from there. However to make the whole process even simpler, we also recommend booking a ‘door to door’ transfer service for when you arrive. This will make the process of getting from the airport to your accommodation so much simpler and less stressful!
As we booked our flights with Cebu Pacific, we were given the option to add a transfer service at a reasonable price which was great! The service was provided by Southwest Tours and we’d recommend them. If you don’t book with Cebu Pacific, then you can also book directly with them via their website.
What To Expect?
Firstly, our flight from Manila to Caticlan with Cebu Pacific was smooth and with no issues, unlike our planned return! Unfortunately our return flight was cancelled (due to plane scheduling issues) so we had to book a different flight with Philippines Airlines to ensure we arrived back to Manila in time. We’ve heard that it’s common for flights to be delayed or rescheduled to Boracay so we’d recommend allowing plenty of time for any onward flight connections!
Our boat and shuttle bus roundtrip transfers with Southwest Tours made both journeys so much easier. For the short boat crossing, they use a mixture of speedboats and more traditional local style boats known as outriggers, which we got to experience en route to the island. It was rustic but a great and authentic experience.
Where To Stay On Boracay?
Unless you plan on staying at one of the bigger resorts on Boracay, you have three main areas to choose from along Boracay’s famous ‘White Beach’. These are known as stations 1, 2 and 3.
We chose to stay at the south end of White Beach near to station 3. This was by far the quietest area but still had plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants to choose from. Station 2 is probably the liveliest area of the island, much more developed with an outdoor mall and lots of cafe, bar and restaurant choices. We didn’t spend much time at station 2 as we preferred the quieter and more rustic authenticity of station 3, but if you want to be near the ‘D’mall’, then this would be the place to stay. Station 1 was more mixed, but generally quieter than station 2. Station 1 would be our second choice behind our first choice of Station 3.
Quiet Station 3, White Beach, Boracay Island
One advantage of staying near station 3 is that there are more budget accommodation options, particularly during the more expensive high season (October to May). So make sure to book your accommodation in advance!
Top Things To Do On Boracay!
If relaxing under a palm tree isn’t enough for you, there’s plenty of activities to keep you occupied on and around the island…here’s a list of the most popular:
- Island Hopping
- Stand Up Paddle Boarding
- Parasailing
- Kayaking
- Snorkelling
- Massage
- Diving
- Boat Trips
So that’s it! A quick round up of how to get to sunny Boracay including where to stay and what to do on the island. For more general information on how we planned our trip to the Philippines and details on ALL of the amazing places we visited (especially our wonderful El Nido Tours), check out our article Where To Go In The Philippines: Our Top 4 Destinations & Tips!
Get Your Trip Organised!
Book Your Flight/Train/Bus/Ferry Tickets Online!
We always recommend that you book your journey in advance, so you have peace of mind that your seats are booked! We recommend using 12go.asia as they offer flight, train, bus and ferry ticket booking online in advance! Check out your journey options and prices here and get your seat reserved!
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means if you choose to book somewhere though our link, we receive a small commission. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything more, and most importantly, we only recommend companies that we use ourselves so you can trust our recommendations!
