As we told you in How to plan a trip to the Philippines, we consider that a good number of days to travel the country is at least 15 days. However, it is also possible to do it in less time, as long as it is well organized. Therefore, we have decided to design a 10-day Philippines itinerary to do independently that maximizes your days in the country.
Of course, this is a model route for the Philippines that you can shape your own way. You should consider that the archipelago has more than 7,700 islands and, most importantly, every traveler is different and may expect something different from their trip.
Features of the 10-day route in the Philippines
Before we start detailing it, here are some basic features of this 10-day travel itinerary in the Philippines:
- We have stuck to the Palawan region (which includes the island of Palawan, but also Coron) to avoid losing too much time on transfers. Keep in mind that, in general, when designing an itinerary in the Philippines you lose a day every time you move to a new destination. In this case, we try to reduce them as much as possible and we win because it is one of the most spectacular regions in the country.
- This is a REAL 10-day itinerary, meaning full days in the Philippines. Depending on the schedule of your international flights to the Philippines, you may be able to make this trip fit better or not.
- This is a medium–high intensity route around the Philippines. That is, there is not much room for relaxation here. Even so, you will have time to make the most of the trip. Want more relaxation? You can do so if you drop one destination; our advice would be to reduce Coron because the landscapes are similar to those in El Nido and if you keep Port Barton it will be more varied.
- This itinerary around the Philippines will take you to see the epic beaches you have always seen when you searched online about the country. Keep in mind that you will have to do many island hopping trips (boat excursions from island to island), although you can also do a couple of DIY excursions.
- We have considered Manila as the starting point of the route because international flights are usually cheaper, but you could also do it from Cebu, from where you also have flights to/from Coron and Puerto Princesa.
- There is not much room for diving on this 10-day trip to the Philippines, although you could fit in 1 day in Coron.
Above all, it is an honest and viable route. We are very tired of seeing 10-day routes around the Philippines on social media that are real marathons. Truly, we have been coming/living here since 2010 and the worst thing you can do is load your itinerary with places that are far apart and for which you have to invest a whole day of your trip. It is better to stick to destinations that are well connected like those on this route to make the most of your time.
10-day Philippines travel itinerary
We set it out schematically and then detail it day by day. If you click on each part, we take you to the exact section you are interested in:
Day 1: Manila – Coron
Days 2 and 3: Coron
Day 4: How to get from Coron to El Nido
Days 5, 6 and 7: El Nido
Day 8: How to get from El Nido to Port Barton
Day 9: Port Barton
Day 10: Port Barton – Manila
Remember that travel insurance is essential so you don’t take unnecessary risks. In Best travel insurance for the Philippines we tell you which one and why it’s the best. We’ve been with it for many years and (unfortunately) we’ve had to use it many times and we’ve saved thousands of dollars in hospitals. In addition, if you purchase it by clicking here you get a 5% discount for being a reader of our website and you also help us continue creating useful and up-to-date content like this
Detailed route for a trip to the Philippines: 10 days
Let’s talk about how to organize this Philippines travel itinerary step by step:
Day 1: Manila – Coron
We start this 10-day Philippines itinerary with one of the most beautiful places in the country: Coron. Here unforgettable days of island hopping through lagoons, deserted beaches and uninhabited islands await you.
We consider that you have arrived in the Philippines the day before or very early this morning in order to take one of the first flights from Manila to Coron. As we told you in How to get to Coron, there are direct flights from several airlines to Busuanga or Francisco Reyes Airport (IATA code: USU).
⭐ If you arrive early in the morning, the best thing is to have contacted someone to organize a private tour around Coron Island this day. This is the so‑called Ultimate Tour and, being private, you can start whenever you like and, most importantly, avoid the crowds. If you’re interested, you can leave us a comment and we’ll send you the contact of our super nice guide (thousands of travelers have already gone with him and came out delighted).
If you don’t have enough time to make the most of the day, you could do other activities such as snorkeling in 7 Pecados, hiking up Mt. Tapyas or visiting the Maquinit Hot Springs, which will help with the jet lag. Put the finishing touch on the day by watching the sunset from a terrace like the one at Hop Hostel. In Things to do in Coron you’ll find everything you need to plan this part of the trip.
Recommended accommodation in Coron:
- Backpacker vibe: Hop Hostel
- Good value for money: Bay Area Lodge
- For a little luxury: The Funny Lion
- More recommendations for where to stay in Coron
Bulog Dos-Banol Beach-Twin Lagoon
Days 2 and 3: Coron
In addition to the previous day, you have 2 full days to enjoy Coron. In What to see and do in Coron you can read a lot of information, but our advice is to distribute the days as follows:
- Island hopping: Escapade Tour, which will take you to discover islands such as Malcapuya, Banana and Bulog Dos or Waling Waling.
- Here you can do two things, depending on your tastes:
- Island hopping to remote islands such as North Cay, Maltatayoc, Black Island…
- A day of diving among the World War II shipwrecks in Coron. It is, after all, one of the best places to dive in the Philippines.
Above all, if on day 1 you didn’t have time to do the Ultimate tour, do it on one of these two days; it is the most impressive island hopping of all. If you were able to do it, our advice is that on another of the days you do the Escapade tour. You can ask us for our contacts so that these excursions (and those in El Nido and Port Barton as well) are fabulous by writing us a comment below. We have been doing these tours since 2010, so we have some experience :)))
You have everything you need and more to organize these tours in our guide Island hopping in Coron.
To make the most of the area’s dining options, take a look at Where to eat in Coron.
Day 4: Coron – El Nido
We continue our 10-day Philippines itinerary by going to one of the country’s jewels: El Nido. Although very touristy, believe us, there are ways to avoid the crowds. In our El Nido Guide you’ll find tips from traveler to traveler.
To get to El Nido you have 2 options that we explain in How to get to El Nido, but in short:
- By fast ferry from Coron to El Nido: several companies depart early in the morning. We prefer to book in advance and, if possible, with Jomalia, which has a better boat and sways less.
- On a flight from Coron to El Nido, although they are NOT daily. If the timing works, the flight is the better option, since the price is similar to the ferry and it saves you the queasiness.
If you manage to arrive in El Nido early, we recommend visiting Nacpan Beach, for which you will need to rent a motorbike or negotiate with a tricycle. Otherwise, you could catch the sunset on the beautiful Las Cabañas Beach, one of the best beaches in El Nido, or, if you feel like it, you can also go to Lio Beach, which is not bad at all.
Recommended accommodation in El Nido:
- Backpacker vibe: Frendz Hostel
- Good value for money: Bulskamp Inn
- For a little luxury: Last Frontier Beach Resort
- More recommendations for where to stay in El Nido
DO YOU LIKE OUR CONTENT? Help us keep the site alive.
Keeping this website up to date —from researching routes, testing accommodations and writing each guide
and answering hundreds of your questions every day— takes time, energy and more coffees than we’ll admit.
If any of our tips are useful to you and you’re thinking of getting discounted travel insurance,
book a hotel, book your flights, use Remitly, etc… We appreciate you doing it through our links.
- You pay exactly the same (sometimes even less thanks to our discounts).
- We receive a small commission that we reinvest in continuing to work,
researching and publishing free guides. - You get the same price, we can continue creating independent content,
and everyone wins.
Thanks for supporting this project and for accompanying us to every corner of the Philippines.
Entalula Island in El Nido
Days 5, 6 and 7: El Nido
You’ll have to get your skates on to make the most of your time in El Nido. In our article on Things to do in El Nido you will discover the best activities and island hoppings, but here we give you a recommendation so that you can make the most of the days of your 10-day route around the Philippines as follows:
- Island hopping A (although few companies offer it, you can also do some combination of tours A+C or B+D).
- Route along the best beaches in El Nido: Nacpan, Duli, Lio Beach and/or Las Cabañas. On the last one there is the famous zipline.
- Island hopping C (or any combination of them). If you prefer, you can also do a kayak route.
The order is more or less indifferent, but we have designed it this way to alternate. What you have to assess, above all, is the weather. Make the most of sunny days to do the island hopping in El Nido.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you know that, if you want to avoid the crowds, doing a PRIVATE tour in El Nido is essential. You can leave us a comment and we will give you the contacts to organize it and enjoy this impressive Southeast Asian landscape without elbowing your way through.
In this destination on your 10-day route around the Philippines you have plenty of restaurants and bars. As we have been coming here for many years, you will find the best tips in Where to eat in El Nido.
Nacpan Beach
Day 8: El Nido – Port Barton
We continue this Philippine route by heading to the charming town of Port Barton, which has been winning travelers over to the core for years now. Its laid-back vibe, the smiles of the locals, and the chance to reach beautiful beaches on foot are the draws that make us include this destination in the 10-day Philippines travel itinerary.
In How to get to Port Barton we tell you everything, but we’ll already tell you that the best way to go from El Nido to Port Barton is by shared van. The journey takes about 3.5 hours.
We recommend booking an early-morning van to enjoy the afternoon in Port Barton. Believe us, you’ll need the time.
Our advice is that as soon as you arrive, walk towards White Beach, stopping at Coconut Beach. If you prefer, you can also go by tricycle, motorbike or boat — your choice. You can enjoy the sunset there or head back to town to see it from one of the bars on Port Barton’s main beach. These are two of the best beaches in Port Barton.
Recommended accommodation:
- Backpacker vibe: CocoRico Hostel
- Cheap and clean: Hashtag Tourist Inn
- Good value for money: Parrots Boutique Resort
- More recommendations in Where to stay in Port Barton
Day 9: Port Barton
You have this whole day to discover the islands around Port Barton, which are not far behind El Nido’s. Although you won’t find El Nido’s karst landscapes here, you can enjoy paradise islands, fabulous snorkeling and, above all, peace and quiet, as Port Barton is much less visited than its northern Palawan sibling.
In our Port Barton Guide you’ll find all the details, but we suggest organizing the island hopping in Port Barton the day before. It will barely cost you 1,500 pesos and you’ll love it.
If you don’t feel like doing more tours, you can also spend the time exploring other things to see in Port Barton such as Pamuayan Falls and the aforementioned Coconut Beach and White Beach, to which you can also add Pamuayan Beach.
White Beach
Day 10: Port Barton – Manila
Although it makes us a bit sad to have devoted so little time to Port Barton, you can still make the most of the morning before taking the van from Port Barton to Puerto Princesa Airport. The trip takes about 3 hours. Perhaps, if you didn’t go the day before, you can fit in a visit to Pamuayan Falls.
Try to take the last flight of the afternoon from Puerto Princesa to Manila to make the most of the day.
Once in Manila, why not take the opportunity to see it from above at one of our favorite bars? Head out to dinner in the lively Poblacion neighborhood (you’ll find plenty of tips in Best restaurants in Manila) and toast to an epic 10-day trip to the Philippines on the rooftop of the I’m Hotel or Dr. Wine Poblacion.
Our advice, as always, is to be in Manila at least the day before your international flight departs. If you have time in the capital, you can follow the route we suggest in Things to do in Manila or take the chance to do some shopping with the help of the tips we give you in What to buy in the Philippines.
Recommended accommodation:
- In Poblacion: Lub d Makati
- Near the airport: Savoy Hotel Manila
- You have many more options in Where to stay in Manila or Where to stay near Manila airport
Makati skyline-Shopping-Binondo Church
Map of the 10-day route around the Philippines
Here is a map of the 10-day itinerary around the Philippines to make it a bit clearer. We’ve also marked the accommodations we’ve been recommending.
For this and any other route, travel insurance is essential. In Best Travel Insurance for the Philippines we tell you which one we’ve been using for years and which also has extensive coverage for things like theft, baggage issues, transport incidents, diving or, among many more, repatriation if necessary.
As a Travel around the Philippines reader, you also get a 5% discount if you get it from here:
Alternatives to this 10-day Philippines itinerary
If you find this itinerary too hardcore for you or you’re perhaps looking for something different, here are several alternatives for a 10-day route in the Philippines:
1. Skip Coron
Cut Busuanga Island (Coron) and add one more day in Port Barton and in El Nido. If you feel you have 1 day to spare, you can use it to visit Nagtabon Beach in Puerto Princesa, visit the Underground River in Sabang with this tour or devote a day to Manila, which also offers interesting possibilities.
Why do we remove Coron? Because, as we told you above, the landscapes of Coron and El Nido are similar, so keeping Port Barton makes your trip more diverse.
2. Fit the expedition in between Coron and El Nido
Have you heard of the tours from Coron to El Nido (or vice versa)? These are journeys between the two destinations that take 3–4 days and let you discover paradises in between, sleeping in huts on uninhabited islands, which makes the experience very complete and turns it into a favorite part for many travelers.
The expeditions, however, don’t visit anything from the El Nido tours and from Coron only some stops of the Escapade Tour (not the Ultimate), so dropping Coron and El Nido and swapping them for the expedition isn’t the most advisable. However, you could do something like this:
- Day 1: transfer to Coron + Ultimate tour first thing (as soon as you arrive)
- Days 2, 3 and 4: Coron–El Nido expedition
- Days 5 and 6: El Nido (tour A and C or one tour day and another for nearby beaches)
- Day 7: transfer to Port Barton
- Days 8 and 9: Port Barton
- Day 10: return to Manila or Cebu
We like doing the 4-day expedition more, but we think the 3-day one fits better in this case. For that, we recommend THIS COMPANY. With the code TRAVELPHILIPPINES they give you a 1,000‑peso discount per person.
3. Try to squeeze in the whale shark tour in Puerto Princesa
As we tell you in Where to swim with the whale shark in the Philippines, it’s sighting season (completely natural, without feeding or mistreating them, as in Oslob) between the months of April and October. If you’re really excited to try, always bearing in mind that it’s pure nature and you might not see them, you could try in Puerto Princesa at the end of the trip.
In this case, our advice would be to skip Port Barton and go straight from El Nido to Puerto Princesa to sleep, spend that night there (you have accommodation recommendations in Where to stay in Puerto Princesa), do the tour the next morning (it’s from about 7:00 to 14:00) and fly to Manila that same afternoon.
If you need company recommendations for spotting the whale shark, you can leave us a comment and we’ll happily share our contacts.
4. Drop Coron and opt to visit the beautiful rice terraces of Banaue and Batad
It’s a good option to make the trip more varied. You can fit it in before or after visiting Palawan.
The buses from Manila to Banaue are overnight (you can read more in How to get to Banaue), so you can make the most of it as follows:
- Take the night bus to arrive in Banaue, go to Batad and do a hiking route in the area. You can read more in What to do in Batad.
- Stay in Batad to wake up to an epic sunrise.
- Visit a nearby village and take the bus back from Banaue to Manila.
You can find more information in What to do in Banaue.
Tips to enjoy the 10-day route around the Philippines
To wrap up, below we want to leave you some tips that will help you plan your 10-day trip around the Philippines in a more optimized way:
-
- What is the best time of year to do the 10‑day itinerary in the Philippines? In this case, the best would be from November to May, which are the dry‑season months in Palawan. Even so, this doesn’t mean you can’t do it from June to October. Being the rainy season doesn’t mean it will definitely rain on you. That said, if the weather worries you, you could stick to an itinerary in areas where it’s currently the dry season, namely Siargao, Camiguin and Dinagat. You have much more information on the topic in When to travel to the Philippines?.
- If it suits you better, the route can be done in reverse, that is, starting in Puerto Princesa and ending in Coron. Even so, we don’t recommend it. Why? Because Coron’s airport is tiny and located among mountains, so if it rains more than usual or it’s windy, flights are delayed or canceled and your international flight could be at risk. This doesn’t happen with Puerto Princesa’s airport, which is much better equipped.
- The value for money of the accommodations in Coron and El Nido is among the worst in the Philippines, really. Especially in high season. No matter how much you’ve traveled in other Southeast Asian countries and improvised (and it worked out), here it’s not the same. We strongly recommend booking in advance.
- To make the transfer from Coron to El Nido, go for the Jomalia ferry or, if prices are good, flights. Why? Jomalia’s boats are newer and larger, so they sway a bit less, and it’s a crossing that’s usually tough for those who suffer with waves. If you can take a motion‑sickness pill, you’ll be grateful. You can book tickets for both here.
- One key to enjoying this 10‑day route in the Philippines is to do the tours privately. These are destinations with lots of tourist traffic, and the way to enjoy their magnificent spots is with a boat that takes you there when they’re not full of people. Really, take our word for it. If you need contacts, we’ll be happy to share the ones we know work well — just leave us a comment below.
- If you want to save money, don’t bring much luggage. You really won’t need warm clothes (except for transport) and you’ll find laundries everywhere, so try not to have to check bags on domestic flights. Almost all domestic airlines in the Philippines charge per suitcase and carry‑on is limited to 7 kg.
-
- You’ve surely noticed that all the information you need for your trip is on our website, but the following articles are particularly interesting: Recommendations and tips for traveling to the Philippines and our Philippines Guide.
Malcapuya Island (Coron)
Frequently asked questions about a 10-day trip to the Philippines
We hope we’ve answered all your questions, but we don’t want to leave without addressing the most common questions we receive about 10‑day trips to the Philippines:
How many days are needed to see the Philippines?
The country has more than 7,700 islands and that’s why we’ve been roaming around here for more than 15 years… That said, our advice is that, if you can, you devote at least 20 days. Otherwise, with 15 days you can do a very varied route, and with 10 you can visit one region, as is the case with Palawan.
What is the best 10-day route around the Philippines?
Since transfers are very demanding, in our experience, the best 10‑day route around the Philippines is the one dedicated to exploring the Coron/Palawan region. That is, visiting Coron–El Nido–Port Barton.
What other 10-day route around the Philippines do you recommend?
If you don’t want to see only the Palawan area, another idea would be to do Port Barton and El Nido and, from the latter, fly to Bohol, as you have direct flights. You could also swap Coron for a route around the Banaue and Batad area and enjoy the imposing landscapes of the rice terraces. Finally, you could do the fabulous expedition between Coron and El Nido.
What is the best time of year for a 10-day route in the Philippines?
Due to its geographic location, it’s better to do it between the months of November and May, which is the dry season. That said, it can be done at any time of the year.
Did you find this 10‑day Philippines itinerary interesting? Want to ask us something? Tell us in the comments!
