Travel in the Philippines - Visayas Region

The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of more than 7,100 islands and majority of the exciting islands to visit and enjoy are located in the Visayas Region. The provinces in these region not only boasts of their pristine and white sand beaches but also their delicacies, culture, traditions and of course their fiestas and festivals. What i really love about these places are the abundance of fresh and affordable seafoods and their mouth watering fruits. If you have time and a planned budget, you can visit the following places and learn more about Philippine culture.

1. Cebu - People say that Cebu City should be the capital of the Philippines since this is where Magellan discovered the country (although its still a continuing debate). Cebu is like Metro Manila, busy, fast paced, lots of malls, traffic and plenty of opportunities. What you should see and experience in Cebu is the annual Sinulog Festival for Sto. Nino, Tabuan Market (delicious dried fish delicacies), Olango Island (Migratory birds stopover from China and Siberia) and I also hear Bantayan Island is one of the best places to relax and unwind.

2. Bohol - Tagbilaran City is the capital but its not as big and busy as Cebu City which makes it more tourist friendly. Upon arrival at the seaport, people would immediately approach you to invite you to resorts and tourists destinations. Panglao is the tourist favorite because it rivals the white powder-like sand of Boracay plus it is more affordable and less congested. Panglao is memorable for me because we had our honeymoon there. Other sites: Chocolate Hills, Loboc River, Pamilacan Island, Tarsier Sanctuary and lots of waterfalls locations to enjoy.

3. Panay Island - consists of four amazing provinces, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo. How could anyone miss these provinces when going to Visayas region. They have the world famous Boracay Island, Roxas City - famous for travel and seafoods, Iloilo city also for their Dinagyang Festival and Sibalom, Antique where you can find our own version of the biggest flower in the world which is the Rafflesia.

4. Leyte and Samar - Two different provinces with their own travel destinations and food delicacies. Lots of old churches and historical landmarks plus the ever famous San Juanico Bridge connecting the two provinces. The bridge is an architectural landmark, too bad going down the bridge to take photos is not allowed.

5. Negros Island - famous for its two cities, Bacolod and Dumaguete Cities. Bacolod i think is still the sugar capital of the Philippines and has been known to be one of the cleanest cities in the Philippines. Dumaguete is a favorite tourist destination beacuse of its proximity to clean beach resorts, night life and a small city area to tour and experience.

6. Guimaras Island - famous for its pristine beaches and sweet and best tasting mangoes exported as far as US and Europe. Have you heard that they are very strict in treating their treasure and a person cannot easily bring in a different variety of mango?

I could go on and on writing articles about these amazing places to go but this blog is already too long to read. A word of advice? The Visayas Region is truly worthwhile to visit and experience, every Filipino should make it a point to know these provinces before going abroad.