BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm thinking of spending around 3 months in Indonesia & the Philippines as part of my RTW trip, and have been reading into it, but there are so many islands and so many possible routes that I'm starting to confuse myself!

Is there anyone with experience of both countries (or either) that could suggest some possible itineraries? Looking for a mixture of trekking, beaches, diving, and culture / history, and would quite like to get off the beaten track a bit (i.e. really not too fussed about Bali, for example).

Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

We've just recently done this as part of our trip - 7 weeks in the Philippines and 6 in Indonesia.

Your issue for 3 months would be as standard the Philippines gives a 21 day visa on entry and Indonesia gives a month.

You can get 59 day visas for the Philippines, if done back in London and two months for Indonesia done in London - both needed onward tickets from us.

Both are huge places around 7000 island for the Philippines and over 17,000 for Indonesia (the worlds archipelago).

Itineraries are endless but the best places we went to were Donsol in the Philippines to swim with the Whale Sharks (Don't stay in Donsol stay 3km out near the Whale Shark centre) - seasons for this are December to June.

The best diving in the Philippines is probably around Coron at the top of the island of Palawan (a pretty impressive island - though a step back in time in places).

For Indonesia then Flores is pretty off the beaten track, from there you can go and see the Komodo's on their island (go there rather than Rinca - the closer island - and stay over night, the guides leave you alone that way which is when it gets more fun).

And you can dive in Komodo national park which is some of the best diving in the world - when we were their we got to see huge 5m Mantas - stunning.

Both these places are quite hard to travel around - I wouldn't write off a couple of days on Bali or in Manila as you get aircon there, cheap malls, 7/11s they might sound like what you're trying to escape, but when you've done a 12 bus ride, to get across Palawan, packed full of people, chickens and bags of dried fish - they will feel like heaven

Hope some of this helps, there is lots in our blog about both countries. Any other info just ask.

Cheers

Dante.

Thanks Dante, that's all really helpful - and I didn't know about the visa thing (guess I need to start doing my research properly) so will need to do that before I leave.

And yes, I can see your point about Bali / Manila, that's definitely something to remember!

One other thing while I remember, the Philippines is a lot more expensive than Indonesia. Finding cheap, decent accommodation there isn't easy, certainly not in the cities anyway.

In fact it is more expensive in general. Just something to keep in mind when you're planning how much time you spend in a place.

We were pushing our budget every day in the Philippines and pretty much always under in Indonesia.

So how much do you reckon you spent per day in each? I've got a rough overall budget of 50USD per day to include food, drink, accommodation, buses (but not flights) - do you think that'd be enough?

I think with that amount you'll be fine. We were always pushing the $20 mark for accommodation in the Philippines, except on Palawan, where there were a lot of beach huts for around the $10 mark.

Part of the issue with the Philippines is that its hard to find cheap food, they have a lot of fast food places and then the prices can be up at those in the West. But you should be fine with $50.

In Indonesia there was a lot of very cheap accommodation and food so I'm sure you'll be fine there.

Most of Palawan only has electricity for part of the day, very little internet and only banks in the capital. If you go up to El Nido (really pretty places, or at least the beaches on the islands off it are stunning), then take enough money with you as there are no banks for a 10 hour bus drive and few places take credit card.

You can fly from the Philippines to Jakarta then work your way down Java along to Flores

Cheers, this is all very helful, good to hear the budget will stretch too.

I know all about the money thing - I learnt the hard way in a remote bit of Guatemala a couple of years ago, so the bank situation is always one of the first things I check out when I hit a new place!

Definitely want to head down to Flores & Komodo - they are very much part of my Indonesian plan.

Did you do any of Borneo as part of the trip?

We went round from KK to sipadan to do some diving - pretty amazing diving.

Then down into Indonesia by boat before catching a flight over to Bali.

There's a place called Derwen (sp) island - really wanted to dive there, it's just inside the Indonesia border - but it was too expensive for us at the time. Will go back there though at some point.

On the next island along there is a huge salt water lake where jellyfish have been trapped and become sting less - if I'd have known this before we set off I would have put a few 100 a side so that we could have gone there - next time.

You'll find cheap accommodation on the Phillies as well, as long as you stay away from the (in)famous beaches and island. Once you're starting to hit less traveled to islands, you'll find deserted, lovely places that will look after you well, because you're the first guest in months.

I agree with Eladi there are cheap places there, in fact compared to the West it's all cheap, but it is more expensive for what you get than in Indonesia (except for lots of places seem to throw in a TV - yay for Star Movies).

Which is useful to know when it comes to setting a budget.

It's the fact that there are so many islands where there are fewer travellers which is part of the appeal of the country for me...good to hear that's not a false assumption.

Thanks for the Borneo diving tips too - I'll be learning to dive in Honduras earlier on in my trip and am planning to use my newfound skills as I head round that part of the world

A cheap out of the way area is Sipalay on the west coast of Negros in the Phils. Excellent diving and cheap accomodations. As far as food goes just frequent the markets and you can eat like royalty for pennies. Also enjoyed Camiguin (Galapagos of the Philippines) and Siquijor. On Palawan the El Nido area is very spendy...try Honda Bay instead.

Absolutely loved Siquijor. Great people, great beaches (and I heard good snorkeling and diving as well). I mean, does it get any better than this:

I am kind of partial to Thailand, I have also been in the Philippines and a little in Indonesia too!

You could do three countries. I find Thailand a little cheaper than the Philippines and Indonesia when you compare similar settings. There are discount airlines that fly out of the Clark Airfield in Angeles City, PI, pretty often to other places in Asia.

Sometimes the length of time you can get on a "visa on arrival" will depend on the passport you are traveling under too! You can get a free 30 day entry stamp in your passport for Thailand if you are from the U.S., U.K., Canada and many EU countries.

Good luck.

While you're in the neighborhood, don't miss Borneo. It's a fantastic place for an adventure. Check out my article here for some trekking advice.

Andris

You can fly from Manila or Cebu City to Davao on the early Monday morning on Cebu Pacific Airlines booking on-line promo fares P2487 and P1448 ( U$55 and U$32 )have plenty of time to have breakfast, a look around after sunrise and make it to the Indonesian Embassy when they open at 8:30AM & apply for a two month visa and fly one way on Merpati once a week "charter" flight to Manado, Northern Sulawesi stay overnight near the boats to Bunaken Island the next morning for some of the BEST snorkeling or diving in S.E. Asia. Then head south overland on a 24 hour bus ( U$10 ) to central Sulawesi.

Like mention above the Philippines costs of traveling are higher for food and accommodations but should one be a "party animal" type of traveler the Philippines has the cheapest beer, local dark rum, locally bottled Gilbey's gin and vodka in S.E. Asia.

Palawan id not the only place where U$10 accommodations can be found as in many smaller towns or less popular more remote destinations U$15 / night can easily be found. And in Indonesia U$6 to U$12 is common, even as low as U$3 for overnight transit stop simple rooms are available all over Indonesia.