Philippines

The tiny island of Pamilacan, adrift in the Bohol Sea about 23km east of Balicasag, is cetacean central, its rich waters supporting marine megafauna including whales and dolphins, manta rays and sharks. Islanders have always lived off the sea, hunting whales until the ban in 1992, then targeting sharks and rays. In 1993 Sulliman University recorded 30 whale sharks landing in Pamilacan in just 44 days. If you visited the island in the mid-1990s, lanes would be full of shark and manta meat drying in the sun. Finally, in 1998, whale shark and manta hunting were officially banned.

While only 7km tall and at its bikini line 500m wide, tiny Boracay is the Philippines' top tourist draw, fuelled by explosive growth and a tsunami of hype. The influx of visitors caused the Philippines government to temporarily close Boracay to tourists for six months. This 'rehabilitation' period, was used to restore the island to its former glory and it has since reopened with a limit on the number of daily visitors.The centre of the action is dreamy White Beach, a 4km, postcard-perfect stretch of sand lined from one end to the other with hotels, restaurants, bars and dive shops several blocks deep. The beach path is typically awash with visitors, including large groups of package tourists. The ocean is full of romantic paraws (an outrigger sailboat) giving rides; colourful parasails fill the air. After perfect sunsets, live music breaks out, and fire dancers twirl their batons.

Low-lying sun-baked Panglao Island is generally associated with Alona Beach, a busy holiday resort on the southern side of the island. Alona is renowned for its nightlife, and there's a real buzz about the place on weekends when Filipinos cruise into town to join vacationing Koreans and Europeans.

Tiny Sabang has a beautiful, wind-lashed beach, huge tracts of pristine jungle and a famous underground river that draws van loads of day-tripping tourists from Puerto Princesa. While the underground river is certainly worth doing, Sabang's main appeal lies in its wild setting. The surrounding rainforest is part of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and offers world-class hiking and birdwatching.

Relatively unspoiled and an ideal size for exploration, Camiguin (cah-mee-geen) is notable for its imposing silhouette – drop it down next to Hawaii or Maui and it wouldn’t look out of place. With more than 20 cinder cones 100m-plus high, Camiguin has more volcanoes per square kilometre than any other island on earth. And because it’s untouched by large-scale tourism and one of the more tranquil islands around – the 10km of Gingoog Bay separating the island from the mainland is partly responsible – those who do come feel proprietorial about this little jewel and guard news of its treasures like a secret. Besides the usual diving, snorkelling and sandy beaches (except for offshore ones, beaches have brown sand), Camiguin offers a chance to climb a volcano and a seeming endless supply of jungle waterfalls and hot and cold springs.

The word most often associated with Samar is 'rugged'. It has a heavily forested, virtually impenetrable interior, around which runs a beautiful coastline of turquoise bays, secret surf breaks, towering cliffs and sandy beaches. Not surprisingly, Samar tends to draw a more adventurous tourist – the spelunker; the canyoner; the diehard surfer looking for an undiscovered break. Transport connections are quite good between the main towns, but to really explore Samar, a motorbike and lack of time pressure are ideal. The main language of Samar is Waray-Waray.

Just a few hours’ travel from Manila, this gorgeous collection of bays and islands is one of the country’s top dive destinations. Puerto Galera is Spanish for “port of the galleons”. Its deep natural harbor, sheltered on all sides, was a favored anchorage well before the Spanish arrived in 1572, and today it remains a favored anchorage for long-term yachties and short-term vacationers.

With just a handful of eclectic, homespun resorts, a gorgeous stretch of beach and psychedelic sunsets, Sugar Beach remains one of Negros' best-kept secrets, helped along by a tidal river that cuts it off from the road network. It's the simple pleasures, such as quiet lazy days spent combing the beach and peaceful evenings gazing up at the stars, that reward those who journey here. There are some hikes in the area, plus scuba diving and trips to Danjugan Island Marine Reserve & Sanctuary, one of the more intelligently designed protected areas.

For most Filipinos, Siquijor is a mysterious other-world of witchcraft and the unknown. True, this tiny island province is famous for its mountain-dwelling mangkukulam (healers) who brew traditional ointments for modern ailments. But these days Siquijor's most popular healing practice involves a cocktail and a deck chair at any number of its laid-back and wonderfully affordable beach resorts. Attractions include great diving, waterfalls, caves and forest walks in the hilly interior. Just about everywhere on Siquijor is great for snorkelling – find the nearest beach and dive in. Like many beaches in the Visayas, swimming is only possible during high tide, and wearing thongs (flip-flops) is recommended as protection against sea urchins.

Southeast Luzon is one of the more overlooked parts of the Philippines, but those travelers who do make it here will find a wildly varied and unusual part of the country, where you're likely to encounter anything from creatures of the deep (in Donsol and Ticao) to Easter-time Romans and self-flagellation (Marinduque), cowboys rounding up both steers and crabs (Masbate), and Survivor locations (Caramoan peninsula).