Philippines

Surfers, look no further. Most travelers heading here are bound for barangay Urbiztondo in San Juan, a beach town 4mi (6km) north of San Fernando that gets the country’s most consistent waves from November to March. During the season a legion of bronzed instructors offer beginners some of the world’s cheapest surf lessons on perfect learners’ waves.

Once the hub of a booming sugar industry, these days Bacolod is known for its food and convenience as a transport hub. There are a few sights of historic interest and good restaurants, and it's a useful base for Mt Kanlaon Natural Park or the nearby historic district of Silay.

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.

Home to dazzling white-sand beaches and astonishing coral walls, the world's smallest mammal and its biggest fish, eastern Visayas are the aqua heart of an island nation. This region's natural appeal is utterly compelling – the Chocolate Hills of Bohol and shimmering millions of sardines of Moalboal, waves and caves of Samar and waterfalls and rice terraces of Biliran.

The coastline from Cagayan de Oro to Surigao and the offshore islands off the far northeastern tip is a region apart from the rest of Mindanao. Though largely spared from the violence experienced by other parts of the island, it’s often inaccurately stigmatised simply by dint of association. Siargao is one of the best places in the Philippines to hang ten or simply hang. Volcanic Camiguin is seventh heaven for outdoor-lovers, and the university town of Cagayan is both a gateway to the region and a base for adventures in the surrounding Bukidnon Province.

Bicol is famous among Filipinos for its spicy food, while among travellers it's best known for its active volcanoes and the whale sharks of Donsol. But there's quite a bit more to this less-travelled region: explore barely visited beaches, island-hop on a bangka and experience some of the most unusual and exuberant festivals in the country.

This was Typhoon Yolanda's “ground zero”. Tacloban took a direct hit on 8 November 2013, when the mother-of-all tropical storms destroyed the city. Yet as you walk through Tacloban's streets today, it's impossible to imagine the apocalyptic scenes on that fateful morning. The center has been fixed up, hotels have been repaired and there's even a degree of cafe culture evident. Tacloban's bars are again filled with local drinkers instead of relief workers. Yes, the city has resumed its role as the commercial heart of both Leyte and Samar.

If you've spent a bit of time in Manila, you're probably clawing to get out to the countryside for some fresh air and relaxation – as many locals and ex-pats do on weekends. Surprisingly, you don't need to go too far to leave the city and most of its traffic behind.

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).

Bohol offers independent travellers a wealth of options both on and off the beaten track. This island province is promoted almost exclusively through images of cute bug-eyed tarsiers and the majestic Chocolate Hills, but there's much more to experience. Offshore there's superb diving, and when you throw in jungle-fringed rivers perfect for kayaking and paddle-boarding and pristine white-sand beaches it's easy to understand the Bohol appeal.