Philippines

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.

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.

Essentially a two-road town where the jungle drops precipitously into the bay, Port Barton offers simple pleasures. It’s the kind of place where, after just a few strolls down the beach, you don’t want to share the tranquillity with outsiders. Several islands with good beaches and snorkeling lurk offshore surrounded by rows and rows of buoys, the sign of working pearl farms.

For students and historians of the Pacific and WWII, the word 'Leyte' conjures up images of bloody naval battles and the site of MacArthur's famous return. For Filipinos it's equally associated with the rags-to-riches rise of Imelda Marcos and the nostalgic, romanticised portrait she painted of her birthplace after she made good in the capital. For travellers, Southern Leyte, wrapped around the deep-water Sogod Bay, is one of the Philippines' many diving hotspots. The Cebuano-speaking Leyteños live in the south, and their Waray-speaking neighbours live in the cattle-ranching country of northern Leyte.

Western Visayas tends to attract three types of visitors. The most common is the holidaymaker drawn by Boracay's gorgeous White Beach and the fiesta hubbub that surrounds it: a collection of resorts, restaurants, bars, masseuses and tour touts lined up along one great stretch of sand. And as the latest tour group will attest, it's the perfect place for that selfie in the waves. Next comes the diver drawn to world-class undersea destinations, from Romblon Island in the north to Dauin and Apo Island in the south. Finally there's the off-the-beaten-track traveler braving endless miles of roadside shacks to discover the region's discrete rewards, including mountain trekking and cave exploration, pockets of vibrant nightlife in cities such as Iloilo, some fascinating architectural history, alluring beach resorts and oases of fine food. If you have the endurance to hit them all, pack your compass, snorkel, ear plugs and motion-sickness tablets.

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.

One of the most popular diving spots in the Philippines, tiny Balicasag, about 6km southwest of Panglao, is ringed by a reef that has been declared a marine sanctuary. It drops away to impressive submarine cliffs as deep as 50m. Soft and hard corals can be found around the cliffs, as can trevally, barracuda and wrasse.

With its rugged mountain interior, unspoiled beaches, underwater coral gardens and urban grooves, Negros has the most to offer in western Visayas after Boracay. This is particularly true of its southern coast, stretching from Danjugan Island around the tip to Bais, where diving is big business. Here the natural base is Dumaguete, a funky college town and expat hang-out. In the north, Bacolod has culinary treats, nearby Silay is a living museum of historic homes, and the cool mountain resorts of Mt Kanlaon are a refreshing alternative to the beach.

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.

At the far northern reach of the Philippines, Batanes is a group of 10 islands floating off the corner of the map near Taiwan. Only three of these specks are permanently inhabited: the main island, Batan; tradition-rich Sabtang; and remote Itbayat. Island landscapes alternate between greenery-clad extinct volcanoes, rugged cliffs, rolling hills, verdant pastureland and turquoise-wave-fringed white slivers of beach.