Island Hopping in the Philippines – Getting There

by Alan Cole · Published Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 · Updated Wednesday, December 31st, 2025

Borth to Dubai

Often, the journey to a destination is as much of an adventure as the destination itself. Even short trips to places such as the Isle of Man sometimes warrant a full blog post. When the destination is halfway across the world, crossing several time zones and taking a couple of days to reach, then a standalone post about the journey feels inevitable.

So, our trip to the Philippines began with a short drive from home to Borth, luggage loaded and expectations high for a Christmas spent island hopping in the tropical seas on a Much Better Adventures trip. We left the car at the railway station and boarded the train, first to Shrewsbury and then, after a quick change, on to Birmingham International.

So far — and somewhat surprisingly — everything was running smoothly. No floods, no leaves on the track, no delays.

From there it was a short shuttle ride to the airport. After a little waiting around, we had dropped off our bags, made it through security, and could finally relax in the departures area ready for our first flight: an Emirates service to Dubai. Once again, everything went to plan and, after eight hours in the air, it was something of a relief to touch down in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai for Eight Hours

Here we had a relatively long layover, but that meant we were able to use Emirates’ free Dubai Connect service, which provides complimentary hotel accommodation during long connections. The whole process was impressively straightforward. We were given our hotel vouchers in Birmingham when we checked in, then simply passed through passport control (leaving our checked luggage for Emirates to transfer), hopped on a bus, and were delivered to the rather nice Copthorne Hotel in Dubai.

As well as a spacious room, we had access to the pool and all meals were provided too. Naturally, we made full use of the facilities: a quick dip in the pool to cool off from the Arabian heat, a freshen-up, a short snooze, and then lunch in the restaurant.

Time passed surprisingly quickly and before long we were back on the complimentary bus to the airport, navigating security once again and wandering through the seemingly endless shops at Dubai Airport.

Dubai to Manila

The next flight was much like the first. We had the same seats — specifically chosen as a double rather than a triple row so we had our own space — and it was a similar length, overnight again. Another eight hours later, we touched down in Manila.

Manila is a huge city and the airport was mayhem. That said, we collected our luggage without too much trouble and soon found ourselves through passport control and on a minibus heading into the city, weaving through the chaotic streets of one of the world’s major urban centres.

It was a world of contrasts: plush, shiny hotels and casinos juxtaposed with slums and people sleeping on the streets. Towering high-rises stood beside shacks made from corrugated metal. Six-lane highways gave way to narrow side streets tangled with overhead cables. People and traffic were everywhere — tuk-tuks, mopeds, and the colourful, extremely noisy chrome jeepneys carrying a vibrant mix of passengers in all directions. Horns blared, motorbikes weaved unpredictably, and although it looked like madness, it somehow all worked.

Eventually, we turned down a slightly dodgy-looking backstreet and arrived at a set of gates. A security guard waved us through and we entered the Henry Hotel — another complete contrast to the world outside. Inside was a small green oasis of calm, with mature trees, well-tended borders and beautifully maintained buildings. This eco-hotel, right in the middle of Manila, would be our home for the next day or two.

First Day in Manila

It was early morning by the time we arrived, so we had sensibly booked an extra night for the previous evening. This meant we could check in straight away, have a shower and some breakfast, and not have to hang around exhausted after what had been a long journey.

After settling into the room and freshening up, we had breakfast and made a plan to keep going for the day — staying awake until the evening in the hope of adjusting to Philippine time as quickly as possible. There were a few short snoozes along the way, but we also ventured out beyond the safety of the hotel grounds.

We walked through the heat and oppressive humidity of Manila to the Mall of Asia, the largest mall in the Philippines and the sixth largest in the world. We’re usually overwhelmed by even small shopping centres in the UK, so this was on a completely different scale. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t actually buy anything and barely went into any shops, but we wandered around, grabbed some drinks from a stall outside, and took it all in. It was also nice to see the Christmas decorations and to feel like we’d done something with our first day in Manila.

Meeting Our Group

Back at the hotel, we had drinks in the restaurant and began meeting the rest of our group. There were 13 of us in total, along with Rey, our guide. Before long, we gathered in a small function room where Rey outlined the plan for the next few days and handed out goody bags containing water bottles, baseball caps, and a bottle of rum each.

We then piled into a couple of minibuses for a short drive into the old town of Manila, heading to a rooftop restaurant for dinner overlooking the city.

By this point, Anna and I were pretty exhausted, so our bed was a very welcome sight. We settled in for a comfortable night’s sleep, ready to begin the real adventure the following day, which in itself sounded quite full-on.