Island Hopping in the Philippines – A Journey Across Islands, Seas and Christmas Days

by Alan Cole · Published Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 · Updated Saturday, January 3rd, 2026

Island hopping in the Philippines is one of the best ways to explore this vast and diverse archipelago. From the busy streets of Manila to the turquoise lagoons of Palawan, El Nido and Coron, this travel series follows our Christmas island-hopping adventure by boat, kayak and snorkel, discovering remote beaches, dramatic limestone karst scenery and life both above and below the water.

After several days of writing daily instalments, it felt right to bring everything together in one place — a chance to step back and look at the whole journey rather than individual days, boat trips, or islands.

This trip took us from the intensity and sprawl of Manila, through the turquoise waters and limestone karst scenery of Palawan, Port Barton, El Nido, Linapacan, Coron, and countless smaller islands in between. We travelled by bangka boats, minibuses, trikes, tuk-tuks and planes, hopping steadily north through the archipelago and experiencing very different sides of the Philippines along the way.

It was a trip built around movement — rarely staying still for long — yet it was also one that gave us moments of real stillness: floating in lagoons beneath towering cliffs, drifting over coral reefs, watching sunsets from hills above the sea, or simply sitting quietly by the water with a drink in hand.

Christmas, unsurprisingly, didn’t feel very Christmassy. At 30°C, surrounded by palm trees and salt water rather than cold air and woolly jumpers, it was a gentler, quieter version of the festive season. That wasn’t a bad thing — just different. The Philippines does Christmas with warmth and enthusiasm, and everywhere we went we were met with smiles, greetings and decorations, even if it never quite felt like “home” Christmas.

Not everything went smoothly. I spent much of the trip battling a stubborn stomach bug that made long boat journeys, rich food and socialising harder than expected. But even that didn’t stop us swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and making the most of being on the water — and if anything, it slowed things down just enough to notice the smaller details.

Over the course of the trip we:

snorkelled reefs and shipwrecks
kayaked into famous lagoons and quieter backwaters
camped (or attempted to!) on a “castaway” island
explored karst cliffs, caves, lakes and beaches
moved from busy tourist hubs to much quieter, more rural areas
saw turtles, reef fish, seabirds, lizards and tropical birdlife
experienced the contrast between luxury hotels and very simple island living

Above all, it was beautifully organised by Much Better Adventures and our guide Rey. The logistics of moving a group across so many islands and transport types worked remarkably smoothly, and it allowed us to focus on simply being there rather than worrying about what came next.

Watch: Our Island Hopping Journey in the Philippines

This short video pulls together highlights from across the trip — the places, the water, the boats, and the moments in between — far better than words ever could.

Read the Full Series

If you’d like to follow the journey day by day, here are all the posts in the Philippines island-hopping series:

Would We Do It Again?

We probably wouldn’t choose to travel over Christmas again — it felt like we missed out on some of the festive rhythm back home — but the trip itself was unforgettable. The Philippines is vast, varied and endlessly interesting, and even after hopping across so many islands, it feels like we only scratched the surface.

Despite illness, long travel days and the occasional chaos, we didn’t miss out on much. If anything, the trip reinforced just how much we enjoy travel that revolves around water, movement and simple days outdoors.

So the obvious question, now that this journey is wrapped up, is: Where next?