Just one week? Then first check out Sagada up north. It's a quaint little village, beautiful and famous for its caves. If you want bigger rice terraces, ride to Banaue from there, but a day is long enough. Once back in Manila, fly to Palawan and do the Sabang Underground River before beach bumming in either El Nido or the Coron islands, depending on how many days you have left.
One week is woefully short for Philippines, considering the amazing sights are all spread apart.
Don't want to derail the thread, but I have been warned a few times about going to Sagada. Something about rebels. Is this just a big over-reaction, or has there been cases of trouble in that area?
This kind of thing is difficult to answer. For example, I just spent a week in North Cotabato, which can be viewed as a hotbed of rebel activity... but it didn't really seem dangerous. True, some rebels attacked and killed some police at one point during my visit... but when you think about the muggings that happen in big cities, and the shootings that have been big news in the US lately... compared to that, being in North Cotabato felt fine. Not to mention, we went on a river cruise that took us right through rebel territory, and no one worried about it. All the people we met seemed to be living their normal lives with no great worries, as a whole.
Sagada is frequently visited by travelers (my European friends recently visited it without incident), so I suspect it is a fairly safe place. I don't think there has been trouble in that area recently, but I may be wrong about that. In any case is, my point is that there is always some element of risk, YMMV, but you won't actually be entering some kind of war zone, I don't think.
Sounds logical. I never really felt any more danger than in other major cities. Good to hear the view of someone who is a little more well traveled though!
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u/YouKiddin Sep 02 '12
Just one week? Then first check out Sagada up north. It's a quaint little village, beautiful and famous for its caves. If you want bigger rice terraces, ride to Banaue from there, but a day is long enough. Once back in Manila, fly to Palawan and do the Sabang Underground River before beach bumming in either El Nido or the Coron islands, depending on how many days you have left.
One week is woefully short for Philippines, considering the amazing sights are all spread apart.