Nature route · Full loop
Grand Philippine Loop
Three weeks, five islands — rice terraces to a perfect volcano, karst lagoons to a surf island.
The showpiece: a roughly three-week grand tour stitching the archipelago's marquee wonders across Luzon, Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao — Banaue's terraces, Mayon's cone, El Nido's lagoons, Bohol's Chocolate Hills, and Siargao — linked by domestic flights.
- Length 18–21 days (grand loop)
- Stops 5 wonders
- Budget ₱57,000–152,000 pp
- Region Philippines, Philippines
Trip map
The route
Stops in travel order — tap any one for the full wonder guide.
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Banaue & the Ifugao Rice Terraces 3 nights
Ifugao, Cordillera, Philippines
The 2,000-year-old Ifugao terraces high in the Cordillera — the cultural opening in northern Luzon.
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Mayon Volcano 3 nights
Albay, Bicol Region, Philippines
Bicol's near-perfect cone in southern Luzon, a short flight down from Manila.
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El Nido & the Bacuit Archipelago 4 nights
El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
Palawan's bay of limestone towers and hidden lagoons — the archipelago's most famous seascape.
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Chocolate Hills 4 nights
Bohol, Central Visayas, Philippines
Bohol's karst mounds and reefs in the central Visayas, the heart of the Coral Triangle.
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Siargao & Sugba Lagoon 4 nights
Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines
The teardrop surf island off Mindanao — palm forests, sandbars, and lagoons to finish.
Day by day
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Northern Luzon — the Cordillera
Base Banaue, Ifugao
- Manila to Banaue by coach — about 9–10h
- Side trips to Batad and Sagada
Open in the cool highlands: the Banaue amphitheatre, the Batad terraces, and a side-trip to Sagada's caves and sea of clouds before returning to Manila.
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Southern Luzon — Bicol & Mayon
Base Legazpi, Albay
- Fly Manila to Legazpi — about 1h
Fly south to Bicol for Mayon's cone, the Cagsawa ruins, and an optional run to Donsol's whale sharks or the Caramoan islands before flying back to Manila.
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Palawan — El Nido & Coron
Base El Nido / Coron, Palawan
- Fly Manila to Puerto Princesa or El Nido
- Bacuit island-hopping; ferry or fly on to Coron
West to Palawan for the headline days: Bacuit Bay's lagoons and beaches at El Nido, then Coron's crater lakes and wrecks. Fly out via Coron.
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Central Visayas — Bohol & Cebu
Base Panglao, Bohol
- Fly to Bohol (Panglao) via Manila or Cebu
Into the Coral Triangle: the Chocolate Hills and Loboc River, Balicasag's reef wall, and a hop to Cebu's Kawasan falls and the Moalboal sardines.
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Mindanao — Siargao
Base General Luna, Siargao
- Fly to Siargao (Sayak) via Cebu
Finish on the surf island: island-hopping to Naked, Daku, and Guyam, the Magpupungko rock pools, and a day out to the jellyfish lagoons of Sohoton Cove, before flying home.
What it costs
Per person, two sharing, 18 nights, including all domestic flights within the Philippines. Excludes international airfare.
| Category | Range (per person) |
|---|---|
| TransportFive-plus domestic flights plus vans, ferries, and bancas across the archipelago. | ₱18,000–45,000 |
| Lodging18 nights spanning mountain inns, beach guesthouses, and island resorts. | ₱18,000–55,000 |
| FoodLocal eateries to resort restaurants over three weeks. | ₱9,000–22,000 |
| Fees & guidesIsland-hopping tours, sanctuary and park fees, guides, and 4x4/ATV trips across every region. | ₱12,000–30,000 |
| Estimated total | ₱57,000–152,000 |
What moves the number
- Domestic airfares — the biggest variable over so many legs; book early
- Guesthouses vs island resorts, and how many nights you upgrade
- How many optional add-ons (Coron, Donsol, Sohoton, canyoneering) you fold in
- Season, group size, and pace
Indicative mid-2026 ranges; confirm current airfares, ferry schedules, and fees before booking. Roughly US$1,000–2,700 per person at mid-2026 exchange rates, excluding international flights. These are honest ranges, not quotes — real prices swing with season, group size, and how you travel. Always confirm current fares, room rates, permits, and fees with operators before you commit.
Best season & getting around
🗓️ Best time to go
March to May is the best all-archipelago window: the dry season across most of the country, with the calmest seas for the Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao island legs and the clearest views of Mayon. Some regions (eastern Mindanao) have no long dry season, so build in buffer days. Avoid the June–November typhoon season for the island-hopping legs.
🧭 Getting around
This is a hub-and-spoke trip: most legs connect through Manila or Cebu by short domestic flight, with vans, ferries, and bancas for the local legs. Book internal flights early, travel light, and keep buffer days for weather — the island crossings are the parts most exposed to it.
Know before you go
- This is a big, flight-heavy loop — book internal flights well ahead, travel light, and keep two or three buffer days for weather and missed connections.
- It crosses active-volcano and typhoon country: check PHIVOLCS alerts and sea state for each leg, and be ready to reshuffle.
- The order is flexible — it's built around the Manila and Cebu hubs, so tailor the sequence to the cheapest flights you find.
- All distances, times, and prices are approximate and move with season, weather, and demand.
If you have three weeks and want the whole country, this is the loop. It is less a fixed schedule than a spine — the five wonders that, between them, show the full range of the Philippines: the hand-built highlands of Ifugao, a textbook volcano over Bicol, the karst lagoons of Palawan, the reef-and-hill country of Bohol, and a surf island off Mindanao. Everything else on this site can be folded in around them.
Because the archipelago runs on hub-and-spoke flights through Manila and Cebu, the order is yours to optimise around the fares you find; the version here simply moves broadly north-to-south and west-to-east. Travel light, book the internal flights early, and leave slack in the schedule — over three weeks and five islands, the sea and the sky will occasionally have other plans. Come in the dry heart of spring, and let the country unfold one island at a time.
Grand Philippine Loop: common questions
How many days is the Grand Philippine Loop?
18–21 days (grand loop) — the plan is built around 18 nights. Archipelago-wide; several domestic flights via the Manila and Cebu hubs
When is the best time to do the Grand Philippine Loop?
March to May is the best all-archipelago window: the dry season across most of the country, with the calmest seas for the Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao island legs and the clearest views of Mayon. Some regions (eastern Mindanao) have no long dry season, so build in buffer days. Avoid the June–November typhoon season for the island-hopping legs.
How much does the Grand Philippine Loop cost?
A rough guide is ₱57,000–152,000 per person (Per person, two sharing, 18 nights, including all domestic flights within the Philippines. Excludes international airfare.). Indicative mid-2026 ranges; confirm current airfares, ferry schedules, and fees before booking. It varies with domestic airfares — the biggest variable over so many legs; book early, guesthouses vs island resorts, and how many nights you upgrade, how many optional add-ons (coron, donsol, sohoton, canyoneering) you fold in.
How do you get around on the Grand Philippine Loop?
This is a hub-and-spoke trip: most legs connect through Manila or Cebu by short domestic flight, with vans, ferries, and bancas for the local legs. Book internal flights early, travel light, and keep buffer days for weather — the island crossings are the parts most exposed to it.
Which natural wonders does the Grand Philippine Loop include?
Banaue & the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Mayon Volcano, El Nido & the Bacuit Archipelago, Chocolate Hills, Siargao & Sugba Lagoon.
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