So me and the misses went to The Philippines for 10 days over Easter and we had an absolutely fabulous time.

We went to Boracay because we wanted to go to a place that is not Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam or any of the other countries we've already visited. We wanted to be able to go diving and have good nightlife, the Kitesurfing over there was an added bonus for me but my misses doesnt kite so I wasn't expecting to go out all week but was planning on at least kiting for a couple of days.

The Island was amazing: the diving was mind boggling, Nightlife was great fun and the beaches were beautiful. However the kiting was CRAP!

Why?
1. The wind wasn't really that good, no more than 13/15kn but I suppose it was nearing the end of the season.
2. The beach is way too small for the hundreds of kiters that were there! You think Safety Bay and Melville are busy and unorganised? Try Bullabog Beach. Absolute Mayem! Kites in trees was a very regular occurrence, Kites slamming on the beach, people getting dragged out of control left right and centre. I can go on about this subject for a while but I'll move to the next point.
3. Sharp Corals everywhere! You have to wear booties which I hate! Also Sea urchins all over the place which you do not want to stand on!
4. The tides are ridiculous. At 7am it is low tide which is good but as soon as it hits 9am the super high tide comes in and gets rid of the complete beach which means you'd need to land your kite somewhere between the palm trees in between beach chairs and next to a whole lot of buildings with powerlines running all over the place.
5. The wind is pretty much almost straight onshore which makes it a horrible place for beginners while there are beginners EVERYWHERE. They have promo-girls all over the island telling tourist that this is such a safe place to kite for a beginner kiter but all and all actually way too dangerous.

I can make this list go on for a while but I'll stop myself here.
If you do end up going to Boracay and you're bringing your own gear I'd recommend checking out some of the other beaches such as Puka Beach or or the little beach next to Bullabog or maybe just go Kiting on another Island However if you rent gear there you are 1. required to have an IKO license and 2. you're not allowed to leave that god forsaken beach!

However even though the kiting was absolutely sh!te I would still very much recommend checking out the Philippines, the Diving alone is already a reason just to go there as in one dive I saw: Manta rays, Eagle Rays, Turtle, schools of Barracuda and Jack fish and last but not least a Whale Shark had to take a 3 hour boat ride out of boracay for that but it was totally worth it! So if you are thinking about Kiting in the Philippines.... Don't do it on Bullabog beach!

the diving in the Philippines is mind blowing. theres a beautiful island north of cebu called malapascu with a dive shop callled evolution. amazing guys who do some very serious diving. I think if you took gear you would get wind there . Always good to hear what these places are actually like!

Have to agree - it was very dissapointing and very dangerous when I went 2 years ago. Having said that San Mig lite is a very good beer. Especially a $14 au a crate :)

Thanks AKWA for that post. I'm leaving for a Philippines holiday at the beginning of July. Even though I'd researched Boracay kiting and found out that July is the absolute worst time for wind in Boracay and Philippines in general, I was still planning to go just to suss it out. Me and the family go reasonably regular to Philppines ... we have a favourite (non kiting) destination... Alona Beach on Panglao Island in Bohol Region. We've been a few times and know alot of the best spots and activities.... even where to buy crates of fireworks to blow the place apart. Its literally a blast.

Palawan may be a destination to try for kiting in Philippines (I may go there in July instead of Boracay)... the region is new to kiting but does have some kiting business there. They do trips to pristine, postcard style isloated islands with huge flat water bays and no other kiters... more the kind of thing I want. Boracay can smoke me.

Thanks again!

Ellobuddha said...
Having said that San Mig lite is a very good beer.

LIGHT BEER\\\\\\\ WHY

snalberski said...
Thanks AKWA for that post. I'm leaving for a Philippines holiday at the beginning of July. Even though I'd researched Boracay kiting and found out that July is the absolute worst time for wind in Boracay and Philippines in general, I was still planning to go just to suss it out. Me and the family go reasonably regular to Philppines ... we have a favourite (non kiting) destination... Alona Beach on Panglao Island in Bohol Region. We've been a few times and know alot of the best spots and activities.... even where to buy crates of fireworks to blow the place apart. Its literally a blast.

Palawan may be a destination to try for kiting in Philippines (I may go there in July instead of Boracay)... the region is new to kiting but does have some kiting business there. They do trips to pristine, postcard style isloated islands with huge flat water bays and no other kiters... more the kind of thing I want. Boracay can smoke me.

Thanks again!

Yeah Palawan seems like a much better location for both Kiting and Diving as well (even tho it was amazing around Boracay).

Palawan is however a lot less developed which is something you either Love or Hate. I personally love the 2nd world Asian culture and love to be in the middle of it. However this time we only went for a short trip so felt like a bit more luxury in a nice hotel instead of taking it rough and going backpacking, which we prefer to d0 for long periods of time.

I would recommend anyone to do a 1 month trip through the Philippines and check out all the islands and go diving and kiting everywhere and soak up the crazy culture and last but not least check out all the jungles, lakes and vulcano's on all the different islands.

I would go there for the nature tho, not so much for the cities. Manila is a major culture shock, much more crazy than Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi combined. The poverty is quite Intense. People living in the Mausoleums on cemeteries? where all the coffins are stacked up 10 high because there is no space? Mental...

Ugly said...

Akwa said...

Ugly said...

Ellobuddha said...
Having said that San Mig lite is a very good beer.

LIGHT BEER\\\\\\\ WHY

Haha thats exactly what we thought as well when we were there. San Miguel Light and Pale? Pale it is!

However later realised that the Light has just as much alcohol (5%) as the Pale However it is a Low Calorie beer (100cal) not low alcohol! haha

Thank god for that makes me fell better

If you're kiting hard enough calories don't matter

Hey Hopey

The kiting business in Palawan is www.kiteclubpalawan.com . Their local is called Emerald beach. I spoke to Mark yesterday, who is the contact number on that site. I asked him about wind conditions in July and he said pretty much what I expected... July is the off season. Pretty much the kiting season for all of Philippines is the same as here in WA... November to March. If a low pressure forms there may be some gusty less than ideal wind opportunities... very sketchy. He said they do safaris to various islands (eg Cuyo) and spots along the coast of Palawan. I'll just go to Philippines and expect I won't be kiting, and if I get the chance thats a bonus.

Just packing my bags now, been living here in Boracay for 7 years, just sold the kite center and heading back to OZ, Perth.
But there are many other spots to windsurf/kite around the Philippines.


Still had some great windsurfing and kitesurfing sessions.
Here's a pic from my front door on Bulabog Beach today.