The Philippines Has Some of The Best Beaches in The World

*This Post originally appeared on my now defunct lifestyle blog Style and Chocolates. This blog post has a few modifications to the text and is being transferred here permanently.

With my country [The Philippines] having hot weather all year round (especially now!) I thought I'd dedicate this post to beaches, beaches and more beaches! A word of warning though, you might get sick of looking at white sand and clear turquoise waters because there is a lot of that here. (As for me, I never get sick of the images even if they somewhat look the same, as I'm a huge beach lover!)

In my opinion, the Philippines has some of the best beaches in the world. I mean seriously, if you live in a country like this, who even needs to go to the Caribbean right? We have warm waters and most of the beaches are in between islands so waves aren't as treacherous and scary as  they are in the ocean. Waters are clear and sand is fine and white and just gorgeous! Below are some of my personal photos of the beaches I have been to in the country.

Boracay

Borocay is one of the most famous beaches here and in 2012 was number one in Asia on Travel+Leisure World's Best Awards. It is an island located in central Philippines and has miles and miles of white sand and clear waters. Another thing Boracay is famous for is it's nightlife! After a nice relaxing day on the beach, you can head out and party the night away!

MoalBoal

Moalboal is a Province, located about two hours south of Cebu City (Philippine's second largest city). Asides from the usual attraction which is white sand and crystal clear waters, it is also known to have one of the best dive spots. It's really awesome. If you swim out about a kilometer away from the shore, you see a huge reef that drops down (it was actually kind of scary but the marine life is stunning!) I also hear that there are visible bio luminescence plankton at night! I need to go back to see that!

Bohol

Bohol is about an hour's boat ride away from Cebu. It is an island with waters so clean and clear, that even if you are at the pier, you can jump off the boat and swim in the waters without getting grossed out! Bohol is also home to the smallest mammal in the world, the Tarsier.

Oslob

Oslob is actually famous for swimming with the whale sharks. Yes you heard right! You can actually get up close and personal to a whale shark! So cool right? I don't have photos of that but another thing I noticed in Oslob while I was staring out to sea was that the waters were just so, so CLEAR! Look at the picture! You can see the shadow of the boat so clearly. Amazing.

Pandanon

Pandanon is located just about thirty minutes away from the bustling City of Cebu. It is one of the favorite weekend haunts of Cebuanos. What we usually do is take a boat out, park the boat, jump into the sea and swim if the tide is high. We then have lunch and chill on the boat. If the sandbar comes out (like in the photo) we lay out on the sand and have some ice cold beers out there. It really is the life, I tell you!

North SandBar

North Sandbar is a little further out to sea than Pandanon but they are more or less in the same vicinity. If the weather is good and the sea doesn't have too many big waves, we head out here. There are less people and the waters and sandbar are a lot more pristine and clear. Our activities don't change though: still lotsa booze, munching  laying out and relaxing.

 Sumilon Island

This is an island south of Cebu. Only one resort operates this island and there are like less that twenty rooms so if you stay there, it is like having a whole private island to yourself! The pictures above are of the secluded sandbar. It is so awesome how you can have it all to yourself. The resort is also an eco-friendly one so more plus points! Sumilon is also pretty close to the whale sharks so you can take a trip in the morning - it only takes a few minutes by boat ride! There are also so many gorgeous snorkeling spots here.

Sta. Fe, Bantayan

I really, really felt like I was in the Carribean here! This was the latest beach trip I took and it was just so perfect. For some weird reason I was thinking about William and Kate, holidaying in some fancy Carribean island like the Seychelles and Mustique and it was here that I got to thinking : "you know what screw the Seychelles and Mustique. My country's beaches are just as gorgeous! If not, even better! Take that Duke and Duchess!" hahaha. I am just kidding of course :p (but not about the beautiful beaches part)

Bantayan was so beautiful. Imagine a long, long stretch of white sand...clear perfectly blue and turquoise waters... laying flat on the water and letting the waves wash over you while basking in the sun! Because yes, the sand was that fine and flat that you can use it as your lounger!

Virgin Island

This was in the same trip as Bantayan. Virgin Island is about 30 minutes boat ride away from Sta. Fe. There was a lotsof white sand as usual, but for me the attraction was the water. It was so refreshing and cool and clear! I felt like I was swimming in a pool...and everything looked so pretty and picturesque.

Writing this post makes me want to go to the beach again!

The beaches that I showed here are not even one-fourth of the gorgeous beaches in the Philippines. Yes, there are lots, lots, more. If you do not believe me then google Palawan, Coron, Caramoan, Camotes, Sipalay, Pagudpud, and so much more I can't even name them all. Google beaches in the Philippines too!

If you are not from the Philippines, then I invite you the check these beaches out. If you are from here, then you do not need to look any further, we got it all right here at home.

Hope you enjoyed this post and are planning to visit one day!

All photos in this post are personal photos of nofiltertravel.blogspot.com. If you want to use them or borrow them in any way, please contact me first! My email: nofiltertravel@gmail.com. Thanks!