One of the most beautiful beaches of the world is in the Philippines – Boracay Island. We have visited this place a couple of times already and we were captivated by its beauty; only, we have not been to Boracay after its rehabilitation, and we’ve heard it was even more beautiful after.
We are a family that loves to travel. However, due to the pandemic, all our planned travels in the past year and this year were cancelled – and only one flight was not. Our flight to Boracay.
There are a lot of guidelines you need to follow prior to boarding the flight to Boracay. You need to have a confirmed flight booking, a confirmed hotel accommodation, filled-out health declaration forms, and of course, a negative RT-PCR test which was done 72-hour before your travel. All the requirements and step-by-step process for these guidelines are listed in this link: https://aklan.gov.ph/guide-for-tourists/ . Alternatively, you can also check out this article from Boracay Compass about travel requirements for Boracay which is updated regularly: Boracay Travel Requirements.
What are some of our tips when you are processing your Boracay travel requirements?
- Traveling during the pandemic is extra costly than normal days. Sure, you can get discounted airfare and discounted accommodations, but factor in the cost of RT-PCR tests, you might have to spend way more than your budget.
- Department of Tourism offers subsidized RT-PCR tests for tourists at PGH and PCMC costing only Php750 – 900 each. We were not able to take advantage of this due to personal reasons – we have a little boy traveling with us and PGH is a COVID-referral facility, and we might get more harm than the savings we will get. But if you would like to avail this subsidy, follow this link: https://www.tpb.gov.ph/rtpcrphtravel/
- We’ve learned that RT-PCR testing prices vary on how long you like to receive your results back. We opted for a 24-hour release and had to pay a little bit more. If you want a hassle-free travel, you may want to spend more for RT-PCR test.
- You will be granted a Tourist QR Code once you submitted your complete requirements to Malay Aklan Tourism. The people behind this online facility are working 24 hours a day and are very efficient. You can send them questions if you are unsure of what to do.
We honestly forgot to book airport transfers from Caticlan to Boracay Island – and we are glad that we failed to remember booking this. Most of the tourists traveling to Boracay have pre-arranged airport transfers, and the locals whose livelihood depends on transporting tourists has very few customers to service. For our flight, it was only us and another family who “DIY-ed” and traveled by tricycle from the Caticlan airport to the port. It is extremely easy to travel by DIY from Caticlan Airport to Boracay Island and I highly recommend you do, if not for the savings, please do so to help the locals who earn by transporting tourists.
Here is how to travel by DIY from Caticlan Airport to Boracay:
- Upon landing at Caticlan Airport and clearing your documents with the travel authorities, just go outside the airport and you will see tricycles transporting passengers to Caticlan Port.
- Cost is per tricycle at Php100. The tricycle will bring you directly to Caticlan Port.
- At Caticlan Port, pay the environmental (Php150) and terminal fees (Php100). Buy your boat ticket (Php40) and board your boat to Cagban Port. Boat ride will be less than 30 minutes.
- Upon arrival at Cagban Port, just walk outside and you will see tricycles transporting tourist to their hotel accommodations. Cost is per tricycle. Since our hotel is located at D’mall they charged us (Php150).
- You can just follow the steps backwards to go back to Caticlan Airport for your departure flight back your home city. No need to pay for environmental fees anymore.
During the time we were at Boracay Island, there are few tourists compared to the travels we had to Boracay before. Most shops and accommodations are closed. Boracay became a very serene place to travel due to the pandemic. If we are not in a pandemic, I would encourage you to visit Boracay, but since we are in a pandemic, I would not do so.
Please know that we traveled with care. We not only followed safety protocols, but we strictly imposed upon ourselves to be extra careful as traveling with us were our little boy.
