Things to do in Boracay
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Boracay
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best month overall: dry weather returns, sea is clear, algae is minimal and Christmas crowds have not arrived.
Superb dry weather, with peak Christmas and New Year crowds in December and a calmer, excellent mid to late January.
Lumot green algae season overlays peak season, worst around April, alongside Holy Week crowds in March or April.
Hottest month, algae easing late in the month, Love Boracay crowds early and rain starting late.
Habagat wet season: cheaper and quieter, rough White Beach, calm Bulabog, and typhoon and ferry risk highest from August to October.
What's on
- Ati-Atihan Third Sunday of January and the preceding week
The Philippines' oldest Santo Nino festival, main event in Kalibo with a smaller parade and mass on Boracay.
- Love Boracay Late April to 1 May
The island's flagship modern festival with dragon boat racing, a paraw regatta, beach sports and licensed club parties.
- Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival Usually late April, during Love Boracay week
200 m sprints off Station 2, White Beach, held within Love Boracay week.
- Holy Week Easter week, March or April, moveable
A surge to know rather than a festival: prices peak, the island is at capacity and many venues limit parties on Good Friday.
- Kite and windsurf competitions, Bulabog November to April season, no single fixed date
January and February have the densest Bulabog kite scene and occasional competitions, free to watch from beach cafes.
- Christmas and New Year 24 December to 1 January
Resort gala dinners and venue based fireworks over White Beach, magical if booked and miserable if improvised.
Best things to do in Boracay
White Beach
Powder sand and clear shallow water for 4 km, best walked early then again for the west facing sunset.
Sunset paraw sailing
A silent outrigger sail at sunset, sitting on the netting with feet in the spray, beats watching from the sand.
Boracay island hopping tour
The standard half day circuit to reefs and coves that you cannot reach from White Beach on foot.
Coral Garden
A main island hopping snorkel stop with hard corals, anemonefish and turtles on good days.
Crocodile Island
A main island hopping snorkel and drift stop, reached only on the boat circuit.
Crystal Cove Island
A small island stop with two sea caves and coves, worth about an hour on the hopping circuit.
Puka Shell Beach
Coarser shell sand, deeper water and far fewer crowds than White Beach, the essential wilder counterpoint.
Willy's Rock
The postcard volcanic rock and grotto offshore at Station 1, a short photo stop on the best beach walk.
Where to stay in Boracay
Station 1, White Beach
best overall base, couples and first trip
Widest, finest sand and clearest shallow swimming, quiet by 23:00, a 10 to 15 minute walk to D'Mall.
Station 2, White Beach
first timers, groups and nightlife
D'Mall, most restaurants and the clubs within five minutes, but crowded and loud near clubs until late.
Station 3, White Beach
best value on White Beach, long stays and divers
Leafier and quieter with the best cheap to mid beachfront value, 15 to 20 minutes on foot to D'Mall.
Diniwid Beach
quiet boutique base, couples and repeat visitors
A tiny cove north of Station 1 joined by a cliff path, feels like a different island with fewer food choices.
Bulabog Beach
kiteboarders and backpackers
The windy east coast kite scene with hostels and schools, but poor swimming, walk to White Beach to swim.
Yapak / Station 0 / Punta Bunga / Newcoast
sealed resort luxury, golfers and resort families
Private coves and big grounds at Shangri-La, Crimson and Fairways, with shuttles needed for Station 2.
Think twice about
- D'Mall / Station 2 club block
Not dangerous, just loud until 04:00 with bass through thin walls. Light sleepers and families should base in Station 1, 3 or Diniwid.
- Main-road rooms in Balabag / Station 2 backstreets sold as beachfront
Some cheap listings sit on the noisy main road across from the beach, not on it. Check the map pin, not the listing title.
- Cagban / Manoc-Manoc port area
A working port and residential area with no beach holiday feel, practical only for a one night early ferry stopover.
- Bulabog south end in habagat
Low lying lanes behind Bulabog can flood and smell in prolonged wet season rain. Pick higher ground or main road side from June to October.
Best restaurants in Boracay
Nonie's
The island's most praised modern Filipino restaurant, farm to table with proper vegan and gluten free bowls.
Dos Mestizos
Boracay's grand old Spanish house for paella negra, gambas and salpicao, order tapas while paella cooks.
Los Indios Bravos Boracay
The island's first gastropub for Filipino craft beer, with pies, oyster sisig and schnitzel in a real pub room.
D'Talipapa
Buy live seafood by weight at the wet market, then have a paluto kitchen cook it your way.
Plato D'Boracay
An established paluto kitchen by D'Talipapa that cooks your market seafood for a per kilo fee.
Aria Cucina Italiana
Twenty years on the D'Mall beachfront corner for wood fired pizza and handmade seafood pasta.
CYMA Greek Taverna Boracay
Flaming saganaki, moussaka and huge sharing platters make this the group dinner champion in D'Mall.
The Sunny Side Cafe Boracay
Bright beachfront brunch famous for giant ube pancakes, chorizo and eggs and good coffee.
Best coffee in Boracay
Real Coffee & Tea Cafe Boracay
Coffee and calamansi muffins since 1996, a long running Station 2 institution.
Cafe del Sol Boracay
The Aria group's D'Mall cafe for coffee and mango cheesecake on the beachfront corner.
Outdoor things to do in Boracay
Bulabog Beach
Asia's leading kite beach, a shallow reef protected lagoon with steady Amihan wind from November to April.
Isla Kitesurfing Boracay
A long established IKO school on Bulabog for tasters and full beginner courses with gear included.
Kite Club Boracay
Billed as Asia's first kite club, one of the longest established schools on Bulabog Beach.
Greenyard Kitesurfing Boracay
One of the established Bulabog kite schools lining the lagoon for lessons and courses.
Reef Riders Boracay
Bulabog centre covering kitesurfing, windsurfing and stand up paddle in one place.
Funboard Center Boracay
A small, highly rated Bulabog centre for windsurf and kite lessons and rental.
Angol Point
A shallow reef dive with turtles and easy entry, the standard beginner and Discover Scuba site.
Yapak Wall
A deep wall with current, pelagics and reef sharks, reserved for advanced divers with experience.
Best hotels in Boracay
Discovery Boracay
The service benchmark on White Beach, all suite and beachfront with the island's best staff ratios.
Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa
The grand resort with two private coves, hilltop plunge pool villas and CHI spa, isolated by design.
The Lind Boracay
Modern design luxury at prime Station 1 beachfront with infinity pools, walkable to dinner.
Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay
Villa resort with a private Station Zero beach and strong food, livelier around its main pool.
Ambassador in Paradise Resort
Smaller, quieter Station 1 luxury of large suites, the connoisseur alternative to the big resorts.
Movenpick Resort & Spa Boracay
A large north coast resort in the sealed resort luxury zone, with shuttles to Station 2.
Henann Crystal Sands Resort
Big pools and swim up rooms on Station 2 beachfront, hard to beat for groups per peso.
Henann Palm Beach Resort
Henann workhorse with a sky pool and direct beachfront in the middle of Station 2.
Is Boracay expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱4,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱11,800 a person |
| Splurge | ₱26,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Boracay island hopping tour: weeks ahead
- CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La Boracay: weeks ahead
- Mandala Spa & Resort Villas: weeks ahead
- Isla Kitesurfing Boracay: a few days ahead
- Kite Club Boracay: a few days ahead
- Greenyard Kitesurfing Boracay: a few days ahead
- Angol Point: weeks ahead
- Yapak Wall: weeks ahead
- Book 4 to 8 weeks ahead for Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Holy Week and Love Boracay, for Station 1 hotels and Caticlan flights.
- Book 1 to 2 weeks ahead in high season for private island hopping, Ariel's Point, dive days, weekend dinners at Nonie's and Dos Mestizos, prime spa slots and weekend tee times.
- Klook prices for activities are often cheaper than beach tout prices and include the permits.
Is Boracay safe?
- Limited lifeguards: weak swimmers stay in Station 1 shallows and respect rough sea flags at Puka and the east coast.
- Petty theft of unattended bags on the sand is the realistic risk. Use the hotel safe.
- Serious hospital care is in Kalibo on the mainland, so get insurance with medical evacuation for diving, kite and jumping.
- Drink bottled or filtered water only, bring reef safe sunscreen, and carry cash as ATMs run dry on holiday weekends.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Boracay travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Beach path touts charge 30 to 100 percent more for the same boat with no weather refund. Use Klook, a hotel desk or accredited operators.
- D'Mall is a useful mall, not a sight, and Willy's Rock at midday is hot, crowded and at the wrong tide.
- Large shared sunset cruises sold as romantic are party boats. Couples need the private paraw.
- Decline timeshare and scratch card pitches around D'Mall, and Station 2 beachfront buffets with touts.
Getting around Boracay: public transport and more
- Walk Stations 1 to 3 along the beach in 30 to 40 minutes.
- E-trikes are the taxis: agree the fare first, PHP 20 to 30 per person shared, PHP 100 to 200 private, about PHP 400 for a 2 hour land tour.
- No airport on the island: fly to Caticlan, then jetty ferry and e-trike, and show an accredited hotel booking at the port.
- Yapak and Newcoast resorts run free shuttles to D'Mall, learn the timetable on day one. Grab does not operate meaningfully.
Who Boracay suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Boracay your trip
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