Brian Kennett
Amateur Chef and Boozy Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
My Boracay Isand Review - is this the best in the Philippines?
Boracay Review: Now that is not a bad view to wake up to of a morning, I think you’ll agree – breathtaking. No this not The Hangover folks, this is The Honeymoon. This is Boracay, Philippines Review.
The first time I stepped onto Boracay’s White Beach, I felt like I had accidentally been cast in a tropical rom-com, and was awaiting Matthew McConaughey to arrive on set holding an Organic Tequila Cocktail: powder-soft sand under my feet, ocean so blue I suspected it had been Photoshopped, and palm trees swaying like they were auditioning for a shampoo ad. I’d heard stories—beach bars lit up at night, the water shimmering, sunsets sharper than my Japanese kitchen knives—but nothing quite prepared me for that moment when the sun melted into the sea and every tourist paused mid-selfie in collective Instagram awe.
Of course, paradise has its quirks. The mango shakes are heavenly, yes, but they understand “sweet” differently here—expect a sugar avalanche. Vendors are charming in a way that almost makes you forget the price of that souvenir t-shirt you’ll probably never wear. There are moments when the music from nearby bars tries to lull you to sleep (or shatter whatever remains of a good night’s rest), and when you realise paradise means sharing your stretch of beach with dozens of equally determined sunbathers. But hey, minor inconvenience when your legs are submerged in cool, clear water and every horizon looks like a postcard.
Boracay, Philippines Review
At some points it may have felt a little like The Hangover ha ha. So me and my new wife, and the kids of course, decide to have a few days away in paradise on the small island of Boracay, just off the main island of Panay, and the Province of Aklan right at the very tip of Panay. Our first time away together for 12 months because of the visa issues as you know (if you are a regular reader). So we are indeed calling this honeymoon, but also the first Great Escape that is a guaranteed return.
Now this one is going to be rather large and I apologise in advance for that. But this place is heaven and you can’t stop taking photos of the place believe me. Refuted to be one of the most beautiful islands in the world, renowned for diving with many wrecks around the shore, topaz seas and visits from whale sharks at certain times of the season. It truly is a beautiful place. This is Boracay, Philippines Review.
Because it is The Philippines you’ll need to get your tuk tuk face on, or as more affectionately known locally as a tricycle. Great for zipping around, weaving through the traffic, wind in your hair style – and CHEAP!
Boracay Top Tips
A couple of bits of advice now – learnt the hard way as the newbies to Boracay. Clearly when we come back, and we will, we’ll also be leveraging this advice ourselves;
- Check your seasons folks – we were a little constrained of when to go with us literally getting Mary and Jude visitor pass last week and it also being the kids school holidays this week. But this is rainy/windy season. Still it did not stop us, but say you were coming for diving only, you may have been disappointed,
- Check your airport choice well. We did not realise there were two airports for Boracay, as when booking on TigerAir website I entered Singapore depart and Boracay arrival. The system then gave the only option of Kalibo (Boracay). Now this airport is about two hours drive on a coach, and 10 minutes ferry. Little did we know there is also Caticlan Airport – again direct flight with TigerAir from Singapore that is – yep you got it 15 minutes from Boracay plus again the 10 minute ferry. Apparently a little more expensive is Caticlan – but make your own decision folks,
- Of course this also then impacted hotel choices – we we looked at the hotel of our choice and it stated 15 minutes from the airport. Cool we thought, but after having been sat on the bus for about 2 hours of course we started to challenge where the f@ck are we,
- We stayed at Bulabog Beach, which is on the other side the main beach – White Beach – again we just did not know. Boracay is shaped like a dog bone, thin in the middle with two lumps at either end. We were on one of the lumps, in the cliffs, overlooking the Bulabog Beach. Still beautiful, but if you want the action in walking distance, choose White Beach – that is literally walk out the hotel on to the beach style.
The night time view from our balcony – can’t complain hey!
Here’s my Amy, blowing in the wind on our balcony. We were staying at Karuna Suites – check the blog review.
And a wee storm comes through. Back to the advice – check your seasons. Now if you were here for a diving only holiday, you clearly are not going to see much down there with all this rain. For us this was fine. We sat on the balcony watching this storm come and go. Lightening lighting up the sky – actually very beautiful. And in 10 minutes all gone, sun out and all dried up.
Looking across the whole of the middle portion of the island – rainy again. This really shows you how narrow the island is – literally like that dog bone shape I mentioned.
A wander through the wet market at D’Mall. Loved this place. Meats, fish, herbs, spices, vegetables all out on display. This is also the wet market where we visited Smoke Restaurant.
Can you Adam and Eve it? Oh my God – check this out – we love Boracay, they even have a hotel named after Jude. How cool is that!!!
Now that is not a bad bit of beach is it not. Eyes to the right during day time this time – not a bad view I think you’ll agree. See the screen all the way down – purely there to stop the wind blowing the sand into the restaurants.
Family Kennett. Loving the beach. Our first day here a wandering. Again recommendation for the main, White Beach, is that the sun loungers come free with the hotel you are staying in. Whereas if like us you were on the other side of the island you have to fork out quite a few Peso to enjoy a relaxing spot, in the shade with a cold Pilsen and other such refreshments.
How cool is this – about 30 of these sailing ships rock up and then go back and forth parallel to the beach. I hope you are all picking up on this topaz sea and white sandy sandy beach. Now this is choppy at the moment due to the storms, but normally this is flat as a pancake cause by the coral reefs not far off-shore causing the waves to break there, keeping the seas pristine and crystal clear!
Beach biy – fully attired still in party attire from the night before. Jude Jude said; “Sod Tom Hanks, I’ll be your Castaway here!!!”
Come on one gratuitous one of yours truly. Yeeeeehagggggh cowboy. Come on, come on – cheap hat to keep the sun off one’s sensitive nose is all… have you noticed a common theme? Yep not an iPad, Samsung, Facebook, What’sApp etc in sight. Well worth the money!!!
Mwah – Dad if I keep digging will I get to Australia?
You just cannot stop looking around here and taking a deep breath all the time – it’s amazing. Cowboy Captain Kennett AKA The Semi-Naked Chef and his pin-up deck-hand. Family Kennett on the incredibly beautiful beach of Crystal Cove, Boracay.
Our gaff at Karuna Suites, not bad is it – up in the cliffs. Hold on, who’s that in our room?
About to board our little boat for a trip to Crystal Cove and some snorkeling. A beautiful day out – we booked one of these little boats with out-runners for the day to go exploring. A little snorkeling and a visit to Crystal Cove – all incredibly beautiful and stunning.
Now I can’t really show you much of the cove as much was filmed on my waterproof camera – which has now decided to go pop and not download – deep joy. But basically down a rather steep stone set of steps into a dark grotto. Paddling pools in the cave for the wee ones and more adventure for the big ones.
Ollie and I managed to swim out of the little cave and into open water. We also managed to clamber on this bamboo raft to have a few dives off it, before a nice cool refreshing swim back to the cool interior of the cave. Dougy Peris – if you read this, thinking to sign this guy up for Cambodia – a DAB HAND at bamboo flooring.
How could you not want to come here and see this type of view EVERY SINGLE DAY
Off we pop to a little island for a quick pee stop and a couple of beers – come on it’s paradise
Sadly our last morning before we head on home – goodby to beautiful beautiful Boracay
Bit of a different ferry for the ride to the mainland this time.
The Semi-Naked Chef is hopeful that you like Boracay, Philippines Review. It may give you some tips, some advice, and hopefully an incentive to come, it is beautiful here – ENJOY!!
So who won the Boracay experiment: me, or my sunscreen? Truth be told, I left with both a golden tan and the lingering itch of sand between places sand should never reach, or I even knew I had. Boracay, for all its polished postcards and flawless Instagram light, is real—and that means you’ll find beauty sliced with chaos. The sunsets will give you goosebumps, the food will make you groan with pleasure (or sugar overload), and yes, you’ll be dodging beach vendors more persistently than you dodge spoilers on Instagram.
Would I go back? Absolutely—but maybe with ear plugs, a beach towel shaped like a giant pineapple, and slightly lower expectations for solitude. Boracay, has since, corrected some of its old mistakes with new rules, cleaner shores, and better respect for nature. It has a charm that punches through the crowds, and once you lean into the buzz—vendors, music, people laughing late into the night—you begin to love the chaos. If you can accept that paradise sometimes comes with a soundtrack and occasional thunder storm, you’ll find Boracay keeps its promise: a vacation that feels alive, indulgent (okay, there’s that word slipping in), and memorably imperfect: #IlovethePhilippines.