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OTHER TOURS and SERVICES
While we concentrate on our tours in El Nido, we are committed to helping you develop the best possible itinerary in the Philippines; one that takes advantage of all of the natural beauty, both on land and in the water.
We provide assistance and personal tours to the following areas
SCUBA Diving
The SCUBA diving in the Philippines is some of the best in the world. Sheer vertical walls full of tropical fish and colorful soft corals to shallow reef flats abundant with hard corals to ‘muck' diving for rare and bizarre fish and invertebrates. We work closely with several dive operators in Northern Palawan, Puerto Galera, Bohol, Cebu , and Boracay and can easily arrange accommodations, diving packages and multi-destination itineraries. If requested, you can be accompanied by Lee for the ultimate in personal attention. Imagine having a marine biologist as a dive buddy?! Lee is a certified dive NAUI & SSI SCUBA instructor and having been a dive guide in the Philippines, Palau, Guam, Vancouver Island, B.C., San Juan Islands, WA, Belize, Florida Keys to name a few; needless to say he has accumulated many years of guiding experience.
Donsol, Sarsogon Whale Shark Encounter
Perhaps the ultimate big animal encounter exists in the province of Sorsogon in southern Luzon. In the months of December through May, one of the largest concentrations of Whale Sharks congregates in the local waters to feed on plankton. A true success story in conservation these magnificent animals were once hunted by the local fisherman. They now enjoy complete protection throughout the Philippine Archipelago and within the past few years have become a major world-wide attraction. With the average sightings per 3-hour tour running into double digits, it's no wonder why this area has been dubbed ‘The Whale Shark Capital of the World'.
LAND TOURS
Palawan: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park
Located in the St. Paul Mountain Range on the northwest coast of Palawan, the St. Paul River not only meanders through the tall limestone mountains, but underneath them as well! The St. Paul River flows underground for over 8 kilometers making it the longest underground, navigable river in the world. Unique and special enough to be designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1999; local tours via outrigger canoe take you through the winding river to view incredible cave formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, and gigantic amphitheaters with hundreds of bats and echo-locating birds (Swiftlets).
Along with the cave, there are plenty of short hikes, long treks, terrestrial caves, snorkeling and a very popular mangrove tour through some awe-inspiring ‘old-growth' mangrove trees.
The jump point for most of these tours is the small coastal town of Sabang which is approximately a 2.5 hours drive from Puerto Princesa.
Northern Luzon (Banaue, Baguio, Sagada)
Our land tours to Northern Luzon (Banaue, Baguio, Segada) are designed for small groups (maximum 6 persons) and similar to our approach in El Nido, we visit and explore areas that are off-the-beaten-path. Our custom tours provide birders, hikers, spelunkers, and photographers with a huge amount of opportunities to explore this remarkable area. None of our tours are based on public transportation or ‘shared' transportation where the possibility of conflicting interests may exist. We design the tour to your preferences and then deliver!
Banaue is home to what is often recognized as the eighth wonder of the world; the ancient rice terraces. These terraces were built over 2000 years ago and most of them are still actively farmed similar to way they were generations ago. Banaue is located in the Province of Ifugao, meaning ‘people of the earth'. We visit several terraces, hiking both up to some of the highest points for magnificent views as well as into valleys where the surrounding mountains, green with rice terraces, look like stairs climbing to the sky!
The beautiful city of Baguio is located at an elevation of 5000 ft, and is the summer capital of the Philippines. Along with the cool weather and breathtaking scenery, it is also has plenty of opportunities to sample the culture of the local peoples, whose cultural influence is still strong with Asian overtones rather than Spanish like the rest of the Philippines.
Sagada is also recognized for its agriculture and superb assortment of fresh locally-produced fruits and vegetables. For example, home-made wines and jams are produced from blueberries and strawberries that grow in the region. Similar to the rest of the destinations in Northern Luzon, the local arts and crafts are high quality, hand-made weavings and wood carvings.
Banaue and Baguio are each approximately 8 hour drives from Manila. Sagada can only be reached via overnight from either Baguio or Banaue (4-5 hour drive from either destination. Our tours usually involve 3 days, with overnight stays in Banaue and/or Baguio.
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