If you have thought about going to a beach in the Philippines , one island will probably come to mind Boracay. It boasts white beaches, awesome beach resorts, a ton of bars and restaurants, and on peak season, enough people to sink the whole island. A lot of the time, those reasons are exactly why people love visiting Boracay, hence the multitude of sunburned vacationers. Formerly exclusive to the Ati tribe, the island picked up more visitors when a movie crew accidentally found it and word started to spread. That, or German traveler Peter Jensen gave it good reviews in his book. Whatever the real reason is, Boracay today is far from the secret foreign backpacker enclave it used to be.
The famed front beach, arguably the best in the world, is now packed with a huge variety of places to stay. From 5 star hotels to 5 dollar cots, this contributes to the variety of people that make the island a cultural melting pot in certain months. For the very discerning, the Shangri-La has rooms that start at around US$400 and go for as much as US$4000. For the regular traveler, though, it would be prudent t remember that Boracay s beach area is divided into several stations, with varying quality of accommodations. One can get a decent room for less than US$100 in places like the White House in station one. If you re really going on a budget, then station three will be more to your liking. It doesn t matter anyway, because if you re in Boracay to party, tricycles can take you anywhere for less than a dollar. That, and you ll find yourself crawling home from anywhere on the island as well, if you are too fond of your alcohol.
For refreshment, one can start with the delicious tropical fruit shakes at Jonah s near station one. Come happy hour though, you may wish to sample the delicious buy-one-take-one cocktails that most bars offer. It doesn t matter where you start, the enjoyment is in the record setting bar hopping. You ll have to stop drinking at some point for dinner though, so try heading to Cocomangas for some good pizza. If Spanish cuisine suits your palate, Dos Mestizos is a good place to go, but if its Greek dining you want, Cyma is your best option. Aria s also offers decent Italian and True Foods in turn serves good Indian Cuisine.
After a good time dining, the night life awaits. Boracay can be described as a tiny party city with several festive hot spots. You can choose to begin the night at the bar in front of your own resort and move to other places along the beach, like Hey Jude. Located at Station 2 in D mall (colloquial for the mall ), this beach front bar offers great food and drinks. If you really want a Boracay drinking experience though, it s back to Cocomangas. The Jam jar and Illusion shaker are two very popular drinks local to the bar. It s the world famous 15-shot challenge, though, that ll make it a night to remember. Or forget. It all depends if that t-shirt is worth your liver. If you survive, at least you get a plaque on the wall as well.