Set foot again on Boracay island last march 13, 2020, 2 weeks shy of a full 13 years since the 1st time i saw and walked on its world-famous powdery sand. By then, we had seen establishments encroaching into the wide beachfront, staking their claim with cordoned areas for their guests. I also distinctly remember having had to swim with my friends with algae which tinged the sea into a greenish hue.
Boracay though definitely got some breathing room when the PH government declared it closed to tourists from April 26, 2018 to October 26, 2018.
And this is Boracay, now. pristine. clean. with the sea sporting a gradient in green to blue.
It is like swimming in a very big and clear (salt-water) pool.
The beachfront is so wide and stretches up to 4 kms end to end. The powdery white sand though is so soft it is an exercise to walk through it.
And the sunset is still as mesmerizing as ever.
There are a lot of pretty good eats to try as well. They are scattered all over the entire length of the beach front and in D’ Mall. We hiked from station 2 to station 3 to check out The Sunny Side Cafe for some late breakfast and it was worth the walk. Delicious but pricey!
If you fancy burgers & fries, do check out steam punk at the D’Mall.
We stayed at Le Soleil de Boracay which was right at the beachfront. And breakfast by the beach was such a great way to start the day. Accommodation was also pretty comfortable and the staff were super friendly.
Some tips though when you do make that trip.
- Upon arrival at the airport, you can go straight ahead and get on a tricycle down the road. The tricycles do not overload – up to 3 passengers per trike.
- At the port, after filling up the passenger info, you can choose between 2 options. the ferry and the regular boat. the ferry is slightly more expensive but the regular boat still gets you to Boracay safely.
- When booking an island hopping tour, make sure to confirm how big the boat is. We got hoodwinked into believing our party of 20ish people would get our own boat but ended up joining a boat that carried up to 60 passengers. And that’s at 500/pax with lunch. And some of the stops in the island hopping will have you shelling out some environmental fee just to swim.
Boracay is more than ever worth the visit if you want a beach weekend. Whether you just want to lounge around, go for an occasional dip in the sea, go food hopping or even try out the water sports activities like paddle boarding for instance.
Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, PH: Long & Lat (11° 59′ 51.6552” N and 121° 54′ 56.2572” E)
my take 