A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
After almost two years of community quarantine and working from home, most of us are really eager to go on a vacation. But with the additional requirements, risks, and extra costs of travel these days, thinking about going on a vacation feels like a lot more stressful than it used to be.
Museums have just started to reopen again in Manila at a restricted capacity, with limits on the number of visitors and online reservations systems in place. One of the country’s top museums that recently reopened is the National Museum of Natural History, one of the three main museums inside the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) complex, which also includes the Museum of Fine Arts and Museum of Anthropology.
My last visit to the Museum of Natural History was before the pandemic hit, but I’m sharing the latest guidelines and new features as of June 2021 for reference for those who are looking for somewhere new to go in the metro.
Continue reading “National Museum of Natural History in Manila: New Guidelines (June 2021)”The tropical island paradise of Boracay in Aklan is one of the first destinations that reopened to domestic tourists during the COVID era in the Philippines. Well-known for having a long stretch of powdery white sand beach, crystal clear waters, a stunning sunset and a wide variety of hotels, resorts and restaurants to choose from, Boracay has always been one of the top tourist destinations in the country.
READ MORE: ABS-CBN: What to expect if you’re planning to visit Boracay this summer
A lot of people got into biking last year because of the lack of transportation and as a recreational activity. This year, more people will probably be interested in venturing further from the cities for bike exploration or are planning to meet up with friends for group rides. While borders have started easing up, we’re still not out of the woods yet. As long as vaccines are not yet available, it’s better to err on the side of safety.
That being said, biking is a physical exercise that’s beneficial for maintaining health, fitness, and the body’s immune system. When done alone or with members of your household, it can be a relatively safe and rewarding activity.
Continue reading “Biking safety tips during the COVID-19 pandemic”It’s a really challenging time for travelers. With the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a lot of medical jargon being thrown around, unknown acronyms, long list of requirements that vary per destination, expensive tests, and the very real risk of getting sick or stuck in a quarantine facility. Most people have chosen to avoid traveling altogether unless it’s really essential, and I can’t blame them.
I recently had to go through the tedious process for a work trip to Bohol that involved air travel. And while I enjoyed the destination very much once I got there, what went on behind the scenes before and after made me reassess if it’s really worth traveling for leisure at this time.
Continue reading “A Guide to COVID-related Travel Requirements in the Philippines”More tourist destinations around the Philippines are easing travel restrictions and opening up to domestic tourism. Bohol, well-known for its majestic chocolate hills, tarsiers, and beautiful white sand beaches, is the latest to reopen to leisure tourists just in time for the Christmas season.
READ MORE: What to expect from the new normal travel in Bohol
Here’s some good news for domestic travelers! To restore confidence in safe travel and support the gradual reopening of specific domestic travel destinations, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will be subsidizing 50 percent of the P1,800 cost of RT-PCR testing cost administered by the PGH, bringing down the cost to just P900 for qualified Filipino tourists.
The DOT through the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines has signed a deal with the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) to subsidize the COVID-19 swab tests of qualified tourists. According to DOT, the high cost of getting Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR RT-PCR tests is one of the major deterrents preventing people for traveling, but presenting negative results is a requirement to visit many destinations around the country that have reopened.
Continue reading “DOT makes RT-PCR Test more affordable for tourists”After months of living under the longest lockdown in the world, many people who live in Metro Manila are eager to travel once again. Different destinations are slowly opening their doors to domestic tourists for “non-essential” leisure travel. The cautious reopening is part of government efforts to kick-start the tourism economy that has suffered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
Bike tourism has really boomed in the Philippines during the pandemic. While most of us living in cities have had to content ourselves with urban rides the past few months, there are loads of beautiful places in the Philippines perfect for biking. The thought of being able to bike through coastal and mountain roads in island provinces is something I’m looking forward to doing once we can all travel freely again. The sad lack of green spaces to bike around Metro Manila got me reminiscing about some of the most amazing destinations in the country that I’ve had the chance to explore by bike, particularly Batanes.
The Philippines has a very rich pasalubong culture. The term literally translates to “something for when you welcome me” and shows the giving spirit of Filipinos when it comes to bringing something from their destination for friends and family back home. Whenever I travel, I try not to skip the usual t-shirts and magnets, but look for something unique to the place. It could be anything from processed food, a local delicacy you can only find in that place, arts and crafts or home decor.
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