Travelling in the Philippines with a toddler

Traveling with a kid in the Philippines is like traveling with a tiny celebrity. My daughter was exactly 3 (36 months) when we took her. Everyone greeted her with a sing song hellooo babeeeeee! And then crouched down to her level to greet her sweetly. Nothing is too much to ask and you’re welcomed very warmly and people really go out of their way to get you anything you may need. They will give your kid sweets and chocolates and probably ask to take selfies with them! Just like a rock star. It’s so wonderfully child centric it makes other cultures feel positively chilly in their treatment of kids.

Travellers in the Philippines are mostly in their 20’s without kids. You’re in the minority traveling as a family, but it seems to be a novelty for the locals so you’re treated very warmly and get special treatment.

Where we went:

We flew into Cebu and then straight to Siargao. Siargao is a chilled surfing island akin to Bali in the early 90’s. We stayed at Greenhouse, http://greenhousesiargao.com/ an eco friendly lodge in our own villa. The food at the lodge was amazing but the whole island (which is tiny) is filled with lovely spots to eat. You take a trike (similar to a Tuk-Tuk) anywhere you need to go. I was nervous about this because we have a toddler but the bikes don’t go faster than 30km per hour and the roads only have other bikes and the rare car yields to bikes.

We also went to Palawan but avoided El Nido. I love an Instagrammable island as much as the next person but the hordes of tourists deterred us. Which is perfect because I reckon the less touristy spots are always cooler anyway. Instead we went to Port Barton where we were collected by boat to go to our accommodation. If you have to be collected by boat you know it’s going to be good! We weren’t disappointed. Prince John in Port Barton was so wonderful. https://www.booking.com/hotel/ph/prince-john-lodging-and-restaurant.en-gb.html It’s run by a young local guy which made me feel good about my money actually making a positive impact. We stayed in a humble beach hut, no air-con or fans. Actually no electricity for most of the day. But you don’t need electricity to swim in the sea, go for walks, draw, read and sleep in hammocks.

We ended our stay at the luxe Daluyon Beach and Mountain resort in Sabang, Palawan. https://daluyonbeachandmountainresort.com/ This is something I highly recommend when travelling with a young kid in a third world country, if you can afford it. Stay at a hotel or somewhere slightly nicer for the first 2 nights when you land an the last few days too. It eases you into the holiday and eases you out and prepares you for nearly 24 hours of travel (in our case) with a tiny person. We never travelled like this before having a kid, but with a kid it kept us all happy.

What to pack:

We travelled for 25 days with only ONE carry on bag (20kg) and two smallish backpacks as hand luggage. I know, it sounds crazy but it worked so well. It’s hot, very hot, so you don’t need bulky warm layers. It helps when you’re traveling long distance with a toddler and between islands to have one parent with the bag and one with the kid. Sooooo much easier. It makes getting on and off boats easier too. You can do washing there (we did washing three times). Also you can buy absolutely anything you may need there, for cheap!

Floaties: Pack any and all the floaties you’ll need. Arm bands, rings, floatie vests etc… Swimming will be in a variety of conditions. In flat water, in pools, off boats, snorkelling and more. We took a toddler life jacket too. The boats have adult ones but very few had toddler ones.

Tupperware: Pack 1 or 2 good quality containers that seal 100%. There aren’t convenience shops everywhere filled with toddler friendly snacks/meals. Most of your food will be eaten in low key restaurants. You can put leftovers in the container and then whip it out when your kids moans they’re huuuuuunngrrryyy.

What not to pack:

We didn’t pack a mosquito net as we checked with all our accommodation before we left and they all had them. We didn’t pack a pram as 3 is the perfect age to not need one, or a cot. She slept with us. We made sure we always had 2 beds.

Would you take your kids to the Philippines?