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The Philippines will never fail to amaze you. The stunning sights above and under the sea, the culture, the hospitality, the food, and of course, the friendly people willing to welcome visitors wherever and whenever. Spending a night or two on the island-blessed country is not enough when you want to savour all the Philippines has to offer.

The slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines" brings an important part to convince people how amazing it would be to visit in our country. Because of this, we witnessed the continuous growth of foreign visits to the Philippines over these years, with an extraordinary part being those from western nations.

Here are the key concepts why It's More Fun in the Philippines:

Promotes Philippine Festivals

various festivals have distinct ways of celebration. Tourists can witness those colorful and lively festivals in our country .

The Ati-Atihan Festival is a Philippine festival held annually in January in honor of the Santo Niño in several towns of the province of Aklan, Panay Island. The biggest celebration is held during the third Sunday of January in the town of Kalibo, the province’s capital.

Panagbenga Festival is a month-long annual flower occasion occurring in Baguio City. The term is of Kankanaey origin, meaning "season of blooming". The festival, held in February, was created as a tribute to the city's flowers and as a way to rise up from the devastation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, and is the centre of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the Philippines. 

The Dinagyang Festival is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the 4th Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog in Cebu and the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan.

Promotes the Filipino Spirit

each country has different characteristics that give impressions to every tourist. Filipinos are friendly, caring, and are always happy.

Promotes our Best Tourist Destinations

Philippines is the home of world-famous beaches. Diving lovers, marine enthusiasts, and anyone who cherishes nature, Philippines is their best travel destination.

Boracay is a small island in the central Philippines. It's known for its resorts and beaches. Along the west coast, White Beach is backed by palm trees, bars and restaurants. On the east coast, strong winds make Bulabog Beach a hub for water sports. Nearby, the observation deck on Mount Luho offers panoramic views over the island. Offshore, coral reefs and shipwrecks are home to diverse marine life.

Palawan, officially the Province of Palawan, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction

Philippine cuisine, though not quite well-known in other parts of the world, mostly consists of tasty and colorful fare made with fish, meat, and vegetables. However, there are a number of dishes whose ingredients are unexpected, or even downright bizarre. One way to amp up your next trip's adventure factor is to try things that are unfamiliar to you, including new foods. Dare yourself to seek out and taste some of the curious fare listed below:

1. Chicken adobo: the famous Filipino dish

Chicken adobo is the most famous and popular of all Filipino foods, known and loved by everyone. It's also one of the best examples of how the country is such a rich melting pot of different historical influences. At its true essence, adobo is a protein (usually chicken, pork or fish) that is braised in vinegar then mixed with other herbs/spices.

Also bear in mind, an authentic adobo is cooked in a heavy bottomed clay pot. This is the like the heart and soul of any Filipino's momma's kitchen! Although when we tried to make an authentic adobo in our Airbnb in Manila, we used a wok instead. The result was tasty, but our friends swear to us that the best way is to use a clay pot for the most authentic flavour!

2. Balut: the Filipino Kinder surprise!

Balut is a developing duck embryo boiled and eaten as a snack in the shell, often served with a splash of vinegar. This is definitely one of the most famous foods to try in the Philippines and certainly the strangest we've ever tried!

Locals swear by it and will tell you what a nourishing and wholesome snack it is. It's just 188 calories for each balut and it contains lots of niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, protein, calcium, iron and phosphorus.

3. Kare Kare: oxtail stew

Kare kare is a stew with oxtail, ox tripes, lots of vegetables, which is flavoured with ground roasted peanuts (or peanut butter), onions and garlic. It's served with shrimp paste ( called “bagoong”), calamansi juice (Filipino lime) and sometimes spiced with chilli.

Kare Kare is famous throughout the whole country. The alleged origin of its name is from the word “curry” – a nod to the influence of the Philippines' Indian community in the Cainta area of Metro Manila. It is thought to have originated from the Indian soldiers who settled in the Philippines during the British invasion.

4. Kinilaw: raw fish salad

Kinilaw is similar to the famous Peruvian dish called ceviche. The word “kinilaw” or “kilaw” means ‘eaten fresh’ in Tagalog. It is a raw fish salad served in an acidic juice, usually kalamansi (Filipino lime) and vinegar. In the Philippines, vinegar is nicknamed “liquid fire” because it cooks the food enough to be digested. More interestingly, vinegar in the Philippines is produced by alcoholic fermentation of coconut water, which is what gives it a sour-sweet flavour.

Just like with ceviche, the acid from the lime and the vinegar “cooks” the meat. Other ingredients usually in a kinilaw include garlic, ginger, onion, pepper and chilli.

5. Sinigang: sour meat stew

Sinigang is another popular Filipino stew. It is meat-based and more sour and savoury in flavour than a kare kare – usually using tamarind (sampalok) as the souring agent. Alternative souring agents include guava, tomatoes or kalamansi.

A traditional sinigang is served as a stew or soup, always served with lots of vegetables like okra, water spinach, (kang kong), daikon (labanos), onions and aubergine (eggplants). Pork (sinigang baboy) is the most common meat for sinigang, but chicken (sinigang na manok), beef (sinigang na baka) and fish (sinigang na bangus) can also be used.

6. Lechon: roasted suckling pig

Lechon is a “suckling pig” in Hispanic traditions. It is literally an entire young pig that has been fed on just its mother's milk (the word for milk in Spanish is leche), which is roasted over charcoal for many hours. Lechon is also considered the national dish of the Philippines. The city of Cebu is considered one of the most famous places in the country for lechon.

Lechon is also very popular across Spain and large parts of Latin America, usually reserved for special occasions. It's one of the many influences in the Philippines from its 333 years as a Spanish colony – from 1565 to 1898.

The leftovers of the lechon are stewed with vinegar and spices and become a delicious dish called paksiw na lechon. Paksiw literally means: to cook and simmer with vinegar.

7. Tapsilog: the King of the Filipino breakfast

Taspsilog is a popular breakfast dish in the Philippines. The name itself refers to the contents comprising the meal: cured beef (“tapa”), fried rice (“sinangag”) and a fried egg (“itlog”).

The beef in a well made traditional Filipino tapsilog is seasoned with a sauce that is a mix of soy sauce, calamansi juice, brown sugar, minced garlic and black pepper. The rice is fried with lots of garlic to give it a strong (and tasty!) aroma. Finally, the egg is usually served sunny side up. To complement a traditional tapsilog, vinegar or pickled papaya (atchara) is sometimes served.

Variants of tapsilog include “adosilog” (adobo with fried rice and fried egg), “litsilog” (lechon with fried rice and egg) and the most unique of all – “Stefansilog” (a Stefan with fried rice and egg)…ok this is just us being silly

8. Halo halo: the best Filipino dessert

This is the ultimate and most famous of all Filipino desserts! Halo Halo means ‘mixed together’ in Tagalog. It is served in a tall glass containing ice shavings, evaporated milk and various small chunks of yummy goodies all mixed in together.

What are the yummy goodies I hear you cry?

Well this includes a mix of boiled kidney beans, chickpeas (“garbanzo”), sugar palm fruit (“kaong”), jackfruit, tapioca, sweet potato, sweet beans, coconut gel, ice cream, guava paste, purple yam and more! There is no one exact formula or recipe, as long as you have a fabulous mix of all of these thrown in with the shaved ice and evaporated milk.

The end result is a tropical, colourful and very tasty mess, perfect for the beach. Every time we went to one of the many beaches in the Philippines, there'd always be a vendor with a huge queue selling halo halos!

9. Buko pie: the divine Filipino coconut pie

I love coconuts a lot – it's my favourite fruit. So a dessert made out of coconuts? My daily staple in the Philippines!

Buko pie is a baked coconut custard pie, the speciality of Los Baños on Luzon island. It has condensed milk added to sweeten it. What I also love is that the coconut meat is also used in the cake. Other variations to the many buko pies I've consumed include the addition of vanilla, pandan and almond.

Buko pie is a recent discovery, entirely by accident by the Pahud sisters from Los Baños, Laguna. One of the sisters returned to her family in the Philippines after working as a maid in the USA where she learned to make apple pies. The sisters tried to recreate the American apple pie, but in the absence of apples in the Philippines, they used another fruit they had in abundance – bukos! The idea took off and became one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines.

Fellow coconut lovers listen up – buko is the word for coconut in Tagalog. Unlike the traditional coconuts which are smaller, slightly hairy and brown in colour, Filipino bukos are much larger, smoother and green. They have a lot more juice inside which makes them so much more satisfying, especially when you want to refresh your body and cool down in the hot, humid Filipino weather. It's also a fantastic source of potassium, sodium, magnesium and iron, which is why the coconut tree is nicknamed the ‘Tree of Life’ in the Phillippines.

10. Arroz Caldo, the Filipino porridge

Arroz caldo is the Filipino porridge equivalent, a popular breakfast dish and comfort food that all our Filipino friends swear by.

It starts out as a sort of chicken soup with rice cooked in water with chicken stock. However, unlike chicken soup, the mixture is cooked for longer until it turns into a thick porridge – this is the arroz caldo! It is then infused with ginger and garnished with toasted garlic, scallions, and black pepper. It is usually served with calamansi or fish sauce as condiments, as well as a hard-boiled egg.

Although arroz caldo means “rice broth” in Spanish, it was in fact based on the congee introduced to the Philippines by Chinese immigrants many centuries ago.

A traditional arroz caldo uses glutinous rice and is slightly yellow in colour. This comes from the addition of kasubha (safflower) or saffron. In the absence of safflower or saffron, turmeric can be used instead.

Other variations of arroz caldo include a French inspired “arroz palaka” where instead of chicken, frogs' legs are used instead (palaka means “frog” in Tagalog)! Another interesting one we discovered was a vegan variant which uses mushrooms or tofu in place of meat.

Philippines is wonderful country, different kind of people who are generous, very friendly and the hospitable one and especially open to accept, embrace and promote our own culture. As we explore the beauty, the paradise and the hidden treasure from luzon, visayas and mindanao, we will see the real beauty of the Philippines. Different places with different stories, different tribes with different cultures, different personalities. We grew up in this world not knowing there are still some hidden places waiting to discover. I am inviting you to explore and enjoy the true beauty of the Philippines. So what are you waiting for? Halina't magsaya at mag pakasasa mga larawang dika magsasawa, Philippines road to forever beauty.

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