Boracay’s white sand beach

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
0
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
3
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
1
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
45 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
399th/454
Bottom 20%
continent
Asia
country
Philippines
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$110 ($150-$450 in 2020 prices)
Time of year visited
April
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"

Summary

Boracay is the all-too-classic story of breathtakingly beautiful beach and great relaxed vibe gets taken over by mass tourism and development.  If you’re up for a very busy party experience by a beach then you’ll have fun – the beach really is gorgeously white and with stunning sunsets to enjoy (although various spots in Thailand offer this at a better level).  Also, if you’re keen on a similar busy vibe for a base for kitesurfing, then go for it as the beach on the opposite side of the island is very good.

 

But, if you’re not, I think you’ll be disappointed.  Half the beach venues in South East Asia offer comparable beaches, but without such overcrowding and with a more chilled out vibe.  They’re also a lot easier to get to as Boracay often has limited flights with a couple of changes.  The nicer hotels at the far ends of the beaches and over the headlands are an improvement, but you’re paying over the odds for what you’re getting.  I wouldn’t recommend for scuba diving either – I did my PADI Open Water course there, which was fun, but again there are so many better dive spots around South East Asia.

 

Not a fan! Deprioritise! And for ideas on alternatives nearby, see the map and slider below.

Highlights

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#1 The stunning sunsets

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#2 That beautiful white sand, so fine it squeaks. Despite the crowds, it really is gorgeous

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#3 The party processions and general party feeling. When its gets going, its good fun

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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