Take a look at these great budget tips if you plan to spend your summer in Boracay this year.
Tip 1: Travel Off-Season, In a Group
A solo Boracay trip being expensive is a fact. So, to get around this money-burner, gather your friends or family and arrange a group trip to the famed island. All year round, many promos are offered by hotels and resorts, allowing three to four people (or even more) to share a room for less, sometimes 25 to 40 percent lower the price of a single room. Some cheaper hotels in Boracay worth mentioning include Boracay Breeze Resort in Station 1, Coco Rimas St. Vincent Resort in Station 2, and Faith Village Dormitory in Station 3.
Those who want to travel cheaply also elect to visit during the low season, far from summer and Christmas. Staying during this period offers an array of benefits other than money-related. You will not only have the resort-island almost to yourself, but you will also be able to do more activities due to astoundingly reduced prices in resorts and shops.
Tip 2: Book Early
One smart strategy for cutting travel costs is booking a flight early. Budget flights or seat sales are offered mostly during the offseason, so ensure to subscribe to your carrier to keep updated on deals. These deals are available for specific travel dates, so be ready to plan quickly after purchasing a budget flight to Boracay.
Beware of airlines that try to include undisclosed charges in the deal, though. Take time to read the fine print. A two-way flight of between Php2,000 and Php2,500 is reasonable for a single-seat, but you can undoubtedly get cheaper offers if you spend more time and cover more companies.
Tip 3: Research and Inquire
Nothing can replace the insights you can get from doing enough research pre-travel. Haggling is a powerful weapon you can wield to slash massive cuts off the price of activities. Haggling is recommended for individual activities like helmet diving, snorkeling, cliff diving, parasailing, and kiteboarding, all of which can be enjoyed for up to 50 percent less than activity providers’ original price. If traveling in a group, try arranging for the popular island-hopping activities, which takes you to various spots around the island (Puka Beach, Tambisaan, Crystal Cove) for a day, inclusive of a snorkeling experience at Crocodile Island or Angol Point.
It is also beneficial to ask your booking agent for cost-saving tips, and other hotel offers you are not aware of. There may be Boracay promotional deals and packages that can save you thousands of pesos, or if you are traveling on your honeymoon, your chosen hotel can slash a portion of the cost as a present. It does not hurt to ask.
Reading reviews and blogs is a must. From this form of research, you will discover that Boracay can be worth around Php5,000 to travel, especially if free activities like lazing by the beach, watching the sunset, and swimming are your picks to make the most of your time. Biking, one of Boracay’s budget summer activities chosen by soul-searchers and backpackers, can reward with less seen sights only discoverable by tracing the off-beat paths on the island away from the busy shores.