A Beautiful Paradise, Boracay

BORACAY YOUR ONE-STOP PARADISE

Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately 315km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. In 1990, it was voted by the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook as one of the best beaches in the world and again in 1996 by British publication TV Quick as the world's number one tropical beach. In 2007, Boracay island topped the list of the World’s Most Popular Beach

according to Yahoo! Travel.

HISTORY

The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

The island was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay is part of Aklan Province, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956. Formerly undiscovered, it wasn't till the 1970s that tourism began to develop in Boracay, and the island became popular with backpackers in the 1980s.

Years ago, Boracay Island was a well-guarded secret, almost possessively so that only a few knew of its existence.

It was only in the 70s when, it is said, a foreign movie crew accidentally "discovered" this island paradise. Others maintain that it was the German traveler, 'Jens Peters' book, which included rave reviews of Boracay that changed the island’s pace from that of being a quiet secret to eventually being voted as having the best beach in the world.

Whichever story is true, it was around this time that Boracay Island slowly ceased to be a private travelers hangout and eventually became one of the major tourist destinations in the Philippines.

Boracay's two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island's narrow central area. White Beach faces westward and Bulabog Beach faces eastward. The island also has several other beaches.

White Beach is the main tourism beach. It is about four kilometers long and is lined with resorts, hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses. In the central portion, for about two kilometers, there is a footpath known as the Beachfront Path separating the beach itself from the establishments located along it. North and south of the Beachfront Path, beachfront establishments do literally front along the beach itself. Several roads and paths connect the Beachfront Path with Boracay's Main Road, a vehicular road which runs the length of the island. At the extreme northern end of White Beach, a footpath runs around the headland there and connects White Beach with Diniwid Beach.

Bulabog Beach, across the island from White Beach, is a secondary tourism beach and Boracay's main windsurfing and kiteboarding area.

Weather in Boracay is generally divided into two seasonal weather patterns known locally as the Amihan and Habagat seasons. In the Tagalog language, Amihan means a cool northeast wind, and Habagat means west or southwest wind; south-west moonson. Amihan and Habagat seasons are generally associated respectively with the El Niño and La Niña global weather patterns. The Amihan season is characterized by moderate temperatures, little or no rainfall, and a prevailing wind from the east. The Habagat season is characterized by hot and humid weather, frequent heavy rainfall, and a prevailing wind from the west.

Partly because of its wind and weather patterns, tourism in Boracay is at its peak during the Amihan season. During Amihan, the prevailing wind blows from the east. Boracay's main tourism area, White Beach, is on the western side of the island and is sheltered from the wind. During the Amihan season, the water off White Beach is often glassy-smooth. On the eastern side of the island, hills on the northern and southern ends of the island channel the Amihan season wind from the east onshore, onto Bulabog Beach in the central part of the island's eastern side.

A number of accommodation types are scattered all over the island, ranging from luxurious hotel types to budget, spartan rooms. Guests can also choose according to location--Station 3 is where most of the cheaper lodgings are located, while Station 2 is meant for those who want to be within proximity of the bars. Station 1, meanwhile, is where you can find the more isolated accommodations, offering peace and quiet to those looking for a respite from the usual action-packed Boracay night scene. These are usually for the more upscale vacationers.

Leisure activities available on Boracay include scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kiteboarding and beach relaxation.

Boracay is the site of a world-class 18-hole par 72 golf course designed byGraham Marsh. In addition, Boracay now has in excess of 350 beach resorts with more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodations, so tourists are sure to find whatever they are looking for.

In addition, Boracay offers a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs.

Transportation

By air

Boracay is served by two airports in Aklan province:Kalibo Airport in Kalibo and Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (commonly referred to as "Caticlan airport") in Caticlan.

By sea

The western part of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) passes through Caticlan, with car ferries from Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, docking at the Caticlan jetty port. Several bus companies operate provincial bus routes from Manila which pass through Caticlan via the SRNH.

On the island

The two main modes of transport are via motor-tricycles along the main road or by walking along the beaches. Pedicabs are also available for transport along the Beachfront Path.

...and these are some of our photos from our first trip to boracay, yay!!!

• Summer of 2006 when I first went to boracay, together with my sister and some friends from Roxas City. We took the flight via Manila to Roxas City ( it was peak season (holyweek) so, we couldn't get the flight straight to caticlan). From Roxas w took the land transportation going to Kalibo and then transfer to another ride going to Caticlan. And finally a boat to get us to the Island. It was quite tiring all the rough travels, here-to-there, just to get our asses off to the island. But despite of my sister and I were so very excited the whole time, as to what I have remembered it was our first time to travel together. I soooo looove the beach and even on the boat I couldn't even recall what it was like to be so amazed and stunned seeing all-there-is in that island-paradise.

• We stayed and partied all through out our stay in boracay. I even saw some of my friends who obviously enjoy their stay just as much as we did. One thing I could never forget is meeting some people who actually are native in that island, who have been there their whole life. Because of them it wasn't hard for us to get around the island. Definitely will come back in boracay soon.