Thanks to the reopening of the Philippine Border, it’s time to start planning some post-Covid Philippine travels. Despite being with my Filipino partner for over 3 years and visiting other parts of South East Asia, Covid meant we cancelled two trips to the country - so let’s hope this will be third time lucky!

Here’s some of my thoughts for plans when we travel to and from the country as well as destinations.

Flying premium

Thanks to the sheer number of points I’ve accrued over the past 2 years of the pandemic, either through credit card sign ups or outright purchases, it now means that I’ve got quite the amount to use. My main points collections were with:

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - which I originally had the intention of using for Cathay Pacific First Class to and from Hong Kong

• American Airlines AAdvantage

Unfortunately, flights to and from The Philippines are super limited still but my mileage options above locked me quite closely into the oneworld alliance. The natural choices, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines, had almost no availability, with Malaysia Airlines being the only real option. That was until I remembered the American Airlines partnership with Etihad meant we could fly via Abu Dhabi to Manila - with plenty of space available (although that has since reduced since the announcement of reopening). I suspect there will be more changes but for now we will be flying on the Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner with a 20 hour connection (!) in Abu Dhabi. Yes, that is correct! Our original connecting flight was cancelled so Etihad moved it onto the next available flight from Abu Dhabi to Manila. I’m fine with this, as it will give more review content of the lounges (Business & First) at the airport - and unlike other award tickets it was good to see they were proactive to rebook us.

On the inbound, I’ll by flying solo as my partner needs to travel elsewhere in Asia. Though this will certainly be a treat as I’ll be taking Singapore Airlines - the first time I’ve done so long haul - on their best aircraft experience. I’ll be taking the Airbus A350-1000 in Business Class connecting onto the Airbus A380 to Frankfurt in Suites/First Class - a truly memorable experience that I can’t wait to try. I’ll try not to sleep too much on the 13 hour flight as it would seem a waste. Here’s hoping that the Singapore transit experience improves by then as currently you are kept from walking around the general terminal instead confined to a specific area. If everything falls into place, I should be able to do a review of the upgraded First Class Lounge and the newly refurbished The Private Room.

There should also be a number of intra-Philippine flights during our visit, with some great views on the way. 

Places to visit

I expect we’ll be staying in the Metro Manila area for an extended period for my stay, mostly for when I will be remote working. For the rest of the stay, we’ll be doing some island hopping across the country including:

• Palawan

• Siargao

• Cebu

• Bihol 

During the stay, I’ll be bringing you a combination of content from hotels, restaurants to the best experiences along the way. It’s not happening for a few months, but this will be a great trip!

Do you have any suggestions on where I should visit or attractions to look out for? Be sure to drop ideas in the comments below.