The Philippines has more than seven thousand islands and most visitors only ever see one; Siargao and Bohol make a strong case for going further afield.
Siargao has built its reputation on the surf break at Cloud 9, but the island is worth visiting even if you never paddle out — rent a scooter and spend a day looping between the Magpupungko rock pools and the jungle-fringed Sugba Lagoon, where a bamboo raft ride out to the swimming platform is the easiest afternoon on the whole trip.
A short flight or a longer ferry-and-bus combination gets you to Bohol, where the Chocolate Hills — over a thousand near-identical grassy mounds that turn brown in the dry season, hence the name — are best seen from the viewpoint at Carmen just after sunrise, before the tour buses arrive. The Philippine tarsier sanctuary nearby is a quieter, equally memorable stop; these are some of the smallest primates on earth, with eyes too large for their heads, and the reserve keeps groups small and quiet on purpose.
Finish on Panglao Island for a few days of diving or simply doing nothing on Alona Beach. Inter-island travel here runs on its own schedule, so build slack into any itinerary — a cancelled ferry or a rescheduled flight is common enough that treating each leg as flexible will save you the only kind of stress worth avoiding on a trip like this.
