{"id":19635,"date":"2024-03-04T17:42:13","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/?p=19635"},"modified":"2024-03-04T17:42:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T15:42:13","slug":"rising-popularity-of-the-philippines-prompts-contiki-to-launch-first-ever-trip-to-the-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/destinations\/philippines\/rising-popularity-of-the-philippines-prompts-contiki-to-launch-first-ever-trip-to-the-destination\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising popularity of the Philippines prompts Contiki to launch first ever trip to the destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contiki,<\/a> the leading social travel brand for 18-35s, has announced its first ever trip to the Philippines. Its name is Philippines Island Hopping, and it gives travellers the chance to explore the country\u2019s most famous tourist hotspots in less than 2 weeks.<\/p>\n

Contiki makes the Philippines \u2013 which can be challenging for solo travellers to navigate \u2013 much easier to explore. Both trips include internal flights, boat transfers and all other transport \u2013 along with all accommodation and various meals too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippines has been one of the most sought-after destinations in Asia, specifically for its island-hopping experiences. This has been many years in the making, and we really wanted to make sure that we include only the best spots & something for everyone. We\u2019re so happy to be able to launch this trip, which showcases the wonderful beaches, marine adventures and culture that the Philippines has to offer,\u201d says Taryn Welsh, Operations Director, Asia at Contiki.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a growing demand for various destinations across Asia, and more so for the Philippines.\u00a0 We created 2 itineraries to provide options to different types of travellers \u2013 as everyone should see the Philippines, but not everyone is down for beach camping. We hope to visit many more destinations in Asia in the coming years,\u201d Welsh adds.<\/p>\n

\"Contiki<\/a>
Contiki Philippines – El Nido Island Hopping<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are two versions of this Contiki trip. A 9-day version that goes to Puerto Princesa, Port Barton and El Nido, and a 13-day version – the Philippines Island Hopping Trip with Boat Expedition, that includes an additional sea safari adventure to the Coron Islands. And in an industry-leading move, Contiki invited a group of past travellers for an exclusive first glance at the newly-launched trip.Both trips include many island adventures, such as a boat ride through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Subterranean River National Park, an island hopping day trip in Port Barton, a Jeepney ride to Nacpan Beach, and a unique Special Stay and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER \u00ae experience at the Isla Experience in Daracoton Island \u2013 which directly contributes to the welfare of the locals.<\/p>\n

The optional 4-day Boat Expedition takes travellers to some of the undiscovered gems in the Philippines, including Palawan Calamian\u2019s Group of Islands (Northern Palawan archipelago) and famous attractions such as Coron islands, Cullion and Linapacan. It includes a private boat, the chance to go snorkelling in Coral Garden, sea-side camping in Coron and a visit to Turtle Islands.<\/p>\n

Among the included experiences is a Filipino-classic tricycle ride to Las Cabanas for a beach sunset, and a traditional boodle fight. Travellers will also have a chance to visit a local\u2019s house for an authentic locally-grown Filipino Meal.<\/p>\n

After receiving well over 1,000 applications, Contiki selected a lucky group of past travellers to be the very first to experience the trip. Jetting off on an all-expenses-paid adventure, the group had the exclusive chance to try and test the trip before its first public departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite experience from the trip was trying all the traditional foods from the different restaurants. And also visiting the local village. Especially Nanay and hearing her story about how she earns money for her family through this\u201d, says Terri-Anne Mattadeen, a past traveller from the USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisiting Darocorton Island was amazing. Other than that, snorkelling, swimming at the beautiful beaches, and also meeting the local people. They were very welcoming, which I always enjoyed\u201d,\u00a0 says Laura Reid from Ireland<\/p>\n

\"Contiki<\/a>
Contiki Philippines – Daracotan Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor me, the special stay at Darocorton Island was a highlight. I just really enjoyed being with the locals. Such beautiful sights. And the sunset was just perfect. I actually felt relaxed. It was really nice just to kick back and have that nice view when you’re sitting on your bed, waking up in the morning\u201d, says Christian from Australia.<\/p>\n

Christian was born in the Philippines, and aimed to trace his roots back through this trip. This was the first time he was visiting the country since moving to Australia in his childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had heard a lot about the culture of the Philippines. It\u2019s very friendly, warm, and welcoming. And as soon as we stepped off the boat to the islands, we got that tenfold from all the locals. It’s really nice to go back and just interact with everyone\u201d, says Christian.<\/p>\n

Additionally, among the past travellers was Nathan Lust, a TikTok influencer from Australia with over 5M followers for his quirky dance videos. \u201cMy favourite part of the trip was the Isla Experience Special Stay – snorkelling, canoes, huts – it was everything you want from a remote island stay, and of course what a spot to dance, it’s absolute paradise!\u201d, says Nathan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippines is a major in demand destination for travellers worldwide, particularly those from the Gen-Z demographic. We’re thrilled to now be satisfying that demand, on a trip that makes visiting the Philippines so very easy – and fun too!\u201d, says Adam Armstrong, CEO at Contiki.<\/p>\n

Find more information about the Philippines Island Hopper Trip on<\/p>\n\n\n\n
http:\/\/www.contiki.com\/tours\/philippines-island-hopping?optionId=2204<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Check out Contiki\u2019s full range of trips to Asia, including Thailand, Japan, South Korea and more on https:\/\/www.contiki.com\/destinations\/asia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contiki, the leading social travel brand for 18-35s, has announced its first ever trip to the Philippines. Its name is Philippines Island Hopping, and it gives travellers the chance to explore the country\u2019s most famous tourist hotspots in less than 2 weeks. Contiki makes the Philippines \u2013 which can be challenging for solo travellers to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3855],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}