I visited so many different islands in March that I’ve lost count! What a problem to have, am I right? The first part of the month Andrew and I were in the Philippines before flying to my 30th country, Indonesia!
I spent the month surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and soaking up a lot of sun. Keep reading my post to find out what islands I visited, what we did, and how much it all cost!
Before I get into the March update, a quick reminder that I will be sending out a monthly newsletter starting in just a few days! Sign up now so you don’t miss the first edition! I can’t wait to continue growing Kailyn Travels, and signing up for my newsletters means so much to me!
Philippines
General Luna, Siargao - 5 Days
We arrived in General Luna at the end of February so in total we spent a full week there. I quickly fell in love with the laid back island and I was so sad to leave! I even looked into extending my stay but I wasn’t able to cancel the next place I booked in El Nido.
I took surfing lessons three days in Siargao and Andrew took them two days. I’ve only surfed three times before this week and I really improved by the end of the week! I hope I can find some good places to keep practicing in Indonesia.
Siargao also had a great food scene. I’ve really enjoyed Filipino food so far and wrote a roundup of the best affordable restaurants around General Luna! The Philippines are known for having delicious fried chicken and barbecued meats, yum!
Puerto Princesa, Palawan - 1 Day
Puerto Princesa was just a quick overnight stopover before we could take a van up to El Nido. The airport is much bigger and cheaper to fly into than the El Nido airport. Even so we still had a layover in Cebu City between Siargao and Puerto Princesa.
We stayed in a cheap hotel close to the airport and were picked up the next morning to start the six hour drive north to El Nido. The ride was pretty uneventful and we made it on schedule!
El Nido, Palawan - 5 Days
In El Nido we stayed in our third hostel dorm room of the trip! Luckily it was just a four bed dorm room so it really wasn’t too bad. The hostel itself was on the beach so the location couldn’t be beat. The common room, reception and bar area are open areas looking out onto the western facing beach so we got to see amazing sunsets over the ocean every night.
Beside hanging out at the hostel and walking down the beach, our main activity while in El Nido was an all day island hopping tour. Our hostel ran their own tours which was great! We squeezed on a small boat with 28 other travelers and had a beautiful day out snorkeling and enjoying the views.
After scuba diving in Thailand in January and in Panglao, Philippines last month, changing it up with snorkeling was nice! I kept forgetting I couldn’t actually breath under water though 😂
Coron, Palawan - 4 Days
To get from El Nido to Coron we had to take a five hour ferry. The ride was rather uneventful then we checked into our hotel in Coron. Lodging in Coron was so much more affordable than El Nido. We paid around $50 a night for two bed in a hostel dorm room in El Nido and paid $40 a night for a hotel room in Coron that included breakfast.
I went diving one day in Coron and dove my first wrecks! In total we did three dives, two WWII shipwrecks and one reef dive. The wrecks were so cool but I’m only certified to dive up to 18 meters and the tops of the wrecks were right about there, so while I could see the wrecks I wasn’t able to dive inside them.
Our last day in Coron we went on a boat tour. The scenery was breathtaking and I even tried my hand at a bit of free diving, down to a wreck 5-7 (15-20 feet) meters under the surface. I’m becoming obsessed with free diving and really want to take an official course in the future.
Manila - 2 Days
After a magical three weeks in the island towns we flew to Manila. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Manila City of Dreams for our third Hyatt stay of the year! The hotel was close to the airport which is why we chose it. It was also on top of a casino and there was security checks to get into the hotel that were almost more intense than airport security!
Once we were in the hotel we only left once to go to a nearby mall to pick up a few toiletries and get lunch. The mall had a Chili’s and it was seriously so delicious and comforting to have Western food after being in Asia for nearly three months. The buffalo and ranch flavor combo is probably the thing I miss the most about American food!
If you have been in Asia for three months without access to anything resembling Mexican food, buffalo sauce or ranch, tell me you wouldn’t absolutely f*** up a Chili’s 😂 No one needs to know this was our most expensive meal in the Philippines….
Indonesia
Getting to Indonesia was so much fun! I booked us seats in Singapore Airline’s amazing BUSINESS CLASS. We flew from Manila to Bali with a five hour layover in Singapore. During the layover we had access to the Singapore Airlines Business Class lounge where we probably had a bit too much free alcohol and food.
Even though the flights were relatively short, I think using my points for the upgraded experience was still so worth it. The seats were so comfortable and the food on the plane was so good!
Sanur, Bali - 7 Days
Andrew and I spent our first week on Bali at the Hyatt Regency Bali. I booked us a room with Regency Club access, meaning we got free breakfast and “cocktail hour” each evening, which we treated as free dinner. Read my review of the hotel here.
We didn’t leave the resort much at all and spent the week relaxing by the pool, using the hotel gym, and enjoying the free food in the lounge.
We did book one tour during our week in Sanur and it was a great day! Luckily the tour meeting point was a quick five minute walk from the hotel. It was a day trip to a nearby island, Nusa Penida. Technically Nusa Penida is still considered “Bali” because it’s in the same province, but it is a separate island.
The tour had 13 people on it and we had a nice private boat for the day. We started by going to three different spots to snorkel and I got to practice my free diving again! We were trying to spot manta rays at the first snorkel spot, and while we didn’t find any we did see a dolphin swim right in front of us!
The second half of the tour we explored Nusa Penida by car. We saw a few famously beautiful spots and had a nice relaxing lunch overlooking the ocean. Finally we got back on the boat, hit one last snorkel spot then got dropped off back in Sanur.
Manggis, Bali - 4 Days
I used more Hyatt points to book our stay at the Alila Manggis for four nights. It was one of the most beautiful and relaxing hotels I’ve ever been to but it was also kind of in the middle of no where. We spent our days relaxing by the pool as there wasn’t much else to do at the hotel.
We booked one tour while we were there to Ubud, a popular spot to visit in the center of the island. I was so excited to see another part of Bali but it ended up pouring rain so we only got to see one waterfall and get lunch before sitting in horrible stand still traffic trying to get back to our hotel.
Andrew and I Said Goodbye (For Now!)
After our stay at Alila Manggis, Andrew and I had to say goodbye for a few weeks! He flew to Nepal to trek the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and I stayed in Indonesia.
If you recall, we were in Nepal back in November and December but I got really sick two days into our trek and we had to turn around. He really wanted to give it another go but I did not, so we’re traveling separately for a few weeks!
We will reunite in Spain in a few weeks and I can’t wait!
Gili Trawangan - 3 Days
Gili T is one of three small islands off of the coast of Lombok, just east of Bali. The ferry from Bali to Gili T took about two hours.
I’ve spent the last few days adjusting to the solo travel life and making friends at my hostel! I went on a sunset boat cruise, rode a bike around the whole island and went on a snorkel tour, all with people from my hostel.
The hostel I’m staying at only costs $10 a night AND you get free dinner. I thought Indonesia would be such an affordable place to stay but there’s also so much to do so I’ve been spending a decent amount of money on activities.
Top Three Meals of the Month
This month is a little different for TTMM. I’ve been traveling for ten months now, with the last four being in Asia. While I still like to enjoy the local food occasionally, I am starting to crave Western food more and more. Luckily for me Western food has been available nearly everywhere in the Philippines and Indonesia and has actually been quite good.
#3 Outpost Beach Hostel - El Nido, Philippines
Coming in at number three, surprisingly is the Outpost Beach Hostel’s kitchen in El Nido. We stayed at the Outpost for five days and ate most of our meals during at the hostel during out stay. The food was a little pricey compared to other meals in the Philippines but it was really good.
My favorite thing were breakfast quesadillas that I think I had four out of five of my mornings. There was cheese, eggs, bacon, onions and peppers in them and they were so filling and delicious. I had the pulled beef tacos and shrimp pasta that were good as well, but sadly I didn’t take a photo of my favorite dinner which was the bolognese.
#2 Filipino BBQ
Second place goes out to all the amazing grilled meats I had in the Philippines! One of my particular favorites were the ribs at Santino’s Grill in Coron. I also had a lot of grilled pork and pork belly from various places and Andrew had a lot of grilled chicken. The meals typically come with rice and sauces and sometimes a small amount of vegetables on the side too.
#1 Chili's - Manila, Philippines
If you want to hate me for this, go ahead. I think two of my favorite foods of all time in the US are chips and salsa and fried chicken with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing and I had both of those at Chili’s. I know it’s funny but it was such an amazing taste of home. I already shared pictures of the food above, so here is a picture of me after I saw the Chili’s sign for the first time 😂
Budget
Philippines
Budget: $2,500 total or $100 per day
Actual: $2,756.33 total or $110.25 per day
The Philippines was a lot more expensive than I expected. First, you have to fly between all your destinations which isn’t cheap. In total we spent $680 on three flights within the Philippines.
Food is also more expensive than Thailand and Vietnam, nearly twice as expensive. A $5 dinner might sound really cheap to you, but after many meals under $2 in Thailand and Vietnam, it was a little pricey to us.
Indonesia
Budget: $1,200 total or $50 a day
Actual: I’ve spent about $1,200 already and I still have about a week left, which me luck lol
Our budget in Indonesia is so low because I’m using points to stay at Hyatt hotels for 13 of the 24 nights I’ll be in Indonesia. Andrew will also not be in Indonesia for the second half of my stay there, so it’ll just be me spending the money.
Credit Card Points Update
Road to Hyatt Globalist Status
This year I am on a quest to get Hyatt Globalist Status, the highest tier of Hyatt’s reward program. This requires me to have 60 “qualifying nights” in 2023. After this month I now have 26 qualifying nights!
To recap how I got to 26 nights:
- 5 nights from having the World of Hyatt credit card
- 2 nights at Hyatt Place Bangkok Sukhumvit – Read my review of the Hyatt Place here
- 4 nights at Hyatt Regency West Hanoi – Read my review of the Hyatt Regency here
- 2 nights by spending $5k on my World of Hyatt Credit Card
- 2 nights at the Hyatt Regency Manila
- 7 nights at the Hyatt Regency Bali
- 4 nights at the Alila Manggis
I still haven’t paid a cent at Hyatt properties to reach 26 nights as I’ve used points to book all my stays and the rest of the nights are from my credit card! If you’re interested in opening a Hyatt or Chase Sapphire credit card to earn Hyatt points, please DM me for a referral link.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to stay in hotels for free, don’t miss my new post: How I Got 55 Free Hotel Nights During My Year Long Honeymoon (and how you can too!)
Updated Points Totals
I don’t think there are many changes here from last month. It’s hard to earn a lot of points while staying in countries that only accept cash. Between Andrew and I, we still have over $3,000 worth of credit cards points but they are spread over many different point programs.
What's Next For Us?
Andrew will be trekking the Annapurna Circuit for a few weeks while I continue to hangout on the Gili Islands for awhile.
Then I’ll be flying BUSINESS CLASS (obviously booked with points) to Europe on Singapore Airlines! I’ll be flying into Frankfurt and staying for a few days before meeting a friend in Portugal. After a week traveling with my friend, Andrew and I are meeting back up in Spain to explore several cities in the Andalucia region.
I truly cannot believe I only have two more Year Long Honeymoon monthly updates to write!
Until next month,
Kailyn
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