Out of 2000 inhabited islands in the Philippines’ archipelago, Boracay is regularly voted loveliest of all and Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa is the perfect place to stay for families who want to enjoy the island at its best. Boracay is almost always listed one of Asia’s top three, and holds a permanent place in the world’s top ten most beautiful.
Under an hour’s flight from Manila, this little pocket of perfection is trimmed round with sugary white beaches. It’s only 7km from end to end, and tricycles are the way to travel. Which all sounds perfectly idyllic for weary parents, but how well does it score with kids?
We asked Shangri-La Boracay to tell us why this beautiful island is so perfect for both kids and adults and here’s what they said.
Out of 2000 inhabited islands in the Philippines’ archipelago, Boracay is regularly voted loveliest of all and Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa is the perfect place to stay for families who want to enjoy the island at its best.
Under an hour’s flight from Manila, Borocay is almost always listed as one of Asia’s top three islands, and holds a permanent place in the world’s top ten most beautiful. It’s a little pocket of paradise, only 7km from end to end, trimmed round with sugary white beaches, and tricycles are the way to get around. Which all sounds idyllic for weary parents, but how well does it score with kids?
We asked Shangri-La Boracay to tell us why this beautiful island is so perfect for both kids and adults and here’s what they said.
When kids want kitesurfing tuition, some SUP lessons, or an idea of why Flyboarding is sensational but nowhere near as easy at it looks, this is the best beach for water sports. It has cool restaurants, laid back little bars, cheerful shops and places to hire anything from sunbeds to bodyboards. And if fire-dancing is a holiday must-see, you will want to be on White Beach after dark.
Go a little early to catch a bewitching sunset and witness the miracle of crowds awed into almost complete silence, at least for a second or two.
Boracay is trimmed right round with gorgeously calm coves and pretty bays, so finding a sliver of peace isn’t hard either. In fact, you can almost pick a beach by theme, whether kids are up for snorkelling round coral reefs, a spot of surfing, or just somewhere to have a picnic and do nothing much at all.
Cute tricycle taxis are ideal for beach hopping, and you normally won’t wait more than 30 seconds for a free one to come along. Alternatively, sail round the coast, Boracay has cruises of all types from tourist-rich to entirely exclusive yacht charters.
Between surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, and parasailing on Bulabog; Tambisaan’s famous coral gardens; snorkelling expeditions on Crocodile Beach; or non-stop activity on White Beach, kids are unlikely to get bored by the sea. But inland adventures are worth the effort of dragging them away from the ocean every now and then.
Take an ATV tour up Mount Luho, it’s the island’s highest point and 360˚ panoramas from the viewing platform are fantastic. The ride’s pretty rugged and not for the fainthearted, but it’s nothing compared to the real dare devilry of Boracay cable car and zipline.
The Philippines claims to be the ziplining capital of the world, and you may be prepared to concede after zipping over the dense, jungle-y forest at speeds of up to 100kmph.
Down at ground level the island’s forest is made for trekking, and here they happily call the wildest tours after Indiana Jones, which gives you a rough idea of what to expect, and what shoes to wear.
The legendary Bat Cave is another must-do with kids. The caverns are dark enough to see bats up and about even in daylight hours. Happily, the cave’s residents are closer relatives to pipistrelle than flying foxes, so it’s not too daunting for young explorers.
Boracay Aquarium on the other hand could shock the most intrepid child quite easily with its vast collection of sharks, rays, and other deep water monsters. It’s one of the largest aquariums in the country and you can walk underwater in the immense tanks or take a dry-land stroll beneath long, snaking, fish-filled tunnels: just two of the outlandish adventures kids can get up to here.
Few beaches on Boracay compare to Punta Bunga on the north west coast. Paradise really comes into its own here, complete with silvery sands, sheltering tropical forest, and the ocean calmly shading from transparent green to deepest blue, as far as the eye can see.
The idea of waking up to that beguiling view every morning is just one of the many reasons Shangri-La fell in love with Punta Bunga.
Too perfect for families? It’s a good question, and based on experience most parents aren’t wrong to think luxury resorts and kids can be an uneasy mix. But Shangri-La is a true Boracay islander: relaxed, easy going, effortlessly cool, warm, and wonderfully generous.
Kids are encouraged to build sandcastles on the beach, fresh activities are planned for them every day, and they can try anything from first time scuba with the resort’s Scuba Rangers to ridiculously exciting helmet diving.
Teenagers basically have a menu of water sports to choose from whether they want to sea kayak, kitesurf, SUP, wakeboard, water ski, or zip round the bay on top of a banana boat.
Adventure Zone keeps the fun going indoors for under 12s, with ball pools, zippy slides, quiet activity areas and, of course, plenty of other equally excited young guests to play with.
Then there’s the Entertainment Centre, for older kids to dip into arcade and video games, get competitive over table tennis, fit in some screen time, or just hang out and chill, like you do.
And gorgeous pools, tennis and diving, soothing in the luxurious Chi Spa, clifftop restaurants, and ocean view bars, all conspire to make sure parents don’t feel deprived of essential holiday indulgence either.
It’s good to know, although the real world might feel like a million miles away, that the rest of the island is only minutes from Shangri-La, and just about anything can be arranged, from Bat Cave tours to wild jungle adventures, you only have to ask.
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