Cebu City to Moalboal by Bus

Cebu City is quite a congested, noxious conglomerate. Transport from place to place moves at a snails pace. It would be quicker walking - though less safe, due to the heavy traffic. Our bus trip from Cebu city to Moalboal would be taking longer than we anticipated.

After breakfast, we took a

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Cebu City

Our first real experiences of the Philippines would be in Cebu city, since we had decided to skip Manila completely on our way in, and take an ongoing domestic flight to the islands. On arrival at Cebu, we exited the airport, walked up the ramp across the road, and took a White taxi to the Ayala

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Manila Airport Terminals 2 & 3

In order to keep our city-stays to a minimum, we had decided to skip Manila completely on our way in. We would have to leave from there anyway at the end of the trip, so we reserved 2 days at the end for that. Our plan instead was to arrive at Manila airport, clear customs, then take the first

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Ciao, Ciao Roma

We didn't have much sightseeing time in Roma before picking up our flight to Manila. We just had an overnight stay, and were scheduled to pick up our flight to the Philippines the following evening.

Still, this gave us the best part of the following day to wander around, so we decided to

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Club Machiavelli Rome

We booked a table at Club Machiavelli a week before we arrived, and lucky we did.

This wasn't our first visit to the restaurant: Our previous visit 6 months earlier wasn't so successful. We had researched the restaurant on TripAdvisor, and were very keen to try it out. On that occasion, we

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Antica Dimora Contessa Arrivabene

One night in Rome, and we checked into an establishment rejoicing in the name of Antica Dimora Contessa Arrivabene.

This used to be a private house, and must have seen some wild times in the 1920s, if the paintings in their sumptuously decadent rooms are anything to go by. Both the rooms and

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The Terravision Rome Airport Bus

Getting from either of the airports outside Rome to the city center can be an expensive business. Fortunately, there are some inexpensive and efficient alternatives to taking a taxi. We used the Terravision Rome airport bus service to travel from Fiumicino airport to the centre of Rome. Great

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Rome: This is where it all begins...

Rome is not exactly South-East Asia, but this is where our journey begins, following a short flight from Malta.

The reason for this was our discovery of some very reasonably priced , flights running from Rome to Manila (€528 return). Since Italy is a small hop from our base in Malta, this

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Philippines Travel Plan

The inspiration for our Philippines travel plan came from our discovery of very reasonably priced flights with , running from Rome to Manila (€528 return). Since Rome is a small hop from our base in Malta, this seemed a perfect opportunity to extend our trip with a couple of nights in Rome before

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Cocohuts Karimunjawa

Following our hit-and-miss fortune with guesthouses in Karimunjawa, at well over 3 times the price of a regular homestay, we expected Cocohuts Karimunjawa to be quite an upgrade on the 2 places we had stayed so far in Karimun town.
Fabulous Views from Cocohuts Karimunjawa
Perched high up on the

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Isla Colon Bocas Del Toro - Panama

After spending a couple of days in Bocas town, we decided to spend a few more days in a more secluded spot where we could enjoy beaches and jungle. The Tesoro Escondido guesthouse seemed to be the answer, located by the sea just 5 kms north of the town, but still on Isla Colon Bocas Del

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Our Final Panama Budget & Impressions

So what are our takeaways following a 4-week road trip around Panama? Below you'll find a summary of our Panama budget and impressions.

As to be expected there are positives and negatives, as well as plenty of opinions and observations.


Our Final Panama Budget
Our Panama trip worked out

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Karimunjawa Eating Out

Since Karimun town is quite a small place, you can't expect to find a great number or variety of eating establishments. Some guesthouses offer their guests meals or kitchen facilities, but most travellers end up heading out in the evenings to discover the best Karimunjawa eating out

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Bocas Del Toro Snorkeling Tour

The easiest way of finding some decent Bocas Del Toro snorkeling locations is to take a full-day boat trip from Bocas town. This isn't a bad option for just $30 per person, including 5 different activities and locations.


Bocas Del Toro Snorkeling Tour Itinerary
The tours leave in the morning

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Karimunjawa Scooter Rental - Getting Around

There are 22 kms of ‘road’  between the main port of Karimunjawa and the furthest point north on the island. This is a little too far for walking, and there are no buses or taxes as such. So unless you pay for a guided tour, the only viable way of discovering the island is with a Karimunjawa

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Bocas Town - Bocas Del Toro, Panama

A water taxi is most people's introduction to Bocas Town, Bocas Del Toro, though you can also fly directly to their small air strip not far behind the town. Since we were travelling in by bus from Boquete, we made our way to Almirante and took a boat from there

Our initial impression was of a

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Waterfall Rappelling in Boquete

Absailing down a waterfall might not be everyones cup of tea, but for an adrenaline rush its hard to beat. Waterfall rappelling in Boquete, also known as canyoning, is one of Panama's most thrilling and popular adventure sports.

The concept is simple: suit up in a harness and belay your way

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Hotel Central Boquete Panama

“Hotel Central” is quite a misnomer for a hotel name, since the Hotel Central Boquete Panama is anything but central. You'll have to walk a good 15 minutes uphill from the center of Boquete town before you reach the hotel.

From the outside, with garish yellow paintwork and an odd structure, the

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Ziplining in Boquete Panama

Ziplining had already been on our hitlist for a couple of years. When planning our trip to Panama, we discovered that the Boquete TreeTrek Mountain Resort operate one of the largest and most popular ziplining experience in Latin America, so what better place to start than ziplining in Boquete

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Boquete Mountain Trails - The Hills Have Eyes

The hills and mountains around Boquete are a huge draw for tourists who want to enjoy some serious trekking off the beaten path. However, you may first want to take into account some recent and not-so-recent incidents before heading out alone on the Boquete Mountain Trails.
Boquete Mountain

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Getting to Know Karimunjawa Town

Although it's quite a small place, it is possible to get temporarily lost in the similar-looking streets of Karimunjawa Town. Most of the facilities you require are to be found, but are spread around the place and not always easy to locate.

Top of your priority list is probably finding your

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Jakarta Takes Mansion Hotel

For our short return visit to Jakarta, we opted to stay in the Jakarta Takes Mansion hotel, close to the center of the city. The hotel is just a 20-minute walk across the park from Gambir train station, and not far from a central shopping area.


Jakarta Takes Mansion Hotel
Takes Mansion is a

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Coffee Tours in Boquete Panama

Having done the Tea Plantation tour in Sri Lanka, it seemed only fair to do one of the Coffee Tours in Boquete Panama - And very informative it was.

We booked our tour at the Boquete Mountain Safari tours office for $29 per person. In fact, for the same price they offered to let us join a group

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Boquete Panama - Getting Around/What to Do

Boquete Panama is one of the highlights of a trip to this diverse country. Not really a town as such, Boquete is a huge district spanning 488 square kilometers.

However, most of the action is centred around a short but busy central high street.

A single dual-carriage highway runs up through

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Jungla Experience Boquete Panama

The Jungla Experience Boquete is a well-equipped hostel, combining a dormitory with a couple of private rooms.

The place is hard to find. There are no boards or signs indicating where it is. If you arrive after dark or don't get lucky with a savvy taxi driver, you'll have problems finding

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Hotel Residencial Cervantes David

We interrupted our journey from Santa Catalina to Boquete by stopping for a night at the Hotel Residencial Cervantes David.

When planning our trip, we thought it would be a good idea to break our journey to Boquete in David. In practise, there's no real need to do this when travelling from

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Jakarta Train from Semarang

Knowing in advance that on our return journey we would have very little time in Semarang to purchase tickets, we decided to book our Jakarta train tickets online, several months earlier.
Purchase your Jakarta Train Tickets Online
Using the Tiket.com website, we purchased 2 executive-class

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Getting Around Panama by Shuttle Bus

If you have a few more dollars to spend, and you want to make your travel a little easier, the Hello Travel bus shuttle company makes a good alternative to going it alone. For the extra cost, they can make getting around Panama a bit less stressful.

They have regular air-conditioned shuttle

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Around Town in Santa Catalina, Panama

Santa Catalina, Panama, is a relaxing place to unwind, especially after spending a few days in Panama City.

Santa Catalina is a small resort town on the Pacific costline, south of Santiago. The town is centred between 2 beaches: Playa Estero for the surfers and Playa Santa Catalina for the
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The Soná of 'Prison Break' Fame

Any fans of the mini-series will be familiar with the infamous Soná of 'Prison Break' fame. This fictional prison featured in much of Season 3 of the series.

The good news is that if you're planning to travel by bus from Panama City (or from Boquete) to Santa Catalina, you will get to visit

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#Soná #PrisonBreak #Panama

Panama City to Santa Catalina by Bus

If you plan to travel from Panama City to Santa Catalina by bus, you'll need to start your journey from Albrook's bus station. The easiest and cheapest way to get there is by metro.

Before leaving Panama City for Santa Catalina, make sure you'll have enough cash for your stay. There are no

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Our Panamanian Hotel Experiences

During our 4-week trip around Panama, we stayed at a variety of hotels and guesthouses - in fact 11 in all. It therefore only seems logical that we should provide a summary of our Panamanian hotel experiences.
Budgets and Expectations
We varied our hotel budget, ranging between $33 and $66 per

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Panama Canal Kayaking - Jungle Land Experience

The Panama Canal is arguably one of most important structural achievements ever built. Apart from cutting a slice through a mountain, construction of the canal also involved flooding a river to form a gigantic lake. When planning our trip to Panama, it had never occurred to us that Panama Canal

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Top 14 Panama City Activities (or maybe not...)

You can see a lot of what Panama City has to offer by simply walking around. The distances between most of the popular attractions are not that great. Here then is the list of our top 14 Panama City activities and attractions, most of which are reachable on foot.
Amador Causeway
If you're taking

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