Philippines

Twelve zones up and down the archipelago: the Ilocos and La Union coast of northern Luzon, Zambales and Aurora on the way south, the Bicol region's homegrown towns, Palawan's frontier coast, the Eastern Visayas, and Mindanao's Pacific side down to Dahican. Pick a zone to open its full guide.

The Treasure Map

12 Philippines Zones

Siargao opened this coast for us. This batch is the rest of it — every Philippine coastline we’ve traveled through or were told of the riches and then researched.

Illustrated blue-toned map of the Philippines, in the style of an antique nautical chart. — Pick a zone to jump to its section...

What’s on This Coast

Pagudpud — the northernmost municipality on mainland Luzon, home to the Blue Lagoon and the gateway to Ilocos Norte’s Northern Loop.
San Juan (La Union) — a weekend-getaway town a few hours up the coast from Manila, with the densest surf infrastructure in northern Luzon.
Liwliwa & Crystal Beach — two neighboring Zambales towns, a backpacker hub and a more polished family stretch, both a straightforward drive from Manila.
Baler — Aurora province’s capital and the birthplace of Philippine surfing, reached the hard way through the Sierra Madre.
Bagasbas — one of the country’s earliest-recorded surf towns, in Daet, Camarines Norte, close enough to Manila’s regional airports for a weekend trip.
Puraran, Catanduanes — an island-province barangay well off the beaten Luzon path, with documented visits from Australian surfers dating to the late 1970s.
Gubat, Sorsogon — a fishing-and-farming municipality where a local surf community has grown up organically since around 2008.
San Vicente, Palawan — the Philippines’ longest white-sand beach, a still-developing eco-tourism frontier between El Nido and Puerto Princesa.
Guiuan/Calicoan — an Eastern Samar municipality carrying real WWII and Typhoon Haiyan history, connected to Calicoan Island by a causeway bridge.
Siargao — the Philippines’ flagship surf island, from General Luna’s coast to the quieter north at Pacifico and Burgos.
Lanuza — a small Surigao del Sur municipality on Mindanao’s Pacific coast that most travelers have never heard of.
Dahican/Mati — a stretch of Mindanao coast inside the protected Pujada Bay seascape, with an active sea turtle conservation story.