A Journey of a Filipina in Getting Married in Austria: Planning the First Vacation

We decided to move our relationship farther. He decided to visit me again, this time to spend time with me. Around October, he announce that he will have a vacation with me for a month in the coming January next year. This news made me really excited, but he always said back then that he will see what will happen... meaning if he will see if vacation will push through or not. But he gave an exact date of his travel which the 20th of January. At first I am hesitant to plan anything because he hasn't purchase his flight ticket yet, but he gave me again an assurance that he will come... so I started making plans for a three-week-long vacation.

Some of the Filipinas let their foreign husband or boyfriend decides where to go for their vacation together. Me on the other hand had all the freedom to choose where to spend the whole three weeks in the Philippines with him.

I love travelling, and for that reason alone I am meticulous in every detail of the trip. I make sure I get the best deal at the cheapest price possible.

The are lots of things to consider while travelling, like the following:

BUDGET - One important factor in travel planning is the budget for the trip. Your itineraries, extra curricular activities, and accommodation can only be determine if you have a concrete budget for the trip. So I have to asked him his intended money to spend for this whole trip... and he gave me a rough estimate of $1500 to $2000. This may sound huge for Filipinas like me, but breaking down all the cost for this travel is a challenge. From there I know that I have to chip in... Other Filipinas may find this weird but me as a girlfriend who love his boyfriend much, I will give him the best I could, the best place the Philippines has to offer for this important phase in our relationship. Another challenge was my sister asked me if, she and my mom and the kid from the neighbor can join for the at least five days in our vacation.

DESTINATION - Once you determine your budget, you can now move on to choosing where to spend your vacation. With our tight budget I have to find a place where it would not incur much expenses at the same time the place would be something he would love and I will definitely like too. I choose Palawan for this trip, Elnido and Puerto Princesa specifically. I choose this place because we are both water person.

On the way out from Big Lagoon El Nido

ACCOMMODATION - While most foreign filipina boyfriends are the one who booked their own hotels for their vacation, in our case, this task was put in my shoulder. With a tight budget for three weeks, I need to find a good hotel that will suit his taste... I specifically stated that it should suit his taste because I can basically go whatever hotel available, it doesn't have to have air condition or a hot water. A hotel does not have to be a five star to say that it is good, for example in Puerto Princesa we stayed in Ysabelle Mansion which has good AC and hot water plus a free airport pick-up for just $27 the room is the same as the Lotus Garden who charged $47 a night. So basically we are able to save $20 a night. In booking a place to stay, never gave the hotel the impression that you will be travelling with a foreigner, because you will never get a discount. I got the accommodation in El Nido with 400 pesos off after several emails... I basically hide the fact that I am with a foreigner, so we were able to save P4000 which is equivalent to $93. A big saving for a local like me.

Sunset View from the balcony of El Nido Four Season Resort

TRANSPORTATION - 50% of the budget went to accommodation, planning for transportation would be a hard task too. So I informed him ahead that we will be on public transportation most of the time, it means he will be riding jeepneys, LRT, MRT, buses and FXs as mode of public transport in the Philippines. Airport Taxis are costly too so I picked a taxi outside the airport and made a good bargain before I picked him up... I gave attention to small details like this whenever there is a chance that we could save something I go for it. And as for air transfers to another island, I checked the all local airlines for promo, since I will be shouldering this expenses, I see to it that I will get the cheapest fare possible... no airline promo slipped my attention. Because of this I was able to get a P300 ($7) airfare from Manila to Puerto Princesa, a very good steal.

ACTIVITIES - Although we have tight budget I see to it that we will able to experience the activities in our destination. Ahead of schedule I already arranged our tours for this vacation, like the city tour in Puerto Princesa, the Underground River Tour, Island Hopping in Elnido... Since my family will also be going, I had purchased the Island Hopping tour, one ticket after every paycheck of my online gigs. I deposited to our scheduled tours whenever I have extra money, it helps a lot in keeping on track with our budget without losing the fun.

View from Matinloc Shrine El Nido

FOOD - This is one of the most important part of the budget. Most of the expenses go for this part. In order to help ease the budget I looked for promo and deals for restaurant in Manila like the Ensogo Deals or Ebay Kuponan. Get a nice food for half the price of its cost