Getting On The Island
We arrived at Caticlan Airport on Malay, Aklan after a 1:10 minute flight from Manila. Getting to Boracay from the airport involves a short shuttle ride to the Caticlan Jetty Pier, followed by a 3-4 minute boat ride to Boracay. From the pier on Boracay it was a 15 minute ride by shuttle to our hotel.
We were staying at the Astoria Boracay Hotel, in Station 1 on Boracay Island. This is a beautiful beach front hotel that includes an awesome pool. The Astoria Hotel has lovely friendly staff; nice rooms; and I highly recommend the buffet breakfast.
White Beach
Boracay has a 6 km long beautiful white sand beach. The beach sloops gently into the warm turquoise colored waters of the Philippine Sea. There is plenty of space to enjoy the beach for everyone. You can suntan at Station 3 if you want a quieter section of the beach, or go to Station 1 for the bigger tour boats, volleyball on the beach, and a generally busier section of the beach.
White Beach truly is white sand which reflects the sun and allows the sand to stay cool to the touch. In the evening there are the most spectacular sunsets around.
What’s Boracay like in 2023?
We were in Boracay for the 2023 New Years celebration, and compared to 2019 when we were last here, it has become much busier. There are lots of people going on tours, and enjoying the beach and Island in general. It wasn’t overcrowded as Boracay has enough hotels and restaurants to accommodate the holidayers who head to this beautiful island. All the restaurants were really busy but we always managed to find a table anywhere we decided to eat. The sandy sidewalk that parallels the beach was quite full of tourists but had a nice energy.
The tour boats are busy everyday; there are so many available you shouldn’t have any issue booking a tour.
Boracay White Beach has some nice quiet spots available.
A busier section of White Beach.
I do recommend visiting Boracay and it’s white sandy beach. There are hotels available for every budget from small hostel style rooms to luxury resorts. Explore the island a bit when you are wanting to get away and take a local bus to the northern tip of the island. Make sure when you get on the bus it is a local bus and not one the says ‘For Hire’ on it. The price changes drastically on the For Hire shuttles.