In some places pirated DVDs that are often collections of 12 movies are for sale. These are pirated copies and are often of very bad quality. In addition, sellers try to sell these for a price of PHP 450 (about $10) to tourists, while the "market price" is approximately PHP 120 (about $3). The fact that this is unlawful and prohibited to sell, it is often recorded with a video camera in movie theaters then mass produced. If you want to relax with a good film early in the morning or after a dinner while the children are sleeping, etc. it is recommended to buy films in your country or in the Tax Free shop at airports, but be aware that DVD players in the Philippines are manufactured in Asia hence most DVDs bought in Europe will not work because of different codec. Some hotels have DVDs that you can borrow which are of good quality. The same applies with computer games.

     There are some Second Hand bookstores in Boracay, in which a pocket book of well-known and less-known authors can be purchased. A good book is recommended to be included in your luggage.

     International calls, especially using your mobile phone is expensive. A good solution for those who also took with them their Lap Top is to buy SMART Prepaid SIM cards here and use this, for it is somehow cheaper to call from the Philippines to your country, than the opposite. SMART also has a solution with the Internet; you can pay 10.00 pesos (about $0.30) per 30 minutes. It works pretty easy, even if it is not exactly achieving broadband speed sometimes. SMART has an automatic configuration, which most new mobile phones have.

     Most of hotels here at Boracay offer free Internet connection included in the room rate. Otherwise, it is relatively inexpensive to use a local internet shop.

     Buying a cheap mobile phone with a local SIM card and loading it with prepaid credits allows you to call and text for a very low cost (it costs practically nothing). So let your latest mobile phone locked at your safe in the hotel, for when it is daytime here, most of your friends, colleagues and family members in your country are sleeping. More so, there will be lower possibility that your new and expensive mobile phone could be lost / "drowned" / stolen, and the likes.

Note: Phones that are operator locked should be unlocked in advance of your holiday. It might be impossible to use a local SIM card without unlocking it first.

     If you are going to travel by Manila on your way home, drop by in a second hand shop for mobile phones which you can find in almost every mall and department stores if you wish to sell the old phone before departure.

     For those who have a Lap Top, we recommend using Skype. Skype works very well in Boracay and it is then free to make calls to other Skype accounts and make calls to landline by Call Out in Skype, it costs less compared to mobile phone and landline international calls. All of us use it, we who are here!

     On most international flights the baggage weight allocation is up to 20 kg per person without having to pay for overload. On the flight between Manila and Caticlan, only 10 kg is allowed without having to pay a penalty for overweight. The price for overweight is Php 40 per kg (or about $2.00).

Boracay is a holiday island. Dress code is shorts (skirt) and t-shirt. It is very rare that a formally dressed guests, apart from Korean women, who wander around on the beach with high heel shoes, purse and sun umbrella in fear of getting too tanned. Casual is the dress code among Filipinos and Western visitors. You will not need long pants other than those for you flight or car trips and your stay in cities.

     In the rainy season - June to November, it is easy to take along a light raincoat.

    Please remember that it is not considered to be decent to bask naked on the beach. While walking at D*Mall or other places than the front beach, it is better to put on a shirt for men. As for women there is no problem with just wearing their swimsuit while having a walk at the beach or just sitting at a bar or restaurants at the walkway in the afternoon while watching the magnificent Boracay sunset.

     The best footwear to go around with are sandals or slippers. Slippers cost between $5 and $10 and is of a reasonably good quality. For men who need shoes / sandals with sizes above No. 10, it is recommended to either buy these from your country, or to purchase these in cities on your way to the island. It may be difficult to get hold of good sandals in that size out here, but slippers are OK.

Next

How to get here

Transportation

Transportation in Boracay

Accommodation

Entertainment/DVDs

Telephone/Mobile Phones/Internet

Luggages

Dress Code

Giving Tips

Sunglasses

Motorcycles

Shops

Clinics/Hospitals

Sun Protection

Security