2.08/5
126 reviews
Photo by pixmike via Unsplash

Boracay

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island

nice

beach

good

internet

speed

beaches

constantly

minimum

price

kilos

night

kitesurf

couple

lgbt

famous

wear

Boracay is a solid destination for travelers who enjoy water sports, especially kitesurfing, with ideal wind conditions on one side of the island and calm waters on the other. The island features some of the most scenic beaches you'll find in the region, and it’s small enough to start running into familiar faces quickly. Internet connectivity is reliable, with coworking spaces and fast speeds reported in some accommodations, making remote work feasible. Social opportunities are also highlighted, particularly for those interested in dating locals, with the beach being described as attractive in that regard.

However, costs are significantly higher than in other parts of Southeast Asia. Accommodation is expensive even at lower quality, with basic rooms starting around $35 USD per night. Dining, activities, and even laundry services are marked up noticeably. Backpackers and budget travelers may find the pricing too steep for long stays. The main tourist strip is crowded and commercialized, with constant solicitation from vendors, which some reviewers found irritating. Renting scooters is also pricey, making transportation less accessible. Overall, Boracay suits short-term visitors with a decent budget, but may not be ideal for long-term or budget travelers.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Pretty overrated place imo. I had no issues with Internet. I stayed at Happiness hostel and got 300 mps download speed. Nice beaches but the main area is way too touristic and expect to be hounded constantly by taxis, massage ladies, and tour marketers. I mean CONSTANTLY. Also, forget renting a scooter it's $10 usd per hour. A day is $26 usd. Everything is priced ridiculously high. There's a minimum price for laundry at $5usd per load. Not bad if you have 7 kilos but if you have 1 or 2 kilos it's expensive for Canadian currency. Tours, kite surfing, activities are all 5x the price of anywhere else. Don't skip it as it's a nice destination. Just don't think it's a good long term place for a backpacker.

If you're into dating filipinos it's very good as the beach is full of the best looking girls from around the country. However, a private room is going to run $35 USD per night minimum for a shitty place with no windows. For a nice hotel or guest house expect to pay around $50 usd per night.

Clubs I hear are nice but I don't really party much.

3 months ago

It's a fantastic spot for kitesurfing nomads within the season: you can kitesurf on the windy side of the island or go to the White Beach where the wind doesn't reach and chill on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It's a small island, so expect to start bumping into people you know after a couple of days, but it's got enough to offer to keep you entertained for a couple of weeks, and if you kitesurf even longer.

There are some apartment with internet speed allowing you to work from there, and two coworking spaces if that's what you prefer.

One thing to keep in mind is that the prices in Boracay are not as low as in other countries in Asia. Good lunch can cost you anywhere from 8-10 euros up.

1 year ago

If this place is Hostile towards LGBT, then non of the rich movie stars in Hollywood would even think of visiting this place. When I say rich,
I mean Billionaires and Millionaires, that even a fraction of their money can probably buy the whole island itself. Now, they say that this beach is world famous? World famous for what! for bashing LGBTs? This narrow mindedness that's going on around this island is nothing but hypocrisy. Women are allowed to wear pasties and dental floss on the beach, while men has to wear a skirt? What kind of a screwed up society do they have there. If for anything, they should turn this island, that is a size of a "Booger", into an all adult nudist island, where everybody is welcome - straight or LGBT alike.

5 years ago

✅ Great for kitesurfing

✅ Fast internet

✅ Beautiful beaches

✅ Good for dating

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Safe for women

❌ Overpriced

❌ Overly touristy

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Pretty slow internet

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members really didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

29°C / 84°F warm

32°C / 90°F hot

30°C / 86°F warm

32°C / 90°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

Real (median)

26°C / 78°F
warm

27°C / 81°F
warm

27°C / 80°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

27°C / 81°F
warm

Humidity

nice
88%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
84%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
85%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
85%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
86%

Most common

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
148mm

rainy
100mm

rainy
125mm

rainy
76mm

rainy
153mm

rainy
279mm

rainy
387mm

rainy
198mm

rainy
326mm

rainy
313mm

rainy
271mm

rainy
273mm

Cloud

cloudy
55%

pockets
47%

pockets
39%

pockets
42%

pockets
41%

cloudy
55%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
54%

cloudy
55%

cloudy
58%

pockets
50%

cloudy
55%

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

320 people

309 people

433 people

356 people

280 people

267 people

200 people

300 people

400 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Boracay's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

	Software Engineer @ ControlShift
	Lead Data Engineer @ Open Architects
	Software Engineer II @ Everbridge
	Senior React Native SDK Engineer @ Nami ML
	Tech Cofounder CTO @ Founders Factory
	Senior Backend Engineer @ HockeyStack
	Senior Full stack Developer @ Lemon.io
	Senior Account Lead @ Sanctuary Computer
	Developer Productivity Engineer @ Narwhal Technologies Inc.
	Spanish Speaking Software Support E... @ Payara
	Full Stack .NET Developer @ Smart Working Solutions

Help pick the best photos for Boracay and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$1,024 / mo

🌇 Also went here56 people

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.08/5 (Rank #985) 126 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍1 liked it 👎3 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,261 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 8Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Bad
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 28°C82°F (feels 32°C90°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 81%
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Okay
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Okay
💰 Income level*	Very low: $246 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Okay
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Philippines
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	8 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 28°C 82°F + 🥵 Sweaty (81%) = feels 32°C 90°F
🔌 Power	230V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 PHP in USD	USD 1.79
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	PHP 10,000 = USD 179
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
☕️ Best coffee place	Real Coffee & Tea Cafe
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Smoke Resto
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Fat Jimmy's Resort
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👎4% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	33,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$2,951 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 80% 👱‍♀️ 20%
⛪️ Religious government	Ambiguous
💻 Online electronics shop	Lazada
🏠 Apartment listings	La Mudi
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Cebu Pacific
🏥 Best hospital	Ciriaco S. Tirol Hospital - BORACAY

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,261 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,594 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,413 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$975 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$870 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,391 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$820 / month
🏠 Median home price	$268,281
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$41 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$78 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$381 / month
🍛 Dinner	$5
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,390 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$11 / month