Boracay Island Travel Answers

I think your friend was wrong. Borocay is safe for a trip and you will have lots of fun.

Borocay-overdeveloped? Constant solicitaions? Borocay is not over developed at all. Far from it. As for solicitations? Welcome to the Philippines and its beaches. Sorry unless you have been there these are not really valid statements. Borocay is not a quiet beach destination and never advertises itself as such. It has a great daytime enviroment to enjoy the beach and what that has to offer along with great food and nightlife all mixed into one rather small island. There are busy sections and there are quiet family side sections of the beach.

Cite those accidents pray tell? Do you even know how many flights are there in and out of Caticlan and Kalibo in a day? How many of those are accidents?

if you are concerned about the safety of Caticlan Airport, the nearest one to Boracay, then you can just take the one in Kalibo though its more than an hour by land to Caticlan, the jump-off point to Boracay. The former can only handle propeller planes, while the latter receives jets.

I wont consider it unsafe to go to Boracay. Especially at the airports, I havent heard any major accident in the past few years which resulted to casualties to passengers. I may not be updated, but by experience, I find the airports going to Boaracay (Caticlan and Kalibo) in proper order.

accidents may happen,that's true,but it's solely because of the visitor,not the place.Boracay is very beautiful,as mentioned oftentimes.

oh yeah! sometimes, we cant avoid accidents and accidents are not applicable to boracay alone... i think Boracay is still a good place to visit. ;)

I think question like "Is ____ safe?" Is a stupid enquiry, yet it draws many to reply (including me).

As far as any relatively small airport is safe, then yes. Where is your friend getting her/his info from? There have been no accidents causing fatalities or serious injuries since anyone can remember. Regarding one of the previous comments that the airport building has been newly renovated - yes it has, but that in itself would not necessarily affet flight safty, as the standard of the planes themselves is most important, not the terminal building! as for the person who said : > I'm not sure what you mean by that. Yes you can have personal accidents but you can't, as a visitor, affect airport safety!!! As for Boracay being 'overdeveloped' that would depend on what you are comparing it to. If compared to similar parts of Thailand it is less developed and crowded. If compared to most famous European tourist destinations (popular Spanish resorts for example) it looks like an absolute paradise! So far it has no high rise towers, though big developers such as Megaworld are intent on spoiling the place with these in the near future. Boracay still has lively areas and also quiet parts of the beach such as Angol where you won't be hassled when relaxing on the beach during the day. Central White Beach area is most crowded - choose your accommodation with care if you want to avoid the hectic areas. You can still find nice peaceful parts of the beach.

"So far it has no high rise towers, though big developers such as Megaworld are intent on spoiling the place with these in the near future." High rise towers? Dear God, please no. That would be a killer for us old timers who have been visiting for 20 years or so and remember it how it was back then. I guess its all a question of perspective though. If you'd never been before and were to visit in 2020 for example, you might look at the dozen or so tower blocks that will inevitably be there and say "They've been built tastefully and blend nicely into the landscape" I guess its just a matter of time, and money. Back to the original question Is it safe? No real worries on the island as far as I'm concerned unless you're really careless and want to be a victim. Its up to you to decide which activity is safe or not, cliff jumping, banana boat, helmet dive etc. As for the airport, it was still under development on my last visit and that was Holy Week which is as busy a time as any and if it was functioning fine then it can function fine at any time. I'm not sure if I'd be totally happy flying into Caticlan in the rainy season if thats the airport that you're friend is referring to, but then I'm a nervous flyer anyway, check the stats and make a judgement.

it's safe.... your friend is not updated . If it's not safe then no one will fly there any more.

I dont have much faith that future developments will be tasteful. Much of what is being built now is ugly, tasteless and doesn't blend with the landscape at all. Megaworld's development plan is a monstrosity and most people are against it.

so that's it. take a ferry then.

between flying and taking a ferry i think its a lot more scary to ride a ferry based on reported casualties from sea accidents in the Philippines

I agree. so choose between ferry and plane.

Statistically, flying is safer than taking the ferry in the Philippines.

well, if you met an accident with ferries, the chance of surviving is higher than air mishap.

How so, if statistically more people die from ferry travel than flying?

i beg to disagree.considering the cases of water traveling related accidents,i think the probability of water accidents is higher compared to air related accidents.

yes it is. i once worked at Caticlan Airport, actually in one of the top airline company. the airport is actually designed for small planes, but because the place is gateway to the famous boracay island, excellent firms got interested to developed the airport. before i left my work, there having a private-public partnership project, the widening/expansion of the airport to accommodate bigger aircraft like A320, and repair of terminal buildings. now, the terminal building is internationally competitive, with its international standard facilities, the security as well is tighten. the airport is better now, though still on their developments. sooner than everybody think, it will be international airport.

The noise levels from an international airport at Caticlan could be devastating for nearby Boracay! To say nothing of the impact of thousands more tourists flooding onto Boracay. Sad news.