Bali or Philippines…. Feb

[carreauchompeur]

Hi folks,

Partner and I were initially going to try for Jan holiday but flight prices were crazy in early Jan so now moved to 1st week of Feb.

Looking for 2 weeks, ideally on the lower end of the budget scale. Ideallly somewhere with nice beaches, things to do away from beach and a fairly lively street food scene. Casual beach bars and dining are our thing. Bit of paddle boarding would be nice.

Partner is up for Bali but I’m not convinced. I think we’ll get better value/less touristy on one of the PH islands?

Can anyone sway me? I’ve travelled well in the past so don’t really fancy going back to Thailand or VN but if we can fit it in we’ll try for a 3 day stopover in a hub city like Singapore….

…only other small requirement is not to be quite as Sharia as the Maldives.

[captain_cynic]

Bali is full of Aussie Bogans and the Phils is one of the few places with worse food than the UK.

Out of the two I'd choose the Philippines but the Philippines is a big place so it would depend on where you go, Luzon, Cebu or others. Filipinos are nice people and English is very widely spoken there.

[HotJambalaya]

Bali is more expensive, the beaches are crap though. Food is generally excellent, lot of posing instagram folk.

Philippines has incredible water and beaches, thousands of islands... Siargao for a quieter chilled surfer vibe, but overall the food in philippines is terrible. I've been to a LOT of places, and i love street food, Philippines remains to this day the only place I've given up on the food...

[Percy Cushion]

Ive never been to the Philippines but I've spent a number of years in Indonesia. Bali can be as expensive or as cheap as you like. Check out Bali Beach Glamping (https://balibeachglamping.com), I've never been but I'd love to go, the photos look fantastic and there will be hundreds of places nearby to suit all tastes.

[carreauchompeur]

Yeesh, noted... Hadn't realised about the Philippines food!

Langkawi/Penang then maybe?

[abzmike]

If you’re in a Maldives resort Sharia isn’t an issue. I even had bacon with breakfast this morning 😎

[shirt]

check out langkawi as well, indonesia miles better for food imo.

i'd also suggest bocas del toro in panama. similar scenery and vibe to what you seem to be looking for, weather is decent without being unpleasant [max av 30, min av 20], its cheap, less of a journey, and attitudes are much more liberal. panama city is also pretty decent as a stopover.

[anonymous-user]

I have a house in Bali, great place. Problem I found as a tourist is, its hard to get around, traffic and tbe fact that all the beach roads just run south to one beach, unlike in S Thailand where it's easy to hop from one beach to another.

[Jarcy]

You could consider Lombok as an alternative to Bali, but has quite a different culture being muslin.
Although small, the Gili Islands might have the vibe you're after but too small for 2 weeks so would need to be part of a multicentre trip (perhaps coupled with a week on Bali).