Of the 7,640 islands in the Philippines, I chose to visit Bohol

Here are 5 reasons why Bohol turned out to be a great choice.

One of the reasons we took the family to the Philippines this past Christmas was to uphold a tradition we’ve had with our adult children. To go back to areas where they’d served church missions and meet the families they served and grew to love.

In our youngest daughter’s case, we spent the second week in Taguig, which is part of the greater Metro Manila, where she served for nine months before the pandemic cut her mission short. The first week, we wanted to spend on the beach.

I grew up in the Philippines and came to the United States at 15. Now 51, I have seen a little bit more of my country of origin with each trip back. Twice, I’ve been to Coron, Palawan, which is one of my favorite places on earth. I spent a week in the Banaue area, famous for its rice terraces, skirting the surfing town of Baler. I traveled to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, to visit family.

Although we could have gone back to Palawan this time, I wanted to give my family a different experience. You could go crazy researching the islands to death. We considered Siargao (known for surfing), Dumaguete (recommendation from a friend), and Zamboanga (a different island group, Mindanao, I’ve never been before), plus a host of other islands.