Ati-Atihan The Mother of all Festivals
Party for Peace and Presents
14 Nights - January Kalibo PHILIPPINES
Photo by Wanderlass on Pixabay
INFORMATION
The Philippines' Craziest Festival
HIGHLIGHTS - CITY - PARTY - BEACH
Manila 3N to Manila via Kalibo 7N and Boracay 4N
Make all bookings as far out as possible & double check Festival dates
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Manila Bay Sunsets
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Borocay Beach Sunsets
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Aristocrat Restaurant
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San Miguel Beer
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Cowboy Grill
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Jollibee
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Turon
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Intramuros
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Manila Hotel
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Tanduay Rhum
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Taal Volcano
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Corregidor Island
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Ati-Atihan Festival
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Boracay Island
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Banana Choco Peanut Smoothies
All travel information including hotels etc is at the bottom of this page
Manila - 3N
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Fly into Manila and stay in Makati. Eat some great Filipino food and enjoy the nightlife. Take one of several interesting day trips (Corregidor - Taal Volcano - an island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island within a sea).
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Another good day trip would be to take the Pasig River Ferry from Makati to the Spanish Walled City of Intramuros (be wary of the Kutseros, the horse cart drivers who will renege on the time and the price agreed to) and spend a few hours looking around and having lunch - a couple of hours before sunset visit the historic Manila Hotel - and then make your way to - the Harbour View Restaurant is the best place to see the legendary sunsets of Manila Bay. After the sun goes down head (via Rizal Park where you might catch a Sound and Light Show) to the Cowboy Grill on Mabini for a great night out with some top bands. Remember to keep your receipt when you pay. You'll need it to get out. Grab a taxi back to Makati.
Boracay
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Manila is a fascinating and lively city with great food. (Actually it is 16 cities) Taxis are easy and cheap - just agree to a price before you get in.
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Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Manila Bay Sunset
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Kalibo - 7N
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Fly to Kalibo on Panay Island and get ready to party during Ati Atihan. Kalibo has a few things to see as well. Add a bit more beach time maybe. Have fun and don't hold back.
Boracay - 4N
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Catch the Ferry to stunning Boracay Island, the tourism star of 7,640 Filipino islands. You'll probably be ready for some relaxation. It has great beaches, restaurants (seafood BBQ banquets on the beach), bars, nightlife, sunsets, shopping in fact everything you need for a beach holiday. All you need to do is wander up and down the beach. Unfortunately the golf course is very expensive and very exclusive. Stay a bit longer if you can. If you only do one thing, make your way to Jonah's Fruit Shake & Snack Bar and have a Banana Choco Peanut fruit shake - best ever. I promise.
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Boracay Beach
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Fly back to Manila and connect with your flight home. There's an airport at Caticlan so you don't need to go all the way back to Kalibo. That's January done. Time to start looking for a Festival in February 😃
ATI-ATIHAN
LENGTH -
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7 days
HISTORY -
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It is Mardi Gras Filipino style and it's 800 years old.
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Originally it started as a peace pact between some new arrivals from Borneo and the Malays who lived on Panay. They were so happy with the presents from the new arrivals they had a party and smeared themselves with soot to make them feel welcome. The first Aki Akihan had begun.
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When the islands were converted to Christianity it became a combined festival honoring the baby Jesus.
DATE -
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Finishing on the third Sunday of January
WHERE -
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Kalibo, capital of Aklan Province Panay Island 1hr 20m flight SE of Manila in the Philippines.
ABOUT -
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It's a colourful, noisy festival which attracts devout Christians, devout Party Animals and promotes tourism all at the same time.
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It is a great way to see what the Philippines is all about.
INCLUDES -
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Street parades, Tribal dancing, 4 am religious procession, Live bands all night (and Filipino bands are the best in Asia)
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Street dancing with giant papier mache figures, Food fairs and markets,
HIGHLIGHT -
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Big Three Days of Spiritual Street Dancing
BRING -
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Water, Hat, Sunscreen,
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Comfortable clothes and shoes for dancing,
SAFETY -
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Drunken teenagers at the Parks can get a bit out of hand later in the night.
PARTY FACTOR -
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A ten day street party with live bands, dancing, feasts, beauty pageants
TIPS -
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You can buy masks and costumes and get your face painted. So you will fit in quite easily.
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Pastrana Park is open from 9am to midnight and Magsaysay Park is open from 6pm to 1am.
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There is plenty of food, drink and shopping around the place.
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Try to keep up with your sleep.
FLIGHTS -
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Domestic - You could fly from Manila to Kalibo and return from Manila from Caticlan saving you having to go back to Kalibo
AIRPORTS -
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Manila - Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) - It is worth getting the hotel to pick you up to save hassles with taxi drivers
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Kalibo - International Airport (KLO)
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Boracay / Caticlan - Godofredo P. Ramos (MPH)
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Once you've bought your airline tickets get some travel insurance to cover yourself
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HOTELS - if they are booked out try to get something nearby
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Manila 3N - UNWND Boutique Hotel Makati
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Or nearby - Z Hostel in Makati - organise your airport transfers with them to bypass the usual taxi hassles when you arrive at Manila Airport.
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Kalibo 7N - GQ Plaza - Multiple Use Hotel - next to Pastrana Park and on Booking.com so you can book it way ahead with free cancellation.
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Boracay 4N - this is peak season and prices can go sky high. You'll need to look around to get a bargain. Don't be surprised to see 66% off. Anywhere in Stations 1,2 & 3 on the main beach will be fine. The beach is stunning so you don't really need a pool. Try these for starters -
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Royal Park Resort Boracay - beachfront, restaurant, bar
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Sulu Plaza - beachfront, restaurant, terrace, bar
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Emerald Bay Boracay - free breakfast
VISA -
PROGRAM -
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DAY 1- 3 Dancing and Live music in the park, airsoft competition, auto show, Live music, Motorcycle ride show, Dancing at the park.
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DAY 4 - 6 Parade of Floats and Tribes, Street Party 2pm - midnight, Pagdayaw kay Senyor Santo Niño, Battle of the bands, Sinaot sa Calle, Parade of Giants
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DAY 7 - 9 8am major street dancing, Kalibo-Invasion Spectrum (Music) event, 4am dawn procession, more religious activities and torch street dancing. The torch procession with thousands of people carrying torches finishes the festival.
Information for this page was sourced from the following websites Zenrooms - Pilot Guides and Kaliboaklan