Just a 90-minute drive from Kalibo is the Philippine’s paradise island, where everything is bright, gaudy and tourist-friendly. Imagine Bali but Filipino style. In light of the island under closure, I have prepared a 3-day itinerary that you can refer to once the island opens up to tourists again. Perhaps prices may go up, but the activities should still remain more or less the same.

Friday

For your first Boracay sunset, you will want the best possible vantage point. Club Paraw on White Beach fits the bill. Grab. cushion on the sand and watch the last light of day fade into darkness, while enjoying a dish of goat curry and chilling to Club Paraw’s laid-back mix of folk and reggae.

After sunset, walk about 800m along the sand in the direction of D’mall, Boracay’s largest shopping centre and a standard landmark on White Beach to reach True Food, a Boracay institution. Set in a two-storey beachfront building constructed from driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, True Food ensures a dining experience that is warm and homely, with shoeless guests seated on the floor on large pillows under atmospheric lighting.

Next, make your way back to the beachfront entrance to D’mall and get your groove on at Epic Boracay, one of the island’s newer nightspots. Epic caters to all your nightlife needs, with a beach grill, make-your-own-fruit-cocktail bar, extended happy hour and a DJ who spins the beats into the wee hours. All the action happens in a roomy, two-storey structure that stands out amid the squat buildings on White Beach.

For supper, if you are feeling peckish, stroll over to Andok’s at D’mall. This long-time Filipino favourite for roast chicken and pork belly takeaway is usually swarmed with eager diners.

Saturday

The next day, start your day right at Real Coffee and Tea Cafe which is located in a palm leaf and bamboo hut tucked away in an alley near Station 1. The bestseller is the calamansi muffin, redolent with the scent and flavour of locally grown citrus. It is the ideal accompaniment to any of Real Coffee’s fresh brews. This place offers handpicked coffee beans, a selection of teas, huge pancakes and famous muffins.

It is not a good idea to eat too much for breakfast because the activity up next is Ride the Zorb Boracay. You will be enclosed in a transparent plastic orb and soon find yourself careening downhill at high speeds. Riders are given a choice between the harness ride (strapped into the ball) or the Hydro Orb (water added to the interior to soften the impact). To book your Zorb ride, visit the ticket office at Mango Ray Resort, a few minutes walk south of the beachfront entrance to D’mall and take the free shuttle to the ride site.

Still not quite in full-on relaxation mode? Then ride a tricycle to the other side of the island and have any residual tension pummelled out of you at Mandala Spa. Within one of its four secluded spa villas, guests can enjoy treatments that combine Eastern and Western techniques. Try the award-winning Hilot Trilogy, a blissful medley of traditional Filipino healing therapies. Mandala Spa plants a tree in your name for every spa treatment.

At noon, take a tricycle back to Station 1. Head towards the beach until you reach the Astoria, walk through an alley and back to the waterside. Lunch awaits at Bamboo Lounge, a beachfront Chinese eatery where you can sink your toes into the sand while digging into the restaurant’s signature lotus rice.

Outdoor action is the name of the game at the Fun Club Water Sport Centre. From Station 1, Fun Club is a short tricycle ride from the main road onto Bulabog Road, in front of the English bakery. Fun Club rents out jet skis, speedboats and wakeboards. You can even go for a cruise aboard a catamaran. The best views of Boracay are out of the coastline, where the white sand and greenery of the island stand out against the vivid blues of the sky and sea.

For the antidote to D’mall’s heady commercialism, take a trip to the place where Boracay’s homegrown artists and artisans sell their wares. The stalls at Plazoleta on White Beach can be reached via tricycle from Bulabog Road. Here you will find handmade crafts, jewellery, fabrics and even musical instruments. If you are lucky, you will arrive just in time to see an artist’s one-man show ar an impromptu musical performance by local buskers.

Enjoy pre-dinner drinks and watch another day draw to a close at Juice Bar – located at the beachfront entrance to Plazoleta, – while stretched out in a beanbag chair on the beach. Raid the long bar for bargain-priced beers and cocktails, making full use of the happy hour which lasts till 8pm. Stay late or come back later to sample a few of the bar’s famous flaming cocktails.

For dinner, visit D’Talipapa, which in Tagalog means market, in this case one which specialises in freshly cooked seafood. The concept is simple, select your delicacy of choice at the wet market and take it to one of the mum-and-pop stores to have it prepared the way you like it. Fresh prawns, crabs, squid, fish etc. Arrive early as the seafood market closes at 8pm.

Sunday

At the crack of dawn, White Beach is uncommonly quiet and peaceful. With the sun barely over the horizon, the combination of cool air and gently lapping waves makes for a moment of Zen that is not to be missed. The shops do not open until 9am, so walk as far as you can down the length of White Beach and experience the Boracay without the crowds.

For breakfast, head to D’mall to make it to Lemoni Cafe just as it opens for business, and dig into its hearty all-day breakfasts. Giving homey touches to dishes featuring local ingredients is its forte, and you will find the cafe’s signature flair in everything from its cinnamon-drenched French toast (served with fresh mango and a dash of yoghurt) to pastries like Lemoni cafe cheesecake.

Spend the morning away from the beach and explore Boracay’s back trails. All-terrain vehicles buzz across the Northern part of the island everyday, winding through tree-shaded paths and up the slopes of Mount Luho (the highest point on the island), with detours to the Butterfly Garden. The views from the bamboo viewing deck on Mount Luho make it well worth a trip. ATV rental are available at G1ATV at Barangay Yapak.

Around noon, make your way back to White Beach and have lunch at Zuzuni, a stylish restaurant serving contemporary Mediterranean dishes like tzatiziki, hummus and souvlaki. After that, head to the Gloria and Robert Tirol Heritage Museum on the grounds of Sea Wind Resort at Station 1. The museum’s collection tells the story of Chinese traders who used Boracay as a rest stop long before the Spanish conquerors arrived.

Bulabog Beach is located on the opposite side of the island from White Beach. During high season in Boracay, the calm waters off White Beach stand in a stark contrast to the rough conditions off Bulabog. The situation is reversed when the monsoon season hits. Windsurfers, kitesurfer and other wind sports fans would take advantage of Bulabog’s winds during peak season. Wind sports providers on Bulabog like Hangin Kite Centre rent out equipment and also offer lessons. Ariel’s point is another place to go for the adventurous, especially those who are into cliff diving. Or for those who are afraid of heights, go there to admire the people who have the guts to jump off the platform into the sea.

This 3-days itinerary is non-exhaustive and serves as a guide for the first-timer to Boracay. Boracay has many things to offer for each type of tourist. According to the latest news, Boracay is undergoing rebranding into a normal tourist destination instead of a party island comparable to Ibiza or Majorca. Aside from limiting the number of guests on the island and establishing a curfew, the island will also see e-tricycles donated by the Department of Energy exclusively used in its streets. Hope that all these measures will help to make Boracay into a more sustainable tourism island.