Things to Do in Philippines in March

March hits the sweet spot for swimming alongside butanding (whale sharks) in Donsol Bay, Sorsogon. Plankton blooms draw them close to the surface in calm, warm water around 28°C (82°F). Unlike the fed-shark operation in Oslob, Donsol's encounters are wild and regulated by Butanding Interaction Officers. The animals come and go on their own terms. Dry-season clarity means you see the full sweep of a 6 m (20 ft) shark gliding beneath you rather than a grey blur.

This is the month island-hopping was made for. Palawan's seas tend to be flat and clear in March. Lagoon tours around El Nido, the Big Lagoon and Secret Lagoon on Tour A, and the WWII wreck-and-lake circuit around Coron, Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, the sunken Japanese fleet, run almost daily without weather cancellations. Visibility is high enough that you can see fish from the bangka (outrigger boat) before you even jump in.

March falls in Siargao's drier, calmer window. It is good for beginners learning at Cloud 9's gentler shoulder swells and for non-surfers doing the three-island tour to Naked, Daku, and Guyam islands. The teardrop-shaped island's interior mangrove forests and the natural rock pools at Magpupungko, best at low tide, are easy to reach when the roads are not waterlogged. Expect warm, breezy days and that distinct salt-and-coconut smell off the palm-lined coast.

March's dry weather gives the Chocolate Hills near Carmen, Bohol their well-known look earlier than you would expect. The grass starts browning into the chocolate-mound shade that names them. Pair the viewpoint with the Loboc River cruise and the tarsier sanctuary in Corella, where the world's smallest primates cling to branches with those unnervingly huge eyes. The countryside roads are dry and dusty but fully drivable, and the inland heat is offset by the river breeze.

March is warm but not yet at the May furnace level. A guided walk through Intramuros, Manila's 16th-century Spanish walled city, is still doable if you go early. Trace the cobbles past Fort Santiago and San Agustin Church, the oldest stone church in the country, a UNESCO site. Duck into Binondo, the world's oldest Chinatown, for kiampong rice and hand-pulled noodles. The smell of fried lumpia and the clang of jeepney horns make the district feel electric.

March in the Cordillera highlands of northern Luzon brings cool, dry air. The trail down to the amphitheater-shaped Batad rice terraces (a UNESCO World Heritage stone-walled marvel) stays grippy instead of slick. Farmers have flooded the paddies, turning them into mirrors that catch dawn light. That reflected glow is the shot every photographer chases. Mornings can drop to 15°C (59°F), a welcome break from lowland heat.