As tourism slowly opens up, many are going home to different provinces or taking some time off for some rest and relaxation.
If you are traveling soon, here is a complete guide on how to travel to Boracay in the new normal.
Basically, the requirements listed below are all you need but it can be a little complicated. The details will be discussed below.
-Roundtrip Airline Booking
-DOH-accredited RT-PCR Test Result (Negative of course!)
-DOT-accredited Hotel Booking
-Boracay Health Declaration Form with QR Code
Roundtrip Airline Booking
First and foremost, you should be able to plot your trip. Make sure that it is at least a week before your desired date. This way, you can prepare properly since RT-PCR results can take around 1-3 days. Since not many are traveling yet, you can easily find commercial airlines with very low prices. We booked our roundtrip flights at around Php2000. We added luggage allowance and seats to make sure that we will be seated in row 1 and away from other people. For our flight, guests were seated together in the middle part of the plane. The first few rows are empty and reserved for those who purchased their seat location.
If you don’t want to take a commercial flight and have more budget to travel, there are seaplanes that you offer flights to and from Boracay. Airtrav has flights going to Boracay, Coron, and Puerto Princesa. For Boracay, it costs Php18,000 per person/way and travel time is only 20minutes or less.
Whether you choose to get a commercial flight or a private flight, you will need your round-trip booking in order to proceed with the next requirements.
DOT-accredited Hotel Booking
Though there are many options on where to stay in Boracay, you have to make sure that you will be staying in a DOT-accredited accommodation.
Once you book your hotel, they should be able to provide you with the complete details on how your trip to Boracay will be. In our experience, our hotel sent us a checklist of requirements and flow of how our trip going to the island will be.
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For budget travelers, you can book Fat Jimmy’s located in Station 2 near D’Mall. If you have a bit more budget, you can stay at Hue Hotel in Station 2 who offers a package of accommodations, airport transfers, and RT-PCR test. For families and those who wants to experience the best of Boracay, you can stay at The Lind locate at Station 1.
DOH-accredited RT-PCR Test Result (Negative of course!)
After scheduling your trip, you should now schedule your RT-PCR test. Boracay requires a test that is done 72hours or less before your flight. Count of 72 hours startS from the date and time of specimen collection or the schedule of your swab test.
There are many options on where to get an RT-PCR test but if you want an affordable test, the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board is subsidizing 50% of RT-PCR costs for tourists. UP-PGH offers RT-PCR tests at Php1,800 (regular) and Php900 (subsidized) while Philippine Children’s Medical Center offers a subsidized rate of Php750. All you have to do is to register on www.tpb.gov.ph/rtpcrphtravel at least 10days before the desired flight. In order to register, you will need 2 valid ID’s, Roundtrip Tickets, and Confirmed Hotel Booking. Kids below 2 years old are not required to have an RT-PCR test.
Boracay Health Declaration Form
Once you booked your flight and hotel, you can fill-up your Health Declaration form on www.touristboracay.com. Just make sure you fill-up the Boracay button. You will have to fill-up with your details, health information, travel details, accommodations, and itinerary. After filling it up, your end screen will show what your e-mail subject would be when you e-mail all your requirements to Aklan LGU. You will need to fill-up the Health Declaration Form per person (including kids).
Once you have the result of your RT-PCR test, you will have to e-mail it together with the Airline booking, hotel booking, and government ID to touristboracay@gmail.com. The subject of your e-mail should start with OHDC or what it says on the end-screen when you filled-up the Boracay Health Declaration Form. You can send the requirements in individual e-mails or if you are traveling as a group, you can send it all together. Just don’t forget to send a list of the travelers in the e-mail body. After sending the requirements, they usually reply in a few minutes or within 12hours. They usually check with the clinic or hospital you got an RT-PCR test with to confirm the result of your test. In our experience, the RT-PCR test we had in a private clinic was confirmed immediately while the tests that were done in UP-PGH and PCMC took a few hours to confirm.
After the requirements are confirmed, you will be receiving a copy of your Health Declaration Form with a QR code (pictured above) that you will need during your trip. The QR code will be required at NAIA, Boracay Airport, Boracay Jetty Port, Hotel, and establishments on the island. The QR code is only valid until the date you applied for. If you are going to extend, you will need to apply for a new QR code which means, you will have to fill up the Health Declaration form again.
Preparing for your trip
Once you have all the requirements, you now need to prepare for your trip.
Make sure you have your Airline booking, Hotel booking, RT-PCR result, and Health Declaration Form with QR code with you at all times.
Upon arrival at NAIA, you will need to present your Traze App which will be used in the airport for contact tracing. One app can register the owner plus 5 more companions. Your requirements and Traze app will be presented at the airport during check-in. Even though you check-in online, you still have to go through the check-in counter for them to check all your requirements along with your government I.D.
Face masks and face shields are required althroughout your flight so make sure you keep them on.
Upon arrival at Caticlan, you will need to present all your requirements again along with your government I.D. You will also be asked for these upon arrival at the Jetty port. Your hotel will also require you to present all these requirements upon check-in. If you are going around the island, establishments and activities will ask to scan your QR code so make sure you keep them handy.
Once you have to leave the island, the same requirements will need to be presented upon check-in at the Boracay jetty port and airport.
