While I was still recovering from my trek to Everest Base Camp by drinking too much coffee and eating too much Israeli and Indian food in Kathmandu, I knew I had to start thinking about where I was going to be for Christmas and New Years.

The holidays, no matter where in the world you are, can be expensive and sold out if you don’t make prior arrangements. While Asia had turned me into an “I’ll just make it up as I go along and hope it works out” kind of traveler, I knew that even in SE Asia you had to plan ahead for this busy time of year.

During my many hours of research sipping Americanos in Himalayan Java, I found out that the Philippines has a high percentage of Christians and therefore celebrated Christmas more so than many other Asian countries. The Philippines hadn’t originally been on my list of places to travel this time around, but this fact quickly put it to the top of possibilities for the holidays.

Seeing as I was going to be by myself for Christmas and New Years, I wanted to be somewhere that embraced the holly and jolly of the season…even if it was going to be in the high 80s F and my white Christmas would be more like a ‘white sand’ Christmas.

I finally decided on Boracay Island. Plenty busy during this festive time of year (so lots of opportunities to meet people), gorgeous beaches, clear blue water, and decorations galore. Sounds great right?

THE CROWDS

First off, busy was an understatement. The main part of the island is separated into 3 beaches - Stations 1-3. All were equally jam packed with so many people you could barely find a place to put your towel. It also meant I was extremely uncomfortable leaving my things lying around on the beach with no one there to watch them. I had no qualms at all about this on Koh Lanta in Thailand, but this was a whole new level of crowded.

Then there were the touts. Touts are a normal part of the culture in Asia and you will find them wherever you go. But here on Boracay Island they stepped their game up big time. Not only did they make up probably 1/4 of the people on the beach, they were extremely pushy, even to the point of stepping right in front of me and cutting me off while trying to enjoy a walk on the beach. So annoying. After day 2 of this I found that if I put my headphones in, sunglasses and bitch face on, and kept my head down I was bothered significantly less. Still, not something I would like to be doing while attempting to take a relaxing stroll along the ocean.

THE PRICE

I knew that no matter where I was going to be for the last week of December it was going to cost me more than I was used to spending in Asia. It’s the price of traveling during Christmas! But as someone watching closely what they spend, it sucked.

The hostel room itself cost the same as my daily budget in Nepal (though at least breakfast was free). Food, even in the grocery store, was just as expensive, if not possibly more so, than in the States. Often I would just eat a giant breakfast (because free food) and only have a small snack until dinner.

Any excursions or activities were also going to set you back a pretty penny. And none of them were particularly unique. Even the SCUBA options were of so-so quality. Therefore I didn’t really end up doing any activities other than hitting up the beach and getting a lot of reading done.

THE ATMOSPHERE

Originally I had thought that being in a place with lots of people would be a good way to meet other travelers. That turned out to not really be the case.

I did meet a few in my hostel, and they were nice to talk to during breakfast, but most were doing SCUBA or kite surfing courses all day and then drinking heavily at night, or were in a cutesy couple type situation and kept mostly to themselves.

Boracay turned out to be a big party island (a fact I probably overlooked in my research), and as a woman traveling by herself I tend to avoid the drinking scene. That and not drinking is much kinder on my travel budget. Unfortunately this took away the majority of ‘hanging out’ opportunities as it seemed like everyone was there to get drunk on a nightly basis.

NOT ALL BAD

So far it may sound like it was a miserable Christmas. And while it might not have been my favorite to date, the island did have a few upsides.

During my initial investigation of the island, I found that if I walked to the end of Station 1 and followed along a narrow path around some rocks, I would end up at a fairly secluded and quiet beach. It was a beach used by some fancy looking resorts, but there was no stopping anyone else who decided to wander in. This became my beach spot I went to every day to avoid the crowds of the ‘Station beaches’.

While the sunsets may not have come close to the epicness of those on Koh Lanta, they did put forth a valiant effort and I always tried to get down to the beach to watch the sun disappear for the day.

The island was in fact festively decorated for the season and it was always fun to walk along the main beach path at night to view all the lights twinkling and performers singing Christmas carols.

Lastly, Starbucks. There is one Starbucks along the beach walk which served one of my holiday favorites, the Peppermint Mocha. It helped get me in the Christmas spirit a bit.

BOTTOM LINE

So, solo tropical getaway for the holidays or no? I guess it’s up to you, but personally it wasn’t my favorite. I think it gave me too much time to think about the fact that I was alone at Christmas.

Maybe next time I’m alone during the holidays I’ll book a safari or go sky diving. Won’t be easy to think about my solo-ness being chased by lions or free falling from 12,000 feet!

Have you ever spent Christmas somewhere by yourself? How’d it go?