Boracay island in the Philippines— travel guidelines 2021
Wohoo! 2021 started well with the visit to a paradise with the finest white sand beach and a place of solace.
It is Boracay island in the Aklan province in the Philippines.
Living in the pandemic phase, there existed no plan as such but an intuition to visit the second most charming destination in the Philippines. Hence, moving forward with the hope that our intuition will be a reality in the new year, our air tickets and hotel room were booked in November 2020 for travel in January 2021.
Although our thoughts were heavily weighted with fear of the entrance of the new strain of coronavirus in the Philippines, we did not let it diminish our excitement. Incoming international flights from 15 countries were banned by the government initially, followed by 30 in the later period.
Domestic travel- No bar. A great relief.
Time is precious and irreversible. A year had gone for a toss dealing with the waves of emotional stress on account of the pandemic. The world waited impatiently for the much needed vaccine that will put an end to this disturbing phase.
Life will never halt, neither will time. So, all we can do is to hope for the best things to happen in 2021.
Now let us close the Covid-19 chapter and dive straightaway into our chapter on ‘Boracay Island in the Philippines - travel guidelines 2021’.
Pre-travel protocol :
Online Health Declaration Card- The pandemic has lead to a lot more disciplined travel when it comes to strict documentation. All you need are some protocols which need to be followed before travelling:
- Visit http://aklan.gov.ph/ and click on Online Health Declaration Card.
2. On clicking, it will redirect you to https://touristboracay.com/ where you click BORACAY as an answer to Where to?
3. On selecting BORACAY, you will be automatically redirected to the HEALTH DECLARATION CARD form (4 pages). This has to be filled in and then submitted online.
5. Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation page. . Take a screenshot and save it in your folder. (OHDC- Online Health Declaration Card).
Step 2
List of documents to be emailed -
Email address : touristboracay@gmail.com
Subject : OHDC- Family Name, First Name
- Negative RT-PCR report for Covid-19.
- Confirmed hotel booking form (Remember to make your booking as per the Department of Tourism accredited hotel list. The link is https://aklan.gov.ph/list-of-accommodation-establishments-in-boracay-with-certificate-of-authority-to-operate-cao-provisional-certificate-of-authority-to-operate-pcao/).
- Proof of identification with Philippines residency (passport for foreigners or ACR card for expats).
- Roundtrip flight details.
- Screenshot of the OHDC submission confirmation (refer to point 5 of Step 1).
Step 3
After the completion of the above steps, you will receive a QR code after several minutes upon proper validation of the submitted documents.
This QR code (you may carry a print out or digital copy) will be your vital pass across all entry/exits at ports and airports during your travel to Boracay and back.
[If processing is unsuccessful, an email will be sent to you asking for additional documents or clarification. Kindly address this email immediately to avoid delay in QR code release].
For further information, visit https://aklan.gov.ph/guide-for-tourists/.
Mandatory travel document (Negative RT-PCR test result) :
As per the laid protocol, the test has to be conducted within 72 hrs prior to flight departure.
As our date of travel was on Jan 15, 2021, we had decided to take the test on Jan 13, 2021 at one of the DOH (Dept. of Health) accredited diagnostic centers at 5000 PHP (or 104 USD) per person. Prior to taking the test, we ensured to get our reports delivered within 24 hours .i.e. Jan 14, 2021.
[Check the list of licensed Covid-19 testing centers at https://hfsrb.doh.gov.ph/1729-2/]
The details of the budget and the itinerary of the trip will soon be posted. Stay connected.
For any queries, kindly post them in the comments section.
