Tomous wrote:i was under the impression it does have that super busy area like you describe but also hotel resorts with their closed off areas of the beach? I could be wrong though.
Palawan could be a good bet although we were mainly in El Nido which can be very touristy too. The lagoons for kayaking are amazing though. And it has good snorkelling etc. The island is full of quieter beaches if you go off the beaten track though.
We also stayed in Moalboal which is a few hours on the bus from Cebu and was incredible. The beach there isn't huge or sandy but there's brilliant snorkelling-you see turtles swimming about and a sardine run which is literally thousands of sardines just hanging round together and incredible. We also did canyoning in Moalboal, which I can't recommend enough. Was so much fun-I made a video of our GoPro footage, let me know if you're interested in.
Bohol has your more traditional beach, Alona I think it's called plus it might have some hiking options round the Chocolate Hills (although we just visited the viewing spots).
A Cebu > Bohol > Moalboal triangle could work if you had time.
You can do whale shark snorkelling from Cebu in Oslob but it's ethically dodgy because they field the whale sharks (which messes with their behaviour) and overpopulate the sea with tourists. We opted to do it Donsol instead where they don't interfere with the whale sharks at all but that would be another internal flight for you to get to.
I can't advise on where the best place for cottaging is but Philippines is quite accepting of homosexuality for an Asian country so fill your boots.
I forgot I even put cottaging in there. Must have been a slow day at work and I was looking for entertainment.
Yeah, if you can, send me that Go Pro video and I'll have a look, cheers.
Where did you stay in Cebu/Bohol, just out of interest? And did you see anything of Matcan? That's also got quite a few hotels and beaches apparently.