Here are our top 10 picks for travel vlogs featuring the Philippines. The categories are easy, it should be a non-Filipino-created YouTube channel, should feature at least three places in the country, food tasting videos are a plus, plus 100 points for Jollibee food tasting, and after that anything goes really. We’ll be using our geek system as usual for this article.

The cover photo is from (https://danegerandstacey.com/). Best. Travel. Logo. Ever.

Top 10: Everyday TV

Geek Rate: Mortal worthy (3 out of 5 stars)

Philippine churches, street food videos, plus some sick drone of Manila buildings. Everyday TV is not exclusively a travel vlog but their video seemed to exclusively pertain to anything about the Philippines, or I might be wrong. Upon checking out their YouTube channel they also do reactions videos about Filipino singers, Jollibee, and other stuff. They have like 12,000+ subscribers at the moment but most importantly they decided to be based in Manila so calling all Filipinos to please subscribe to their YouTube channel.

The good thing about this blog is that when they travel they do what the typical Filipino travelers do when roaming in a place (in the Philippines or abroad), like not having any guide and just walk inside a closed church hoping that it’s open to taking a picture (or in their case a video). Plus they’re British so they call football what it is, football.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwl0Bpn0V3dZ7-SlYyTP4fw)

Top 9: Michael Bernth

Geek Rate: Mortal worthy (3 out of 5 stars)

First off I like the OBB on this one. Michael Bernth’s channel is more of his experiences in his daily life in the Philippines but what’s cool with this channel is that he made some cool tour to places not frequented by tourists or to those little-known places which are amazing nonetheless, such as in Casaroro falls in Dumaguete, Dauin Marine Sanctuary, and Balinsasayao. There are plenty of videos featuring his interaction with the locals of the place and a video about hunting an apartment for those planning to say longer in the country but are opting for a cheaper place to crash in instead of those expensive condos.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIaCDMBSxOcimPjZ-DnnNA/featured)

Top 8: Layne Fable

Geek Rate: Mortal worthy (3 out of 5 stars)

Full disclosure, I’m in love with Layne Fable, like I watch her YouTube channel just to pine, it’s bordering creepy I know. Her Jollibee video is the most viewed on her channel but Fable also did visit the Philippines and made some videos of her travels. But before we go there, let’s discuss first her Jollibee taste test video. Honestly, it’s fascinating when you watch foreigners enjoy Jollibee’s food, and in this case, Fable really like most of them, from the Ube drink (ewww sorry) to the halo-halo (which I don’t like much, I prefer Rason’s), to the burger, and of course the Chickenjoy. Fable’s reaction to the famous banana ketchup spaghetti is consistent with the general reaction of foreigners to its taste though. But what we’re focused on the video actually was the reaction of his brother who seemed to be picky when it comes to food so it was fun to watch if he’ll like the food they tasted or not.

So how about her travel vlogs about the Philippines? Fable’s videos are like that of budget travelers: from flying via Cebu Pacific to enlisting local travel guides in the area. We love that she has Elaine, her Filipino friend who always accompany her in traveling around the islands, so that budget travelers could really relate to her videos and could pick some tips from watching her. Viewing her videos was like watching your own travel adventures with friends. What was really cool about her Philippine travel vlogs is that she genuinely likes to be in the country, enjoying the simple life the islands provide, meeting the family of her friends, and eating Jollibee at 1 in the morning. While wearing a dress. But please ask for a newly cooked Chickenjoy next time.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcAlddFK69e8eAwur1igeVQ)

Top 7: The Endless Adventure

Geek Rate: Mortal worthy (3 out of 5 stars)

The Endless Adventure is a cool channel with a lot of travel videos, but let’s focus on their Philippine videos: this does not have a category “Philippines” on their channel so what you need to do is to sift through the videos and “SE Asia Vlogs” and scroll down to search the pertinent videos that we will discuss here. So okay nope, it turns out that the videos about the Philippine are not under that playlist so okay here we go I found it. What makes this channel on my list is their very cool two-minute travel guide to Manila, with awesome drone shots of the city, cramming some of the essential things you need to do while in the capital like eating in Salcedo village, visiting MOA and others. They also visited the islands so don’t worry.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEDrRCC0qRtPd5-sSa1hajw/videos)

Top 6: Trina & Pierre

Geek Rate: Sun god worthy (4 out of 5 stars)

This is not just a typical travel channel but with videos containing such things as P600 NAIA challenge, Filipino breakfast challenge, and other such things, Trina &Pierre’s channel is enjoyable to watch. With sick drone shots of the islands they visited plus some useful info that they provide, this is a definitely a helpful one for those want to travel the country. Above is their video of their top 3 destinations in the country which you guys should definitely watch.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCOkgcOV2EZAvmwT_maw-pg)

Top 5: The Way Away, travel and lifestyle

Geek Rate: Sun god worthy (4 out of 5 stars)

Another fun channel featuring Filipino food taste test (including Jollibee, yes) and mall karaoke. he Way Away, travel and lifestyle videos featuring the Philippines are fun to watch. The good thing about their channel is that they categorized all the Philippine videos on their homepage so it was not hard to find, unlike other channels. You could also appreciate that they visited the capital and spend time in the walled city rather than just hopping on every island in the country. Also, travelers could learn from their videos stuff such as the cons of traveling to El Nido during typhoon season what you should do if you’re trapped there.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxn5zB_-HOiBGzdMSRiq_HA)

Top 4: Exploring With Cody

Geek Rate: Sun god worthy (4 out of 5 stars)

This is one is kind of popular with more than 300,000 subscribers already, and he’s popular in the Philippines I heard, at least to those YouTube regulars. This should be on the top of my list because Cody here tried balut which I could never dare eat, I’m so sorry to my fellow Filipinos please don’t shoot me in Rizal Park.

This channel has no playlist specifically about the Philippines so you need to browse the channel yourself before you find it. There’s a couple of food tasting videos here and some island travels but the cool thing about this channel is that his videos look like the sort of things my friends and I will create if we have a travel vlog. This is not just your typical videos full of drone shots of beaches, the guy actually tried some activities and stuff such as wakeboarding in Camsur, jungle trekking, and a private boat tour in Coron for heaven’s sake!

The variety in this channel is amazing, and all of his videos are informative, not just showing off high-quality videos like most of the channels do, plus he also did try to get friendly with the locals, that my friends is the definition of a cool channel.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/user/SirCodyBuffinton/featured)

Top 3: Daneger and Stacey

Geek Rate: Sky god worthy (5 out of 5 stars)

Where to start with this one? We can describe their travel vlogs about the Philippines (and with other countries they visited so far) as a mix of Executive Class of David Celdran and Biyahe ni Drew. A little high end with a dash of things ordinary budget travelers do along the way. Helpful in picking tips while providing a taste of what was like to live in a cool condominium where they stay for a month or so, have a private beach, and eat in criminally expensive restaurants from time to time. Dream on millennials. To be clear, they’re not like the rich Asians enclosed in vans when traveling, they do try to roam around and explore so their videos are really helpful (they did the ninja move in one private beach in Boracay. Cool!). What is useful about this channel for ordinary travelers is the restaurants they visit. Case in point, their Boracay travel. I’ve been there a couple of times but haven’t tried some of the restaurants they visited there (they like Mang Inasal, why?). They also have this “cost of living” videos which are super helpful. It’s math but hey it’s needed.

The cool stuff about this channel? They have high definition videos with quality shots like a pro so that even though you will not appreciate that much their shots of BGC’s buildings (Because umm why BGC? But it’s fun watching them enjoy the artworks around the city, and just the general vibe of the area), their drone shots in Boracay, El Nido and other islands they visited were breathtaking. In addition, they are adorable to watch (cheesy word sorry), two travelers who are really enjoying the place and each other’s company. We also like that they are honest with their reviews of the places they visited and about the food they tasted, plus they have some subtle criticisms about power lines, flooded streets, and parked vehicles in no parking zones. Thumbs up!

Another thing about Daneger and Stacey is that they’re not that irked up with traveler problems (at least not in front of the camera), like the one time Daneger lost his bag (was that in Indonesia?) or that time they visited the local BOI office for visa extension during Bonifacio Day (was that why you guys visited BGC? Because Bonifacio Global City? Just kidding), or that time when their motorbike stopped in the middle of the road (check up the gas tank guys lol). Travelers could really pick some lessons from these two about being chill in the face of annoying situations.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmnpMr4Md5CgZ5MdlghTYqA)

Top 2: Brad Newton

Geek Rate: Sky god worthy (5 out of 5 stars)

Nice sound scoring, decent shot angles and more importantly, the feel of just watching two travelers (with his pal Robyn) sans the rehearsed scenes we often see in travel shows, Brad Newton’s channel is just perfect. What we like about watching Newton’s channel is the pure joy we get because it’s obvious that he legit enjoying what he’s doing, wherever he is, and it shows in his videos. Newton seemed to be the sort of tourist that locals like to watch, walking in the streets, holding a camera while talking in front of it. And he greets the locals which is a sure sign that tells you that hey I’m friendly. Newton’s travels are the type that budget travelers do, taking a tricycle on the way to each place, joining groups in a boat during island hopping and eating in legit local restaurants. Also, he stays in at least 2 or 3-star hotels like a legit budget traveler would.

The problem with the channel is there’s little narration going on, and thus little information to glean into if you need some information about the place, how much is the food, if those food were good or not, even the fare price. Virtually non-existent. But Newton’s videos are helpful in giving you ideas of where will your next vacation island destination will be, and the stuff that you could do while you’re there.

Did I mention that he also tried Jollibee? He kept on calling it “Jollys” which I found funny. He’s kind of afraid to eat the Chickenjoy with spaghetti (the usual for first timers) because he’s a fitness video blogger and so fast food is really not his thing. He said that the spaghetti tasted like SPC, a canned spaghetti popular in Australia which I tasted once, which is not unlike our Maggi easy-cook spaghetti, and he didn’t like the chicken which is sad.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGxrPOe4sO05dsepa42l8w)

Top 1: The Hungry Syrian Wanderer

Geek Rate: Sky god worthy (5 out of 5 stars)

I’ll introduce my top choice with his own description in his channel:

“I’m the Hungry Syrian Wanderer. I came from my beautiful country Syria, where food is a way to preserve history and culture. I’ve been in the Philippines for 5 years now and became my new home. I learned to love the culture, people, and the food. I am pure Syrian. I am vlogging in the Philippines showing how kind and awesome Filipino people are, what this amazing country has to offer and best tourist spots. ​

“​I love to inspire people to help and give. It doesn’t matter what your life status is, it’s always good to help. I am also advocating to rescue strays here in the Philippines. Stray kittens/cats/dogs deserve a home and love too. They deserve to be pampered as well, not only expensive breeds. They are all equally the same.”

Wow we have a winner. The Hungry Syrian Wanderer has a decent 100K followers with an insane amount of videos most of which featuring the Philippines from visiting many islands in the country, to food tasting, to doing some crazy and fun stuff with the locals, that is a total package right there. This channel is way ahead from most travel vloggers when it comes to visiting places that are not that popular to tourists so if you’re just plain bored about Boracay or El Nido and want to try someplace with fewer tourists, you should check his videos out and you’ll find your next perfect destination. I sound like a travel agent.

This channel has also videos filled with historical info and some social commentaries which are not boring but really are fun to watch. Check out this “Travel Vlog vs. Real Life” video he created that exemplifies the difference of this channel compared to others (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjST4ooOwTQ).

Also, he has the funniest Jollibee tasting video on YouTube, ordering food in Filipino, and eating all of it with bare hands, you can’t beat that. With Jollibee himself appearing on the video! Give up other channels. Also please take note that you should hug the statue of Jollibee on the way to the store, it’s tradition lol.

He has an interesting and inspiring story so you guys should definitely check it out.

Subscribe here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrPo31V8wpuuCMseyzEDZMQ)

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