11 Things You Are Not Allowed To Do In Boracay, Philippines. New Rules
Boracay is the tourism mecca of the Philippines. Almost every tourist that goes to the Philippines will make a stopover in Boracay because of its beautiful, pristine beaches and awesome hotels. These are the things you are not allowed to do in Boracay Philippines.
Boracay has some super strict rules in place at the moment that were recently put in place by the government. While we were there they enforced these rules through police presence and local recommendations.
Boracay is more beautiful now than it has been for the past 15years because of the changes the government has implemented. They basically realized that the place was being destroyed by lax rules and pollution from the businesses and tourists.
Before the changes, many of the hotels were draining their sewage into the ocean. The tourists were allowed to do whatever they wanted and would litter everywhere. And there were huge beach parties rivalling those in Thailand. It was the place to party.
But all things have consequences; the beach turned into a polluted cesspool. The beach was dirty and unappealing to family travellers and the island started building up a negative reputation. This place is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, but they were pulled from that list.
Why are there so many rules in Boracay?
The main reason for all of the rules is because tourists and locals were both taking advantage of the island and the chill rules they used to have. They disrespected mother nature and the island itself resulting in the place turning into a shit hole. lol
Is Boracay a good place to visit for families?
We just came back from our Philippines trip and Boracay was one of our favourite stops. We took our 2 kids to this island and we were entertained the entire time. There were beautiful clean beaches, good snorkelling, great restaurants, live bands and clean hotels. We were entertained the entire time.
11 Things You Are Not Allowed To Do In Boracay Right Now. Boracays New Rules
Do Drugs
Don’t ever try to do drugs while you are on Boracay or anywhere in the Philippines for that matter. The current president is on a rampage about drugs and there is zero tolerance for it. Especially in Boracay…. There are police everywhere, they want this place to be super safe for tourists and families.
As a traveller with a family I loved this. The police were not intimidating, but you knew they were there with purpose.
2. Build Huge Sandcastles
They don’t want you building huge sandcastles on the beach anymore. It ruined how pristine White beach is when there were large holes in the sand.
3. Smoke on the beach
Having 2 kids with me, I really appreciate this. I don’t want my kids inhaling second hand smoke and I don’t want to be stepping barefoot on cigarette butts. I smoke when I drink, so I am not being non smoker biased. When I wanted a smoke, I would walk into the mall area which is a 1 minute walk from the beach and smoke there…Away from my kids
4. Drink Alcohol On The Beach
They put this in place because the beachgoers were getting too wasted and were leaving their bottles and smokes everywhere. You can still have a drink beachfront, but it will be in a restaurant in from t of the beach where they clean up after you.
5. Litter
There are garbages all over the beach, so there should be no reason to litter.
6. Play Loud Music On the Beach
I was playing tunes pretty loud on the beach a few times and I was nicely asked to turn it down. It is true that it ruins the tranquility of nature when loud music is being played. They really don’t want this beach to be a party place again.
7. Dining On the Beach
In the past, couples would dine on the beach. The government no longer allow this. I am not sure exactly why. It is no big deal as there are a lot of restaurants right beachfront anyway.
8. No Peddlers or Hawkers on the beach
This was the best. It doesn’t matter where you are in the Philippines, there are a lot of poor people here and with that comes the need to make a living. Although I respect what the paddlers are doing, I don’t like being disturbed with cheap trinkets while I am napping on the beach. Mexico is really bad for this and Boracay used to be. I did not see one of them while I was on White beach in Boracay this year.
9. No Beach Parties allowed
The beach parties here were huge before the changes. They made a significant negative impact on the environments in Boracay. Now you will never see one of these parties here.
10. Overstay your permitted time on Boracay
When you enter, you are given a permitted timeframe on the island, you cannot overstay. The permits are presented at your hotel and there are large fines for this.
11. Limited water sports
There are still water sports here like tubing and parasailing, but you have to do it far from the beach area.
How many tourist are allowed to Be on Boracay at a time?
- Boracay allows a max amount of tourists on the island at any given time and they are strict about it. 19 000 tourist are allowed on the island at a time.
- Max amount of tourist per day are 6405.
Why are so many businesses and Hotels closed in Boracay?
When the government made the rule changes in Boracay, they gave all businesses a timeframe to conform to the new rules. If they did not make the environmental changes necessary, the government would shut them down.
Well from what I saw, they took this to the new level and demolished many of the hotels and businesses that did not conform. Thats the Philippines for you, and you should respect this when you travel here. They can make rash hard decisions.
What was Boracay Like before the new rules?
Boracay was a party place, my friends used to travel there for massive alcohol and drug fuelled parties. It was totally polluted, and you would have to really watch for glass and garbage all over the beach. The water was brown, where it should have been blue. There were paddlers all over the beach harassing the tourists.
It was less expensive before the changes as there were and unlimited amount of tourists allowed here as well as many other hotels open. No major rules. Boats were piping back and forth all over the beach and it was dangerous to swim in the water.
Thanks god for the changes…