An average of 20 typhoons or tropical storms sweep through the Philippines each year, usually in the wet season from July to November. Boracay very rarely experiences a direct hit, however. Most typhoons graze the eastern part of the Philippines and go north towards Taiwan.
The Philippines has very high humidity. This means that brief rainshowers can occur anytime, but since the weather doesn’t matter underwater, scuba diving is a popular year-round activity.
A special note about monsoons: From November to March, the northeast monsoon, or amihan, blows across Boracay, creating optimum conditions for windsurfing and kiteboarding along the eastern shore. Winds are usually strongest from late December to early February. During these months, diving is limited to the western side of Boracay.
The electricity on Boracay Island is 220v AC, 60 cycles.
While the power company, AKELCO, is currently upgrading its services, power failures, locally called “brownouts”, are still common, so in choosing a place to stay, be sure to ask if they can ensure 24-hour power.
Metropolitan Doctors Medical Clinic and Island Clinic have doctors on call 24 hours a day.
House calls can be arranged on request. Farmacia Gomez and Harlem Drugstore are two of the largest pharmacies on Boracay.
The larger business establishments accept all major credit cards and traveler’s cheques, although some places may add a surcharge for credit card payments. Cash payments in Philippine peso, US dollars or Euro are commonly accepted.
Three banks – Allied Bank, located on the main road between Boat Stations 2 and 3, and Bank of the Philippine Islands and Metro Bank, also on the main road near D’Mall – offer full banking services including foreign currency exchange of bank notes and traveler’s cheques. All have ATMs on-site. Cirrus, Maestro, American Express and Mastercard cardholders can also withdraw cash at these ATMs, but due to high demand, funds may not be readily available.
There is a small post office at Balabag Plaza, open on weekdays only. The Boracay Tourist Center also has a faster but costlier postal service. Parcels may be sent via LBC or JRS Express.
There are many internet cafes on Boracay. Most offer broadband connections.