Legazpi

Legazpi sits under Mayon Volcano, whose near-perfect cone is the Philippines' most photographed mountain. The city itself is small and easy to handle; the volcano is the show, and almost everything worth doing here faces it.

• Cagsawa Ruins — the church tower left standing by the 1814 eruption, the classic Mayon photo frame; entry is small change, under ₱100 ($1.60)
• ATV ride across old lava fields to the 2006 lava wall at Mayon's base
• Ligñon Hill viewpoint at sunrise, before clouds cover the cone
• Sumlang Lake for a bamboo-raft photo of Mayon reflected in the water
• Day trip to Donsol for whale-shark swims (season roughly November to May)

Legazpi is a one-hour flight from Manila, and flying is the only sensible option — the road trip takes 10 hours or more. Bicol International Airport is about 30 minutes from the city centre. On a clear day, ask for a window seat: the cone often appears before you land.

Treat Legazpi as a 2-day side trip from Manila, not a base for a longer stay. Day one covers Cagsawa, the ATV ride and Ligñon Hill; day two is the Donsol whale-shark trip, about 1.5 hours away by road, in season. Swimming with whale sharks in Donsol is snorkel-only and regulated, which is exactly why it has a better reputation than the hand-fed encounters elsewhere in the country.

There is no beach scene in Legazpi itself, so pair the volcano with sand: fly back through Manila to Boracay, or to Cebu for diving and waterfalls. See the full Philippines guide for route ideas. Whatever you plan, front-load the viewpoints — Mayon hides behind cloud by late morning on most days, and a grey cone is a long way to come for nothing.