Ant Baker - one of the UK leading Windsurf & Kitesurf coaches gives his account of Boracay in the Philippines:

"In hopefully not so many words I will describe my first trip to the Island of Boracay in the Philippines where I went in Jan for a Kitesurfing clinic, I will try to outline the important parts of travel as well as the pros and cons... Enjoy!

Travel: My departure was from Gatwick which is a short drive from the south coast, we flew Emirates which is an awesome airline if your not travelling with windsurfing gear! We had gear so had to negotiate heavily to take our gear for a small fee, once checked in and on our way you can see why Emirates is expensive as the in-flight food and entertainment is second to none. Short layover in Dubai then on to Manila where we spent the night but most flights just have a small layover and you can fly straight to Catalan which is the neighbouring island to Boracay as there are no airports on the island, when you arrive take a short bus to the sea port then a very funny tiny boat ride to Boracay.

This all sounds like a mission and if we travelled by ourselves it would have been but the guys from Reef Retreat have people waiting at Catalan and they do everything so you can just take in the scenery and get acclimatised. The return journey is even easier as by now you would have entered into an island state and just go with the flow. In-fact as I am writing this im on my way home and with the UK temp at 0 I have to say im not very excited about going home.

Accommodation (Reef Retreat): Matt and Claire (ex-pats) were fantastic hosts for me and my crew at Reef Retreat which is a stones throw from the water and has the kite and windsurf centres attached. The rooms are fantastic and very well maintained by the staff, you can either have a shared room or a nice double bed, Matt built the place with his bare hands and everything is up to UK standard and they make you feel right at home of the bat, There are heaps of places to stay in Boracay but for me I will definitely be going back to Reef Retreat as the price and quality is superb.

Conditions: I was on Boracay for 14 days and it was windy the whole time, night and day which is amazing as it never feels hot, the water is like a bath and the beaches are amazing. The bay on the Bulabog side is beautiful and has a reef 500 yards of shore which stops the swell from coming inside which makes the 4km beach perfectly flat all the time and waist deep all over which is also good for beginners. I was here in January during a windsurfing and Kitesurfing competition so it was pretty busy but there is plenty of space.

For kiting you can expect to use a range from 12m down to 6m but you will always be going, and for windsurfing 6.5 down to 4.5 and if you cant gybe after 2 weeks here then there is something wrong as its perfect. There is a tide here which makes windsurfing hard at low for 2 hours but sail-able anytime after that. Kite centre Glen who is an ex-pat owns runs the Ocean republic kite centre which uses Slingshot kites and Nobile boards. There are some local guys that pump up, launch and land your kite which is really nice.

Windsurf Centre Severne and Starboard is the equipment that you will be using if you rent from the centre here and most days you will be on a 5.5 on a free ride board, the staff are more then happy to help you and they also offer a coaching service from some very nice Swedish guys.

Going OutOn the Bulabog side of the island there isn’t much to do after the sun goes down so after a 5min walk you are on the White beach side which is down wind from the other side and boasts being in the top 10 beaches in the world for 10 years, it really is amazing and has all what you would expect from Café Del Mar to beach massages and my favourite... Starbucks!

For evening meals there is a plethora of restaurants and cafes that offer some really good food at around 200pesos each which is around 3pounds. There are boat trips, jet skiing, diving and many other activities that really make Boracay a very affordable location for a winter break. Then when you have had your fill the night has just begun and the party gets going, and I mean every night there is a place to go with cheap drinks and good spirits.

The Locals Filipinos are a very nice and friendly people that are more then happy to help with whatever you need and there is always an English person that came here on holiday and never left to assist if needed, most of the people around the beach and accommodation work on tips so please give and remember a little for you is a lot for them. Boracay is not infected with the constant pushing of women that the other islands and Manilla is so you can feel comfort when on a night out."