If you're looking to leave your footprints in pristine, sugar-white sand as you peruse endless blue vistas, The Philippines is an excellent place to start. Take a look at the menu: over 7,000 picture-postcard islands to choose from, gin-blue seas, fabulous coral, teeming marine life, glistening rice terraces in eye-popping shades of green, and a laid-back lifestyle where work will be the last thing on your mind.

Of course if you insist on work, if there's time left over after the diving, snorkelling, kayaking, cruising out to picnic on forgotten little beaches and tearing your kids away from their sandcastles, you'll find all the gadgetry you need to stay plugged in and busy.

Here's a tip, though. Dump that laptop, don your beach duds, and just say "Wow". Whether you're a diver, a lover, a shopper, or looking for a great MICE and conferencing venue, it's more fun in the Philippines. Here's why.

Whether you're a diver,
a lover, a shopper, or looking for a great
MICE and conference
venue, it's more fun in the Philippines, from
abandoned private
islands to mega
shopping malls, fun night spots, and musical
soirees

The islands offer a sprinkle of sand and volcanic hills running north south through some of the bluest waters of the Pacific. Whether it's a dive site in Cebu, a remote getaway at El Nido, Palawan, a banca cruise through the islands, or a white-powder experience for the family in Boracay, there's something for everyone.

History has left a profound mark too and fine Spanish cathedrals dot the verdant countryside from Intramuros in Manila, the capital, to Cebu in the far south. Each one is special, with prayerful devotees, local Catholic festivals and patron saints - all blessed with divine powers - offering colour and snapshot opportunities galore.

Cebu's Mactan Island, now a tourist playground with fine top-drawer resorts, is where Ferdinand Magellan made his ill-fated landfall to be felled by local chieftan Lapu Lapu's men. Magellan's Cross is now a much-photographed Cebu landmark.