Boracay's famous 2018 closure-and-clean-up worked: White Beach — four kilometres of sand so fine it squeaks underfoot — is calmer and cleaner than its old party reputation suggests, and rooms a street back from the front still go for backpacker money. Graze the barbecue stalls around D'Mall, then escape to quieter Puka Shell Beach when the sunset crowds gather. Visit December to May, during the amihan winds, when the water sits flat as bathwater.
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White Beach performs the gentlest handover in the business: paraw sailboats crossing a tangerine sunset, then fire dancers, then a four-kilometre string of barefoot bars serving rum from coconuts on the sand. The island's famous 2018 clean-up left it greener and saner — parties now end at the bar line rather than in the sea, which everyone agrees is progress. Station 2 is the epicentre; arrive for happy hour around 5pm and order a calamansi mojito.
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