Corregidor Island day tour

Corregidor, a tadpole-shaped island at the mouth of Manila Bay, was fortified by the Americans as 'The Rock'. In 1942 US and Filipino troops held out here for months before surrendering to the Japanese, and the island was retaken in a parachute assault in 1945. Much of what was left is still standing as roofless ruins. The Sun Cruises day tour is the only practical way to visit: a fast ferry from the Esplanade Seaside Terminal at SM Mall of Asia (about 75 minutes), then a guided tour in open-sided trams past the Mile-Long Barracks, the gun batteries, the Pacific War Memorial and the Spanish lighthouse, with a buffet lunch. The Malinta Tunnel light-and-sound show usually costs extra. This only works on a long call: the ferry leaves at 08:00 and returns around 16:00, and you still need to cross Manila to reach the pier. Book ahead, and don't go if your all-aboard is before about 18:00.