It’s not every day you get invited to do a 5,000km drive across the Philippine archipelago in no less than the latest BMW vehicles. When you do, it is a challenge you should certainly indulge in, provided nothing highly important in your life is getting in the way of doing so for a few weeks (20 days, to be exact).

Yes, we accepted the challenge of taking on the BMW Philippine Loop. Actually, I had shared my desire to do such a drive in an EV with said brand some months ago, but that idea will be placed in cold storage for now.

For this lengthy road trip, we will be driving BMW’s ICE vehicles including a mild hybrid. The vehicles used for the trip were the following:

• 318i Touring
• X3 xDrive20d Business
• X5 xDrive30d M Sport

For the record, this isn’t a bunch of your usual car reviews all piled up in a long story, but more like an experiential journey showcasing what it’s like to travel with a reliable, safe, and premium German car across our beautiful country.

The BMW Philippine Loop is divided into two legs: the North and the South. For the first half, BMW decided to start with the more grueling south loop, which began at the brand’s main showroom (RSA Motors Greenhills) and eventually taking us to Visayas, Mindanao, and all the way back to Metro Manila.

To complete the itinerary, we needed to take a total of six ferry rides with all cars in tow.

For Day 1, we took off early from San Juan, Metro Manila, heading southeast toward Naga City, Camarines Sur, in the Bicol region.

It was roughly a 380km drive going through Quezon province, with a couple of pit stops and ending our maiden voyage at Uma Residences.

Day 2 started even earlier (at 4:30am) with a memorable breakfast stop by Mt. Mayon in Albay.

As much as we’d want to take more photos of this majestic volcano, our tour guide (veteran Philippine looper Toto Villanueva) had to keep us on schedule in order to catch our first ferry ride at the port of Matnog in Sorsogon (around 208km from Naga).

This was my first experience to bring a car on a RORO. The one-hour ferry trip landed us in Dapdap, Samar, where we drove around 75km to a resort in Calbayog City.

As Day 3 dawned, I realized we had another long drive to Tacloban, Leyte (roughly 175km). Soon enough, we found ourselves dodging crater-sized potholes.

Unfortunately, our lead car’s rear tire suffered a sidewall tear, but thankfully we were able to sort out that issue with a vulcanizing shop nearby. Even with our minor setback, we couldn’t help but appreciate these vehicles for their handling dynamics and suspension engineering given the harsh road conditions.

We arrived in Tacloban for a late lunch, and we were hopeful for fair weather at the close of the afternoon as we checked in at a charming place called Hotel Alejandro.

Before refueling for the first time since leaving Metro Manila, the X5 had covered nearly 900km with fuel to spare for over 100km. Impressive.

Despite a thunderstorm at sundown, we managed to take some photos of San Juanico Bridge with the vehicles before we called it a night.

Day 4 kicked off with breakfast to go as we needed to catch a FastCat ferry ride from Port of Liloan in Southern Leyte (around a 170km drive away) and make the cross into Mindanao via Surigao City.

We had a necessary pit stop along our route to check out Agas-Agas Bridge, the highest bridge in the country, before eventually reaching Liloan Port.

After a four-hour journey at sea, we landed at Surigao City Port right in time for a photo op of our rides and a sunset stroll along the bay followed by a sumptuous grilled dinner.

After a restful night, we were recharged for Day 5‘s long drive to Davao City. The nearly 400km stretch was a much more pleasant drive with four- to six-lane highways that showcased the lovely countryside of Agusan provinces.

After a kinilaw and inasal lunch halfway through, we were excited to make it to Davao City for a two-day break at the cozy DusitD2 Hotel.

A wet Day 6 was spent exploring the city’s sights and satisfying our appetites. Even with heavy traffic, motorists here seemed friendlier than Metro Manila drivers.

Day 7 marked one of the longest drives of the entire south leg. Our initial itinerary took us from Davao City to General Santos, where we couldn’t get enough of the local grilled tuna panga (jaw).

Due to flooding in South Cotabato, our guide rerouted us through Maguindanao, taking us to the pineapple province of Bukidnon. After around 450km of highways since our day began, we safely landed in Valencia City and called it a night.

An overcast Day 8 greeted us with Bukidnon’s sweet pineapple for breakfast. We were ready to tackle another healthy stretch of pavement leading to the bustling coastal city of Cagayan de Oro.

Our day ended in Dapitan, a historical place where Dr. Jose Rizal was exiled during the Spanish regime over a century ago. Dapitan also marked our last destination in Mindanao, and we enjoyed a brief stay at the Dakak resort.

Day 9 meant another journey via sea (our third ferry ride) as we departed from Dapitan Port and sailed north to Dumaguete, where we arrived in time for a flavorful lunch at a chicken inasal spot by Siliman University.

The afternoon drive proved challenging as heavy rain made road visibility quite poor. This time around, we drove the X3, and it handled the extremely wet conditions with ease.

After covering around 220km, we safely arrived at the Seda Hotel in the beautiful city of Bacolod.

Of course, we made the most out of our time that night as we indulged in the gastronomic delights this place is known for, which included a seafood and chicken inasal spread at Gina’s Seafood Restaurant.

After a hearty breakfast, Day 10 meant we had to say goodbye to Negros Occidental, and we took our fourth ferry journey to Dumangas Port in Iloilo province.

The brief boat ride transitioned to a long drive to Barangay Caticlan, located in the municipality of Malay in Aklan province. It is the gateway into the island paradise of Boracay.

We left our vehicles for two nights in Caticlan as we enjoyed our second break in Boracay, where we bunked at the Savoy Hotel.

A low-pressure area was looming over us, so there was no more need for sunscreen as we spent a few hours on the island’s powdery-white sand beaches for Day 11. I even managed to visit the spot where my wife and I had spent our honeymoon 14 years ago.

Departing Aklan on Day 12 became a bit of a challenge as inclement weather made the seas rough—an experience not suited for those who easily suffer from motion sickness.

After a four-hour rocky boat ride to Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, we were famished and exhausted.

It was pouring cats and dogs as we exited the port of this sleepy town, and searched for a place to eat. Apparently, the small municipality also had a power outage and was extra dark, but we were fortunate to have found a tiny eatery that served some good bulalo.

We retired at what felt like a sailor’s inn just to get enough rest for the early departure the next day.

Relentless rain welcomed our morning for Day 13 as we set our sights on the drive home. Brando Rosales, my car partner for this whole journey, and I had a brief discussion on how BMW ConnectedDrive created a much more pleasant navigation experience throughout the road trip.

As we cruised northbound to Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, with nearly 3,000km on our trip meter, the weather switched from rainy to sunny halfway through. As we approached the port taking us to Batangas, everyone was excited to catch our last ferry for this adventure as calm waters and blue skies lined our course.

Arriving at Batangas Port, we did a quick photo documentation with our Philippine loop passports before driving another 110km back to where it all started. A strong sense of fulfillment and relief came over us as we finally made it back to RSA Motors in Greenhills. This marked the end of the south loop.

After covering a total distance of 3,125km of southern Philippine roads, I couldn’t help but love our country more for its beauty, culture, and even quirks. What an epic adventure it was, conquered with no less than the ultimate driving machines.

North loop, here we come.