Are the vendors on Boracay as bad as they say?

Baloney.

hmm, maybe this will start a discussion but its my opinion.<BR>Me i dont like it myself they keep asking me sunglasses etc. etc. but they have to make a living.
And they come all the way up from mindanao to boracay, subic etc. coz thats where the tourists are.<BR>I met a couple of really nice vendors from zamboanga city in barrio barreta.<BR>They told me i am invited in their houses whenever im in zamboanga, and i did visit them and they gave me a warm welcome no strings attached believe me.
Never seen an aggresive vendor, a bit annoying: yes.
But they are trying to sell and if you dont ask you will not sell anything.<BR>Only thing i dont understand, why call it Muslim vendors association.
So back to your question greg r they that bad, the answer is no. Go to Boracay and enjoy.

wherever in the world you travel, you'll find vendors and touts in the most touristy areas. yes there are many vendors in boracay but as nr1gwapo says, they're more likely to be slightly annoying than aggressive. you have to ask yourself whether you're prepared to put up with potential small annoyances in exchange for spending some time in a place as beautiful as boracay. i personally found the other tourists more anoying than the vendors! and you can't blame them for trying to make some money. in myh mind nowhere near good enough a reason to not go.

Im just returned from Boracay... They are trying to make a living but get on your nerves coz asking you to buy sunglasses, massages, go sailing, ATV.... etc
Be firm & decline their offer... I had to say "No, Thanks" many times when im strolling down from station 2 to 3.

They sound like the touts on Kuta. While very annoying, I think I can handle that. I posted this question because the Wiki Travel page made it sound like the Muslim vendors of Boracay were something above and beyond what I have experienced in the past (on Kuta, Samui). The example given of a tout tugging on one's arm while he's taking a photo and of tourists walking around with tee shirts that say "NO SUNGLASSES! NO SCUBA! NO MESSAGES! NO GO SAILING!" had me worried.

I was there 3 weeks ago for 10 days. The vendors were the primary reason I left. From my experience, all I can say is yes, yes, yes to the description of the vendors being overly aggressive/pestering. They hammer you one after another on the path from station 3 to station 1. The Muslim vendors I saw were mostly hawking pearls. (Who wears pearls, for God's sake?) I didn't think they were any worse than the non-Muslim vendors. I like the t-shirt idea and had actually thought of writing the word, "NO!" on a large piece of cardboard and flashing it as I walked the main drag.

It just wore me out trying to ignore so much of that in-your-face hype, as well as thinking every local there was hustling me one way or another. I think some people are blessed with the capacity to tune out that kind of stimuli. Obviously, I'm not one of them.

Definitely a buzz-kill for me. Just my 2 centavos.

Never experienced the in your face thing in Boracay (both on busiest and quieter times). Also, sometimes just not responding/acknowledging their presence pretty much sends the message. Or tune out if you can do that (I can).

The touts in Kuta (and even those sellers at the Poppies Lane) are far worst. A lady grabbed me and insisted I sit on a chair in their stall to braid my hair. I was simply walking to go to the beach.

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<hr>Who wears pearls, for God's sake?<hr></blockquote>
raises hand

worst than KUTA, but BORA touters are just normal.KUTA is the worst, I was almost killed..

I second (third) that!! Kuta is the very worst for getting hassled by touts. If you haven't been there, you'd have a hard time imagining how bad it is.