Flights
Direct connections from the Gulf, across Asia and from North America to Manila, Cebu and Clark. From Europe there is usually one stop; fourteen to eighteen hours in total. Manila's main airport has several terminals that are far apart — allow real time between a domestic and an international connection, and confirm which terminal each flight uses.
Getting around
Domestic flights are cheap and frequent and are how the country moves; ferries connect the islands more slowly. Within cities, the jeepney and the tricycle are the local transport and part of the experience. Manila traffic is among the worst in the world: a fifteen-kilometre crossing can take two hours, and this must be built into any plan.
When to come
December to May is the dry season and the best window, with January to March the most comfortable. June to November is the wet and typhoon season, with the heaviest disruption from August to October. Holy Week and Christmas are the two great domestic travel peaks — flights and ferries sell out weeks ahead and prices double.
Orders of magnitude
| Return flight from Europe | €700 to €1,200 |
|---|---|
| Mid-range hotel night | PHP 2,500 to 6,000 |
| Local restaurant meal | PHP 150 to 600 |
| Domestic flight | PHP 2,000 to 6,000 booked ahead |
What holds everywhere
- Insurance covering medical costs and repatriation stops being optional as soon as local healthcare is limited. Check it actually covers the destination: many policies exclude areas under adverse travel advice.
- Carry cash. In much of the world cards work in the big cities and nowhere else. Check the ATM situation and your bank's charges before leaving.
- Leave margin on connections. A tight transfer on a thinly served route is expensive: the next flight may be tomorrow, or in three days.
- The real budget runs over two years, not one trip: repeated flights, paperwork, translations, legalisations, any support sent. It is always underestimated.