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Below you will find relevant details about
traveling to, in and from the Philippines. Visit
our [Directory] for details about tour
operators, accommodation and services.
Our [Multimedia] area
will feature a
choice of Slideshows and Videos, soon. |
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Traveling to and from the Philippines
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By
Air |
| Manila and
Cebu are the only two major international airports serving as entry
points. |
| The flag carrier and
others offer flights between the Philippines and most large Asian
cities, as well as Australia, New Zealand, some European capitals
and the USA. There are also flights between Davao in Mindanao and
Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. |
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By
Ship |
As the Philippines are not on
regular major cruise routes this option is somewhat limited and
unreliable. However, there are occasional boat charters and ferries from
Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively.
Still, as regulations are unclear, waters are at times 'unsafe' and
regional navies are said to be 'trigger happy' when enforcing disputed
regional sea boundaries, airlines are the means of choice. |
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Traveling in the Philippines |
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Local
transport includes
- jeepneys
(reconstructed jeeps, some barely showing
signs of the original design)
- metered taxis
- PU-Cabs (small
taxis without meters)
- tricycles
(motorbikes with sidecars)
- trishaws
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Tourist
Destinations |
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Manila - |
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Manila is a modern-looking
city - a result of virtual destruction during WWII - but
the sprawling city boasts its fair share of colonial
ruins - enough to keep those historically inclined
amused for a while, anyway. |
| If
you're looking for a good time, Manila could
be just the ticket: bars and entertainment
venues could keep you well fed, well greased
and in the party mood for months on end.
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| There is a
high-profile tacky downside to the flashing neon,
but there are plenty of options open to you even
if you don't want nude dancers on your table. If
you make it back to your room at night after all
the fun and frolics, you're likely to be
exhausted. |
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Palawan - |
| Palawan
island is about 450 kilometers south-west of
the capitol Manila, and offers some of the
most breathtaking sceneries. |
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El
Nido is a small village in the north of
Palawan. You can fly from Manila to El Nido
with a small Japanese Airline called Soriano
in only 60 minutes. Their main goal is to
transport Japanese tourists to the resorts
close to El Nido, but when seats are
available in the (small) plane (max. 20
people) you can buy yourselves in. |
| From
El Nido you can rent a boat for a day and
sail over the Bacuit Archipel, where you
will find blue lagoons, white beaches,
enormous views and a fresh dip into the sea. |
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There
is also a
boat service to Sabang. The high-light there
is the underground river in the St. Pauls
Subterrenean Park, which is the largest
underground river in the world with a length
of about 7 km.
To get to the river you can either take a
boat or hike trough the jungle. |
| Further
there is a bus service to Puerto Princessa,
the island administrative centre. While the
town itself has not too much to offer, the
bus trip on winding roads through rain
forests is well worth the trip. |
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Negros - |
| Together
with a number of neighboring islands (like
Cebu, Leyte, Panay and Bohol) , Negros is
part of the Visayas-region. This island is
knows for it's enormous sugar production
with almost 60% of the country's sugar cane
plantations. |
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Mambucal
boasts a number of tourist resorts and the
surrounding areas offer nature's splendors
in form of waterfalls, rice terraces, hot
springs and had a marvelous view over the
complete island of Negros as well as a great
collection of large tropical butterflies. |
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From
Bacolod you can do excursions to the
surrounding villages, such as Ma-ao and
Mambucal which offers a perfect view of
Kanleon volcano, nearby.
Dumaguette is in the southeast of the
island, famous for culinary delights and
infamous for an unusually high concentration
of western expatriates. |
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Bohol -
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| Tagbilaran
on Bohol is easily reached by boat from
Dumaguette, which operate twice daily. |
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Alona
Beach, on Panglao, near Tagbilaran is a
favorite tourist spot in the area with
beautiful beaches and great coral reef
diving.
Loboc, also
reached from Tagbilaran, is another well
developed tourist destination on the banks
of Loboc river and boasts the famous
Chocolate Hills closeby [about 25km]. |
| The
Chocolate Hills are a strange phenomenon.
There are about 1250 (!!!) hills overgrown
with grass, which are almost of the same height
and some of which vaguely resemble pyramids.
At the end of the dry season the grass turns
brown, so they look like (with a little
imagination) hills of chocolate. |
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No
one knows exactly how these hills were
formed, but of course there are plenty of
mystic tales.
Local folklore claims: 'Arogo, a young
and very strong giant fell in love with an
ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she
died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. The
Chocolate Hills are claimed to be the proof
of Arogo's grief, for his tears turned into
hills'. |
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Bantayan - |
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Santa
Fe on Bantayan island northwest off Cebu is
easily reached from Cebu city via Hagnaya. The
island itself is pretty small, but has some
potential to become a great place for
travelers.
Pristine, white beaches and amazing clear blue
waters and
several categories of accommodation, without
the over- crowdedness of many other tourist
destinations make Santa Fe's budding tourist
industry a 'secret tip'. |
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About
7 km from Santa Fe is Bantayan City, the
island's capital.
The road to there is full of chicken and egg
farms of all sizes and shapes, the mainstay of
the island's economy.
Bantayan City itself has many tranquil areas
and city squares where one can just sit and
watch the hustle and bustle of everyday life
pass by. |
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Mactan - |
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Mactan is one of the
best developed tourist areas, specially catering to
the more luxurious market segment, such as visitors
from Japan and Executives from other countries in
the region.
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General Information |
ACCOMMODATION
It is usually easy to find a range of hotels and lodgings at most tourist destinations,
even the more off-beat ones.
For the more budget conscious traveler it is recommendable to shop around,
as prices tend to differ a great deal. |
| CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE
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Like most other ASEAN
currencies, the Philippine Peso took a serious beating during the
Asian crisis.
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Philippine
pesos (P) per US$1 |
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51.082
(Nov 2000)
39.089 (1999)
29.471 (1997) |
40.427
(Jan 2000)
40.893 (1998)
26.216 (1996) |
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- Budget meal: US$2-3
- Restaurant meal: US$4-5
- Top-end meal: US$12-15
- Budget room: US$4-5
- Mid-range hotel: US$15-20
- Top-end hotel: US$150-400
courtesy of Lonely Planet
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CLOTHING
Light, loose cotton clothing is best. Nylon should be avoided. Sweaters are
needed during Cool Season evenings or if visiting mountainous areas and remote national
parks. Jackets and ties are required in certain restaurants and night-clubs. |
ELECTRICITY
The electric current is 220 Volt AC (50 cycles) throughout the country.
There different types of plugs and sockets in use. Travelers with shavers, tape recorders
and other appliances should bring fitting plug-adapter kits.
110 Volt transformers are often available in top rated hotels. |
PHOTOGRAPHY
Major international film manufacturers offer excellent developing and photo finishing
services throughout the country. Instant developing can be done in most
tourist destinations and larger townships.
Popular films are available countrywide at reasonable prices. |
NEWSPAPERS AND
MAGAZINES
Both, local and foreign English-language papers and magazines are widely
available throughout the main towns in the country. |
RADIO AND TELEVISION
With over 30 local and foreign TV channels and
over 650 radio stations, the Philippines offers a huge variety of
English-language and local entertainment. |
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Rules and Regulations |
IMMIGRATION
For visitors from most countries twenty-one day visas are issued on
arrival. Fifty-nine day visas can be obtained in advance and cost around
US$35. |
HEALTH REGULATIONS
There have been reports of some low-levels of cholera, hepatitis, malaria
and rabies, so the more fainthearted might want to consider vaccination
prior to visiting more outlying parts of the country. |
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