Travel to the Pilippines

[cdnlngld]

We are planning on taking a family trip to the Philippines over spring break. Planning on 10 days.
Travel cost there is kinda high, but food, lodging, and excoursions are realatively inexpensive. The Philipines are a largly underrated and less traveled destination with some increadible scenery and world class snorkeling.

Does anyone have any experience in the Philippines, and do you have any pointers.

It has been a hot minute since I have done any overseaas travel, but can't wait to share a little adventure with my wife and kids!

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

What do you want to know? How old are your kids and what is their experience with overseas travel? What about non-western country experience? It can be more difficult to figure things out compared to European countries or even places like Thailand. And I wouldn’t call it exactly kid friendly.

Figure out where the red light district is in each city you visit. Might not be the best area to stumble upon with a family.

Probably best to avoid Mindanao.

Bus schedules are more suggestions than hard and fast rules. So just show up and get on the next bus.

Don’t take a taxi or tuktuk without agreeing to a price ahead of time. Since I’m assuming you don’t look Filipino and don’t speak the language, be prepared to pay at least double but it’s still cheap compared to the US. Their version of uber is called Grab, do this from the airport or get scammed by the airport taxi cartel.

Print things out like tickets or reservations when moving hotels or airport, mobile internet is randomly spotty even in major metros like Manila.

What time of year are you going? It’s hot as hell and as humid as Louisiana. Be prepared to find a place to wash clothes if you’re staying there for a length of time, I changed a couple times some days because of all the sweat.

It’s pretty safe but overly friendly people are seen as ripe for scamming, so be respectful but not too nice if strangers come up to you. I found the scams to be fairly obvious but when you’re stressed with a family to care after I could see some things slip your mind.

I had a gaggle of Filipinos with me when I went with a minor amount of time alone so it was obviously a bit easier for me to have multiple people that knew the area and language.

Beautiful country. Enjoy

 

[4cy16]

My dad was over there during WWII, I'll ask for his thoughts.

 

[BCClone]

Some guy on here is married to someone from there I believe. Cant remember whom.

 

[JP4CY]

My dad was over there during WWII, I'll ask for his thoughts.

Hello Mr MacArthur.

 

[dmclone]

All I know is that Manila has a lot of call center agents for American based companies.

 

[cytor]

If you are a young airline pilot, I hear they do very well over there with the ladies.

 

[Arkansas Cyclone]

We are planning on taking a family trip to the Philippines over spring break. Planning on 10 days.
Travel cost there is kinda high, but food, lodging, and excoursions are realatively inexpensive. The Philipines are a largly underrated and less traveled destination with some increadible scenery and world class snorkeling.

Does anyone have any experience in the Philippines, and do you have any pointers.

It has been a hot minute since I have done any overseaas travel, but can't wait to share a little adventure with my wife and kids!

I've been to the Philippines 4 times now and, fingers crossed, we're headed back in 2026. It's an amazing country and the people are so welcoming and nice. The food is amazing. Also, Filipinos like to refer to Americans as Joe so don't be surprised if you hear "Hey Joe" at some point while you're there.

I don't know what part of the Philippines you plan to stay in but if you're any sort of a history buff there are a couple of places you might like to take in. One of the places I'd recommend is MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial National Park located at Palo on Leyte Island in Eastern Visayas. There are statues of MacArthur and his troops coming onshore of the island when the Philippines was liberated from Japan.

Another historic landmark I visited on one of my trips was the Fort Santiago located in Intramuros (the walled city) in Manila built in the 1500's I believe. A Philippine national hero was executed there in 1896. Look for the bronze footsteps that represents his final walk from his cell to the site where he was executed.

If you want to see amazing architecture, visit the Simala Church in Cebu which was built as a dedication to the Virgin Mary. I haven't been able to see this one yet but it's top of my list on the next trip. Known for its European Castle-like design, it's also known for stories of healing and I guess there's actually a display of crutches, wheelchairs, medical reports and such that represents the miracles experienced by the faithful. The wife has been there several times.

If you're into beautiful scenery and resorts, check out the island of Boracay in Western Visayas. I haven't been there yet but it's also high on my list for the next trip there and comes highly recommended.

Ride a Jeepney. Yeah, they'll cram as many people as they can in the back but if you're going to the Philippines you need to experience it at least one time. If you take a taxi just beware that the drivers tend to be scammers. And check out the open air markets. I've always been intrigued by the outriggers coming in every morning with pineapple that was freshly picked hours ago.

Traffic there is at another level especially in Manila. So much honking and weaving in and out, stuff you don't see here, at least not to that extent. It'll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and can be a little nerve-racking. Also it's not uncommon to see very small children wander through the traffic in an attempt to sell stuff which had me cringe-worthy. Also, be aware of the street kids wherever you go. They will attempt to follow you around and beg for money. Don't give into them. They're just pocket-sized scammers.

That's just a few things off the top of my head from my experiences but there are many, many more things to experience depending on which part of the Philippines you'll be staying.

 

[cdnlngld]

What do you want to know? How old are your kids and what is their experience with overseas travel? What about non-western country experience? It can be more difficult to figure things out compared to European countries or even places like Thailand. And I wouldn’t call it exactly kid friendly.

Figure out where the red light district is in each city you visit. Might not be the best area to stumble upon with a family.

Probably best to avoid Mindanao.

Bus schedules are more suggestions than hard and fast rules. So just show up and get on the next bus.

Don’t take a taxi or tuktuk without agreeing to a price ahead of time. Since I’m assuming you don’t look Filipino and don’t speak the language, be prepared to pay at least double but it’s still cheap compared to the US. Their version of uber is called Grab, do this from the airport or get scammed by the airport taxi cartel.

Print things out like tickets or reservations when moving hotels or airport, mobile internet is randomly spotty even in major metros like Manila.

What time of year are you going? It’s hot as hell and as humid as Louisiana. Be prepared to find a place to wash clothes if you’re staying there for a length of time, I changed a couple times some days because of all the sweat.

It’s pretty safe but overly friendly people are seen as ripe for scamming, so be respectful but not too nice if strangers come up to you. I found the scams to be fairly obvious but when you’re stressed with a family to care after I could see some things slip your mind.

I had a gaggle of Filipinos with me when I went with a minor amount of time alone so it was obviously a bit easier for me to have multiple people that knew the area and language.

Beautiful country. Enjoy

We are going to Palawan to be more specific.

Taking the wife +5 of my kids 10, 12, 16,, 18 and 21(+fiance).

We will be spending most of our time on beaches/in the water. Plan on staying on the house boats on Coron for about 3 nights, seeing the worlds longest underground river(world heratige site), and doing several island excoursions.

We won't be in any large population centers for long periods of time if at all(arival and departure).

Palawan has been developed mostly for tourism, but isn't overly developed, but quickly becoming a popular destination.

We will be going in mid-march as that is the dry season(less waves and almost no rain).

My wife and I have been to Hawaii twice, I have spent some time in Tokyo, south Korea, Europe, and Paraguay, the kids have done no international travel before, so their first is going to be a long one.

 

[4cy16]

Hello Mr MacArthur.

My dad has passed but he was in the Navy during WWII and was in the Phiippines.

 

[cdnlngld]

Bookings are all done! The only thing left is to book our flight from Manila to Puerto princessa and from Coron to Manila!

We did end up getting the houseboats for three nights and I absolutely cannot wait for that. It will be the highlight of the trip.

For those tht have been before; 1. How much $PHP should I plan on carrying? 2. how prevelent are ATMs and will I be able to access my bank account with debit cards. 3. How hard will it be to find transport from the airport(puerta princessa) to the hotel for 9 people?

Anyway, for those looking for a travel destination I will try and have a fair review of the trip. So far planning has been fairly easy. We did go through a travel agient for most of the bookings. I did do plane tickets and the Coron houseboats on my own.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'm excited for you. My parents went there a decade or so ago, and it was an interesting trip. I think they liked the more urban areas, but some of the more rural locations were pretty eye opening for them.

I feel like their experience with money was different, but in Manila, and other urban centers, cards were fine. But off the beaten path, they definitely needed cash, but they were also traveling with a local.

 

[CMFunk]

I’ve shaved a ton off my long-haul business trips by booking through https://travelbusinessclass.com, and having a dedicated advisor made tweaks to my itinerary way less of a headache. The hidden fares they dig up can be wild, so it might be worth a peek if you’re trying to keep costs down without giving up the comfy seats.