Ask me your Philippines Questions!

So my 1 year RTW trip has morphed into something quite a bit more (since I left April 1 2008), and though I hadn't even planned to be in the Philippines, it has been 3 months (and counting!) and I am really enjoyng it here. There aren't very many posts and/or discussions about the Phils, so I wanted to put up an 'ask away!' post - especially since everyone here was so helpful in my initial planning/panic stages. I've got a few posts up about the Philippines on my blog already, but if anyone has specific questions about places to stay/see/do, feel free to reply.

-Jodi

Well I'll happily take the opportunity if no-one else will.

I'm thinking of spending about five weeks in the Philippines this new years and january. I'm looking for a bit of advice about finding accommodation.

In my previous travels I've never really pre-booked anything, preferring to turn up and see what's available, get recommendations from other travellers and the hostels themselves. I've heard conflicting stories about the Philippines on this - some say it's far too risky and you need to pre-book everything, others that it's fine to turn up, and only really need to book around big festivals.

What's your experience been regarding this?

Hi Josh. Itend to like the same type of travel as you, and rarely book ahead. The Philippines was no exception and worked out fine each time, with the exception of Holy Week (the Easter week in April) when most of the country decides to up and travel, and most hotels are booked for weeks in advance. Otherwise, I just turned up as I went along, or if I got a reco I liked from another traveler I'd ring them the night before to make a reservation. The higher end places do tend to get booked up quickly, but if you are backpacking you shouldn't have a problem. Even El Nido, which the Lonely Planet claims has a scarcity of lodging, is an easy place to find a room.

hope this helps!
Jodi

I've been considering adding the Philippines onto my itinerary as I travel through SE Asia and the South Pacific. But I've been hearing that its much more expensive than other countries in that region. So I was wondering if you could give me some idea of what daily costs might be. This would be with hostels/guesthouses as lodging and eating cheaply. Is it expensive to travel around once you're there? Thanks!

Hi Spork. It is definitely a bit more expensive here than in Laos or Cambodia, as well as certain parts of Thailand - but absolutely not cost prohibitive. I wouldn't characterize it as much more expensive - the domestic travel (buses, boats, airlines) are the same cost as elsewhere in SEA, if not cheaper. The primary difference is that, on average, the accommodation will run you more than other SEA countries, and that there is little street food to be eaten here.

In Manila, dorms run for 350 pesos a night (7.30$) and rooms in the Visayas were 300-500 pesos. In Palawan, you can find a single room (double bed, incl. bath or shared bath, depending on the city) for 400-500 pesos. Foodwise, there are toro-toro (literally, point-point) places where dishes are 30-60 pesos each (60 pesos is 1.25$) but they are few and far between (i.e. 1 or 2 per town, instead of many street vendors) and restaurants will run you between 100-200 pesos for a meal.

There is no question you can live cheaply here, and if my 3+ months here are any indication, it's a great place to travel. There are almost no tourists compared to elsewhere in Asia and the diversity of the landscape is unbelievable.

Jodi

Mabuhay from Boracay! Great to read your post, Jodi! Like I usually warn some budget travelers TAKE CARE when you're visiting the Philippines as you may never want to leave. I arrived Jan 1980 heading for the Filipino Mardis gras in Kalibo and discovered Boracay Island's White sand beach.

I had planned to stay only 2 months and after 4 + months didn't feel like leaving, sort of freaked out flew back to Thailand to meet an old friend from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, after two weeks got homesick and felt COMPELLED to go back to the Philippiens ONE LAST TIME before heading back to the States. When I flew to flew from Chicago to Frankfurt with my hometown girlfriend I'd thought I'd be gone maybe 6 months to one year max kept living life spontaneously until almost 4 years had passed.

A small correction to Manila room and bedspace rates. At our guest house style Townhosue Hotel / hostel bedspaces are nearly half the P350 you mentioned, P180 with weekly discounts of one night FREE ( P1080 ( U$22 )/ week ) and monthly discounts of 6 nights FREE ( P4320 ( U$90 ) / month ) and private rooms from P300 to P950 with the same discounts. To learn more I just posted a list of 100 bars and clubs listed on a Filipino forum called Manila Tonight on my yahoogroup,"lifeinthephilippines".

I'm probably heading to the Philippines later in my RTW trip, and may have up to six weeks to spend there. I've already read a fair bit about the attractions of Manila & Luzon, Boracay & Palawan...but that still leaves a hell of a lot of islands I know nothing about.

Can you suggest any other highlights, especially any that have something different to offer to the three I've mentioned above, or that are a bit more off the beaten track?

Camiguin Island off the northern coast of Mindanao has hot springs, the Hibok Hibok volcano to climb, good snorkelng and diving. Then not so far by overland is Siargao Island's surfing destination.

Then depending on your schedule there's the Whale Sharks in the Bicol region of southern Luzon off of Donsol, Sorsogon. And then might as well check out Mayon Volcano the world's most perfect cone.

Or Bohol Island's Chocolate Hills and Tarsier widlife with nearby Alona Beach on Panglao Island not so far from Tagbilaran where you can fly out to Manila or Cebu City.

Off the northern tip of Cebu there's Malapascua Island ( NE ) and Bantayan Island ( NW ) both with white sand beaches.

Then for scuba diving there' North Pandan Island off the west coast of Mindoro Island. Most of these are off the beaten track.

itinerantlondoner wrote:I'm probably heading to the Philippines later in my RTW trip, and may have up to six weeks to spend there. I've already read a fair bit about the attractions of Manila & Luzon, Boracay & Palawan...but that still leaves a hell of a lot of islands I know nothing about.

Can you suggest any other highlights, especially any that have something different to offer to the three I've mentioned above, or that are a bit more off the beaten track?

Hi, Siquijor in Negros Oriental is also a really nice island. Quiet and still in touch with nature, not too commercialized like Boracay. Another island near there is Apo Island, which is famous for divers. Both islands are not as developed as Boracay so the number of tourists is not as huge which also means there won't be a lot of scammers as well. But they (including Dumaguete) are very tourist friendly. The people are very helpful with tourists, chatty and just downright nice.

For surfing, you can also go to La Union.

If you're already in Bicol, you might want to go wakeboarding in CamSur. I think it's the best wakeboarding complex in Asia (I think).

Another nice diving spot that's cheaper is in Anilao, Batangas. Try Planet Dive.

Am looking to head to Phillipines for a 2 day diving trip in Nov. Can you recommend some good dive sites (i.e lots of marine life) close to manilla, am willing to travel max 1hr by plane from manilla.

Thanks.

Kim Li wrote:Am looking to head to Phillipines for a 2 day diving trip in Nov.

There are amazing dive sites found in Anilao, which is a 3 to 4 hour drive from Manila. If you're interested, you can check out some of the popular resorts in the area:

http://www.aquareefclub.com/about.html
http://www.planetdive.com.ph/
http://www.eaglepoint.com.ph/

If you're willing to get on a plane for some great scuba diving, you may want to check out Palawan (airport: Puerto Princesa), where the bio-diversity is amazing. El Nido Resorts are a popular choice in the area.

http://www.elnidoresorts.com/

i too plan on traveling in the dec/jan timeframe and had a few questions:

i tend to travel backpackerish style as JoshT does (prev post), but for the last week of december i'd like to stay in nicer accomodations. certainly not luxury but a few steps above hostal. i haven't decided on a location yet in the phils but would it make sense to book it in advance for the holidays?

as well, are flights between hong kong and the phils generally available for last minute bookers during dec/jan timeframe or do they get booked up in advance and get cost-prohibitive?

thanks!

Hi, I'll be going to Philippine to visit IRRI. Anyone know the place? What hotel should I stay which is near to airport and IRRI? How much does the cost? Since my company only give me little budget on this journey

Hi, namehere, yup I think it will be better if you pre-book your accomodations for december. for january (january 4 onwards, when school have started again), it would be easier to find a room last minute.

there a lot of flights between hong kong and the philippines and the provinces (philippine airlines, cebupacific) but it's going to be difficult to book flights going into the philippines during christmas and new year. flights are going to be really expensive, if not fully booked by now. it might be better to avoid the holiday rush, like after january 4. unless you want to see how philippines celebrate the holidays

namehere wrote:i too plan on traveling in the dec/jan timeframe and had a few questions:

i tend to travel backpackerish style as JoshT does (prev post), but for the last week of december i'd like to stay in nicer accomodations. certainly not luxury but a few steps above hostal. i haven't decided on a location yet in the phils but would it make sense to book it in advance for the holidays?

as well, are flights between hong kong and the phils generally available for last minute bookers during dec/jan timeframe or do they get booked up in advance and get cost-prohibitive?

thanks!

Thanks Jodi! Its great to see more talk about the Philippines...its one amazing country that does not get nearly enough air time that it deserves. I wonder why? Anyway thanks again.