Philippines Travel Guide

As an island nation separated by thousands of kilometers of seas, the Philippines is mostly reachable only by plane even from within Southeast Asia. There are few passenger ships, and ports may have limited facilities for immigration and customs processing.

The Philippine peso (or piso), ISO code: PHP, is the official currency and is the only currency used for most transactions. It is usually denoted by the symbol "₱" (prefixing prices using P without the double strike or PHP is also common, especially amongst those who type prices or amounts on their computers or phones as the "₱" symbol isn't straightforward to generate on keyboards). One peso is subdivided into 100 centavos (or sentimo), denoted with the symbol ¢ (or c). Wikivoyage uses ₱ for pesos.

The country's vast archipelagic nature makes travel by plane and boat very important for most visitors, especially between major cities. The country is quite large, especially when considering the area that is water, and its geography and population patterns mean that seemingly short distances, especially on land, may take more time to travel than you would expect.

The Philippines has two official languages: English and Filipino. Both are used in education and most Filipinos speak at least some of both, though proficiency in either varies quite widely. Filipino, the national language, is a standardized version of Tagalog, the language spoken around Metro Manila and much of southern and central Luzon. There are also dialects spoken in the southern Tagalog provinces, the most notable being the Batangas dialect with the catchy interjection ala eh and its voca…

Since the transition to democracy, the Philippines suffers from crime, corruption, and ongoing insurgencies. While foreign governments and the media exaggerate the threats, the country is, by and large, peaceful except for some regions experiencing low-level insurgencies. Crime levels in major cities are relatively comparable to those in American cities.

Drink the readily available bottled water. Buko juice (coconut water) is also safe if they have not added local ice to it. Be wary of buko juice vendors as some vendors create it out of tap water mixed with sugar. Buy and eat fruit that has not already been cut up. Cooked food from a carinderia (outdoor canteen) is okay if there is a fire under the pots and the food has been kept hot.

The international dialling prefix to make an overseas call from the Philippines is 00. Phone numbers in the Philippines have the format +63 35 539-0605. The country code for the Philippines is 63. The next one, two or three digits are the area code, and the remaining 7 digits are the "local" part of the number that can be called from within that area without dialing the area code. You must dial "0" in front of the area code from outside that area code when still within the Philippines.

Filipinos are hospitable, friendly and polite, but cultural norms differ drastically from much of the West. Much of Filipino etiquette borrows from East Asian and Hispanic culture.

Politics and sensitive issues

Filipinos are generally engaged in national politics. While it is common for locals to show support or discontent toward the government, foreign criticism of the country or its politicians is hardly appreciated and may be seen as insulting.

The Philippines is a multicultural country having Christian, Muslim and Buddhist holidays in addition to secular holidays. The year is welcomed by New Year's Day on 1 Jan. Being a predominantly Catholic country means observing the traditional Catholic holidays of Maundy Thursday (Huwebes Santo), Good Friday (Biyernes Santo or Mahal na Araw), and Easter Sunday (Araw ng Pagkabuhay) during Holy Week (Semana Santa). During Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), Boy Scouts re-enact the Bataan Death March…