When you start to plan trip to this country is great to know few tips. For few of them I would kill, to know them before my travels. But truth is that we, start planing our trip when we came out the plane on Cebu Island, not before 😀 So, I literally did’t know ANYTHING about this country when I left home 🙂
So here are tips and tricks, which will make your trip so much easier and cheaper 🙂
- First of all, If you wanna sleep a little bit during your travels for sure pack with you pair of earplugs.. There are cocks, everywhere, more cocks more Philippines or I don’t know, but they are everywhere and they are on speed or some drugs, because they start to yell or crow or whatever, really loudly at midnight and they have no problem to finish at 7am. #IdiotsOnDrugs #iHateThemTillNow
- How to go somewhere, you can ask anyone, local people are very friendly and they are really trying to help, they gave us so much tips for accommodation and other stuff. #nicePeople
- There is small problem with ATM, almost every ATM will give you just 5000 – 10 000 Pesos, and you always pay for transaction 250 pesos, but we found out that Metro bank ATM has unlimited transactions, so you pay 250 pesos, but you can take even 20.000 Pesos. #MetroBankRules
- Bargain for everything and always start on minimal 50% of their first price. If you don’t you will really screw up the economics of country and prices for others… I know that their price what they say is not so much, so why bargain, but believe me even 50% is enough 🙂 and later you will find out.
- Taxi – White ones are cheaper but always bargain the price, they always try to tell you that its really far and so on, but every time from 40 minutes story was 10 minutes and we were pissed off. And the same is with Tricycles. Same story with 50% price and its better to find out how far is it on google maps, because then their give you better price without lies.
- Taxi on air port – on the air port in Manila there is bus going on all 4 terminals, but, if you don’t have time or they will send you on wrong terminal like us, than you need to take taxi. They will try story wit 3000 pesos and how far it is between terminal. Bullshit again, its up to 10 minutes between terminals and maximum price is 150 pesos, this is something I would like to know before, because from their super story about far far away and 3000 pesos, we were feeling like winners when we bargain on 1000 pesos. But it was again something what we didn’t know before 😀
- And last thing for Tricycles in few cities like Puerto Princesa (Palawan) and Dumaguete (Negros) you pay 8 pesos per person per ride!!! So don’t give them more 🙂
- Scooters – it’s really safe to ride scooters on islands, don’t pay more than 300 pesos per day every where and not more than 500 pesos on Palawan. Just always ask about their rules, because every island has their own ruler for helmets. On Bohol no one rides with helmet but on Camiguin it is not allowed to ride without. Local people are riding very safe and when they see foreign on scooter they always let you go first and they drove really safely around us 🙂 Only one thing is there really dangerous, during night they sometimes ride without lights, so you don’t see them, or other extreme they ride with high beam lights so again you do not see anything… But still most dangerous things on their roads are not people, but DOGS and COCKS… they are everywhere and you never know where they go… So be very careful 🙂 #niceDrivers
- And check scooters before you rent them, because sometimes brakes are not working, or lights or other stuff, you don’t need drivers lessons for motorbikes, just for car and our european drivers licence was ok, for everyone.
- If you don’t prepare for this travel so much like us, and you plan it during travels or a week before, than we find out that buying Air plane ticket is more cheaper directly on airport and even you can find there flights that are not online, just go to air port ask around the offices and you will easily find better price, just be prepared that you will pay cash and you can have maximum just 15kg luggage.
This are my tips which I find out very helpful and I would spent much less money If I knew 🙂
Other tips, what to see and where to go and where I was in other articles… coming soon.
Please write other tips in comments and help other traveler too :-*
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@mia.borntoliveworldwide
XoXo Mia :-*
Summary
Article Name
Backpacking in Philippines
Description
What is good to know about Philippines before you go 🙂 Tips and tricks!
Author
Mia
