Philippines

FITA helps you find
service providers for:

Translation Services

Traveling in the Philippines

Passport and visa service: Information on visas from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Information on passports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Visa HQ
Diplomatic representations: List of diplomatic representations of the Philippines

Recommendation: For traveling within Manila, the taxi is the most recommended means of transport. The bus network is very developed but has reached saturation. There are three metro lines which serve part of the town.
Maps of urban networks: Maporama
UT Library on line
Mapblast

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car rental
Manila Intl - Ninoy Aquino (MNL)	8 km / 5 miles	PHP 380-450 or USD 6-9 / 15-30 min	PHP 50 / 45 min		Available

Recommendation: The Philippine islands are well provided with air lines, bus networks, as well as ferries. On the other hand railroads are used only in the southern part of the islands (connection between Manila and Legazpi).
Rail companies: Philippine National Railways

Recommendation: It is not advisable for foreigners to drive because of bad road conditions, and the rather risky driving of the Filipinos. It is thus recommended to rent a chauffeur-driven car.
Road maps: Omni Maps
Find an itinerary: Maps of World

Historical: The Saint - Agustin church, the cathedral of Manila, the Chinese cemetery of Manila, the Casa Manila, the Rizal park, the Santiago fort, intramural Manila, Manila metropolitan area.
Cultural: The national museum, the Jumalon museum, the Arcenas collection, the Aznar - Alfonso collection.
Nature: Rice plantations of Banaue, island of Palawan (diving and discovery of natural phenomena ), volcanoes of the islands of Visayas, Mindanao, mountain ranges on the island of Luzon.
Religious: Our Lady of Antipolo Church, Tonay Church, Saint - Jerôme Church, Baras Church, Church of the ruins of Boso - Boso.
Thermal: Hot springs in Cebu, and Manila.
Beach: The Philippines being an archipelago, one finds numerous fine sand beaches there.
Winter sports: Inexistent.
Outdoor activities: Jet ski, windsurfing, surfing, diving, and hiking.
Shopping: Makati (Manila) Ermita District.

Top highlights of the capital city
The intramural city
Chinatown
Rizal Park
National Museum
Santiago Fort
San Agustin Church
Manila Cathedral

Top highlights of the country
Banaue rice fields
Spanish city of Vigan
Puerto Galera
Sohoton National Park
San Juanico Bridge
Chocolate Hills

Health precautions: A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required from travelers who are more one year old and coming from infected zones. The risk of malaria exists throughout the year in zones below 600 m, except in the provinces of Bohol, Catanduanes and Cebu and in the suburbs of Manila. The risk is low in the provinces of Aklan, Biliran, Camiguin, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, Leyte del Sur, Northern Samar and Siquijor. It is estimated that there is no risk in the urban areas and the plains. Resistance of P. falciparum to chloroquine has been reported. Disease prevention recommended in the risk areas: C+P.
International hospitals: It is recommended to get care in private hospitals, or to go to Singapore if there is a serious problem.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the Philippines
For further information on safety conditions: US State Department
Foreign Affairs Canada

Emergency services	117
Police	168
Tourist assistance in Manila	02-524-1660
Firemen	816-25-53
Treatment center for poisoning cases	524-10-78

Fuseau(x) horaire

Type of climate: Annual average temperature is approximately 27°C, rains occur during the summer monsoons from May to November.
For further information: National Weather Service Office

Climate

Food specialties: Kare-kare: ox tail stew, served with spicy hot peanut and bagoong sauce. (Bagoong is a sort of nuoc mâm, a salty sauce made from fermented fish and crab.)
Sinigang: meat or fish broth. Adobo: spicy meat stew. Lechon: roasted sucking pig, prepared for high days and holidays.
Drinks: Buko (juice of a young coconut which one drinks straight from the shell), and juice of calamansi (lime). Among alcoholic beverages, San Miguel beer is known as one of the world's best beers; also one finds sugar cane red wine, rice wine and coconut wine.
Dietary restrictions: They vary according to the religion. In the southern part of the island, the Muslim minority consumes neither alcohol nor pork.

Domestic currency: Philippine Peso
ISO Code: PHP
To obtain domestic currency: Exchanging American dollars is not difficult. Bureaux de change are scattered over all the tourist areas. Hotels also offer foreign currency exchange.
Possible means of payment: One can pay in cash (the most current method), and by credit card (more and more accepted) in the big cities of the country.

Official language: Filipino and English.
Other languages spoken: There are nearly 70 languages in the islands, but the most prevalent minority languages are Visayan (Cebuano), and Ilokano. Spanish is hardly used by the population.
Business language: English. One may however meet Spanish speaking people.
Getting some knowledge: The Tagaloglang site (in English) offers an initiation into the Filipino language.
Free translation tools: ATS Group - English - Tagalog translator
Your dictionary - English - Tagalog translator

To find an accommodation: Hotels in the Philippines

Bungalows.
Ministry of Tourism
Lonely Planet
To find an apartment: Pearl's Letting Agency

Islands Properties
Viviun
Move in the city
To find a job: Phil-JobNet

Any comments about this content? Report it to us.