Philippines

What to see

Manila

A port for hundreds of years, the capital is a sprawling megacity made up of contemporary commercial business and large slum areas. Stroll through the old Walled City or Rizal Park to soak up the atmosphere.

Vigan

Spanish colonial town whose alumni include a number of national heroes and whose attractive architecture is at its finest in the evening light.

Donsol

Head here to take advantage of the beaches and for the opportunity to swim with whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, known locally as butanding.

Davao

Cosmopolitan city that has easy access to some splendid mountain scenery including Mt Apo, the Philippines’ highest peak

Mt Guiting-Guiting

The Philippines’ finest trek is the 10-hour ascent of this attractive peak. Tough but well worth the effort for the pristine, prehistoric wonderland you walk through.

San Juan

Good, steady surf draws beginners and pros alike to this beach Mecca.

Top experiences / sites of particular interest

Palawan

Rugged island with bountiful beauty that has masses of spectacular beaches and is popular with divers who come to explore the offshore wrecks and sailors who come to hop from bay to bay.

The Visays

Group of islands including Panay, Bohol and Malapasuca that between them boast great beaches, adventure activities such as kiteboarding and rafting, jumping nightlife and varied wildlife including tiny tarsiers, manta rays and rare thresher sharks.

Bacuit Archipelago

One of the world’s great seascapes and a wonderland of limestone cliffs, coves and empty, hidden beaches ripe for discovery.

Banaue Rice Terraces

The spectacular Ifugao rice terraces have Word Heritage status. Giant, ancient steps in the hillside cover 4000 sq km of mountainside and have been in use for more than 2000 years.

Mount Kanlaon

Climb this volcanic crater and camp on its slopes amid some of the rarest flora in the world. Alternatively tackle the picture-perfect Mt Mayon.

Subic Bay

Ex military town that is slowly morphing into the adventure capital of the Philippines, with increasing amounts of extreme sports on offer.

Corregidor

Tiny islet with a bloody World War II history, offering an alternative perspective alongside the breathtaking views here.

When to go

Weather & Seasons: The Philippines are essentially a year-round destination, despite the typhoons that can strike from July to December. The islands generally have dry, cool weather from November to February. They are warm and dry from March to May. The rains then arrive and the country is generally cool and wet from June to September. As a result, January to May is probably the best time to visit.

Important Dates and Festivals: There are a number of Catholic and Muslim festivals and feast days throughout the year. Independence Day falls on 12 June.

Getting there / around

Flights:There is an international airport in Manila (MNL). There is a second on Cebu Island (NOP), close to Mactan.The majority of main islands are connected by a network of internal flights.

Ferries: There are ferries in operation between these destinations.

Road: The road network is patchy and potentially unreliable.

Bus: There are buses which connect a number of towns but the traditional transport are jeepney converted trucks decked out in chrome and garish colours that depict a bewildering array of religious icons, shapely women and graffiti-style lettering.Car hire is available in the capital and large towns. Auto-rickshaw tricycles run around town.

Potential itineraries

Short Trips: Visitors are spoilt for choice when arriving in the Philippines. In general, start with a couple of days in Manila then head to one of the islands. In a week or little more you can then explore Puerto Galera, Boracay or Siquijor, taking in the beaches, diving and nightlife in each town. Alternatively head into the interior to explore the rice terraces at Banaue, trek the Cordillera and sample beach life at Baguio.

2/3 Weeks: If you’re going to focus on a single area, head to Palawan for between two to three weeks and travel up the coast in order to get a sense of everything that’s best about the Philippines including Puerto Princesa, the Bacuit Archipelago and the islands and wrecks of Coron.

Longer Trips: Allow up to four weeks to hop and cruise your way around the Visayas, stopping frequently to dive and try the beaches you anchor at. If you have up to two months spare, you can work your way north to south, from Manila via Mindanao to the Visayas.

Guides

Overall Country Guides: There are comprehensive guidebooks to the Philippines available from Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Insight, who produce a more heavily illustrated version.

Maps

Country Maps: There are good country road maps for the Philippines available from Reise Know-How, ITMB, and Freytag & Berndt.

Street Maps: There are detailed street plans of Manila available from ITMB and Insight.

Read More

Alex Garland followed up cult hit The Beach with The Tesseract, a thrilling romp through Manila’s dark side.

Sight & Sound

Film: Once upon a time Manila was Asia’s movie capital but since then the industry has crashed. More recently the country has been the backdrop to big Hollywood films including Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.

Language

Filipino

Currency

Philippine peso (P) made up of 100 centavos.

Visas

UK and US citizens do not require visas before entering the country if staying for less than three weeks.

Health issues

Inoculations for cholera, diphtheria, hep A, hep B, rabies, typhoid and yellow fever are recommended. Malaria is also present in parts of the country.

Safety, FO travel advice

There is a risk of petty crime in some urban areas. There is also a risk of terrorist activity, especially in the Mindanao region.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Philippine country representatives can be found

in the UK at

and in the US at

There is a tourist board

in the UK at

For more information visit: www.filipino.com, www.visitphilippines.org or www.wowphilippines.co.ph.