Hi All,
Wondering if anyone has any tips for Manila and Cebu. We have bought tickets to travel there in March.
If anyone has any good info on where to stay in Manila and Cebu, some good places to go etc that would be greatly appreciated.
Doesn't need to be fancy, we are looking at budget to mid level.
Also is it safe there? I've been hearing mixed stories.
Any tips will be appreciated.
Many thanks!
We stayed at cheap hotel in cebu called hotel stella about $20 night aircon etc.. was awesome. In cebu vist park mall has a lot of fake stuff to buy cheap. Vist bohol its only like hour or boat ride away from cebu. Guarantee its safe but like any country don't go walking around in the wrong area or at night. You should have a ball :)
Are you flying Cebu Pacific ?
They have brand new aircraft. Like to hear a trip report from you when you get back or anyone else who's flown them.
Have flown Scoot(Singapore Airlines low cost) & it was surprising good. Say surprisingly as only paid AUD$88 each way inc taxes & wasn't expecting much.
Yup, leave plenty of time for connecting flights, Cebu Pacific have an on time performance of 55%…
I'm flying there in March too! But not staying even one night in Manila this time. There's enough to see for 1 or 2 nights, but as I've been there before there's nothing I really want to go back for..
I haven't been to Cebu before but I'll be going this trip. We're going to stay a few nights on Panglao Island, doing Bohol from there. From all reports Cebu and surrounds are a lot nicer than Manila. ..but Palawan is amazing!
Safety - just be smart, no flashing cash around and leave the jewelry at home. I've heard of people being robbed at gunpoint on the Jeepneys in Manila but not so bad elsewhere. I've never had a problem and find the Filipinos the most friendly and helpful of the Asian countries I've traveled.
You'll have a ball, and who knows, you might see me there! I'll be the one trying to find the cheapest beers.
be careful going off on time performance.
Many airlines pad their timetables.
eg. flying time BNE/SYD is almost exactly 1 hour in a jet nonstop, but most schedules allow an extra 35 minutes.
for SYD/MNL only 3 airlines fly nonstop, Qantas, Philipine Airlines & Cebu Pacific. They all fly A330's, BUT Cebu says 7 hours 55 mins, whereas other 2 say 8 hours 10.
Where does the extra 15 min come in ?
It means that Qantas/Phillipine can arrive 15 mins late & still be on time, or can arrive 15 mins early.
AFAIK all Cebu Pacific's A330's are less than a year old.
This is true, but I'm not talking about just the international flight, their domestic flights are included in that. Their January performance has just come out, it is 58%.
I'm not trying to put people off flying Cebu Pacific, all my upcoming flights will be with them anyway. Just pointing it out - especially if on departure you have to fly back to Manila domestic to catch an international flight, it's worth leaving a little extra buffer. Same as I would do flying Tiger / AirAsia etc, and I had to make a connection.
same with Qantas, Phillipines. They can be "late" but on time, because of the padding of their timetables.
Thanks everyone who responded.
Yeah I'll be flying with Cebu Pacific so I'll let you know if I get the new plane.
I was guessing I just need to be smart in regards to safety. Last thing I want is to get robbed at gunpoint but sounds like most areas are fairly safe.
Really looking forward to Cebu as well. I'll look into Bohol and Panglao Island as well. Majority of our time will be in Cebu anyway.
Thanks all for the tips.
Cebu is safer than Manila. Don't use your expensive phone out in the open too much. Keep your bag close when you are walking down the streets.
Some Cebu restaurants that I recommend and what to order: (for Filipino food)
Basically these are my favorite ones which you may or may not like:
CNT lechon - order the lechon, dinuguan (if you're feeling adventurous), chicharon bulaklak
Chika-an - rellenong manok, crispy pata, grilled tanguige,
Lighthouse - order lechon kawali, adobong kangkong, calamares
Jollibee (popular fast food) - order the fried chicken
Also, go to a grocery and buy some dried mangoes - Guadalupe brand and some chicharon.
Usually, there'll be an aisle that's mainly for native food if you're wanting to try Filipino snacks.
I definitely want to try Lechon. Looks good from the photos I've seen.
Thanks for the list!
In Manila, the American Cemetery and Intramuros are well worth visits. Manila motor bike crimes (robberies, bag snatches etc) are so common that police set up road blocks randomly and search motor bikes. Street kids occasionally can mob people - picking pockets, unzipping backpacks etc. Also don't walk far at night alone, and be careful even when accompanied. Well lit areas obviously feel safer to me. Seeing petrol stations, banks etc heavily guarded by guards with pump action shot guns is a bit unnerving. Cebu feels safer. Cebu sites worth considering Taoist Temple and Tops lookout. In Manila sometimes haggling with taxi drivers over meter vs set price is not worth the couple of dollars difference. I googled a calculator and had a good idea of how much the meter would be for various trips. And planned my trips to avoid rush hour. BUT 1 driver trying to get a high fixed price tried to tell me (at 1pm) that it was rush hour!! So do lots of planning. Most Filipinos are very polite, honest, happy and very warm hearted. Don't flash wads of money, carry just a bit more than you need, and divide it around your pockets.
Thanks all for the tips.
Trying to book some places for Manila and Cebu. Anyone have any recommendations? Budget to mid range. In Cebu, looking at Mactan Island side but city side is fine as well.
Many thanks for the tips.
One thing about hotels in Manila, they are not cheap by comparison to other big Asian cities. And a lot do not have the modern air conditioning styles but rather have the old style box in a hole in the wall type (Quite noisy). A lot is going to depend on the area that you want to stay in. And from there be guided by tripadvisor too. In Cebu I stayed at Crown Regency Hotel & Towers Cebu. The location was ok, but it was the WORST hotel that I have ever stayed in. And the only hotel of many that I have stayed in in the Phils that the staff were not friendly. (Maybe they were punch drunk from all of the complaints). As for destinations, 3 nights was ok but was enough in Cebu City. However a lot of people say to skip Cebu City completely and to go to the nearby islands.
Look up Guijo Suites, Makati. Not the most ideal location, but cabs are cheap anyway and the rooms are great value.
Gramercy Residences Makati, Manila via airbnb is the tallest building in Philippines. Pool on level 55, bar on 77th. Shopping Mall at the bottom.
Take a look at Spider house, Boracay.
I went with a group of boys last Nov, 2 days Manila, 8 in Cebu, 2 in manila again to recover.
Accommodation in cebu was fantastic, 5 bedroom beach house found on airdnb with cooking/cleaning staff for $200aud/night. Also stayed at Radison Blu which was also amazing.
One tip is make sure when traveling domestic to allow plenty of time, horrendous traffic and long queues at the airport meant we missed our flights twice traveling between manila and cebu.
safety i think is fine for cebu and manilla its only the southern islands where it can get hairy. Philippines relies heavily on tourism, so tourist areas are generally fine.