Getting There
Unless you own an ocean-going yacht you’ll be getting to the Philippines by air, with numerous airlines flying into the capital Manila.
However, Manila is a bit of a hell-hole that you’ll want to escape from quickly, so a good idea is to check out flights into Cebu, the country’s much more relaxed (though still bustling) second city.
Cebu is in the middle of the Visayas group of islands, which is probably the pick of the region for exploring, so flying into Cebu City could save a lot of time and hassle.
Getting Around
Long-haul trips across the Philippines are not really feasible. The combination of a lack of major highways, mountainous terrain and numerous ferry crossings from island to island make going from A to K quite difficult. Plus, there are virtually no trains except on Luzon where you can take the train from Manila to Naga – a 14 hour journey which wil cost approx US$7.
Much easier (and more fun) is to take short trips from A to B, using ferries between islands and buses across them.
Air
Internal flights can be very cheap and save a lot of criss crossing over several islands to reach a destination. Cebu Pacific, Asian Spirit, South East Asia Air , and Air Philippines all do internal flights, as does the national carrier, Phillipine Airlines.
Jeepney
Used in the bigger cities and commuting from towns, the jeepney runs on fixed routes and will cost around 4 pesos for the first 3km and a peso for each following km.
Tricycles
A motorcycle with sidecar, tricycles will run anywhere and cost depending on the length of the journey.
