Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting there
There are several options for nonstop
flights to the Philippines from North
America and from Australia; from Europe,
the only nonstop flights are from London
with Philippine Airlines. Otherwise,
reaching the Philippines from outside Asia
usually involves a stopover in Hong Kong,
Singapore or Dubai. Most major airlines
in the region have regular connecting
flights to Manila, with a few also flying
direct to Cebu.
High season for Philippines travel is November
to April, though airfares vary relatively little through
the year. This is because the low season for the
Philippines (May-Oct) is the peak season in Europe
and the US, so flights heading out of these regions
to various hub airports are often full.
If the Philippines is only one stop on a longer
journey, you might want to consider buying a
Round-the-World (RTW) ticket. In addition, some
agents also offer Circle Pacific tickets , which
cover Australia, New Zealand, the west coast of
North America and destinations in the Pacific.
You can include Manila and/or Cebu on some of
the itineraries.
airline such as Korean Air via Seoul. Note that in
most cases, the longer you stay in the Philippines
the cheaper your flight will be.
From Los Angeles or San Francisco, the flying
time to Manila is around eleven hours. From the
east coast of North America, flying via the Pacific,
the journey will take around twenty hours
excluding any layover (allow at least 2hr extra)
along the way. If you choose to fly from New York
via Paris, say, expect the journey to take around
24 hours altogether.
From Australia, New Zealand
and South Africa
Philippine Airlines flies nonstop to Manila from
Melbourne (8-9hr) three times a week, and from
Sydney (8-9hr) four times a week; it also flies
from Brisbane (9-10hr), via Darwin (4hr 30min).
Return fares online can be as low as Aus$700.
Qantas also flies Sydney to Manila nonstop four
times a week, but fares are usually much higher
(from Aus$1500 in high season). If you want to get
to Cebu City , you can fly via Hong Kong or Kuala
Lumpur, although it's probably easiest simply to
change in Manila.
From New Zealand there are no nonstop flights
to the Philippines, so you'll have to go via Australia
or a Southeast Asian hub such as Singapore or Hong
Kong. A typical fare is NZ$1500 Auckland-Manila via
Hong Kong, the journey taking 15 to 20 hours.
From South Africa you'll always make at least
one stop en route to Manila, and often two.
Depending on the length of the stop, the trip
will take from 16 to 26 hours. Cathay Pacific is the
fastest, with fares from around ZAR9000 return in
high season from Johannesburg via Hong Kong.
From the UK and Ireland
Philippine Airlines (PAL) currently operates nonstop
flights between London and Manila three times a
week, with the outward flight taking 14hr 30min, and
the return 15hr 25min. The second fastest option is to
route through Hong Kong, from where there are
numerous onward flights daily to Manila and Cebu.
From Ireland , the speediest option is to take a
budget airline to London and change there. London-
Manila nonstop costs around £800-900, and from
around £550 with stops. From the Republic of Ireland,
the best fares are around €600-700 via the UK and
the Middle East.
From elsewhere in Asia
You can fly direct to the Philippines from almost
every major city in Asia, with several budget airlines
offering cheap fares. Many of these fly to Clark
International Airport (see p.122), 80km northwest
of Manila, so make sure you factor in additional
travel time if necessary. Numerous flights make
the two-hour trip from Hong Kong to Manila, with
rates as low as HK$1300 (US$170).
AirAsia Zest zips between Manila and Kota
Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Seoul. Cebu
Pacific also offers cheap flights from Bangkok,
Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai,
Seoul and Taipei to Manila, and several routes direct
to Cebu City.
From the US and Canada
Philippine Airlines operates nonstop flights to
Manila from Los Angeles , San Francisco and
Vancouver (and direct flights from Toronto with a
stop in Vancouver), charging around US$1000-1500
for the round trip (around Can$2000 from Toronto).
Delta Airlines flies direct from Detroit (an
exhausting 18hr 35min via Narita, Japan) for around
US$1900. However, you can save around twenty
percent on these fares if you travel on another
 
 
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