Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting around
The large number of budget airlines and
ferry services between major destinations
makes it easy to cover the Philippine archi-
pelago, even on a tight budget, though
the main drawback is that almost every-
thing routes through Manila and Cebu.
Long-distance road transport largely
comprises buses and jeepneys - the utili-
tarian passenger vehicles modelled on
World War II American jeeps. Throughout
the provinces, and in some areas of cities,
tricycles - motorbikes with steel sidecars
- are commonly used for short journeys.
Airlines and major bus and ferry companies
operate to timetables and have published fares, but
for smaller
ferries
(typically bangkas or outriggers),
jeepneys
and
tricycles
, it's often a question of
asking other passengers how much to pay in order
to avoid being surcharged as a tourist.
Note that
holiday weekends
are bad times to
travel, with buses full and roads jammed. Cities start
to empty on Friday afternoon and the exodus conti-
nues into the night, with a mass return on Sunday
evening and Monday morning - Metro Manila is
especially gridlocked. Travelling is a particular hassle
at Christmas, New Year and Easter with buses and
ferries full (sometimes illegally overloaded), airports
chaotic and resorts charging more than usual. Almost
everyone seems to be on the move at these times
of year, particularly heading out of big cities to the
provinces, and the transport system can become
strained. If you have to travel at these times, book
tickets in advance or turn up at bus stations and ferry
piers early and be prepared to wait.
Cebu Pacific runs numerous flights out of its hub
in
Cebu City
, saving you the effort of backtracking
to Manila - you can, for instance, fly straight from
Cebu City to Caticlan (for Boracay) and Siargao.
Davao
is a less developed third hub, with connec-
tions to Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and
Zamboanga, but even here you'll have to transfer in
Manila and Cebu for other destinations.
Airfares
There's not a great deal of variation in
domestic
airfares
offered by the main budget carriers,
though PAL is usually the most expensive, being
the only one offering traditional cabin service
(snacks, drinks etc). Cebu Pacific has been known to
sell seats for P1, and regularly offers fares of P499
one-way Manila to Coron (Busuanga) and P999
Manila to Zamboanga. But note that the low prices
you see quoted on budget airline websites usually
don't include taxes and unlike most PAL flights, you
can't change bookings once you've paid; there are
also charges for bags and seat selection (P180 and
P130 respectively on Cebu Pacific).
By ferry
Ferries
and
bangkas
- wooden outrigger boats -
were once the bread and butter of Philippine travel.
Though still important, especially in the
Visayas
(where there's hardly a coastal barangay that doesn't
have some sort of ferry service), most of the longer
routes have been made redundant by the growth
of budget air travel. Not only are flights faster and
as cheap (or cheaper) than cabins on longer ferry
routes (Manila to Mindanao for example), they are
invariably safer. Indeed, despite some improvements
in recent years, ferry accidents remain common in
the Philippines and even in the dry season the open
ocean can get surprisingly rough. The smaller
bangkas are often poorly equipped, with little shelter
from the elements, while even many of the larger
vessels have been bought secondhand from Japan
or Europe and are well past their prime. Ferries of all
sizes are frequently crowded.
Having said that, for many shorter inter-island trips
ferries remain the only form of transport available,
and especially in the Visayas, island-hopping by boat
can be an enjoyable and rewarding part of your trip.
By plane
Air travel
is a godsend for island-hoppers in the
Philippines, with a number of airlines linking Manila
with most of the country's major destinations; you
will usually, however, have to backtrack to a major
hub when jumping from one region to another.
Philippine Airlines
(PAL;
W
philippineairlines.com)
has a comprehensive domestic schedule (along
with its budget carrier
PAL Express
W
flypalexpress
.com), while
Cebu Pacific
(
W
cebupacificair.com)
offers even more routes and very cheap fares,
particularly if you book some way in advance. There
are several other smaller budget airlines -
AirAsia
Zest
and
Philippines AirAsia
(both
W
airasia.com),
Tigerair Philippines
(
W
tigerair.com) and a newer
venture,
Fil-Asian Airways
(
W
filasianair.com).
Ferry companies
There's a hierarchy of vessels, with proper ferries at
the top; so-called big bangkas, taking around fifty
passengers, in the middle; and ordinary bangkas at
the bottom. A number of
ferry lines
operate large
