Philippines / Practical city guide

Manila

Get oriented, plan your arrival, and find practical answers for your trip.

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Manila, Philippines — Cityscape of Manila, 2025 (01)

14.60° N
120.98° E

Country / area: Philippines
Time zone identifier: Asia/Manila
Currency reference: PHP
Geographic source: GeoNames ↗

Geographic data is source-imported. Transport, payment, and entry details need current verification. Read our source notes ↗

Start with the useful questions

Your Manila guidebook

Manila / Money & payments

ATMs and changing money in Manila

How to get Philippine pesos in Manila, where the airport counters and ATMs are, and the currency rules on how much cash you can bring in or out.

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Manila / Money & payments

Cash or card in Manila: what to carry and why

Where cards work in Manila and where pesos are still the only practical option, plus what the peso itself looks like in circulation right now.

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Manila / After checkout

Checkout day in Manila with a late flight

How to spend the hours between hotel checkout and an evening flight out of Manila without dragging luggage through traffic or cutting the airport run too fine.

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Manila / Itineraries

What Spanish and American Rule Left in Manila, and Where to See It

Intramuros walls went up between 1590 and 1825, San Agustin is UNESCO-listed, and the National Museum is free. A visit list built from official records.

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Manila / Transportation

Taking a domestic flight out of Manila

How to plan a domestic connection through Manila: finding your terminal, allowing for the transfer between buildings, and what disrupts island flights.

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Manila / SIM & internet

eSIM or local SIM card for a trip to Manila

Philippine law requires SIM registration, and tourist SIMs are valid for only 30 days. Here is how that changes the choice between an eSIM and a physical SIM.

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Manila / Practical information

Why the Philippines Asks for eTravel, and What It Really Costs You

eTravel is free and etravel.gov.ph is the only official site. Scam sites charge PHP 3,000 to 5,000 for a QR code that fails at the airport. What the system is for.

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Manila / Practical information

eTravel registration before you fly to the Philippines

What eTravel is, who has to register, when to do it, and why the only site you should use is the official government one. It is free, and there is no payment step.

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Manila / First-time visitor

Your first 24 hours in Manila, in the right order

A calm sequence for a first day in Manila: arrival formalities, money, connectivity, getting to your accommodation, and what to leave until day two.

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Manila / Transportation

Getting around Manila: trains, buses, jeepneys and rides

How Metro Manila's rail lines, EDSA busway, jeepneys and ride apps fit together, and which one to reach for depending on where you are going.

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Manila / Transportation

Using Grab and taxis in Manila without the guesswork

How ride-hailing and metered taxis actually work in Metro Manila, what you can pay with, and the small habits that keep a ride uneventful.

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Manila / Practical information

The Philippine Holiday Calendar: Which Weeks Stop the Country

Holy Week 2027 falls 25 to 27 March and Undas 2026 runs 1 to 2 November. The proclamations, the regular-versus-special distinction, and what each does to travel.

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Manila / Food

Which Manila Chains Are Filipino and Which Only Look It

Manila's restaurant and convenience chains split oddly between Filipino and foreign brands. What company filings say about Jollibee, Shakey's and 7-Eleven.

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Manila / Luggage

Where to leave your bags in Manila before check-in

Options for storing luggage in Manila when you arrive before check-in time, including what the airport itself offers and what to ask your accommodation.

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Manila / Weather & what to wear

Travelling to Manila in the rainy and typhoon season

What the Philippine weather agency actually says about the seasons, the typhoon peak and storm signals, and how to plan a Manila trip around them.

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Manila / First-time visitor

Is Manila Worth Any Time, or Are the Philippines Only Beaches?

Intramuros logged 5.42 million visits in 2025 and foreigners were a minority at every site. No major country's travel advisory singles out Metro Manila.

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Manila / Family travel

Manila with young children: what makes a day work

Planning a Manila trip with kids around heat, traffic and long journey times, including child seat options in ride apps and how to structure a realistic day.

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Manila / Airports

How to get from NAIA to Makati and central Manila

Taxi lanes, the ride-hailing hub and airport buses at Manila's NAIA, and how to pick between them depending on your terminal, luggage and arrival time.

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Manila / Late-night travel

Arriving at NAIA late at night: what still works

Landing in Manila after midnight: which airport services run around the clock, how to get a ride safely, and what to sort out before you fly.

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Manila / Layovers

What to do with a long layover at NAIA in Manila

How to judge whether to stay in the terminal or leave the airport during a Manila layover, and what the airport itself offers while you wait.

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Manila / Airports

Moving between NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3 in Manila

NAIA's terminals are separate buildings. Here is how the free inter-terminal shuttle works, who can use it, and how much time to leave for a connection.

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Manila / Money & payments

What Is Cheap and What Is Not in the Philippines, and Why

Manila's minimum wage is PHP 755 a day while beer excise runs PHP 48.31 a litre and inflation hit 6.1 per cent. The tax structure behind Philippine prices.

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Manila / Money & payments

Why the Philippines Still Runs on Cash, and What to Carry

Remittances reach 8.9 per cent of Philippine GDP and 44 per cent of adults were unbanked in 2021. Why that shapes payment, and the coin limit nobody mentions.

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Manila / Transportation

Renting a Car in the Philippines: Licence and Rules

Your foreign licence works in the Philippines for 90 days from arrival. How the IDP, Metro Manila number coding and cashless RFID tolls affect a rental car, and what to do after day 90.

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Manila / First-time visitor

Should You Skip Manila? Checking the Advice Against Official Data

Travellers are routinely told to fly straight through Manila. What the airport, rail and census figures actually show about what skipping it costs.

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Manila / Safety

Staying safe in Manila as a first-time visitor

Practical habits for a first trip to Manila: using accredited transport, handling money sensibly, and knowing which official systems exist to fall back on.

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Manila / Practical information

Visa-free entry and how long you can stay in the Philippines

How the Philippine visa waiver works for non-visa-required tourists, how extensions are handled, and where travel tax and terminal fees fit into a departure.

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