Associated with the paradise islands, the Philippine Islands, is one of the most important destinations in all of Southeast Asia. Year after year, the country receives more tourists who are attracted by its natural wealth and the beauty of its beaches and islands.
If your idea is to know this extraordinary thing, we leave you below a series of tips for traveling to the Philippines that will help you better prepare your trip throughout the country.
Contents
Plan your route well
The first tip for traveling to the Philippines that you must remember is knowing how to plan your route well. You have to understand that the Philippines is a large country with around 7,000 islands. This makes it impossible to see everything unless you are traveling for months in this country. All you have to try is to make a route based on your taste and how easy connections are between destinations. Try to always be at least 2 or 3 days in each place to know every corner of the site well. Remember that you will always watch the beach, so include it in your route destination where you can do indoor activities. Remember to adjust your travel route for the validity of your visa. For example if you want to take Bohol to Cebu trip, make sure it doesn’t violate the validity of your visa.
Choose the best time
When making your route, you must know the best time to travel to the Philippines. The Philippines has difficulties to have a fairly intense rainy season, even with the typhoon season being well marked and being a very large country, this rainy season does not affect the same way in all regions. The problem of not knowing how to choose your route in the rainy season is that you can have problems with connections by sea and air, which can be a problem if time is not available. Conversely, during the dry season you can enjoy the whole country without problems. If your idea is to travel to the Philippines one of the first things you should know is how is the weather in the country and what time you can find on your trip. The Philippines, like the rest of the countries that make up Southeast Asia has a clearly tropical climate, with seasonal periods of rain and heat or sun. From the months of June until the end of November the so-called rainy season coincides in the country. In these months, rainfall is high and may become torrential on time. In the final part of this era, the so-called typhoon season comes, which depending on its strength can cause serious damage to the country. During the rest of the year the months correspond to the so-called dry season, months where it is rare that there is rainfall and where sunny days and high temperatures abound.
Note
One thing that must always be taken into account when talking about the weather of a country is that one thing is what is said about the seasons and another what happens in reality and especially in such a large country like the Philippines with thousands of islands where many of them have their own micro climate. That is why apart from being guided by general lines it is also very important to periodically check the weekly parts of the time so that you can get a better and clearer idea of the time you will find in each destination you want to visit.
Transportation in the Philippines
As we said before when planning your route properly, it is important to know well the connections between different destinations. The state defect is that unless you travel frequently by plane, you will depend on ferries and land transportation to get there. This means that transfer days can be long and if you don’t plan well, you will lose valuable time on your trip. The Philippines has 4 types of transportation that are specific to that country and you will find it on every island. This local transportation is the cheapest for traveling and will be a Jeepney (a type of customized jeep used by collective vans), Roda Tiga (a type of local tuk tuk) and Habal – Habal (motorcycle transportation).
Health care
If you need some kind of health care, you have to understand that the Philippines, as a vast country and with so many islands, does not have public medical services with many resources. That is why in most cases care will be referred to private clinics where doctor fees will be very high, which makes it very important to travel to the Philippines with good health insurance that offers you good protection, especially if you will practice sports such as diving or surfing . Remember that it is always recommended to travel with all the recommended vaccines per day.
Internet and sim card in the Philippines
In general, there is trouble-free Internet access through hotel and restaurant Wi-Fi networks. Also it won’t be difficult for you to get a Sim Card to use on your cellphone and connect. The only thing you can notice is that depending on the island and being isolated, the connection will be better or worse.
Money in the Philippines
Along the way you will find an ATM, bank or exchange house where you can change your currency. What is always recommended is to bring cash when you go to visit the smaller islands or corners that are less touristy in the country because you might face problems when having to withdraw money or change it.
State security
It is true that the Philippines might be linked to insecurity but the reality is very different afterwards. There are rarely tourists on the trip who have insecurity issues, except that dangerous environments in Manila or other large cities are visited. Outside this region, the country is very safe and the locals are very friendly. As for the country’s political situation, due to armed conflicts that have occurred with Islamic groups, it is not advisable to travel through certain areas in Mindanao (Marawi, Cotabato, Zamboanga) or the Sulu islands.
Motorcycle rental in the Philippines
In the Philippines you can rent a motorbike without problems. Remember that although you can rent without a license, it is always recommended to travel to the country with your International License (Seal A), except for Spaniards who are allowed to drive with a Spanish SIM for the first 90 days of their stay. In general, the road you find will be in good condition. Avoid making serious mistakes, riding a motorcycle without having experience. Before renting a motorcycle, check the conditions, take photos and videos of any damage or damage you have.
Foods
If there is something you will enjoy in the Philippines, it is food especially if you like fish and seafood, because on all the islands you will find them very fresh and if you like pork, the Philippines is heaven for you. If you are a vegetarian, you will have more problems and it will be difficult for you to find variations at lunch.
Well and here it is. We hope these tips for traveling to the Philippines will be very helpful and help you enjoy a wonderful and wonderful country.
