Advise On Traveling To Philippines

[smore 19]

3 hours ago, RO_AH said:

A girl changing SIMs a lot could mean other things

Ok so now you have to explain what that means? I believe she has only changed once, or tried another card because the other card was not giving her good connection. I do not believe I said she switches alot, believe I said she is having issues with connection. Yes this does not help with us keeping in communication with one another which I wish we could communicate more consistantly. I do not know how or what the area she is from is like, she is from Libagon, so I do not know how that area is for anything, esp access to technology, towers and things. I do know she says the electricity goes out often.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

15 hours ago, smore said:

I believe you have to fly into Manila? Even when she has been overseas working she had to fly back into Manila first.

No, you can fly directly into Cebu which bypasses Manila completely. This tbh is the better way to go. I am looking at flights to Davao next year. Which luckily Singapore AIr flies directly into Davao City so I will be booking that flight because I hate travelling through Manila and avoid it at all costs.

 

Where are you flying from in the USA?

Edited August 30, 2022 by Cyberfx1024

[smore 19]

10 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

No, you can fly directly into Cebu which bypasses Manila completely. This tbh is the better way to go. I am looking at flights to Davao next year. Which luckily Singapore AIr flies directly into Davao City so I will be booking that flight because I hate travelling through Manila and avoid it at all costs.

 

Where are you flying from in the USA?

I did do a quick check and seems like you can fly to Cebu, but looks much more expensive and alot longer. I am flying from MN. I think the plan was to meet in Manila, have not heard about being able to fly to Cebu but I will bring it up when we talk.

[suss6052 32]

46 minutes ago, smore said:

I did do a quick check and seems like you can fly to Cebu, but looks much more expensive and alot longer. I am flying from MN. I think the plan was to meet in Manila, have not heard about being able to fly to Cebu but I will bring it up when we talk.

Look into flying out of Chicago, even if you need to take a domestic flight from MN to get there, there are much more 1 stop flights to Cebu from Chicago than there would be from MN and should also be cheaper.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

11 minutes ago, suss6052 said:

Look into flying out of Chicago, even if you need to take a domestic flight from MN to get there, there are much more 1 stop flights to Cebu from Chicago than there would be from MN and should also be cheaper.

 

59 minutes ago, smore said:

I did do a quick check and seems like you can fly to Cebu, but looks much more expensive and alot longer. I am flying from MN. I think the plan was to meet in Manila, have not heard about being able to fly to Cebu but I will bring it up when we talk.

I just did a search from MSP to Manila and then Cebu for 3 weeks in October. The price was $1007 to Manila while it was $1700 to Cebu and the duration was 3 hours longer. 

[top_secret 2,132]

On 8/27/2022 at 10:32 PM, RO_AH said:

I don't know about that. Me personally I want to get out of the airport as quick as possible. With Messenger or Whatsapp and free wifi, anyone can communicate.

The only caveat I would add about free WIFI in the airport, is that AFIK these days it asks you for a local phone number to text you a access code to make it work.  Which brings the no SIM problem full circle.   I'm in a rush too when I arrive but it literally takes seconds to get a free sim card in arrivals.  Like I handed the girl in the SMART free sim kiosk P500 and said I want a free sim and 500 peso load.  She handed the sim card and load card to me and I walked away in less than 30 seconds.

[Talako 756]

4 hours ago, top_secret said:

The only caveat I would add about free WIFI in the airport, is that AFIK these days it asks you for a local phone number to text you a access code to make it work.  Which brings the no SIM problem full circle.   I'm in a rush too when I arrive but it literally takes seconds to get a free sim card in arrivals.  Like I handed the girl in the SMART free sim kiosk P500 and said I want a free sim and 500 peso load.  She handed the sim card and load card to me and I walked away in less than 30 seconds.

Exactly, when I arrived in July, the "free" wifi kept asking for a local number to connect.  I tried other connections, and ran into the same issue.

[smore 19]

10 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

 

I just did a search from MSP to Manila and then Cebu for 3 weeks in October. The price was $1007 to Manila while it was $1700 to Cebu and the duration was 3 hours longer. 

Where are you searching, which sites because I have not found prices like that. I am mainly searching expedia just for quick searches but have searched a variety of sites as well and have not found lower prices like the ones you found, I am finding 1500-2000, maybe a 1200 showed up once with about 24-26 hour travel times. I am looking at beginning of Nov for 2 weeks. Seems these sites are all over the place when you search them and I have no idea how far in advance I have to book everything, better to book now for price or if I have to wait a bit more will it effect price either price going up or price going down. Seems I have heard it can be effected either way.

[smore 19]

5 hours ago, top_secret said:

The only caveat I would add about free WIFI in the airport, is that AFIK these days it asks you for a local phone number to text you a access code to make it work.  Which brings the no SIM problem full circle.   I'm in a rush too when I arrive but it literally takes seconds to get a free sim card in arrivals.  Like I handed the girl in the SMART free sim kiosk P500 and said I want a free sim and 500 peso load.  She handed the sim card and load card to me and I walked away in less than 30 seconds.

Thanks for the info on the sim, if arriving late at night 10pm or so is it still possible to get the SIM card? So to use wifi it needs to send you the access code even for free wifi, guess if my regular text on my phone does not work due to no service with my phone provider I would than never get that text, so that creates a problem for sure.

[top_secret 2,132]

21 minutes ago, smore said:

Thanks for the info on the sim, if arriving late at night 10pm or so is it still possible to get the SIM card? So to use wifi it needs to send you the access code even for free wifi, guess if my regular text on my phone does not work due to no service with my phone provider I would than never get that text, so that creates a problem for sure.

 

I've never had a problem getting a free sim card arriving any terminal at any time.  I think the kiosks are open any time flights are arriving.

 

[MarJhi 926]

12 hours ago, smore said:

I did do a quick check and seems like you can fly to Cebu, but looks much more expensive and alot longer. I am flying from MN. I think the plan was to meet in Manila, have not heard about being able to fly to Cebu but I will bring it up when we talk.

Okay so it sounds more expensive at first glance. If you fly to Manila, you will still have to fly to Cebu at some point in order to get to Libagon, so factor in that you will have to pay for her to meet you in Manila, pay for a hotel in Manila, then pay for the 2 of you to fly to Cebu and then pay for your flight back to Manila for your trip home. That means you will have a couple of more trips through airports and airport security. It might be cheaper and less hectic in the long run to fly straight to Cebu and have her meet you there. 

[B_J 2,752]

Here is how we travel.  We book on Southwest and fly to LA and then we book on Philippine Airlines to Manila. 

 

Assuming your flying out of Minneapolis, you can find round trip tickets to LA for just over $300.  This will have one stop where you have to change planes but I don't see an easier option.  You can arrive at LA around 6 pm leaving plenty of time to get to the international terminal in time for the overnight flight to Manila.  You can book a flight on Philippine Airlines, nonstop from LA to Manila for about $1500 roundtrip.  

 

This is probably the quickest way to get there and you don't have to find your way around international airports if you're not comfortable with that.  We always go direct to the airline websites, Southwest and Philippine Airlines, I don't know if you get a better deal through other sites.

[flicks1998 1,044]

8 hours ago, smore said:

Thanks for the info on the sim, if arriving late at night 10pm or so is it still possible to get the SIM card? So to use wifi it needs to send you the access code even for free wifi, guess if my regular text on my phone does not work due to no service with my phone provider I would than never get that text, so that creates a problem for sure.

Glancing over the thread, it looks like this will be your first time going to the Philippines and maybe first time flying international.  Obviously this is OK as all of us had to begin our international adventures at some point.  My only advice once you get to the Philippines is to proceed with caution on everything.  I used to move Expats into the country and I can tell you, all of them were very naive on how the country operated, which is to be expected since they had never been there before.  Dont be afraid to ask questions and if something doesnt feel right, look right, etc etc, use your gut instinct.  Perception isnt always reality.  Dont be too trusting of anyone.  There are alot of steps upon your arrival that opens oneself to being taken advantage off.

 

Also, Ive never commented on anyones relationship on here, but once you meet your SO, take things slow.  As I mentioned, perception isnt always reality.  Protect yourself and protect your money.  There are alot of decent people in the Philippines but there are also alot who will take advantage of any situation.  Sometimes I dont blame them due to the abject poverty and many of them just trying to survive.  I might even do the same thing if I was in that situation.  It doesnt matter if your SO is the daughter of a scrap metal collector or the daughter of Marcos.  Proceed cautiously.  This also applies to other foreigners you meet in the country.  There are ALOT of really bad ones.  I started living in SE Asia around 1996 and left in 2020 for the time being.  SE Asia is a haven for foreign criminals on the run.  That doesnt mean you will meet all bad foreigners, there are some good ones, but proceed cautiously again.  Again, perception is not always reality.  

 

I dont want to come across as rude to your individual situation, but be careful.  Ive seen so many foreigners taken advantage of and many left bankrupt.  Set a budget and under all circumstance, stick to that budget.  Protect yourself.  I would say it took me about 3 years or so, to really get an understanding how everything worked, until I truly understood what was reality.  The others on here who have spent a long time in the country know what Im talking about.  Besides that, enjoy your trip.

[smore 19]

11 hours ago, MarJhi said:

Okay so it sounds more expensive at first glance. If you fly to Manila, you will still have to fly to Cebu at some point in order to get to Libagon, so factor in that you will have to pay for her to meet you in Manila, pay for a hotel in Manila, then pay for the 2 of you to fly to Cebu and then pay for your flight back to Manila for your trip home. That means you will have a couple of more trips through airports and airport security. It might be cheaper and less hectic in the long run to fly straight to Cebu and have her meet you there. 

It looks like Cebu is on a completely different island than Libagon. I believe what she says is you fly to Manila and than fly to Tacloban and than get a ride to where she is from. I believe the first plan was for her to meet me in Tacloban, but I asked if she could get to Manila to meet me being that I have never been to the country and it would help out alot her meeting me when I arrive. She said she could get there, never asked me to pay for the flight to get there. I do know she has family also in Manila as well. She has worked overseas several times so she knows how she has to get back to Libagon, so its basically the same for me flying in, sounds like fly into Manila, fly to Tacolban the next morning, and than drive to where she is from maybe 4 hour drive. Not sure if we are staying in Manila a day or so or what. At least from Manila forward we will be together to spend time together, whether its on a flight or on a long car ride.

[smore 19]

9 hours ago, B_J said:

Here is how we travel.  We book on Southwest and fly to LA and then we book on Philippine Airlines to Manila. 

 

Assuming your flying out of Minneapolis, you can find round trip tickets to LA for just over $300.  This will have one stop where you have to change planes but I don't see an easier option.  You can arrive at LA around 6 pm leaving plenty of time to get to the international terminal in time for the overnight flight to Manila.  You can book a flight on Philippine Airlines, nonstop from LA to Manila for about $1500 roundtrip.  

 

This is probably the quickest way to get there and you don't have to find your way around international airports if you're not comfortable with that.  We always go direct to the airline websites, Southwest and Philippine Airlines, I don't know if you get a better deal through other sites.

I will have to research this more. When I did a few searches to get to LA I could not really find a good arrival time to than catch the flight to Manila without some long layover in LA. I will have to research more and go to the airlines sites directly. Expedia and some of these other sites seem to have issues finding all available flights I have noticed and each site varies on what they find. I would like a direct flight as your right I would not feel to comfortable in international airports. I have been finding flights that go thru Seoul Korea for about 1500.00 (even a few at 1200.00) and about 24-26 hour time frames.