General Info

[WestCoast1]

Sorry for the silly question but are you saying that the visa upon entering the Phils is for 21 days only.

Mackin, the VOA (Visa On Arrival) is good for 21 days only. If your itinerary shows you staying longer, you will need to get an extension (to 59 days) once you are in-country. Also, prior to your departure, you can apply for a longer visa thru the Filipine Embassy in your country.

[Mackin]

Sorry for the silly question but are you saying that the visa upon entering the Phils is for 21 days only.

[Mayntain]

If I decide to stay more then 21 days I always take a side trip to Thailand for few days then back to Phils for more time there. Instead of going thru the trouble of stopping at Immigration on entry and paying fee then.

[BionicMan]

I have never heard of the 20kg limit per bag (maybe for international routes?) Still a nice airline IMHO

On principle airlines do not allow more than 30 kg (regasrdless of the individual allowance one has) for the simple reason it is a safety precaution for labour, ie not to lift too heavy bags.
Then each one has its own rules in terms of max allowance linked to unit weight of the bag.
I know of a case of couple flying on Ryan Air (allowance is 15kg each passenger), having 1 bag (only) of 19kg (so below the 15+15 allowance for the two of them.
Well the airline charged the 4 kg extra to the passenger with his 19kg bag... (and of course the comopanion did have zero kg checked in!).

[Buko Max]

Can I assume that I won't have any issues from the airlines or from immigration if I book my ticket for longer than 21 days and just say that I will extend once I am in PI?

Yes you are correct. You can extend upon landing. Before you pass through immigration, go to the office on the left.

[Toronto]

I'm planning my next trip and would like to stay about 25 days or so which would take me over the 21 days so I would have to extend once I'm there. Doing so seems like a pretty straight forward process from what I've read. Can I assume that I won't have any issues from the airlines or from immigration if I book my ticket for longer than 21 days and just say that I will extend once I am in PI?

[Wicked Roger]

The guy in the queue before me had a big bag weighing 27 kg and no return/onward ticket. They made him pay 12*350 Bhat = 4900 Bhat excess luggage - he also said they said only a mx of 20kg in the bad so he had to find a box for the other 7 kg- never heard that before. He also had to go away and pay 6000P for a return flight. ie a total of about 13,000P extra (I presume he wanted to keep his options open e the return.

Pretty scandalous. I didn't have a return ticket either but having been through it before knew that the minimum evidence they needed was a Valid Flight Number. I almost got caught out though as I had noted a Philipines Airlines flight no on my laptop. Sadly the battery was flat so they wre about to cal Phil Airlines and check my fictitious booking. I dashed away and eventually found an electric power point and got hold of the flight no which was sufficient to let me on. I put as much heavy stuff in my carry on backpack (which i wore to not give them a chance to weigh (supposed to be max 7 kg) and my laptop bag, so i got under 16kg (they insist on charging even if yiu are 1kg over.

GL

I use CP a lot and they can be very strict on kilos as this is how the airling makes its cash. I have never heard of the 20kg limit per bag (maybe for international routes?) as I have far more in my bags. I also pre-pay the excess if I know I have and that to a degree helps

I did once at Cebu question the scales used as when I checked in the Middle East I had 40kgs but when I checked the same bags into CP (a few hours after arriving and not opening the bags) I was 44kgs :p...After much discussion and some argument they waived the additional fees

Still a nice airline IMHO

[Soapy Smith]

Thanks WC and KM. Lots of helpful information about NAIA taxis.

[Econo Tech]

Based on my observations, Filipinos are not a tipping culture.

Yah right. But instead taxi fares jack price by 100% if you are not careful and if challenged, it will be "sir, only few dollars for you."

[GregLondon]

Flew BKK to Clark last night with Cebu Pacific. They are VERY STRICT re return /onward tickets and excess baggage.

The guy in the queue before me had a big bag weighing 27 kg and no return/onward ticket. They made him pay 12*350 Bhat = 4900 Bhat excess luggage - he also said they said only a mx of 20kg in the bad so he had to find a box for the other 7 kg- never heard that before. He also had to go away and pay 6000P for a return flight. ie a total of about 13,000P extra (I presume he wanted to keep his options open e the return.

Pretty scandalous. I didn't have a return ticket either but having been through it before knew that the minimum evidence they needed was a Valid Flight Number. I almost got caught out though as I had noted a Philipines Airlines flight no on my laptop. Sadly the battery was flat so they wre about to cal Phil Airlines and check my fictitious booking. I dashed away and eventually found an electric power point and got hold of the flight no which was sufficient to let me on. I put as much heavy stuff in my carry on backpack (which i wore to not give them a chance to weigh (supposed to be max 7 kg) and my laptop bag, so i got under 16kg (they insist on charging even if yiu are 1kg over.

SO IF YOU ARE FLYING IN WITHOUT AN ONWARD TICKET, look up and write down a valid Airline flight no and date/time and have it ready to confidently hand over to them. I suggest an airline not operating from the airport you are departing from to reduce the chance that they will phone around to verify. Don't choose the same airline as you are outbound asd they wil obviously just check their systems.

[WestCoast1]

Most people don't use those private cars. I use only the metered taxis, the yellow airport ones or the metered ones dropping off passengers. Think most would be very happy for the 70 pesos. Maybe he saw you tip the ticket agent 50 pesos and figured he'd get more than 20 pesos more than him if he's driving you.

This is similar to the approach Westcoast describes taking. But I was under the impression these airport taxis have a monopoly contract for the arrival level at Terminal 1. I know there are metered city taxis dropping off departing passengers one level up, but the only way I've found to get up there is a very steep set of stairs at the North end of the lower level loading zone. Not worth the struggle if you have any amount of luggage. Is there some other way to get non-monopoly cabs down on the arrival level? Do you go out through the waiting mobs into the parking lot across the street to look for cabs?

Skip, there are elevators that go up to the upper level. When you walk out the first set of doors (just past the customs desk) into what appears a lobby (before departing towards the street), ask any security where the elevator is. I turn right, walk about 40 feet to it (its along the wall to your right). Take the elevator up, and exit to the exterior drop-off (departure) zone. You won't have to wait for more than 2 minutes (often no wait) for a taxi to pull in. Unfortunately, these drivers sometimes want an up-front fee for the asking (p300 is typical to Malate, which is normally 90-150 depending the time of day). You can dicker and ask them to use the meter. I often just say 175, and they take it.

Downstairs, sometimes there is no line for the metered taxis. Sometimes its a longggg line. I then decide whether to lug my stuff upstairs or take the 500-peso rip-off taxi. If I'm tired, its the rip-off taxi (often a minivan, and I could care less the price).

[Key Master]

[QUOTE=Skip Kost]

Most people don't use those private cars. I use only the metered taxis, the yellow airport ones or the metered ones dropping off passengers. Think most would be very happy for the 70 pesos. Maybe he saw you tip the ticket agent 50 pesos and figured he'd get more than 20 pesos more than him if he's driving you. [/QUOTE

This is similar to the approach Westcoast describes taking. But I was under the impression these airport taxis have a monopoly contract for the arrival level at Terminal 1. I know there are metered city taxis dropping off departing passengers one level up, but the only way I've found to get up there is a very steep set of stairs at the North end of the lower level loading zone. Not worth the struggle if you have any amount of luggage. Is there some other way to get non-monopoly cabs down on the arrival level? Do you go out through the waiting mobs into the parking lot across the street to look for cabs?

Listen up ok. There are special airport taxis that are metered that only pick up passengers from the airports in Manila. Even Cebu has them now. They don't usually pick up passengers on the street because most people know it's more expensive with them. But they're still cheaper than those private taxis. The meter starts out at 70 instead of the 30-35 pesos the regular meter taxis start and they probably tick a little faster. The cars are pretty new and clean. It's kind of crap for the regular metered taxis to take someone to the airport and have little chance of getting passengers out of there thus I usually am more willing to pay a bit more than meter as they can be stuck in traffic there trying to get out of the area looking for passengers. I know some people will say screw them, but honestly I don't know about most of the complainers here about taxi drivers in Manila, I actually have good experiences with them over 95% of the time. So maybe some of you people who are getting screwed need to brush up on past advice or your attitudes and how you act when getting taxis.

Anyway, for all the airports in Manila if you leave like you are supposed to and depart the front doors of the airport there are signs that point you to metered taxis. Follow the damn signs! You'll see a booth with people sitting there asking where you are going and they'll fill a ticket out for you with number of cab written down for complaints and stuff. They get you in a yellow airport metered taxi that starts at 70 pesos. It's a little more expensive than the regular ones, but not like the ones that are asking 550 or whatever. It's not that bad. If you don't mind going up to arrivals with your stuff you can probably find a regular metered taxi dropping off passenger and get him and it'll most likely be cheaper. Rates being quoted can change depending upon time and traffic to a destination and of course if you are using a regular meter taxi or a yellow airport metered taxi (which is the only authorized metered taxis to take passengers out of airport).

Just want to comment on the people bashing metered taxis here. In my first 2 years or so of coming to PI I used to only go to Angeles. Part of the reason was because people on message boards were constantly bitching about getting scammed by taxis. That may have been the case a long time ago and I'm sure it still happens. But I don't get scammed but will run into someone who wants not to use the meter and sometimes for good reason like they may not get a fare where I'm going out of there or like the airport. I'm willing to bump up the fare when appropriate, which to me is just one of those things. When I finally made the move to try Manila I was so scared to get screwed by the taxi drivers because of all these angry reports. Well I was shocked when that wasn't the case. I now do more time in Manila and Makati on all my trips. If you have common sense and don't like an idiot, you should do fine.

[Soapy Smith]

[QUOTE=Key Master] Most people don't use those private cars. I use only the metered taxis, the yellow airport ones or the metered ones dropping off passengers. Think most would be very happy for the 70 pesos. Maybe he saw you tip the ticket agent 50 pesos and figured he'd get more than 20 pesos more than him if he's driving you. [/QUOTE

This is similar to the approach Westcoast describes taking. But I was under the impression these airport taxis have a monopoly contract for the arrival level at Terminal 1. I know there are metered city taxis dropping off departing passengers one level up, but the only way I've found to get up there is a very steep set of stairs at the North end of the lower level loading zone. Not worth the struggle if you have any amount of luggage. Is there some other way to get non-monopoly cabs down on the arrival level? Do you go out through the waiting mobs into the parking lot across the street to look for cabs?

[Cheapy]

I just returned from 3 months of traveling around the Phillipines and passed thru Manila about 5 times. Manila Taxi Drivers are the worst low-lifes in the country. I always insist on "meter" taxis and even try to have the exact change and give them NO TIP.

I even learned a bad Filipino term used almost exclusively for manila taxi drivers. "Pudong ena mo" means son of a ***** and I follow it up with "Cocksucking bakla".

There are some good taxi drivers but even they will NEVER have change.

Enjoy "buang" (crazy) Manila. Cheapy "to the bone"

For the high-price of the rip-off fare (I've paid it myself, to not have to stand in the long taxi line) covers your tip. Tipping is not expected there like it is elsewhere. Give the next highest note amount if you can (say, p550) and let him keep the change. You weren't being cheap, in fact you may have over-tipped. Get that kano 15% rule out of your head. When the bill at the restraunt for you and your girl comes for, say, 480 pesos, put down 500 and walk. I'm not saying that you should not be generous (for good service), I'm saying that you don't have to tip unless you get GOOD SERVICE. If you find the service lacking (as you said, he never handled your bags), DONT TIP.

A normal fair to Malate would be p160-180 in the daytime, closer to p100 when traffic is lighter at night. I have yet to go from the airport to Malate (or vice versa) for more than 200 pisos in a regular taxi.

[WestCoast1]

Some of you know about the airport taxi monopoly. The set fare to Ermita or Malate is 530 pesos, even though a metered city taxi going the opposite direction is between 150 and 200. But the airport taxi service is reliable and still reasonable compared to other cities in the world. Thursday night I used the airport taxi to get me and my squeeze to Eurotel on Pedro Gil. The ticket agent and I loaded my bags, I tipped the ticket agent 50 pesos -- he looked surprised that I tipped him -- and away we went.

The driver stopped along the way to get something to eat. My squeeze and I waited about 5 minutes while he did this. When we arrived at Eurotel the doorman unloaded my bags and I asked for the receipt. I gave the driver 600 pesos. The 70 peso tip was a little more than 13%. It would have been a hefty tip for a city taxi going the same distance. But this driver didn’t think it was enough. He said so, loudly calling me “kuripot” (cheap) for all to hear – the doorman and security guard, my squeeze, and various others on the street nearby. Incidentally, he didn’t lift a finger on my bags, since other people, myself included, handled the luggage at both ends. I tipped the doorman 50 pesos.

So here’s my question: did I tip enough, or was the driver right to assail me as kuripot? How much are other mongers tipping for this distance? Filipino friends think I tip too much in taxis, so is this an expectation that applies only to foreign visitors? I promise no backchannel flames for anybody who calls me cheap. Have at it.

Skip

For the high-price of the rip-off fare (I've paid it myself, to not have to stand in the long taxi line) covers your tip. Tipping is not expected there like it is elsewhere. Give the next highest note amount if you can (say, p550) and let him keep the change. You weren't being cheap, in fact you may have over-tipped. Get that kano 15% rule out of your head. When the bill at the restraunt for you and your girl comes for, say, 480 pesos, put down 500 and walk. I'm not saying that you should not be generous (for good service), I'm saying that you don't have to tip unless you get GOOD SERVICE. If you find the service lacking (as you said, he never handled your bags), DONT TIP.

A normal fair to Malate would be p160-180 in the daytime, closer to p100 when traffic is lighter at night. I have yet to go from the airport to Malate (or vice versa) for more than 200 pisos in a regular taxi.