In the U.S., we usually drive or BART, and periodically we get to walk to wherever we need to go.
However, driving in foreign countries can be a little hair-raising, so we decided to work with those in the know in the Philippines.
There are professional drivers who know the city (there are 14 million people in Manila alone), as well as all the different freeways and highways and subdivisions and shortcuts and construction zones, so we took advantage of that knowledge through the drivers that different family members employ.I learned that malapit-lapit means "it's very close, just a short distance from here" and when you hear it, that means that your drive time will range from between 5 minutes to an hour to get somewhere.
We drove around with Elmer in Manila, as well as Paul in Cavite, and Jerome Sandutan (pictured), who also runs a tour service, in Bohol.
There are also taxis (either meter or negotiated beforehand) who take you around. The buses are also plentiful when you need to go a longer distance: most of them are clean and organized, and will make a rest stop every two hours. We took a five hour ride to Baguio on Victory Lines, the red-and-white aircon bus that runs frequent trips to many destinations.
Most people get around using the little tricycles (a motorbike with a carriage attached) and jeepneys, that unique Philippines invention originally from surplus GI jeeps.The jeepney fare (bayad) is 20-40 pesos depending on how far you're going, and you ride along with about 15 people down the route: you get off through the back door after telling the driver.
There is also a light rail train for some destinations within Manila. Being a nation of islands, there are also thousands of pumpboats, ferries, and small boats that can take you from one island to another. You can expect all ranges, from a little boat with chickens to a double-level enclosed SuperCat ferry, with rides as short as 20 minutes to the 25 hour trip from Bohol to Manila.
If you're flying, the Philippines has a domestic terminal that entirely runs PAL (Philippine Air Lines) trips: there is also the international terminal that is named after national hero Ninoy Aquino.
Cebu Pacific is a hot new airline that is at 27% market share and gaining because they encourage booking over the internet and ticket reservations two weeks in advance. Most Filipinos buy a ticket right before the day they want to travel, so Cebu Pacific is changing cultural practices. They also advertised a 1-peso fare a few months ago! With additional charges for taxes and gas, etc. the final fare was more like 1600 pesos, but it was a great marketing scheme to raise their profile.
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