PHILIPPINES

• Passport
• eTravel Registration: This is a free form that needs to be filled out to enter the Philippines. You can do it at the airport, or to avoid the lines you can complete it here within 72 hours of arrival.  

• Currency: Philippine Peso (1 USD to about 56.6 PHP) Many places in the Philippines are cash only.
• Tipping: Tipping is not as common but always appreciated. Restaurants will often include a 10% service charge on the bill, if they do not, you can leave 10% as a tip. For spas or tour guides a 10% tip is a good rule of thumb, 20-50₱  is appreciated for hotel staff, and you can round up for taxis if you wish.   

• Grab: Philippines' version of Uber. Download the app and use it to order motorbikes or cars and see prices before you book (you can sometimes pay on the app but usually you pay in cash at the end of the ride). The Grab pickup spot is outside of wi-fi at the airport, so order within the airport, take a picture of the driver information and then proceed out to the Grab area (there are no signs but people are outside who can help direct you).   
• Taxi: While there are taxis available, they are often much more expensive than Grab, and they will try to scam riders by stating a set price which will be higher than the fair should be. We suggest avoiding taxis in the Philippines whenever possible. 

• Shuttle Bus: When you walk outside of the airport, there will be plenty of shuttle buses waiting in the parking lot. Simply tell one of the drivers the name of your hotel and they will direct you to the correct bus. Rides are 150₱ per person one way and it will take about 45 minutes to reach the city center. When you wish to return to the airport, tell your hotel your flight time and they will tell you which shuttle you need to take to arrive on time and they will schedule it for you.  
• Taxi: There will be taxis outside if you wish to have a private transfer. This will also take 45 minutes and will be more expensive. 

*There is a 200₱  environmental fee that must be paid per person upon exiting the airport, so make sure to have cash on hand, or use the ATM at the airport. 

• The airport is on the neighboring island, which means you will be going through the crazy process that is getting to Boracay Island, so buckle up:

1. When you exit the airport, you will have an option of a shuttle or tuk tuk to get to the ferry port. Both will be between 40-100₱ per person and must be paid in cash. When you walk out of the airport, the drivers will direct you to an available shuttle and it will leave once it is full.  (If you have very light luggage and don't mind a 10-15 minute walk, you can avoid paying for a ride and walk to the ferry building). 
2. When you get to the port, you will be approached by people saying they can get you through the fee process and get you a ferry to Boracay Island. They make it sound like this is your only option but you can do self service for cheaper.  If you do not mind paying extra, then their services could help make the process easier, otherwise, continue inside to the ticket counters.  
3. When you walk inside, stop and the nearest booth for your tourist arrival card. You only need one per group, but here is where you will fill out your personal information along with your hotel information. Then you will head to the ticket booths.
4. There are multiple different fees that you will pay at the ticket booths, a terminal fee 150₱, environmental fee 300₱, and a boat fee 50₱, all need to be paid in cash. There is a different line for each fee, so start at the left and work your way to the right, lining up each time. When you pay the fee at the corresponding window, you will be handed tickets, papers, etc. some of which need to be filled out, so make sure to do that before you proceed.
5. Next, you will shuffle through to the boarding area. To make things simple, every time you come to an employee, show them the entire stack of all the papers you received and they will take what they need from there. When it is all said and done, you will still have some paperwork remaining (hold on to that until you reach the hotel just to be safe) and each passenger will be handed a laminated boat ticket with a number and name of a boat. Walk out towards the boats and find the boat that matches the name on your ticket, the number is your seat number. Once the boat is filled, it will take off.
6. When you reach the other side, you will once again be met with tuk tuks or shuttles to take you to your hotel. You can ask for a shared ride for a cheaper price (about 40₱ per person) and if you get a private one, you will pay about 100-150₱ total for the tuk tuk. It helps to know which station your hotel is in, when providing information to your driver. 
7. This entire process took about an hour, so account for that when you are leaving the Island. When you head back, you will complete this process in reverse, but without the need to pay the environmental fee. Your hotel can call a tuk tuk for you to get to the ferry terminal and you will go through the ticket booths, boat assignments, and ride again. If you only purchase the boat fee, you can either walk or hail a tuk tuk when you get to the other side. If you purchase a ticket that includes a tuk tuk, you will be given a slip of paper that you will hold up when you get to the other side and the drivers will get you to the right tuk tuk.   

• Grab: Philippines' version of Uber. Download the app and use it to order motorbikes or cars and see prices before you book (you can sometimes pay on the app but usually you pay in cash at the end of the ride). 
• Taxi: While there are taxis available, they are often much more expensive than Grab, and they will try to scam riders by stating a set price which will be higher than the fair should be. We suggest avoiding taxis in the Philippines whenever possible. 

• Credit Cards (preferably with no foreign transaction fee)
• Debit Card
• International Travel Adapter
• Sun Screen
• Filtered Water Bottle: The water in Philippines is NOT safe to drink so you can bring a water bottle with an attached filter or purchase bottled water while you are there.
• No-Jet-Lag: This supplement can help take the edge off of jet lag. It doesn't take it away completely, but does help reduce the time it takes to get back to a normal schedule. 

• Travel Insurance: We highly recommend getting travel insurance for any trip as it is relatively inexpensive and can be very beneficial. Having used it more than once and experienced a trip where we wish we had it, we never leave the country without taking out a policy. We like to use travelinsurance.com, where you can find great rates through many trusted companies. You can compare policies here. 
• Island Hopping: The Philippines is made up of over 7000 islands, so you will most likely be visiting a few on your trip there. However, don't make the mistake of cramming too many islands into your itinerary. It usually takes a full day of travel (either a multi-hour ferry ride or a flight with a layover in one of the major cities) to get from one Island to the next. Either make sure you have plenty of days to visit, or be selective about where you want to stay and then spend at least 3 nights per island to actually enjoy a relaxing trip. 
• Grab: Philippines' version of Uber. Download the app and use it to order motorbikes or cars and see prices before you book. This can be used in the major cities but is not available on the smaller islands. Traffic can be heavy throughout the day so if you can order motorbikes, that will be the quickest way to get around. Helmets are provided for your safety. 
• International SIM: Data is pretty cheap in the Philippines so if you have an unlocked phone, grab a SIM card at the airport to help make navigating, especially ordering Grab's, easier.     
• TripAdvisor Reviews: Unfortunately, reviews in this part of the world cannot always be trusted. Yes, if you see a tour or hotel with hundreds or thousands of positive reviews, it is probably safe to say that the activity is decent, however, you will quickly come to find that at the end of almost every tour or hotel stay, the staff will badger you into writing a review and say that they need to see it to ensure it posts, so of course you will feel obligated to give a positive review under pressure. We simply started saying that we do all reviews when we get home. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, so just be aware that many of the reviews might have been forced and if you can get personal recommendations from other travelers, that is best.   
• Swimming with whale sharks: While you are able to swim with whale sharks in Oslob, most are confined to that small portion of ocean for the tourist attraction and therefore it is not the most humane experience. They will often advertise that the whales are free roaming, but this is not necessarily the case.  After speaking with some locals, we chose not to do it based on time and their habitat conditions, but if you do wish to check it out, do some research before making a final decision.  
• Tours in Coron: Coron is surrounded by beautiful snorkeling, lagoons, and kayaking so you will most likely be joining a tour to check out all the hotspots. There is really no need to book ahead as the town is full of excursion companies. We suggest walking around town and chatting with the different companies to see what deals you can get. Do not take anything less than a tour that includes a free kayak, which many companies will offer after a little negotiation. Also keep in mind that many of these are cash only. If you need to book by credit card, you can do so here. One thing to be aware of when booking is which tour package you are choosing. Companies will offer different packages that include more or less activities, for example, we booked tour A (The super ultimate tour) which included all activities, but others booked tour B which did not have all the activities, and for a cheaper price. Rather than 2 separate boats going out, we were all on the same boat, so when we got to an activity that was included in A but not B, the people in the B group just had to sit in the boat and wait. They were unaware of this when they booked, so always double check to make sure you aren't just sitting around. 
• Private boat tours in Coron: If you wish to have a more private experience, you can always hire a private boat. There are plenty that line the harbor so you can walk down there and book something on the spot. You can also head to the market and pick up food that the crew on the boat will cook for you at your destination. This experience provides you with the opportunity to pick where you want to go and for how long. We opted to go out to Banana Island with 4 people for 4 hours and it was 1,000₱ per person. Most of the boats did not want to accept this price and tried to persuade us to pick a more expensive itinerary, but just hold your ground. They will also sometimes try and sway you towards a different itinerary, but if you have already done your research and know where you want to go, hold your ground then too and you will end up getting what you want for a great price.  
• Motorbike Rentals: Renting a motorbike is a common activity in the Philippines, as it is a great way to get out and explore for only about 500₱ per day. Be very careful about which companies you rent from, make sure to read reviews and if there are any scams mentioned, believe them. There are incidents where the companies will claim damage to the vehicle that was already there and demand payment or they won't return your passport, which they take as collateral at the time of rental. Yes, motorbikes are fun and a great way to explore, but make sure you weight the pros and cons before renting. Also, only do so if you have experience with motorbikes or scooters. The roads on the island are not in great condition, often dirt or full of hills, so it can be dangerous for someone who is new to driving one of these.          
• Female Travelers: We felt extremely safe on the smaller Islands of the Philippines, including walking around at night time. The larger cities do have much more poverty and some neighborhoods are best to be avoided. If you stick to the more touristy areas at night and use grab to get around, you should be fine. As always, just keep an eye on your personal belongings and use good judgement when you are out and about.

• Cebu: On our trip to the Philippines, we only stayed in Cebu for an overnight layover while waiting for our flight to Coron the next day. Therefore we do not have a ton of insight for where to stay if you are visiting the city, but if you are only staying for a layover, the Fairfield By Marriott in Cebu is an excellent option as it is between Cebu and the airport, which will cut down on traffic time, but still get you close enough to explore the city for an evening. The traffic in Cebu can be terrible so if you were to stay in downtown Cebu it can take over 1.5 hours each way which makes catching a flight more difficult. We did venture out that evening to see the main sites and have dinner, however, it was not our favorite city. It seemed very run down with a lot of poverty, which was sad to see, and as far as sites go, there were not many. While others may love the city and find positive aspects about it that we missed, we can safely say that you probably won't miss much if you choose not to spend time in the city and focus more on the islands.  
• Coron: The city of Coron is very walkable so you can easily stay anywhere, however the main part of the town is along Coron-Busuanga Road. Hotels along there or one block on either side (North to South) and between Rosario and Rizal street (East to West) will put you right in the heart of the town, and not require a walk up any hills. 
• Boracay: The main town area and beach are all along Stations 1,2, & 3 and any of these areas are good to stay in. Station 1 will have bars, restaurants and upscale hotels, Station 3 is a little more quiet, with more shopping stalls than bars and restaurants, along with budget friendly hotels, and Station 2 is right in the heart of things and has a great selection of bars, restaurants, shopping, and hotels of all price points. They are all within walking distance of each other though so choose more so based on the hotel you wish to stay at. We had a fabulous stay at Mandarin Bay Resort & Spa. The hotel is brand new, beautiful, and had the friendliest staff of our entire trip. One thing to note is that none of the hotels in the stations have beach lounge chairs, as they are not permitted on the beach, but many will provide towels or beach mats for your use. If you want a quiet, luxury stay with a private beach and lounge chairs then you will want to stay on the NW portion of the island, but you will not be near the town and will need to us taxis or tuk tuks to get to and from the restaurants, bars, and shopping. Shangi-La Boracay is an high end luxury hotel perfect for a romantic, quiet getaway on that part of the island.    
• Manilla: This was another city that we used for an overnight layover, which was too short to get out and explore the city. If you are looking for a great hotel near the airport though, the Sheraton Manila Hotel is fabulous! Depending on traffic, it is a 10-15 minute drive to the airport, offers beautiful rooms, a pool, bar, gym, and is connected to a building with shops, restaurants, and a casino.  

• Lechon: spit roasted suckling pig 
• Adobo: Typically chicken or beef (sometimes seafood or lamb) cooked in a soy/vinegar sauce with spices.
• Sisig: Typically pork belly and remaining parts of the pig, such as cheek or liver, chopped up and fried and then mixed with onions, chilis, and sometimes mayo. Sounds questionable but is actually quite delicious.  

• Cebu:

1. Rico's Lechon: best for lechon in Cebu
2. The Pig & Palm: Upscale dining, excellent food, wine & cocktails

• Coron:

1. Altrove Coron: Excellent pizza
2. Hermanos Tapas & Wine Bar
3. Pacifico Coron: Great for breakfast
4. Poco Deli: Italian & Spanish Cuisine

• Boracay:

1. Aplaya: Italian food
2. Epic Boracay: Upscale Filipino food 
3. Coco Mama: Coconut ice cream stand