More than 7,000 islands with white sand beaches, turquoise water and rice terraces: the Philippines is a tropical paradise.
The Philippines is more than 7,000 islands in the Pacific, and that defines the trip: it is a destination of white sand beaches, turquoise water, diving among the best in the world, hidden lagoons and enormous hospitality. Unlike its neighbours, it is a mainly Catholic country with English as a co-official language, which makes it surprisingly easy to travel: people understand English and the signs read without difficulty.
The bulk of the tourism concentrates in three areas. Palawan, to the west, has the most iconic scenery: the lagoons and limestone cliffs of El Nido and Coron, and the underground river at Puerto Princesa. The Visayas, in the centre (Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Boracay), combine beaches, diving with whale sharks, the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers. And Mindanao, to the south, has the relaxed surfing jewel of Siargao. Manila, the chaotic capital, is usually just a point of entry. Almost everything connects with cheap domestic flights plus ferries and boats.
The best of it is the beauty of the islands and how easy it is to communicate in English; what surprises you, and needs planning, is that the distances are enormous and the transfers between islands eat time and depend on the weather. It is a country to take slowly, choosing two or three areas rather than trying to cover it all in one trip.
The local currency is the Philippine peso (PHP). Outside Manila and the big cities cash rules — many islands, towns and small shops do not take cards — so arrive with small notes and do not rely on plastic alone. ATMs are plentiful in the cities but usually charge a fee and have a withdrawal cap per transaction, so take money out before heading to remote areas. As always, tell your bank before travelling and check the day's rate.
Full converter for PHP →There are direct flights from several Asian and Middle Eastern hubs, and from North America and Europe you connect through Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Doha, Dubai or Istanbul, arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (MNL), the main gateway. The second most convenient entrance is Mactan-Cebu (CEB), in the centre of the country, ideal if you are starting with the Visayas or Palawan. Once inside, moving around the archipelago is part of the adventure: the Philippines is more than 7,000 islands, so distances are enormous and the plane is your best ally. For the long hops fly with local airlines such as Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines or AirAsia, which connect dozens of airports at accessible prices (El Nido, Coron, Siargao, Bohol, Boracay via Caticlan, among many others). Between nearby islands the ferries and fast boats — 2GO, OceanJet, SuperCat — are cheap and part of the charm, though it is worth taking the distances calmly and leaving margin in case the weather delays a departure.
The Philippines is tropical and broadly has three seasons. The best time to travel is the cool dry season, December to February or March: good weather, calmer seas for island hopping and less humidity. From March to May comes the strong heat of the local summer, ideal for the beach but very hot inland. The rainy and typhoon season runs from June to October or November, and that is where the greatest care is needed: typhoons (bagyo) can cancel flights and ferries and ruin whole days, above all in the eastern and northern halves of the country.
One key planning detail: the climate varies a great deal between regions because of the monsoons. When one coast is having rain, another is usually dry, so if you travel in a doubtful season, choose the destination by the month. Palawan and the central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Boracay) have their best window from November to May. Siargao, in the southeast, gets its best surf swell between September and November. If your trip is fixed in typhoon season, always leave buffer days between transfers and do not chain tight flight connections.
Filipino food is different from the rest of Southeast Asia: less spicy, with Spanish, Chinese and Malay influence, and sweet-and-salty flavours. The dishes to try: adobo (meat stewed in vinegar, soy and garlic, the national dish), sinigang (a sour tamarind soup), lechón (whole roast pig, the star of any celebration), kare-kare (a stew with peanut sauce), pancit (stir-fried noodles) and halo-halo for dessert, a glass of shaved ice with fruit, jellies, milk and ice cream. You will see a lot of Hispanic heritage in the names (adobo, lechón, menudo).
You eat cheaply at the carinderias, the local buffet-style canteens where you point at what you want: a full plate costs USD 2 to 4, verified July 2026, and even in tourist areas a meal rarely spirals. On the islands the stars are extremely fresh grilled fish and seafood. The local beer is San Miguel — yes, of Spanish origin — and Tanduay rum is very cheap. Tipping is not obligatory; restaurants usually add a 10% service charge to the bill.
The Philippines is a safe destination in the usual travel areas (Palawan, the Visayas, Siargao, Boracay), with very hospitable people. The precautions are the usual ones: theft and pickpocketing in busy areas of Manila and Cebu, do not flaunt valuables, and use Grab rather than taxis with a negotiated price in the cities. Governments firmly advise against travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of armed conflict and kidnapping risk; the country's tourist areas, including Siargao in eastern Mindanao, are outside that advisory, but do inform yourself before moving around the south.
There are no compulsory vaccinations, but hepatitis A and typhoid are recommended and you should guard against dengue with repellent, as it is endemic. Tap water is not drinkable: always drink bottled. The country sits on the Ring of Fire and in the typhoon belt, so there are volcanoes, earthquakes and tropical storms; in the rainy season follow the weather bulletins. Travel insurance with good medical and evacuation cover is essential, all the more so because many islands are a long way from a proper hospital. The national emergency number is 911, verified July 2026.
The Philippines is an economical destination, though the internal flights between islands and the island hopping tours add up and make it slightly more expensive than Vietnam. On a backpacker profile you travel comfortably on about USD 30 to 40 a day; a mid-range profile runs USD 60 to 90 a day; and from USD 120 a day you travel with room to spare, with good beach resorts and activities like diving, verified July 2026. These figures exclude the international flight and the domestic ones, which are key given how far apart the islands are.
Concrete references, July 2026: a hostel dorm bed costs USD 8 to 15 and a decent private double or bungalow USD 20 to 45. A plate at a local carinderia runs USD 2 to 4 and a meal at a tourist restaurant USD 6 to 12. A domestic flight with Cebu Pacific or AirAsia, booked ahead, is around USD 30 to 70; a ferry between nearby islands USD 5 to 25. A full-day island hopping tour in El Nido costs USD 20 to 30 with lunch; scooter hire USD 6 to 10 a day; an Open Water diving course USD 350 to 450. A San Miguel beer, around USD 1 to 1.50.
The Philippines has a great advantage for the traveller: English is a co-official language and is very widely spoken, so communicating is easy — Filipino, or Tagalog, is the other language, and there are dozens of local ones. Centuries of Spanish colonisation also mean you will recognise a great many words and surnames (mesa, silla, kumusta from 'cómo estás') and a Catholic, family-centred culture. People are warm, smiling and helpful; courtesy is valued, as is avoiding making anyone lose composure in public. 'Po' and 'opo' are used as marks of respect when speaking to elders.
The plug is type A/B, flat pins as in the United States, and the voltage is 220 V — a slightly unusual combination: the plugs fit but check your chargers accept 220-240 V. Connectivity has improved but is uneven: buy a tourist SIM or eSIM from Globe or Smart on arrival, around USD 8 to 15 with data, knowing that on remote islands the signal can be weak or absent. Two pieces of advice from having been there: do not underestimate transfer times between islands, because a 'short hop' can be half a day between banca, van and ferry; and always leave buffer days before your international flight, because a typhoon or rough seas can cancel a departure and leave you stranded.
More than seven thousand islands scattered between the South China Sea and the Pacific, on the edge of the Ring of Fire, with active volcanoes, yearly typhoons and a biodiversity found nowhere else: the Philippines is, above all, an archipelago, and almost everything in its history comes back to that. It was settled by Austronesian seafarers who crossed the sea in canoes thousands of years ago; it was a crossroads where Chinese, Malay, Arab and Indian merchants met long before the first European showed up; and for 333 years it was Spain's only colony in Asia, named after a king, Philip II, who never set foot there.
Philippine history is the story of a country that was conquered, evangelised and renamed by the West, yet never stopped being deeply Asian and Malay underneath. It is the story of the first battle a local chief won against the Spanish, at Mactan, in 1521; of a reform movement that produced a writer-hero, José Rizal, executed by firing squad at 35; of Asia's first democratic republic, in 1898, crushed almost at once by a new power, the United States; of a brutal Japanese occupation, a long dictatorship and a peaceful uprising that made headlines around the world. This is that history, told with names, dates and figures.
Read the full history of Philippines →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
