first trip to PH next month advice please

Off to Manila next month and as ive never been further south than the isle of wight before then i would be greatful if anyone could give me advice on the following. Mobile phone charging, do i need just an adapter or something that will ramp up the voltage too as ive been told PH electric does not run so high as ours. is there any truth in what i have been told that i will not have phone signal when i arrive and will have to purchase a PH SIM card and credit it b4 i can use it. Money exchange... i have been told not to change pounds into Peso here and wait until i get to Manila and change it up there because of the better exchange rate i can expect to get there, i have also been told that even a better option is to just use my Visa card because this turns out even better. Any advice would be greatfully received thank you

Mabuhay!

Mabuhay! Welcome to Philippines.. please enjoy your stay! Have fun ! And God bless.
You will be ok here

Hi Lester.

Phone charging:

• No need to ramp up the voltage, however the normal plug socket in the Philippines has two flat pins.
• I purchased my Galaxy note in the Philippines, the charger is like this:

Phone signal:

• You may well have a phone signal with your UK phone and sim, however you will be roaming which may well be quite expensive, I think my UK package costs £2 per minute if I was to use it in the Philippines.
• If your UK phone is not locked to a network then you can buy a local sim card to use, be careful to keep your UK sim card safe for when you return home.

Currency exchange:

• Arriving at Manila airport with no money I guess that you are best withdrawing some cash from an ATM. Be aware that your UK bank will most likely charge 3%, the ATM is likely to have a 200 PHP fixed charge (£3 +), and the ATM is also likely to limit the amount you can withdraw so that they can maximise profits.
  
• Using the ATM take out as much as you can in a single withdrawal as the ATM charge is fixed.
• Keep a piece of paper in your wallet next to your ATM card with the exchange rate written on it, and also 5,000 PHP = £80 // 10,000 PHP = £160 or whatever the current rates are.
• Away from the airport I prefer to change at a decent money changer.

Your next question should be about taxis.

Hi Lester, just to add to the good advice above:

The Philippines uses American-type double square-pin plugs and sockets...as on the picture above. Approx. 220v.

I recommend you just buy a travel adapter here, that has that type of fitting included. With that you can use any of your British electrical items. You can also buy suitable adaptors in hardware stores in the Phils, (which are everywhere) if you have any problems with the adaptor you buy here. I have a whole collection of them now.

It's only stuff like digital clocks that are affected by the very slightly different electrical system in the Phils.

.
You haven't said which terminal you're landing at, but at Manila NAIA T1, when you're about to leave the airport arrivals building (just after customs)... to the right and in front of you, look for the official money-changer counters and change a few quid there, to cover you for taxis etc. Next to them are small stalls where you can buy a local SIM card... either SMART or GLOBE. I prefer Globe now, as it comes with free facebook, but anyway 100 pesos or so, and you have a local phone number. You can further top it up in 1,000s of small shops, as per here. Don't forget to put your home sim somewhere safe so you can swap them back later.

Put most the money somewhere well-hidden, your sim in your phone.... and then call your young lady (?) for help.

DON'T FORGET to ring your bank and credit card company before you go, to ask them to flag up the fact that you may be using your cards while in the Philippines... with dates. VERY important... or you may find them refused.

I just take a few hundred quid in my moneybelt, then use my ATM card.

Have you taken out travel insurance ? It may save you from bankruptcy.

Hi Lester. What are your travel plans once you arrive? Will you stay in one of the cities or travel on to a province?

Staying in Manila fot 4 days, then 6 on Bora, 1 on Bacolod for GF dads birthday then day back in Manila b4 returning

Bear in mind Lester, that your head and sleep pattern will be all over the place for the first few days there, because of jet-lag , so take care ... and don't make too many important decisions.

Have taken out travel insurance and intend to get Hepatitis A and B plus typhoid vaccines. Not getting rabies or the other Japanese thing that has been suggested...ive only got 8 pints of blood

Wake up at 3am every day for work, then spend rest of day trying to stay awake, so not bothered about sleep pattern, but have not forecasted on jet lag

So i guess i hold back on the marriage proposal till the 2nd week

Thanks guys for all your help, internet is such a wonderful thing, but so easy to get 10 different answers to 1 question, best to come to a site where the members been there and done it

Exactly, "proceed with haste repent at leisure."

Common sense as in most countries will keep you safe, enjoy the experience.

Well I've been either living there or going backwards and forwards to the place for the past 26 years. Got back from my last trip 3 weeks ago.
Bookmark this site on your phone or tablet etc, so you can communicate with us once you're in that crazy country.

ohhh yo

Ohh you called our country, crazy country! Maybe you forgot your wife came from that country....

I wish all hotels would install universal sockets like this one:



One socket that takes UK / EU round (2 and 3 pin) / US flat (2 and 3 pin) / AU.

Flat, Round, USB for charging your phone...

Sometimes find them in Thailand and Malaysia, not certain about other places. Malaysia uses the UK socket as standard.

Safe journey. Stay safe. I have been to different parts of the Phils on 6 occasions and have never suffered with jetlag. It could be that I'm permanently tired anyway and hadn't noticed! Report back.

Just remembered, the last two times I have stayed in my Manila hotel, I have noticed a red "x" in the middle of the charging symbol when charging my Galaxy Note tablet using my mains charger.

No other hotels, just that one.

The tablet did charge, but noticably slower than normal.

Excuse me ? It was written in a 'jokey' manner. I am VERY fond of the Philippines and the Filipino people... that lovely 'crazy' place. Why do you think I spend so much time there ?

No need to apologise.

No separate departure tax for poriners now mate... included in your ticket.