It doesn't cost much to fly to the Philippines. Expect to pay $900 or less roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco. airplane Some members of the "Living in the Philippines" list say you can get flights from LA for as little as $400. These are courier flights, with no baggage allowed. You can find other flights from LA for $600, with advance purchase requirements and other restrictions.

Public transportation is great in Cebu City. The same cannot be said for Manila. There, they are hard to get and try to make "contracts," rather than go to by the meter, illegal but done more often than not. Her in Cebu, taxis are air-conditioned, reasonably new, and readily available. In Davao too, they are new and fair, but many are small Korean cars, not air conditioned.

You can go anywhere in town, here in Cebu, for $2 (U.S.). A long trip to the airport is about $4. Recently I went to visit a friend and my taxi fare was 25 pesos (about 50 U.S. cents). I gave the driver 30 pesos. After I got out of the taxi, the driver chased me so he could return my change. He could not understand why I gave him such a big tip - or any tip, for that matter.

Taxi drivers here have a dress code with most companies. They wear white shirts and black pants. Most have excellent to fair English. Occasionally you will get a driver who thinks he can speak English, but can't. Get another taxi. He will be happy and so will you. (There are no women drivers) Holiday Taxi's are radio dispatched. So you can call one on your cell phone. There is another company or two who have radio dispatched taxis too.

Jeepney ride

All drivers are not like that. Some will try to take
advantage of you, but they are few, and mostly in Manila.
Taxi drivers in Manila have heard about tipping, too. Insist
that the driver use the meter. If he will not, get out and find another taxi.

I do not recommend buying or driving a car in the Philippines. Most people who do have cars usually have drivers. The traffic is heavy, and drivers pay no attention to the rules of the road. They drive intuitively. However, I have a couple of friends here who drive cars and love it.

Jeepneys are the way most people travel. They are modified Jeep-style vehicles carrying 16 to 18 passengers on benches facing each other in the back. Two more passengers ride with the driver in front. Jeepneys have flags, decorations, colors, family names and nicknames, logos, mud flaps, and other ornaments. Most have altars on the dashboards. The shotgun seat is best and reserved for the disabled. You can travel across the city of Cebu for about 8 U.S. cents. It is the cheapest public transportation in the world, I understand.

Light Rail Transit, Manila

There are many other smaller cities where
the costof living is even cheaper, such as Davao
and General Santos City on the island of Mindanao.

Jeepneys are a bit hard to get at rush hour, though there is not much rush here. (Have you heard of Filipino time?) Jeepneys range from almost empty to extremely crowded.

The roads are often bumpy, and the drivers may drive erratically. If you are tall, watch your head. This is another good reason to wear a hat, maybe a straw made locally, like I do. It does not provide much protection, but telegraphs the blow so you can move away.

Riding in a jeepney has all the excitement and charm of riding a roller coaster. But it is really cheap and a good way to meet many nice local folks. I ride taxis because of a back problem. I really miss riding the jeeps. I made so many friends on them.

High-speed water transportation is available between islands. It is best to use the "Super Ferries". They have cabins and bunks for overnight travel. You can include meals in your ticket. Expect to see rice with each meal. Some of the smaller lines are overcrowded and don�t have enough life jackets to go around, especially during holiday seasons. Filipinos in the cities take the boats to their homes for holidays, so it's best to wait until after holidays or travel by plane. Get a reservation early.

Inter-island Superferry

Smaller boats, called bangkas, make short
trips between islands. They are native boats
made of plywood with bamboo outriggers.

They are fun, but don't go out when the seas are rough. It can be very dangerous.

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