Domestic travel to different parts of the Philippines can be quite an adventure. Whether you will be flying, taking a boat, or riding on a tricycle or a “skylab” – you can bet it won’t be quite the same as what you are accustomed to! What’s a skylab, by the way? Well, it’s a motorcycle that has kind of a cross bar that people sit on too. Have a look at this to see what I am talking about.
Anyway, today’s Podcast is all about domestic travel in the Philippines. Dave Starr and I talk about some of our travel adventures, and also tips and tricks for domestic travel in the Philippines. Everything from Boat Travel to Car Rentals, we talk about it this week.
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Thanks again for listening, everybody!
Maybe I misunderstood the discussion on domestic flights, but I'm not seeing any one-way tickets from Manila to Davao for around $35. Best I can come up with is about $60 one-way. The taxes are almost triple the cost of the flight. And then there are the airport fees on top of that. Still a decent deal but not great IMO.
Regarding renting a car (driver). How does that work when you are going from Davao to the province? Since we are staying for a week or so, would the driver find another one way and take them back? Since we are responsible for them, I would guess we would feed them upon arrival and then send them on their way? Also you mentioned that it can be hard to find a rental location, could you recommend one in Davao?
Thanks,
Randy
Hi Randy – I think that Dave said that he got a special deal for that price.
There is one car rental place in Davao that I know for sure of, and it is on J.P. Laurel Avenue, near Emcor. I have not gone in and checked prices or policies in the place, I just have seen their sign.
If you are looking for a ride to "the province" you can probably just hire a taxi to take you for a flat fare.
Hi Bob and Dave I just recently got a flight from Davao to Manila first i checked online the fare was P 2417. (P. 688 plus) when i tried to book online the day of i wasnt able to you must purchase two days in advance when i got to the ticket office in SM the fare went up to P. 3550 and btw Bob you can rent a car in the davao airport directly from mitsubishi motors or avis 🙂
Hi Tommy – I'm really glad to hear about the car rentals in Davao at the airport! That's a new development, something I didn't know about yet. Thanks for passing along the info!
Hi Bob,I'm enjoying your podcasts with Philly.Interesting point about net fares v agent prices on domestic flights.Its funny coz here in the UK when we fly to Phils,for the most direct flight,i usually get a cheaper price booking direct with Singapore airlines from Manchester airport(my nearest)than i can get online.The cheaper online flights have to many connections for me.We fly nonstop direct to Singapore,3hr wait,then Silk Air direct to Cebu.(paid and booked all in one).Overnight stay in Cebu then on to CDO.Alternative, they fly direct Mcr to Davao via Singapore,may try this route one day,overnight in Davao then on to Malaybalay.Great airline to.regards Chas.
Hi Chas – Yes, I am familiar with the Singapore Airlines flight through Davao, a lot of people tell me how good Singapore Airlines is!
As a first time visitor to Mindanao and The Philippines, the last thing I would think of is renting a car to drive myself around. With so many different modes of public transportation available, many of which I had never known about before I began learning about the Philippines, I wanted to try them all out as things like Jeepneys, Motorelas, passenger trycicles etc. are unheard of where I live.
Fortunately, I have friends in Iligan City which was my destination. I sent them money ahead to arrange for them to hire a taxi and meet me at CDO Lumbia Airport, wait for my arrival and then we all returned to Iligan City. Considering the 90 minute ride and the cost in USD being less than $50 for a hassle free ride by USA Standards to me that is a real bargain.
I had also made arrangements to charter a Jeepney with a driver for a day to tour Iligan City and the many nearby sites surrounding the city proper. I filled the jeepney with my friends, I rode in the front passenger side seat for best visibility and had a fantastic time doing this ! I had the charter Jeepney for 9 hours all for the cost of about $40 in USD and that included the gas which I think was about 40 peso per leter at the time. I know I probably way overtipped the driver at the end of the day but I felt it was the best way I could express my gratitude to the driver. I couldn't have manuvered some of the tight spots in the traffic the way he did nor would I have had the patience ! I explained to my Iligan friends that if I had chartered a vehicle here in the USA for 9 hours and gave the driver that kind of tip ( about $12 USD ) the driver probably would have spit in my face and yelled all kinds of obscenities at me as a driver here for that amount of time would have been very insulted to say the least.
Obviously, I had an advantage by having friends in The Philippines that I went there to visit who were able to make some of these arrangements, and who to make them with. I wanted to learn about many of the things I had heard, read about or seen in pictures about the Philippines including forms of public transportation that you will not find in the USA or for that matter other parts of the world either. Compared to costs in the USA, public transportation in The Philippines seemed like a great bargain to me and quite plentiful as well.
I had read about unscrupulos taxi drivers and we have similar situations at the New York City airports as well when it comes to foriegniers comming to visit. I did not have any problem with taxi's in Manila going between the International and Domestic airports as I only used what appeared to be licensed cabs in the designated taxi areas near the airport terminals.
For me, renting a car ( USA Style ) to drive myself around on my visit to Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro would have been the last thing I would have wanted to do. ALthough all of the road signs I saw are in English and similar to ours certain motor vehicle regulations and their penalties for breaking them may not be the same. You can see so much more if you don't have to pay attention to driving a car in a place that is unfamiliar.