Jeepney in the Philippines

Philippines Travel Costs for Three Weeks

After splurging in Malaysia we were hoping to reduce our travel costs in the Philippines. We only had 21 days to explore but the Philippines turned out to be one of our favourite countries so far; the scenery in the mountain provinces of Luzon were unrivalled in their beauty and what’s more we managed to keep to a much better budget than in Malaysia. So, here’s how much we spent during our three-week Philippines travel experience.

Activity Costs in the Philippines

We had a few things on our ‘must-see’ list for the Philippines, these included trying to spot tiny tarsiers and visiting the amazing Chocolate Hills in Bohol and exploring caves in Sagada. We also wanted to visit the famous Batad and Banaue rice terraces which meant we needed to hire a guide in Batad. While these kinds of experiences would cost us a small fortune in countries like New Zealand, we found all the activities in the Philippines ridiculously cheap. Entrance fees to the Tarsier Sanctuary and Chocolate Hills were less than a pound each while we hired cheap private guides in Sagada and Batad, including three entrepreneurial 11-year-old boys.

ActivityCostPer Person
Tarsier Sanctuary Entrance Fee£1.50£0.75
Chocolate Hills Entrance Fee£1.50£0.75
Batad Hiking Guide£9.50£4.75
Massages after hike£12£6
Amy’s Massage at Nuts Huts£4.50£2.25
Cave Connection tour in Sagada£15£7.50
Mini Guides in Sagada£2.30£1.65
Total£46.30£23.15
Our 11-Year Old Tour Guide in Sagada

One of our mini guides

Philippines Accommodation Costs

Our accommodation costs for the Philippines have been the lowest of our trip so far, over £1.50 less per day than in super-cheap Indonesia. The places we stayed in usually didn’t have hot water though and at Nuts Huts we had manual-flush toilet; we also would have had to pay extra to use power points in Batad and Banaue. However, overall we found that Philippines hotels were good value for money; hotels in Manila, for example, can be expensive but we found a studio apartment with air-con, hot water, fridge, TV, table and chairs and a balcony all for just over £10 per night. In Sagada we had a really nice bright room with a great view from the balcony for about £9 per night. There was only one hotel we didn’t like in the Philippines in Baguio City; it was dingy with a disgusting bathroom and we couldn’t wait to get out the next morning.

ExpenseTotal
Per Person
Per Day
Accommodation£220£110£10.50

 

Amy in Hammock at Nuts Huts

Amy in a hammock at Nuts Huts

Philippine Food Costs

This was one of our (Amy’s) biggest worries about visiting the Philippines, as we’d heard that it was hard to find vegetarian food there. However, the reality for us was that we tasted some of the best food so far on our adventure. While in Tagbilaran we ate a few times at The Buzz, owned by The Bohol Bee Farm; this café had some delicious salads and freshly-baked bread which meant we returned time after time; the only problem was that we argued over who got what when sharing the meals out! We also loved The Yoghurt House in Sagada; the breakfasts were second to none and we had nearly all of our meals there while staying in the mountains. We also had great food at Nuts Huts and got by with simple rice dishes in Banaue and Batad.  Manila was one place we didn’t really explore much and as such didn’t find amazing food, we had a pizza at Shakey’s and went to the supermarket to make some noodles back at our apartment.

No doubt we could have lowered our food costs had we stuck to local dishes but that would have meant either rice and omelettes for Amy (everything else was very meat-based) or sugary fatty fast-foods. I’m glad we splurged on some tasty meals though, especially since we did so much trekking and the Philippines.

ExpenseTotal
Per Person
Per Day
Food£270£135£12.90

Hikers Breakfast at the Yoghurt House, Sagada

Transport Costs in the Philippines

Considering we took two domestic flights during our trip to the Philippines, we kept our transport costs pretty low. Domestic flights are so cheap in the Philippines; our flight to Manila cost us just £15 each with Zest Air. There isn’t a well-established tourist transport network in the Philippines so all the buses we took were the same ones the locals used; these were comfortable and it was reassuring to know we weren’t being ripped off. We took quite a few buses during our three-week trip, most of which were great as we got to see such spectacular scenery, although the overnight bus from Manila to Banaue was awful, with the ice-cold air-con blasting us in the face.

We also took the ferry to cross from Cebu to Bohol, this took about an hour and a half and they even showed the latest Hollywood blockbuster (pirated of course) en-route. The crossings were smooth and they served food on the ferry too if you wanted it. The only problem we encountered was that the taxi drivers waiting at the port would hike up their prices.

Overall though, taxis are reasonably priced in the Philippines and often run on a meter. We nearly booked a taxi to take us all the way from Manila to Clark Airport for £50 after realising that Tiger Air had changed our flight to Thailand. However, in the end we managed to find a bus from Manila at about 2.30am which saved us about £40.

We took a few fun trike rides in the Philippines and managed to negotiate reasonable prices each time. Lots of people get around on scooters, which are pretty cheap if you’re confident enough to drive one. You can also use a local jeepney; these open-ended vans are cheap but can be a little hairy at times, we often felt like sardines as more and more locals crammed in, hanging from the sides and flexing the roof of the brightly-coloured vehicle.

ExpenseTotal
Per Person
FlightsManila to Cebu: £31.90£15.95
Cebu to Manila: £29.80£14.90
BusesPhiltranco bus from Clark Airport to Manila: £12£6
Bus from Manila to Banaue: £13.70£6.85
Bus from Banaue to Bontoc: £3.60£1.55
Bus from Sagada to Baguio City: £6.70£3.35
Bus from Baguio City to Manila : £14£7
Bus from Clark Airport Lounge (Manila) to Clark Airport: £6£3
Bus from Tagbilaran to Nuts Huts Entrance Road: £1.20£0.60
Bus from Nuts Huts to Chocolate Hills (Return): £1.80£0.90
Bus from Nuts Huts to Tagbilaran: £0.90£0.45
JeepneysThree Jeepneys in total: £6.70£3.35
TaxisTen taxis in total: £23.50£11.75
TrikesNine Trikes in total: £9.90£4.95
FerriesFerry from Cebu to Tagbilaran: £10£5
Ferry from Tagbilaran to Cebu: £10£5
Total:£235.70£117.85

 

Jeepney in the Philippines

Colourful Jeepney

Miscellaneous Costs

We had a few miscellaneous costs while travelling in the Philippines; we found that our travel adaptor didn’t quite fit all the sockets so we had to get another one, Amy’s flip flops broke at the most inopportune moment and my sunglasses took their last fall and lost their lenses so we needed to get replacements. Laundry was similarly priced to the other countries that we have visited, so there were no surprises there.

ExpenseTotal
Per Person
Laundry£10£5
Sim card & credit£3.80£1.90
Toiletries£5.30£2.65
Haircut£1.30N/A
Tourist Registration Fees in Sagada & Batad£2£1
Sunglasses, flipflops, adaptor, map£11£5.50
Tips for photos at the Banaue Rice Terraces£1£0.50
Miscellaneous£34.40£17.20

Total Philippines Travel Costs for 21 days

The Philippines became our surprise favourite country during our three weeks there; we ate some delicious food, met some wonderful locals and saw some mind-blowing sights. We managed to keep costs pretty low for our time here too which was a bonus. Even though we spent very little we still enjoyed ourselves immensely and we have already planned a time to re-visit the Philippines islands.

ExpenseTotalPer PersonPer Day
Activities£46.30£23.15£2.20
Accommodation£220£110£10.50
Food£270£135£12.85
Transport£235.70£117.85£11.20
Miscellaneous£34.40£17.20£1.64
Total£806.40£403.20£38.40

Philippines Travel Costs for three weeks

Pin Me!

As always, we used the tremendous Trail Wallet app to track all of our spending – version two is out now in the app store!

20 Comments
  • Patti
    Posted at 20:13h, 18 October Reply

    Another informative post for me to share with my readers!

    • Andrew
      Posted at 00:47h, 19 October Reply

      Thanks Patti, please do! 🙂

  • Kerri
    Posted at 20:39h, 18 October Reply

    Great break down of costs. I am amazed how cheap the flights were. Thanks for sharing!

    • Andrew
      Posted at 00:46h, 19 October Reply

      Thanks Kerri, it is an amazing and beautiful country and more people should experience it. Are you thinking about visiting? 🙂

  • Steph (@ 20 Years Hence)
    Posted at 16:13h, 20 October Reply

    I was so surprised that flights in Indonesia were so pricey compared to the Philippines; I had thought they would be similarly priced, but unless you book well in advance in Indonesia (or are just going to the nearest city) they can really be quite pricey there, whereas they always seemed so cheap in the Philippines.

    I’m glad you guys enjoyed the food so much—we definitely tried to eat local and I think we didn’t exactly benefit from that approach there. And I’m so happy you’re already planning a return trip—it’s a wonderful country! 😀

    • Amy
      Posted at 17:30h, 20 October Reply

      We found flights in Indonesia a lot more expensive than in the Philippines too Steph. Overall, the Philippines is so cheap in comparison to pretty much everywhere we’ve been so far and we can’t wait to get back and explore more of the country.

  • Heidi Wagoner
    Posted at 09:41h, 23 October Reply

    I love that you guys are just as crazy as I am with spreadsheets and tracking costs. I especially like that we are heading to SE Asia next and possibly the Philippines, you never know. So this is most helpful with our planning. Thanks!

    • Amy
      Posted at 11:34h, 23 October Reply

      I would highly recommend making a stop in the Philippines Heidi; it’s amazing and so affordable compared to the other places we’ve been in SE Asia so far.

  • Karla
    Posted at 17:29h, 25 March Reply

    glad you loved my country!!! If you guys ever come back email me for tips or whatever. I will gladly help you out!

    • Amy
      Posted at 08:11h, 26 March Reply

      Thanks Karla, it’s great to hear from you! We’ll certainly let you know if we need any advice 🙂

  • Lina @ Divergent Travelers
    Posted at 16:58h, 01 October Reply

    Really great writeup on the Philippines. We are headed there in 2 weeks and I are looking to do some of the same things as you. Nice to see that you can keep it affordable! We use Trail Wallet also and just LOVE it! 🙂

    • Amy
      Posted at 13:59h, 02 October Reply

      Thanks Lina! I’m jealous that you’re off to the Philippines and I hope you have an amazing time; I would say Batad is a must 🙂

  • Sam B
    Posted at 11:23h, 24 May Reply

    HI! I know this post is very old but I see that you were in the Philippines in September (at least judging by when this was posted)? I am planning a trip there this september and I know it is the middle of rainy/typhoon season but it’s just how my plans have worked out.. In your opinion, how was the weather during this time? I can’t really grasp the charts and mm readings I get from weather websites, I’d like to hear from someone first hand. I’d like to be around Manila, Palawan, Cebu and Bohol. Thanks for reading this and hopefully you can help me!

    • Amy
      Posted at 21:03h, 24 May Reply

      Hi Sam, thanks for reading and commenting. I’m afraid we weren’t actually in the Philippines in September, we were there in July and on another occasion in April; both times the weather was hot and sunny. Sorry we can’t really be more help, I’m sure you will still have a great time, the Philippines is awesome. We’ve travelled to many countries in SE Asia during their rainy seasons and it’s been fine.

  • tidge
    Posted at 06:16h, 23 June Reply

    Hi there Amy, just want to react about the weather here this coming September, the El Nino is fading by the month of August, its already June and its raining already… PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) La Nina will enter the country by September, and will expect heavy rains during this month, based on the weather news recently, rainy season already starts in Mindanao area.

    Weather here in the Metro is fine, sunny at day and drizzle at night. So going to Sagada this month is a no no due to unpredictable weather condition, might as well visit Northern Luzon like La Union, and Ilocos, food at this region are great, more variety of vegetables due to locals are more into vegetables and fish than meat.

    • Amy
      Posted at 09:05h, 23 June Reply

      Hi Tidge, thanks so much for the detailed information, I’m sure that will be helpful for people visiting at that time. I like the sound of the extra veggies 🙂

  • Baron Travel
    Posted at 02:54h, 26 March Reply

    I’m anticipating falling deeply in love with the Philippines when I go next year. Luckily I have no time restraint. I’ve got Boracay, Palawan, and Cebu on my hit list.

    • Amy
      Posted at 21:35h, 30 March Reply

      Sounds incredible! We loved the Philippines, have fun!

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