Manila

Coronavirus in Manila

As much as it pains us to say, now is not the best time to be boarding that plane, boat or train. More and more countries are going into COVID-19 lockdown and closing their borders, which is making it virtually impossible to travel anyway. You can track the current coronavirus right now.

Culture in Manila

We've written a very extensive guide filled with insightfull comments and handy tips and tricks about all the aspects to travelling in Philippines. We've summarized the most critical things below, but you can discover more information in our detailed guide to Philippines.

Money in Manila

Currencie(s): Philippine peso

• 1 Philippine peso = 0.02 €
• 1 Philippine peso = 0.02 $
• 1 Philippine peso = 0.02 £

Corruption: Philippines has a corruption score of 64/100.
If your itinerary runs through Philippines, watch out for muggers and beware of corrupt police officers. According to Transparency International, Philippines scores average on the list of corrupt nations around the world.

Philippines is concidered to be a relatively dangerous country, with a Global Peace Index of 2.52 out of 4.
This report is the only one of its kind that measures how dangerous or safe a nation is based on 23 different indicators, including political terror, deaths from internal conflict, murder rate, and ease of access to small arms and light weapons.

Language in Manila

Language(s): English

Food & Drinks in Manila

2 National dishes: Adobo & Sinigang.

Tap Water: Do not drink. According the the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - USA, Source), you might want to drink bottled water because travellers' diarrhoea, hepatitis A, typhoid and cholera are among the illnesses that can be transmitted with bad water.

Drinking age: The minimum age for drinking in Manila is 18.

Religion in Manila

Philippines is a religious country. According to the Gallup Poll in 2009 research, 96% of the population thinks religion is important in their daily life. More info about this study can be found here. The religous adherents are Roman Catholic 80.9%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, Muslim 5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census). Read this article about the impact of religion on your travel plans.

Sex & Relationships in Manila

Age of Consent: 12 years.
At the age of 12, an individual is considered mature enough in Philippines to consent to sex. Sexual relations with someone under the Age of Consent are considered statutory rape.

Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is not legalized in Philippines.

Philippines scores a 0/10 on the 'Gay Travel Index'.
Please note: Certain cities, tourist areas and resorts can sometimes be LGBTQ+ friendly even when the laws in Philippines are very anti-LGBTQ+. In all cases, do your research, check official government data for up-to-date news and if you feel apprehensive consider travelling to a more LGBTQ+ friendly country.

National Sports in Manila

A lot of countries and cultures have an obsession with sports, almost reaching religious proportions. In this case, Arnis & Sipa is Philippines their national sport.

Other practical tips for Manila

Timezone: UTC+08:00

Driving: Right-hand traffic.

Power adapters and converters: 220 V (60 Hz), Plug A / B / C

Weather: Currently scattered clouds, with a temperature between 26.7 and 28°C (80 and 82.4°F)

Pollution (PM2.5 fine dust particles): 18.07 µg/m3
PM2.5 Fine dust particulates can be carried deep into the lungs where they can cause inflammation and a worsening of the condition of people with heart and lung diseases. The smaller the particles the deeper they travel into the lungs, with more potential for harm. Note that the World Health Organisation's guideline value is 20 µg/m3. So you have nothing to worry about when travelling to Philippines.

Fly to Manila

• MNL - Ninoy Aquino International Airport, 7 Kilometers (5 Miles) from the Manila city center.
• SFS - Subic Bay International Airport, 83 Kilometers (51 Miles) from the Manila city center.
• CRK - Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, 83 Kilometers (52 Miles) from the Manila city center.

Map of Manila

List of interesting places in Manila