Philippines: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Philippines feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 419 written places.
The friendliest crowds in Asia; singing is universal and shyness is optional.
✓ Considered polite
- Accept invitations to join meals and videoke - refusing all is rude, joining is joy
- Use po and opo with elders - small words of respect that mean much
- Island-hop by banca boat - it is the archipelago's essence
- Budget time for weather - ferries and flights bend to it
✗ Better avoided
- Criticise anyone publicly - amor propio, personal dignity, matters
- Refuse offered food flatly - take a little
- Rely on tight schedules - Filipino time is relaxed and typhoons are real
- Drink tap water
Worth knowing
- Cash rules outside cities - stock pesos before remote islands
- Tipping is appreciated - 10% or rounding up
- English is everywhere - the third most spoken language nationally
- Jeepneys are the iconic cheap ride - pay forward hand to hand
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.