Originally Posted by
mickeyb1ueeyes
I booked a business trip to MNL. A couple weeks later, it was decided that I would also jump over to Cebu for a day for work as well. So, these two reservations were booked separately, but the return flights we "aligned." I didn't know at the time that MNL Terminal 1 and MNL Terminals 2 or 3 are almost like different airports.
Here's the connection I need to make:
PAL 836: CEB to MNL (5:00AM / 6:15AM) - Terminal 2 (I presume)
DL 172: MNL to NRT (8:05AM / 1:05PM) - Terminal 1 (I presume)
I've been told that transferring from T3 to T1 is likened to leaving one airport and going to another, and that transferring from T2 to T1 can be accomplished from within the airport, but the walk is around 45 minutes and I'll be "all sweaty by the time [I] get there." There is allegedly a shuttle, or I can hire a car or take a taxi.
As I understand it, I have 1:20 (minus 30 due to checked luggage) to deplane, collect a checked bag (too big for carry-on), board a shuttle, check a bag with Delta, pay a tax to leave the country, and go through security at T1.
Is the walk that bad? Would it be better to shuttle or taxi? Why are these "terminals" of the same airport so incompatible with one another? (That last one was rhetorical.)
Thanks in advance.
The walk is not that bad: there's a service road connecting Terminals 2 and 1 through the Cargo Terminal, and it will only take you 15 minutes at most. You will not walk along the highway, and if you like planespotting, you will get wonderful up-close views of the tarmac at Terminal 1.
Buses and jeepneys also ply along that road, so feel free to take a bus instead and go down at Terminal 1 if you don't want to walk (the fare is P12 for the bus; P8 for the jeepney). The bus stop is located close to the departure ramp at Terminal 2: when you exit the terminal onto arrivals, turn left and go all the way to the service road: you'll see buses stop by there already. Whoever gave you that 45-minute walk along the highway spiel is completely nuts, as far as I'm concerned, unless you're coming from Terminals 3 or 4.
You can also take the airport shuttle bus, but since you're cutting it close, I won't recommend it here.
If you can, try having your bags checked through: PR and DL have an interline agreement if my memory serves me right. However, I know they refuse to do this in MNL: you might have better luck in CEB.