Philippines in Late March Early April
 

I was thinking to make a trip with my father to Cebu and Manila during the later part of March early April. From what I have read the weather is good at this time. Is that the case? Also what hotel do you recommend in Manila. I have see some great deals at hotels such as The Manila Hotel, Pan Pacific, Peninsula Hotels etc.

I was looking at Hotels.com but I was wondering if there is an even better website for nice hotels like the Pan Pacific etc that gives better rates and includes taxes. Do you know if there are special websites specific for discounts in Manila.

As for airfare from San Francisco it looks like Philippine Airlines has the best schedule. Do you know of a good website to book the airfare with an included stop in Manila on the return. So SFO-MNL-CEB and then CEB-MNL and then to SFO one week later.

Can I get discounts from the $1150 airfare that I am seeing. Any consolidator deals that can give us good airfares in coach or business class. Is there a heavily discounted business class ticket?

As for jetlag going there I have heard that one must stay up the entire day before and sleep on the plane. The flight stops in Guam on the way. For the return trip how do you do it? What are some tips for going to and from Asia with regards to jetlag?

With regards to transportation to and from the airport should we book the hotel car service as opposed to a taxi that could overcharge us or a shuttle that will take us on a long route?

Any other tips and good places to see in Manila? I was thinking to go to Rizal Park, Forbes Park Intramurous. Any other cool spots that many tourist don't even know about like a good place for breakfast that is not too expensive, a good place for lunch and dinner? What is a good supermarket to get goods to picnic? Any good picnic spots? With regards to the cuisine what should we expect can we expect? Is there dishes such as chicken, beef, vegetables, fruit etc?

What are staple dishes for breakfast,lunch,dinner? Can you get Fanta over in Asia? Does it taste like the European Fanta?

Thanks

1) I wouldn't worry about booking travel to Cebu from the USA. There are a ton of domestic flights in the Philippines that are super cheap and the flight's only an hour or so from MNL. You can do a LOT better than 1150 USD from SFO-MNL if you shop around. Well, except for the June-July and December vacation periods.

2) The weather at the time is hot and dry season, and the heat can be oppressively hot, tropical and muggy. The good news is that it's beach weather.

3) Your target dates are Easter week, known as Holy Week in the Philippines, and the whole country gets the days from Thursday-Sunday off. Hotels in resort areas will be ultra-high season priced, and availability may not be easy.

4) http://www.asiarooms.com/ can give you an overview about hotels and prices.

1) Hotel in Manila - Crowne Plaza (in Ortigas) or Intercontinental (in Makati). You can book these hotels in Priority Club website. Hotel rate starts from $120-150 per night. Or you can also try Shangrila (Ortigas or Makati) or the Manila Pen. You can book these rates at discount in advance (non-flex).

I have stayed at the Crowne and IC several times being a member of PC and I would say these are nice hotels. CP is located inside a big mall and IC Manila is just a 3 minute walk. You can either go through the basement parking entrance or just across it are diff malls ( Glorietta/SM/Rustans). At night time IC is near to where the bars and night lifes are.

Same thing with Shang and Manila Pen.

2) Transport - from the airport there are taxis with fixed rate ( for each location) and you pay first at the counter. No one is gonna rip you off on this one. Tip is necessary ( about $1-5 will do). Tha taxi fare will be around $10 max.

From the hotel, it is a metered taxi and it is the same thing you wont pay that much. Just make sure the hotel called for your taxi.

3) Tipping is necessary especially in your hotel room so you will get extras. $1-2/day will go a long way.

4) Places to see in Manila - try tripadvisor. or you can go to SM Mall of Asia and try to watch an IMAX movie. Its got one of the largest screen in Asia. Plus theres a lot of bars near the malls at night time. I think its one of the biggest mall in the world too.

Daytime - Luneta, Intramuros, etc.

It is always better to get car rentals from the hotel if you dont wanna drive. That way you just pay the bill at the end of the stay for eveything.

Oh btw, ask for "Insider Experience booking" at the Intercontinental Manila and that will include hotel/sightseeing/car etc. it can also be found in the Intercontinental website. If Money is not a problem suites starts at $300/nyt. if you have time enroll in "Ambassador" program of the IC and see the benefits.

The hyatt hotel and casino in Manila is very nice and hey they have a casino!

I use Cebu Pacific for all intra PI travel and they are good IMO for a LCC. Check out Eva air from the west coast which connects into TPE and onto MNL. They have an Evergreen Deluxe class that is like biz lite. Good value.