Travelling to the Philippines

Getting there by plane:
flight time

From Manila to London is 14 hours 25 minutes; to Paris is 13 hours 20 minutes; to Los Angeles is 11 hours 25 minutes; to New York is 14 hours 30 minutes; to Singapore is 3 hours; to Hong Kong is 1 hour 40 minutes; to Bangkok is 2 hours 35 minutes; to Tokyo is 5 hours 15 minutes and to Sydney is 8 hours.

The metro-Manila area (which includes the cities of Manila-proper, Quezon City, Makati, Pasay, Pasig) contains the premier business, government and entertainment centers of the Philippines. Metro-Manila is in the island of Luzon; the easiest option for travel to Manila is by air.

Getting there thru the International airports

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Metro-Manila is served by Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) which is 15 km/9-miles or less away from the business and/or government centers. The airport - MNL - has daily non-stop flights to and from Bangkok, Hongkong, Shanghai, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Narita; Zurich, Amsterdam and other international gateway cities.

Flight schedules can be found on the Philippine Airlines webpage ( www.philippineairlines.com) or on webpages from Qantas, Northwest Airlines, Swissair, KLM, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and other carriers. Flight (and hotel) information is also available from www.Expedia.Com, www.CheapTickets.com, www.AirGorilla.com.

Clark Airport

Metro-Manila is also served by Clark Airport (CRK). This is about 45 km/28miles from Manila's central business districts. Flights to and from CRK are from regional carriers like Tiger and AirAsia and serve regional cities including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok.

Taxi services are available to the city (travel time – 30 minutes or more because of traffic). Bill and Lorna's Townhouse Hotel Manila is 2-1/2 km (1-1/2 miles ) from the airports and offers a airport pickup service from 6AM to 6PM , Monday to Saturday.

Mactan International Airport

Mactan International Airport (NOP) (Cebu Island) is 45km (28 miles) from the city centre. Hotels and tour operators provide their own coaches; taxis can be hired.

Getting there by Sea

Manila is a major seaport a crossroads of trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Shipping lines which call at Manila include American President Lines, Anline Ben Line Container Ltd, Everett Lines, Hapag-Lloyd 'K' Line, Knutsen Line, Lykes Orient Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, Scandutch Sealand, United States Line and the Waterman Line.

Schedules and rates are listed in the shipping pages of daily newspapers.

Very few people arrive in the Philippines by sea but traveling around the islands once you have arrived is a great experience.

It is possible now to take a ship once a week from Davao in Mindanao to a port near Manado in Sulwesi, Indonesia. Occasionally ships travel between Zamboanga and Sabah, Malaysia but no dependable schedule is available.

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