"Manila - Love It OR Hate It" a Manila Travel Page by malbari

I'm guessing that the very reason you are looking at this page is because you are thinking about visiting Manila. Well, I'm sure that you can get valuable and helpful information about the details of the city from other VT members... so let me give you advice on something else about the city instead. THE AIRPORT. Many times, particularly for first timers, the airport can provide idiomatic perplexities even before you actually reach the city. But trust me, once you graduate from surviving the airport, walking around in the city won't seem that difficult of a job.

Contrary to popular foreign belief, there really is only 1 airport in Manila, however there are 3 different terminals. Don't be confused because the locals sometimes refer to these terminals as "airports" thus making it seem as if they are all located far away from each other. They are not. In fact, all 3 "airports" even use the same runways. However, due to their lengthy distance by foot, you will have to take a taxi if you must transfer from one terminal to the other.

Here they are:
1) PAL Centennial Terminal - This terminal is exclusive to all PAL flights and is where ALL Philippine Airlines flights depart and arrive. Whether your PAL flight is international or domestic, this is the terminal that serves you.
2) Ninoy Aquino International Airport - This is the terminal or "airport" that serves all other INTERNATIONAL flights other than PAL flights. No domestic flights here.
3) Manila Domestic Terminal (also known as Old Domestic Airport to the locals) - This is where DOMESTIC flights within the Philippines depart and arrive and serve airlines such as Air Philippines, Cebu pacific, Seair, Asian Spirit, etc. This terminal does not serve PAL flights.

Most of the confusion lies whenever first timers transit through Manila en route to a domestic destination within the Philippines, as this may involve a change of "airports".

Let me give you a couple of examples:
a) If you're on an international PAL flight coming into Manila and your domestic flight to another city/province in the Philippines is also on PAL then you need not switch terminals. Once you clear immigrations and customs, all you have to do is go the domestic side of the same terminal which is only a few steps away. No biggie. You would never have to leave the terminal.

However, if you are coming in internationally on PAL and your next flight is on another airline, then you will have to leave Centenial and take a taxi to the Old Domestic Airport.

b) If you are coming in to the Philippines on an international flight on an airline OTHER than PAL, then you wil be landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. If your next domestic flight is on PAL, then you will have to leave Ninoy Aquino and take a taxi to the PAL Centenial Terminal. If your domestic flight is on any other airline, then you will have to take a taxi to Old Domestic.

PAL's Centenial Terminal is very clean and modern looking... by far the best of the 3 "airports". Signs are easily visible and staff is friendly and attentive. Immigration lines also don't seem to be as long and Customs is much more of a breeze compared to Ninoy Aquino. You should have no problems here as it will more than likely have the same conveniences of your home airport.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the other hand is in my opinion, a dump. The walls are cracking, it looks dingy and basically needs a massive overhaul. And because of the frequency of international flights coming in from all over the globe, Immigrations and Customs take awhile... in fact they take a long while... I have never stood in an Imig line for less than 20 minutes.

Manila Old Domestic Airport is equally as dumpy but as long as it still stands, the government will keep it open. And since most its passengers are locals coming or going to and from the provinces, the government will probably not see the value in any type of reconstruction of this airport. Keep in mind that the entrance to this airport is very small... and lines eventually bottleneck into one single-file line (one for Male, another for Female) once you get closer to the entrance. Once you're inside, depending on the time of day, it can pure chaos with lines forming every which way and often times overlapping each other due to the tight quarters (it's not very big) and the closeness and architecture of the check-in counters. So if you need to depart from this airport, make sure you do get there early. It can take over an hour to get in the airport and be checked in. Be warned.

A few helpful tips:
Tip 1: AIRPORT HAWKERS/SOLICITORS
The minute you leave the airport (particularly international) and immediately before seeing the taxi stands, some people will come up to you yelling "Taxi, sir! Taxi, sir!" They may even volunteer to help you carry your bags. Decline them. All of them. There are reputable taxi stands just ahead of you who operate registered cabs and will take you anywhere you want to go in the city for a fixed price. But the previously mentioned hawkers will keep insisting... just keep ignoring them. Once in a while they will actually pick up your bags for you without permission. At this point you can show them your annoyed face... Filipinos don't like to annoy others, especially tourists because they are afraid you will yell at them in English which hurts their pride so they shy away from any behavior that may cause you to retort using multiple and complicated English words. If you prefer, you may respond in Tagalog. Simply say "Hindi po" which roughly translates to a polite no. In the Philippines, the word "po" is used a lot when taking to an elderly or a stranger. The word doesn't really translate to anything (like "lah" in Singapore or Malaysia)... it's just a sign of respect. However, if you feel that your privacy has been breached and want to show anger, simply don't use "po" and rahter blurt out "Hindi!" combined with your annoyed-looking face and that's sure to back the hawkers off. Of course you can also go one step further and say, "Alis dyan!" ("Get out of here!").

The above is not that much of a problem at Old Domestic.

Tip 2: REGISTERED TAXIS
Unless someone is picking you up from the airport, go with the registered taxis. They are a little more money than a normal taxi from the airport to the city but they are also the safest. And with plenty of luggage in your possession, along with the look of a first timer, you wouldn't want to take any chances. A fare of about 500 pesos (US$9) to the city should suffice. Anything more than that... move on to the next stall. And there are plenty of them vying for your business. In fact, they will try to lure you from their stalls even if you are already negotiating a fare with one comany. Keep in mind that the workers working the stalls are only allowed to solicit from a certain area... and that area is not very far away from their stalls. They are not allowed to roam around, much less go inside the airport and crowd you the minute you go through the doors to get outside. Otherwise, they lose their right to solicit for the day and receive various fines from the police who patrol the area quite frequently. Although, it may seem like mild chaos with voices everywhere saying, "Taxi! Taxi!", it is organized, believe it or not. Once you settle on a fare, you need not worry about your bags. They will take care of that for you and load it for you. Please tip the driver... they work hard to feed their families. Jobs are dificult to find in Manila and for them, this is a good job.

Tip 3: WHERE TO MEET YOUR PARTY AT NINOY AQUINO
If you are landing at Ninoy Aquino and someone is picking you up, make sure that you guys agree on a specific place to meet. Once those doors open (past the taxi stalls and across the small street) you will see a throng of Filipinos against the fence greeting their loved ones hello. There will be arms flailing about all over the place and although you may temporarily feel like a superstar, frankly, it will be difficult to spot your greeter. My suggestion for you and your welcoming party is... to agree on you going over to the very left side, waiting a minute or two and have your party spot YOU. Make sure your party describes thier attire for the day so you can see who you're looking at when they yell out your name.

This isn't much of a problem at Centennial or at Old Domestic.

Hope this isn't too confusing. Feel free to send me a note and I'l be more than happy to answer it.