Beware if you travel alone to the Philippines

[Piso Envy 5]

There are two terminals serving international flights at NAIA and you can be spared the aggravation of touts and would-be scammers if you can arrange in advance where to meet up.

Terminal 1 is the older and more chaotic of the two as it serves all airlines except the national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL). When you go down any of the two ramps, there are waiting bays with alphabetical designations just before you cross the street to the designated waiting area for arriving passengers. So an arriving Mr. Jones, for example, can tell his welcome party to look for him under the "J-K" bay.

Terminal 2 (Centennial Terminal), which serves only PAL flights, is much less congested and it is easier to find people there. You can set as meeting place a coffee shop (there's only one free-standing) to the far right of the arrival area, a few meters away from the throng of people waiting for passengers.

Grace

And there is Terminal 3, which Ceebu Pacific uses for both their domestic and international flights, also Air Philippines and All Nippon are also the new terminal.

Edited May 9, 2011 by we2500

[graceroxas 17]

And there is Terminal 3, which Ceebu Pacific uses for both their domestic and international flights, also Air Philippines and All Nippon are now using the new terminal.

Thanks for the correction. So far, I've only been to T3 for domestic flights so I've always thought it's just for local carriers.

Edited May 9, 2011 by graceroxas

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This is actually my pet peeve and is by far the most common scam that I think you would encounter there. Even Pinoys are not spared. Even if I can afford what they charge out-of-meter, I still refuse, out of principle, to patronize cabbies who do this. I always make sure that they flag down the meter before the cab moves any place far and if they don't, I alight. If they picked you up while lining up in a queue, then it will be a bother for them to replace you (a well-deserved one too).

Grace

And make sure they reset the meter. Sometimes if they just had a short fare they leave the meter running when a new passenger boards the taxi.

[southcalhog 43]

There are two terminals serving international flights at NAIA and you can be spared the aggravation of touts and would-be scammers if you can arrange in advance where to meet up.

Terminal 1 is the older and more chaotic of the two as it serves all airlines except the national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL). When you go down any of the two ramps, there are waiting bays with alphabetical designations just before you cross the street to the designated waiting area for arriving passengers. So an arriving Mr. Jones, for example, can tell his welcome party to look for him under the "J-K" bay.

Terminal 2 (Centennial Terminal), which serves only PAL flights, is much less congested and it is easier to find people there. You can set as meeting place a coffee shop (there's only one free-standing) to the far right of the arrival area, a few meters away from the throng of people waiting for passengers.

Grace

Grace you know you are right!I Arrived at Terminal 1 it is a old buliding.But I didnt see 2 ramps but im sure they were there.I was just following the porter that was leading me down a ramp.I was watching all around me cause i didnt know where he was taking me? Ha Ha! But where is the bay signs you were talking about? on top? I was really focused on my surroundings and looking for my Fiance at the same time. Ha Ha!

[graceroxas 17]

Grace you know you are right!I Arrived at Terminal 1 it is a old buliding.But I didnt see 2 ramps but im sure they were there.I was just following the porter that was leading me down a ramp.I was watching all around me cause i didnt know where he was taking me? Ha Ha! But where is the bay signs you were talking about? on top? I was really focused on my surroundings and looking for my Fiance at the same time. Ha Ha!

There's another ramp opposite the one you went down on. Anyway, the bay signs are directly overhead of you when you reach the ground level, so it might be more visible to the people in the waiting area across the road, but they're there if you look up.

Btw, T2 also has bay signs but they're numbers, not alphabets.

Grace

[graceroxas 17]

And make sure they reset the meter. Sometimes if they just had a short fare they leave the meter running when a new passenger boards the taxi.

And the flag down rate now is 40 pesos.

[Richie Rich 70]

At the airport in Gensan in Mindanow --you have to pay to use the baggage carts .Each person have their name on it .If you use it to push yr luggage or they push it on their cart --you have to pay .Then while walking out you have to pay another ''baggage fee '' to some persons at the airport as you exit . What a rip off . Maybe it is ways to make money for the local govt there .

[ThomKimQC 14]

Hey on another note you wanna know the biggest scam of all in Phils! (Manila Customs). How bout those folks like me who send merchandise over to loved ones from America through the USPS and when the packages reach Manila customs at Ninoy they hold the darn package after it is scanned if it seems of value. I sent my fiance a new Dell Computer through express mail, paid $310 USD for the shipment which I tracked online. It arrived in Manila 3 days, but the status never updated to out for delivery for two weeks so I called my Post master to file an inquiry, 2 days later my post master called me back and said the package is held up at customs for some reason and gave me the number to call. So I called and got a woman on the phone (very nice) and I inquired about my lady laptop and she told me that the package needs to be picked up by Ms. Kimberly. I asked why, because my lady lives in Quezon City, which means she would have to travel all the way down and then take a taxi all the way home because its a big box and I stressed to her that I paid for door to door delivery service. She told me that the box needs to be picked up and paid a tax on it. I said WTH are you talking about an additional tax!? SHe said that is the only way to release the box. So I had my lady go down to that place where it was full of angry people complaining about their packages being held and paying excessive tax to be released. Long story short they told my lady she needs to pay 10,000 pesos in order to get the package. I was on the phone with her and over heard this. I was like hell no! Are you crazy...How the hell are people able to afford to pick up their packages with these ridiculous charges. So here I am on the phone now negotiating with this other woman for my fiance , the woman said to me on the phone hey you are American you can afford it just send the money Western Union. I was like woman are you serious. So I knew if I did not negotiate this at the time (2AM EST) I knew Kim would never see that laptop so I was able to talk the woman down to 6000 pesos freakin peso just for them to release the laptop to kim! SO many people at that place were crying and upset because they could not afford to pay for the packages that was sen to them. I even put on the customs declarations slip GIFT!

[mld168 0]

The only time I saw any corruption was when we got off the ferry in Cebu. There was a one legged man selling sunglasses on the pier. I felt sorry for him so I just gave him a few pesos of change that I had in my pocket (maybe 200 or so). Before I even walked away from him another man approached him and snatched the pesos away from the one legger...then walked directly to an armed security guard and gave it to him. The security guard dropped some of it and picked it up, then he looked at me and I could tell he was thinking, "so, what are you gonna do about it Joe".....i remember thinking to my self......"nothing" and walked away. I was not surprised but disappointed.

[Richie Rich 70]

Hey on another note you wanna know the biggest scam of all in Phils! (Manila Customs). How bout those folks like me who send merchandise over to loved ones from America through the USPS and when the packages reach Manila customs at Ninoy they hold the darn package after it is scanned if it seems of value. I sent my fiance a new Dell Computer through express mail, paid $310 USD for the shipment which I tracked online. It arrived in Manila 3 days, but the status never updated to out for delivery for two weeks so I called my Post master to file an inquiry, 2 days later my post master called me back and said the package is held up at customs for some reason and gave me the number to call. So I called and got a woman on the phone (very nice) and I inquired about my lady laptop and she told me that the package needs to be picked up by Ms. Kimberly. I asked why, because my lady lives in Quezon City, which means she would have to travel all the way down and then take a taxi all the way home because its a big box and I stressed to her that I paid for door to door delivery service. She told me that the box needs to be picked up and paid a tax on it. I said WTH are you talking about an additional tax!? SHe said that is the only way to release the box. So I had my lady go down to that place where it was full of angry people complaining about their packages being held and paying excessive tax to be released. Long story short they told my lady she needs to pay 10,000 pesos in order to get the package. I was on the phone with her and over heard this. I was like hell no! Are you crazy...How the hell are people able to afford to pick up their packages with these ridiculous charges. So here I am on the phone now negotiating with this other woman for my fiance , the woman said to me on the phone hey you are American you can afford it just send the money Western Union. I was like woman are you serious. So I knew if I did not negotiate this at the time (2AM EST) I knew Kim would never see that laptop so I was able to talk the woman down to 6000 pesos freakin peso just for them to release the laptop to kim! SO many people at that place were crying and upset because they could not afford to pay for the packages that was sen to them. I even put on the customs declarations slip GIFT!

Thom --I send a camera to my fiancee and they charged her 2000 pesos to pick it up . Another time --I send about 15 chocolates to her as a Valentines surprise --it cost her about 1500 pesos to pick it up . I know better now .It is more cheaper just to send her the money to buy the stuff there .

[ThomKimQC 14]

Thom --I send a camera to my fiancee and they charged her 2000 pesos to pick it up . Another time --I send about 15 chocolates to her as a Valentines surprise --it cost her about 1500 pesos to pick it up . I know better now .It is more cheaper just to send her the money to buy the stuff there .

See that is just wrong. They feed off corruption and the Gov't just let it happen, turn the other way. My postmaster told me USPS has tried to work with the Gov't ther ein Phils because so many US citizens complain about packages mysteriously getting lost and never reaching the receiver. So many insurance claims to USPS that they are considering canceling express mail to Phils because once it lands in Manila out of USPS hands from that point.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Balikbayan boxes are the way to go if you use a reputable firm. Customs and tariffs, and local postal carriers failing to deliver are pretty much a problem anywhere in the third world. USPS' problem is that they don't want to hire fixers to make the problem go away as any reputable Filipino firm would do.

Edited May 12, 2011 by Some Old Guy

[southcalhog 43]

There's another ramp opposite the one you went down on. Anyway, the bay signs are directly overhead of you when you reach the ground level, so it might be more visible to the people in the waiting area across the road, but they're there if you look up.

Btw, T2 also has bay signs but they're numbers, not alphabets.

Grace

Thnxs Grace!

[PAGE 11 14]

Grace you know you are right!I Arrived at Terminal 1 it is a old buliding.But I didnt see 2 ramps but im sure they were there.I was just following the porter that was leading me down a ramp.I was watching all around me cause i didnt know where he was taking me? Ha Ha! But where is the bay signs you were talking about? on top? I was really focused on my surroundings and looking for my Fiance at the same time. Ha Ha!

I understand they've recently removed those "alphabetical" signs at the Terminal 1 waiting area. They have "Bay" numbers now I think.

[Armenia 18]

That happens everywhere.

I went to a JAC bus terminal (in Metro Manila) in a taxi. At the JAC terminal,, I got out and stood by the passenger door while taking out fare from my purse and while the taxi driver was opening the trunk to get my bag out. Three men immediately swooped in and lifted my bag carrying it to the nearest bus. The taxi driver just stood there watching them. I caught up with them and told them "Ibaba nyo ang bag ko" (put my bag down). The men didn't listen so I slapped my bag hard causing them to let go and my bag to fall on the ground. Now, that caught their attention. Then I told them, "Wag nyong kukuhanin ang hindi nyo gamit" (Do not get what's not yours). Then I walked back to the taxi driver, still just standing watching everything, and paid him the fare.

Pesky people. Really annoying. Although, I don't mind people "helping" and me paying them if/when I ask them to help.