Arrival in the Philippines

Going form airport to accommodation

As you leave the airport, you will have many options. Some individuals may approach you and offer taxi but they often ask for more than P1000 and are not licensed/endorsed by officials. It is best to avoid these. The following are your options.

Taxis

You might see regular (White) taxis. Price are generally negotiatied and many times, the price would be double of what you would normally pay otherwise.

 Yellow Taxi is a taxi that uses a meter and can be used at a reasonable price (300-400 pesos to the Malate area). There is usually a line for this. When you take this taxi, it is better to check whether the taxi you are riding is using the meter.

 Coupon taxis are a fixed price depending on the destination. If you are going to Malate area, it will be around P500 to P700. It is more expensive than other taxis but it can be used with relative confidence considering safety. To get a coupon taxi, you will need to go to the counter and they will ask you where you will be going

Grab

In the Philippines, the most common rideshare app is Grab. It is both a rideshare app and a taxi dispatch app. It is very convenient, so we recommend that you download it before entering the country. Depending on the option, you can use it to request for a regular Grab car or a taxi.

It can be used for traveling from the airport, but it may be a little difficult to use because indicating the meeting place (origin) can be difficult to understand in the airport and there are lane traffic restrictions. In terminal 2, you can indicate the meeting place using the bay number written on the concrete posts. If you get a call from the driver, you can give them the bay number of where to pick you up.

 Upon choosing the origin and destination, you can see the fare for different option (eg. GrabCar or GrabTaxi) and how long your wait time will be. Depending on the time of day, it is about 300-400 pesos to the Malate district. Prices can go up if there is a higher demand. You will also be able to choose your mode of payment.

Once you confirm your choice, the app will for a driver to accept the request. Once it has been accepted, you will be able to seen the type and details of the car, the plate number and the driver. Try to make sure that the details of the car and plate number matches with the car that’s picking you up.

 There will be times when your request is not fulfilled and you may end up waiting longer. The app will ask if you want to continue waiting or change your traveling options.