Practical Philippines
The small things, sorted.
The Philippines is an easy country to travel once someone has told you the handful of systems that run it. These are the ones that matter on a first or second trip.
Money
The peso (₱) is the currency. Cards work in the malls, hotels and chain restaurants of the cities; cash still runs the jeepneys, the markets, the carinderias and most provincial life, so carry small notes. GCash, the phone wallet, is accepted almost everywhere Filipinos shop, though it needs a local number to use fully. ATMs are everywhere in the cities; foreign cards usually pay a local withdrawal fee, so take out more, less often.
Staying connected
A data eSIM is the painless route: buy before you fly, land connected, and use the data for maps and ride-hailing. Tourist SIMs from Globe and Smart are sold at airport arrivals if you prefer a physical card. Coverage is strong in the cities and along the highways; remote islands and mountain roads are the exception, and downloading offline maps before an island trip is worth the two minutes.
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Plugs and power
The Philippines uses 220 volts. Sockets are mostly the flat two-pin Type A, with Type B and C also found; a universal adapter covers all three. Power cuts (brownouts) happen in the provinces, rarely for long; hotels have generators. Chargers from 110 volt countries need a converter for heating appliances, not just an adapter.
Arriving
Most visitors enter visa-free for 30 days; check your nationality's allowance before you fly. Every arriving traveller completes the eTravel declaration online before arrival and shows the QR code at immigration. Keep your return or onward ticket handy: airlines check for it at check-in, and immigration can ask. The drug laws are severe and enforced at every port: do not carry anything for anyone.
Weather that moves events
The rainy season runs roughly June to November, and typhoons are the events that move the calendar. When PAGASA raises high storm signals over a venue's province, outdoor events are postponed, ferries stop and domestic flights thin out; organisers announce new dates on their own channels, and on this site any outdoor event in a storm week is worth a second check against its official source before you set out. December to February is the cool, dry window the big fiesta calendar is built on; March to May is hot and dry.
Emergencies
The national emergency number is 911. The big private hospitals in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao are excellent, and travel insurance that covers medical care is the one piece of paperwork worth arranging properly. Drink bottled or filtered water outside the main cities, and use the ride-hailing apps after dark in unfamiliar districts, as the locals do.