Guides

Know what you're walking into.

What the Philippines really costs, where you should actually live, how relationships work, and what daily life feels like once the vacation fades. Straight answers, so you decide from facts instead of forum threads and YouTube guesses.

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The guides.

Each one takes you from overwhelmed to oriented before you spend a peso on the move, whether you are planning your relocation or weighing a team here. The badge shows what each one costs you.

Topics covered in the guides

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Land in the Philippines knowing exactly what to do.

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Companion guide · $9.99

Land in the Philippines knowing exactly what to do.

What nobody tells you about arriving, getting set up, and handling daily life. One overpriced taxi or bad currency conversion costs you more than this guide. It pays for itself before you leave the airport.

$9.99 once. Instant access. Yours to keep.

$9.99 or Insider

Companion guide

Getting To and Around the Philippines

Airports, SIM cards, money, transport, the unwritten rules, and basic Tagalog. The practical guide for your first weeks.

California Expat6 sections

6 Chapters

What your $9.99 gets you.

Getting into the country

The onward ticket airlines actually enforce, eTravel registration, and which airport to fly into and why it matters.

SIM cards and staying connected

Globe or Smart, where to buy, the registration law, data promos, home fiber, and a backup for brownouts.

Money

Convert without getting ripped off, your ATM strategy, GCash setup, the conversion scam to refuse, and why you always pay in pesos.

Getting around

Grab, metered taxis, jeepneys, tricycles, domestic flights, buses, and what province time means for your day.

Daily life logistics

Do not drink the tap water. Surviving brownouts. Pharmacy culture. The bathroom situation. Everything nobody mentions.

The unwritten rules

Why yes does not always mean yes, why everything takes longer, and the basic Tagalog that changes how people treat you.

From the Guide

Getting into the country

The onward ticket requirement is real

Airlines and immigration can ask for proof you are leaving within your visa window, and airlines are often stricter than immigration. If you fly in one way, the simple fix is a cheap refundable flight out, or a service like OnwardTicket that generates a temporary reservation.

eTravel registration is mandatory

Register at etravel.gov.ph within 72 hours of arrival. You get a QR code, so save a screenshot. Airlines may check before boarding and immigration will check on arrival. It is free. Any site charging you for it is a scam.

Know your NAIA terminal

NAIA has four terminals and they are not connected in any convenient way. If you need to transfer, you are taking a taxi between separate buildings. Assignments are being reshuffled through 2026, so always check before you head to the airport.

The guide covers all four NAIA terminals, Clark, Mactan Cebu, Davao, and when to skip Manila entirely.

From the Guide

Money

The places that overcharge you most are not the stores with price tags. They are the situations where you negotiate or where there is no listed price: taxis without meters, market stalls, and tourist restaurants with a foreigner menu.

Always pay in pesos

When you tap a card, the terminal sometimes asks if you want to pay in pesos or your home currency. Always choose pesos. If you pick your home currency, the terminal sets the rate, and it is almost always worse. That trick is called Dynamic Currency Conversion, and it exists to make money off you.

Your ATM strategy matters

Philippine ATMs charge around 250 PHP per withdrawal and most cap you at 10,000 PHP. Pull the maximum each time. Better yet, use a debit card that reimburses international ATM fees. The guide names the specific card that removes this problem entirely.

GCash changes everything

GCash is how daily commerce runs here: restaurants, stores, bills, and sending money to a person. Having it on your phone covers the bill when nobody can break your 1,000 peso note, and handles the small payments that would otherwise need exact change you do not have.

Skip the expensive lessons for $9.99.

The complete guide covers airports, SIM cards, currency strategy, every way to get around, daily logistics, the unwritten rules, and the basic Tagalog that changes how people treat you. One guide, one payment, and your first weeks go smoothly instead of sideways.

From the Guide

Getting around

Grab

Your most reliable option in the major cities. Price upfront, no negotiation. But it does not exist in most provincial areas, and in heavy rain you may not be able to book at all.

Taxis

Insist on the meter. If a driver refuses or quotes a flat rate, that rate is almost certainly inflated, so walk away. White taxis use the standard rate. Yellow airport taxis start higher.

Jeepneys

You are going to fly. Cebu Pacific is cheaper but charges for everything. PAL includes more. Book directly with the airline, and never book a tight connection, because delays happen.

Domestic flights

You're going to fly. Cebu Pacific is lower cost but charges for everything. PAL includes more. Book directly through the airline. And don't book a tight connection — delays happen.

The guide also covers tricycles, habal-habal, buses, passenger vans, and the concept of "province time."

From the Guide

The unwritten rules

Yes does not always mean yes

This is the most important cultural concept for you as a foreigner here. Yes can mean yes, maybe, I heard you, or I do not want to say no to your face. A smile can mean happiness, embarrassment, discomfort, or disagreement. You will misread signals at first. This is not dishonesty. It is a different communication system with different priorities, and the guide teaches you to read it.

Why everything takes longer

Government offices, banks, shipping, internet installation, home repairs, restaurants. The systems are often on paper, bureaucratic, and understaffed. Getting frustrated does not speed anything up. Losing your temper makes it slower, because nobody wants to help someone who is being rude. Bring something to read. Bring patience.

Who wrote this

John Smulo

I moved to the Philippines in January 2020. Everything in this guide is from working it out myself: airports, SIM cards, ATMs, taxis, jeepneys, brownouts, and bureaucracy. Repeatedly, over years, not on a quick trip.

This is the guide I wish someone had handed me when I landed.

Hit the ground ready.

Airports, money, transport, daily logistics, cultural rules, and basic Tagalog. Everything you need to skip the costly learning curve, for $9.99.

Planning the move itself?

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