There are beautiful beaches and other places to site see....and the cost is way cheaper there, once in Manila, you can fly to pretty much anywhere for 100 bucks or under. If you want big hotels names, the prices are the same. If you can sleep simple like me..... It can be as cheap as 20 bucks a day, still having what I consider a civilized type room.....air-conditioning, hot water, bed, tv, etc. You can go cheaper but it's not advised unless you check out the room first. I found a place one time for about 13 bucks a day and it was great. But then again, I reserved another for about the same and left within an hour.
It is safe but as all places, there are certain areas to stay out of just like anywhere in the world. I go once...sometimes twice a year and each time is awesome. I went last Nov but going again in May. It is a huge help if you go your first time already knowing someone there.
The foreigners there that get into problems are usually the ones that make themselves a victim anywhere..... flaunting money, arrogance, etc. Let me know if you have more specific questions.... The food is awesome, people are extremely friendly, kind of like southern hospitality times 4. If you have a soft spot for kids from less that fortunate times..... you will be pouring your heart out while there seeing homeless kids, sometimes kids without clothes.
Each time I go, I take about 80lbs of kids toys and such to hand out. Here is a video I made from a trip in 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hxlpzJroQ0&t
Great video thanks for sharing that. Brings back many great memories for me. Pretty indicative of life throughout the Philippines. Lots of poor people who still manage to enjoy their lives. I love to see all the smiling faces wherever I go. Even in the malls, the young people working in the stores are all having fun at their jobs. Nothing like the glum faces I see in the USA.
I would recommend that any foreigner (white man) avoid the southern island of Mindanao altogether. Let's just say it can be dangerous for you there. Some parts of Manila are best avoided as well, just like any large city in the USA. Manila is way too crowded and traffic is a total mess, except on Sunday when everyone is in church. The Philippines is about 95% Catholic and the families are large, with 8-10 kids being average! The CR (comfort room) is the restroom. You want to remember that. In the cities, the majority of the people speak some English so communication is no problem.
There are a multitude of nice beach resorts you can visit all over the Philippines, with Boracay probably the most popular. I prefer Palawan (check out El Nido) and Bohol. There are literally hundreds of other choices there! You can stay in a very nice resort for less than $100 a day total. $50 a day in many places. The people are super friendly and accommodating as well wherever you stay. Follow their rules and you will be fine. If you're nice they will be extra nice to you. But DO NOT argue with or piss off a Filipino. You may regret it if you do. I've seen too many arguments over 100 pesos ($2) and it's not worth it. Enough said on that.
Many of the small local poolrooms (2-4 tables) have closed but there are still plenty of places to play. If a foreigner walks into a poolroom, he will almost certainly get asked to play, and always a bet must be made. It can be as small as 50p (a dollar) or as much as 1,000p (a hustler). You can be pretty comfortable betting 100-300p a game. Any more than that and you must take care, like any poolroom in the USA. I have been stiffed for 4,000p on one occasion (I did finally get my money but it was a headache).
My wife and I have a second home in Angeles City, about fifty miles outside of Manila and a world away. Still crowded but you can get around okay. I like it there. The old Clark AFB has been converted to a domestic airport and you can take flights from there to almost anywhere in the Philippines for $100-200 RT. Most flights are one to two hours tops. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific are the main domestic carriers. The main street in Angeles (Fields Avenue) is lined with girlie bars and every one has at least one pool table. There are more foreigners living there than anywhere else in the PI (Philippine Islands). You will see guys walking up and down Fields carrying cue cases! Every bar has leagues and there are games going every night. Money games are rare but not unheard of. There have been big money games between local hustlers and foreign players from Europe and Australia (often in the thousands US!). Guys you never heard of and don't want to play. I played two hustlers some One Pocket and Bank Pool several years back and even though they really didn't know the games they beat me (at 1,000p a game). I was playing good too and looking for action. Someone brought these two guys in to play me.
Okay, the women. Filipinas love foreigners! They think we are all rich, lol. Actually, they know they will usually have a better life if they can hook up with a foreigner. They are not hard to meet, but I would recommend not getting attached to a bar girl. You can meet women in the malls and working in the stores. Many of them are college educated too!
My only regret is that I never came here until fifteen years ago. If I had come when I was a younger man I would have loved all the pool action and certainly married a Filipina. I could have avoided my second wife, who was a spoiled Jewish princess. Shame on me. :sorry:
P.S. There are street hustlers selling anything and everything, everywhere you go. Be careful in dealing with them! There are also beggars everywhere, often pregnant women with small children sitting on the street. A five or ten peso coin is a nice gift for them but be careful here as well. If you give one kid five pesos, the rest of them will follow you for blocks asking for money.
The infrastructure is not good most everywhere with crumbling streets and sidewalks and street lights that don't work. Get used to it, you're in a third world country. There can be long lines wherever you go, especially fast food joints like Jollibee or MacDonalds (yes, they have all the US franchises there). Learn to be patient, you just have to wait your turn and it can be slow.
Yes, it's hot and humid there, but not as bad as Houston or Miami in the summertime. Not nearly as hot as Vegas, Phoenix or Palm Springs either. DEFINITELY do not drink any tap water! Drink only bottled water or other bottled drinks! The murder rate has gone way up since Duterte took office, but they are after all the drug dealers. It's rare that a foreigner gets caught up in this (not so for Chinese and some other Asians who deal drugs). Don't buy or consume drugs and you will be all right! The real threat to foreigners is kidnapping and that is very rare in the north, but a risky proposition in parts of Mindanao. I could feel the vibes the two times I went to General Santos City (Gensan). I'm not going back there!