Airplanes

There are several airlines operating domestic flights and all of them use up-to-date aircraft ranging from Fokker 50s to Airbus A320s and 300s. If you are planning on chartering a plane for your personal use there are Lear jets and small DeHavilland dashes and Piper Cubs for rent at small hangars found all along the length of airport road near the International Airport. Domestic flights (economy) do not serve in-flight food so you might want to bring your own if you expect to be hungry. Do not attempt to carry insects, fishes, lobsters, and other such animals on board (even if they're your pets) without getting a permit from the airport authority prior to your flight and always remember that those wet, soaking carpets at the airport boarding gates are actually there on purpose.

Taxis

The traveler should always be wary of the taxis operating around large cities as these are often undependable and overpriced (watch out for those unaccredited taxis hanging around the Manila Domestic airport). As a rule, unless extremely necessary, we never hire city taxis to drive us any further than the nearest mall as they often are not familiar of provincial roads and touring rates and rarely does taxi drivers make good guides anyway. The current flag down rate in Metro Manila is 20 pesos.

Tour vehicles

These vehicles for hire are often privately owned vans that you can hire to drive you to any point in the Philippines (considering your driver knows how to get there). As much as possible, always look for Department of Tourism accredited vehicles, the ones with the large DOT Accredited stickers on the windshields. Don't hesitate to turn down a driver whose attitude you don't agree with. Land travel in the provinces can take three hours at the least and you wouldn't want to get stuck with a person like that. The usual set-up is for 12 hours and then you pay an extra amount for each exceeding hour, better yet, get a packaged tour.

Rentals

There are countless car rental companies that operate in the Philippines and almost all of them offer both self driven and driver-included deals. If you're not familiar with road conditions though it would be advisable not to drive the rental yourself as you'll be in for a lot of surprises. You can get in touch with these companies through your hotel or by getting in touch with travel agencies.

Buses

There a few nice smelling buses that operate around the country and all of them are in the provinces. A good tip would be to avoid wearing white when you'll be traveling on a city bus. In any case, the local bus service is very dependable despite its shortcomings, you'll just have to get used to the crowds at the bus terminals. Always keep your bus ticket with you to avoid paying twice for your ride when the ticket inspectors do their thing. Buses in the Philippines rarely stop at specific bus stops so if you're not familiar with your destination always ask the conductor to tell you "when".

Jeepneys

These World War II by-products are a colorful attraction in themselves in most places around the country although you might begin to hate them in Manila as they are fast becoming the cause of traffic in city ways and streets due mainly to the large numbers operating any single route. They often stop in the middle of the street to load and unload passengers without any consideration for the traffic behind. Very few Jeepneys have operational directional signals and brake lights.

Tricycles

These side-car bound motorcycles come in a variety of names and appearances but they are all identified by the noise they make. Riding a tricycle is quite an experience specially in the provinces where you might have more view to inhale than bad air.

Motorcycles

Motorcycles are also in use in some remote towns in the Philippines where a single dirt track is often considered a main road. It takes a lot of will power to stay conscious during those fast and quick turns on some steep, remote mountain pass while the driver narrates the last time he fell off those cliffs…

Pedicabs, Bagonetas, and Amphibious landing barges

There are a wide variety of transportation in the Philippines and each one has a story behind the reason how they came into existence. Each one is unique and it all adds to that special trait of the country where getting there is often only half the story.