Why I Didn’t Enjoy The Philippines
It took me a little while to admit it because I am a generally positive person, but after a while I realised that I was not really enjoying myself while travelling in the Philippines. I had heard so many good things and landed in the country with a confidence and pretty high expectations, but after three weeks I was left more disappointed than anything.
1. I Misjudged The Best Places To Visit
I can see the mistake I made; I chose some small cities and expected too much from them. Roxas, Bacolod and Cebu City are all pretty places but with very limited options for travellers. We spent a week on the beautiful beaches of Boracay but the island is pretty developed for tourists and we probably should have chosen somewhere with fewer resorts, less “Westernised” if you will. Manila is a big grimy rat race and like most people we tried to limit our time there. Of course, you won’t always love everywhere that you travel to. However, there is usually at least one place in every country we fall for, we just did not find it in our short time in the Philippines.
Its not that these places were bad per se, I just don’t think I judged the right kind of destination for what we wanted. It was a bit all or nothing between the big Westernised tourist beach or over populated urban cities.
2. It Was The First Time I Had Encountered Relentless Begging
I don’t blame the beggars, they are just trying to get by. It was my own inexperience of this level of begging that I struggled with. Not being able to walk along the street without one barefoot child in rags after another asking for money was a little bit of a learning curve. Its not just the kids, well dressed adult men would stop me in the street with a story of hard times and ask me for money, people would cross the street to approach me when they saw me.
3. Everyone Had Guns
I’m not the kind of person who feels safer being in the immediate vicinity of 20 guns. In shops, on corners and in doorways there was always guards with a big ass guns. Of course I have seen guns in public before but there were so many around I always had the feeling I was in the middle of a gangster movie.
I didn’t feel particularly unsafe in the Philippines but the firearms were a constant reminder of security and safety that made it a little difficult to relax.
4. I Grew Tired of Debating Prices
This may not be a problem unique to the country but I constantly found myself having to convince people I was not stupid enough to pay 5x the amount of what things should actually cost. As usual taxi drivers were the worst culprits. Having to get out or threaten to get out because they wanted to charge me 300 peso for an 80 peso fare grew tiring. “Meter broken” was always the first sign of a frustrating exchange.
Another driver had an obviously rigged meter that I did not even debate, I just paid up. Another time a hotel manager disputed the rate they had quoted on check in. I smiled and assured him and he eventually backed down giving me a cheeky knowing grin. Unfortunately these were not just a few occurences, it happened often and I soon learned to spot when it was coming.
5. A Few Small Things Went Wrong
We had booked a ferry from Cebu City to Manila online but when we called to check times on the morning of departure we were told it had been cancelled 3 days prior. They did not bother notifying us. We managed to get on another ferry so we could make our flight but it was a stinker, a real rough boat with absolutely nothing to do for 20 hours. We had spent a little extra on the original ferry to treat ourselves to a small suite as a nice treat. We had been looking forward to the journey on the nice boat and it was the reason we decided not to fly.
This, along with a nice impetigo infection, were just a couple of things that did not go right for us while we were there. It was not the end of the world but it can really add to a bad experience.
Was it All Bad?
OK, so this article has focused on the negatives but there were plenty of positives. I met some of the friendliest locals I could wish to meet, ate like a king, got my fair share of beach time and loved riding around in pimped out Jeepneys. The truth is I feel like I have unfinished business with the Philippines. I need to prepare better, make a little more effort and give it another chance because I know there is so much more to the country.
More Articles About the Philippines:
8 Philippine Festivals You Should See in Your Lifetime
How to Take the Ferry from Manila To Boracay
6 Things You Must Know Before You Visit Manila
Beautiful Boracay in Photos
Great post! I have to admit that I’ve been sort of reluctant to visit the Philippines because I feel like I’d have to spend a minimum of a month to even scratch the surface. The problem you experienced with getting caught between overly developed areas and areas with not quite enough to offer is what makes me think it’s the kind of place that you can’t really enjoy unless you have a lot of time set aside to explore.
I came out with that feeling, or maybe that I should have made more of a plan. Either way I would not want to put you off going there, just make sure you are prepared. 🙂
I can relate to most of your experiences. Manila was the worst for me. But next time you go, you should check out El Nido. It is an amazing place! Also, head to Banaue to trek through the rice terraces. I would recommend those two over Boracay any day!
P.S. I love your site. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for the recommendations and I’m relieved to see it was not just me.
I realised after writing this post that my main issue was the following: Travel usually energises me, even the hard parts, the Philippines drained me.
Hi Lee,
Sorry to hear about your experience. Every place has its gems and horrors. I have to agree with some of the points that Philippines should improve on. Hope the government will do something about it, fast.
I believe that they should also promote destinations that are not yet commercialized and over developed like Caramoan islands in Camarines Sur and other islands in the Visayas area that are not yet that much popular yet equally beautiful than Boracay.
Hopefully they can develop tourism within them without taking away what is great about them in the first place.
One of the things that makes traveling so interesting is how much situations and experiences can vary from person to person. My husband and I pretty much had the EXACT OPPOSITE experience to yours when we visited the Philippines back in October! We went in planning to only spend 3 weeks and wound up loving it so much that we extended our visas and stayed a whole 2 months. And it still wasn’t enough! What’s really interesting is that we pretty much never had to haggle while in the Philippines – only a few times with trike drivers – and we found that people were always shockingly honest and really never tried to swindle us, so I was really surprised to read your account stating otherwise. We have met some insanely helpful people since leaving on our trip back in August, and yet, the Philippines is probably the place that is dearest to our hearts now.
I will say, however, that the cities are not where this country’s charm lies. We didn’t tackle Manila until the very end of our 2 month stay and even then only spent 2 days there. By that point, we were fairly inured to Filipino cities and so didn’t find Manila as atrocious as most people say, but by far the best parts of the country are the less developed areas. We spent a lot of time on little islands and decided to skip Boracay and we honestly thought for two months we were in heaven!
I am glad you enjoyed it so much. I can only compare it to the other places in South East Asia I have been to to come to my conclusion. Only Vietnam comes a little close to how hard interactions can be with certain locals. I admit the places we went may not have been the best to show off the country but we went enough of them to form a varied experience and it was not great.
I suppose this is the problem with trying to travel a country so big and diverse, it really can be hit and miss.
I must say you might have had a more enjoyable trip if you choose some different places, say like Palawan. I personally do not like Boracay because of its commercialization.
Well, for the constant begging and price debating, I think you just had some bad days 🙂 It hardly happened to me during the 3 years I stayed there (I’m not Filipino)
I too blame the places we chose but them experiences were pretty common in our 3 weeks there.
the philippines is very draining. just going from point a to b is usually exhausting, with little reward for your time and energy. sorry to say.
First i applaud you for your honesty – sometimes travel is just plain difficult! I had the same kind of negative experiences in Cambodia, but like you, I put this down to my not planning enough and alot of bad luck on my part!
The problem with the Philippines is that it is the same places that are being promoted and in my opinion over-promoted which leads to them getting ruined by tourism. Alot of the popular places in the Visayas especially have the “package holiday” feel to them. But then again there are so many hidden gems that are spectacular! my advice when travelling in the Philippines would be ignore the guidebooks and the advice from other travelers (you are all probably going to the same places which leads to everyone getting bottle-necked in places like Boracay). Ask the people running your guesthouse, your bartender, your waiter of places to recommend, these people will know the best places to go and how to get there. That’s what I did and how I found the parts of the Visayas that were like I said little hidden gems. The Filipino people love to see people wanting to get off the (very old and worn) tourist trail and in my experience, will do all they can to help you.
I have been living in the Northern Philippines for two years now and it is well worth visiting! Sagada, Banaue, Buscalan, Vigan are some places I would hugely recommend. Very different to the south, but stunningly beautiful. There are countless tribes who are very welcoming to visitors, live a very traditional life. Also there is nothing like spinning through the mountains on a motorbike up here (if you cant drive there are people everywhere who will take you on their bikes for a very reasonable fee). The life up here is very basic, think transport perched on top of jeepneys, most accommodation is homestay guesthouses and there is not a resort in sight 🙂
Greetings!
Hello Lee,
Thanks for your honest thoughts about my country, indeed its frustrating to experience those unfortunate circumstances and the culture shocks. For the second time visit, I advise the Filipino local hospitality approach. Expand your horizon to find a hosting friends in town you are interested to visit. We are accomodatig people we love our guest having a good time. If you are up for rustic and local life feel free to contact me to schedule your itineraries. I would be happy to tour you around on a normal and local way of life without a hazzle and enjoy our culture. Best regards and have a blessed day!!!!…
It is really unfortunate that you didn’t enjoy the Philippines to the fullest. I had the pleasure for visiting not to long ago and I went to the north away from the tourist traps and I really enjoyed the time. If you go back head north and skip the touristy places. The only problem I had with the Philippines was the food, but over all thought it was a good trip. I think if you get the chance, you should give it another shot and plan a little differently. Sagada was worth while and had some history also. Best of luck in the future. 🙂
I loved Boracay back in the 80s we walked out of the side of our ferryboat from Manila onto a bamboo raft and into outrigger to the beach. The only electricity on the island was a loud generator to a hut that showed rental tapes on a tv for kids every night. Ice had to be ferried across so was doled out sparingly. We rented a hut on the beach for about $3 a night. We asked if they had lobster the lady said ask in the afternoon,Went back and she had gotten 2 lobsters and we had a full meal for $3 each. Was off season so very few people but lots of fun exploring.
I am currently in Manila and it has been a nightmare since we stepped off the plane. Our legit yellow airport taxi drivers meter was playing up 5 min into our trip. We had to stop how many times on the side of the road because he didn’t know where he was going ” apparently” yet the property was 11 km away from airport. Finally reached our destination and the owner was nowhere to be found. Booked our accommodation online with booking.com. paid and confirmed on the spot. I am travelling with my 2 sons so panic and anxiety hit us all hard esp with security walking around with shotguns. After an hour we finally got a hold of the owner who then advised they had no vacancy for us. It was 6 pm by this stage!! I became frantic!! After several heated exchanges our taxi driver drove us to the nearest hotel as we got real desperate!! After 2 hours in traffic we finally checked in at 9 pm OMG!! Ended up paying top dollar for a crappy hotel. This experience alone destroyed the morale of our trip. My kids were soooo put off they don’t want to leave the hotel now 🙁 I have been to 40 plus countries. First time in my life I’ve experienced so much dishonesty in something like this!! They are now under investigation with booking.com!
I’ve read comments and people being shocked about the negative experiences in this country. It is rather arrogant and inconsiderate to almost dismiss someone else’s negative experiences just because you have had great ones… I am old so I will get over this but my teenage boys have been traumatized by this so it will affect me too… Like I said , I am well travelled so I know what to expect and what not to accept!! Yes the PHILLIPINES is a beautiful country but the crime and dishonesty we have experienced so far here is extremely dissapointing to say the least. I am not coming back. I have another 40 countries on my bucket list to visit.
Your experience sounds similar to mine. I had big expectations of the Philippines but to be honest there are better places in Asia. I found getting around to be a real pain as it meant arguing with taxi mafia everyday. Tbe food was very standard at best compared with other SE Asian countries as was the accommodation. All in all I would say the Philippines is a disappointing version of Thailand.
Glad you had few good experiences too. Its all what matters. Thanks for sharing your experience. Keep posting!
Same here. I heard about the friendly locals and beautiful islands but I found it to be a big disappointment. Ended up spending as much as I would have in europe due to the endless scams and price inflation for foreigners. Too overpopulated and the locals were just too loud and annoying. Just came home feeling stressed and broke. Avoid the philippines, go to Thailand or Bali for culture and good food instead.
Great to have the opportunity to explore your business. Hope to have a business with you one day.
I appreciate your honesty here. It doesn’t stop me from traveling back again and again to the Philippines. So far, I already overcome all the minor incidents. When they saw a foreigner, some local kids will really approach and talk to you. I don’t give them any dime, rather I prepared some goodies like candies or biscuits. But, this is an isolated case. We all have different experiences. I feel connected to the Philippines instantly because of the Language. The locals can understand decent English. There are many international restaurants available across the country.