Things to do in Manila
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Manila
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: cool dry season, pleasant all-day walking, clear Tagaytay views and Anilao and Pagsanjan at their best.
Good but hotter dry season at 32 to 35 degrees plus; sights at opening, museums at midday. Holy Week empties the city.
Worst months: peak southwest monsoon with flooding, typhoons, cancellations and traffic at its worst.
Shoulder gamble: real rain risk but lower prices and emptier sights; keep plans refundable and add buffer days.
What's on
- Feast of the Black Nazarene / Traslación 9 January
Huge procession from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church; the old city is impassable that day.
- Chinese New Year January / February (date moves)
Binondo's biggest day with dragon and lion dances, firecrackers and tikoy everywhere.
- Art Fair Philippines February
Premier art fair taking over The Link carpark beside Ayala Triangle in Makati for one weekend.
- Flores de Mayo / Santacruzan May
Month of floral offerings ending in Santacruzan processions on neighbourhood streets at dusk.
- Independence Day 12 June
Flag-raising at the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park with military honours and free concerts.
- Fête de la Musique June
Dozens of free stages across Poblacion, Makati and BGC, the best free live-music night of the year.
Best things to do in Manila
Intramuros
Manila's walled Spanish colonial city, founded in 1571, best walked early before the heat and crowds build.
Fort Santiago
Citadel and Rizal shrine inside Intramuros, where the national hero was held before his 1896 execution.
San Agustin Church
The oldest stone church in the Philippines from 1607, a UNESCO site that survived the Battle of Manila intact.
Manila Cathedral
The cathedral at the heart of Intramuros, an easy stop on the walled city walking loop.
Casa Manila Museum
Reconstructed colonial house museum across from San Agustin showing how wealthy families lived under Spain.
National Museum of Fine Arts
Home to Juan Luna's monumental Spoliarium, the painting that anchors Filipino art, with free entry.
National Museum of Anthropology
Pre-colonial gold, galleon wreck finds and textiles by region, free and air-conditioned.
National Museum of Natural History
The third museum in the Rizal Park complex, free and best paired with Fine Arts and Anthropology.
Where to stay in Manila
Makati CBD - Ayala / Salcedo / Legazpi
first trip, all-round base
Greenbelt and Ayala Museum, the deepest restaurant bench, weekend markets and hotels at every tier.
Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig
families and walkability
Planned grid, wide pavements, parks and High Street dining, calmer and newer than old Manila.
Poblacion, Makati
nightlife and food-first trips
Bars and independent restaurants on your doorstep, hostels to boutiques, noisier than the CBD nearby.
Rockwell Center, Makati
quiet upmarket longer stays
Self-contained Pasig-side loop with Power Plant Mall and serviced apartments, a Grab ride to everything.
Intramuros / Binondo edge
history-first short stays only
Fort Santiago and Binondo breakfast at your door, but few hotels and dead streets after dark.
Pasay - Newport / Entertainment City
layovers, casinos and conventions only
Newport faces NAIA Terminal 3 by footbridge, correct for one airport night but isolated for sightseeing.
Think twice about
- Ermita / Malate strip
Girlie bars, KTV clubs, persistent touts, visible street homelessness and poorly lit streets at night. Visit by day from Makati or BGC.
- Tondo, Divisoria and Quiapo / Santa Cruz
Superb markets by day but dense congestion, high pickpocketing reputation, flooding and no visitor-grade hotels. Never base here.
- Highway sprawl with no station or district identity
A cheap room up EDSA or a highway costs two hours a day in Manila traffic, where distance is measured in brutal minutes.
- P. Burgos Street, Poblacion
Sleep a street or two away. A room directly over the go-go bars means noise, touts and hassle at your door all night.
Best restaurants in Manila
Toyo Eatery
Chef Jordy Navarra's modern Filipino tasting menus built on Filipino ingredients, technique and memory.
Hapag
Regional Filipino research served as an intimate tasting that moves region to region across the Philippines.
Helm
The Philippines' only two-star restaurant at launch, a theatrical ten-seat counter cooked in front of you.
Gallery by Chele
Chele Gonzalez's flagship tasting menus built on Philippine ingredients sourced with farmers and communities.
Linamnam
Ten diners in the chef's childhood bedroom for an intensely personal Filipino tasting menu.
Manam at the Triangle
The Filipino classics perfected, with a benchmark crunchy sisig and classic or twist versions of the canon.
Sarsa Kitchen + Bar
Negrense cooking with a chef's hand: proper chicken inasal, batchoy and sizzling kansi in a lively room.
Morning Sun Eatery
Humble open-air carinderia serving Ilocos home-style dishes at canteen prices, outstanding value.
Outdoor things to do in Manila
Tagaytay
Ridge town an hour or two south with cool air, bulalo lunch and the great view over Taal Volcano and its lake.
Pagsanjan Falls
Dugout canoe ride up a jungle gorge over rapids to a waterfall, then a raft ride under the falls themselves.
Masungi Georeserve
Ranger-led conservation trek through limestone karst with rope courses, canopy nets and hanging bridges.
Corregidor Island
WWII island fortress with the Malinta Tunnel and Pacific War Memorial, a full and sombre history day.
Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort
Working coconut plantation hacienda famous for lunch at tables in the shallow water below a waterfall.
Hidden Valley Springs
Natural hot and cold spring pools in old-growth jungle, the restorative counterweight to Pagsanjan.
Club Intramuros Golf Course
Tight floodlit par-66 course in and around the walled city's moat, golf inside a 16th-century fortress.
Villamor Air Base Golf Course
Visitor-bookable championship 18 holes, tree-lined and near Makati and the airport.
Best hotels in Manila
The Peninsula Manila
Makati's grand dame since 1976 with a famous lobby, Old Manila restaurant and Spices.
Raffles Makati
Polished CBD luxury with Writers Bar, Long Bar and the Mirèio rooftop in the Raffles and Fairmont tower.
Fairmont Makati
The Fairmont sharing Raffles' tower on Raffles Drive, part of the CBD's polished luxury set.
Makati Shangri-La, Manila
Long-standing polished CBD five-star grouped with Raffles among Makati's top business and leisure stays.
Shangri-La The Fort, Manila
Huge rooms and Kerry Sports with High Street at the door, BGC's headline luxury hotel.
Grand Hyatt Manila
BGC's close luxury alternative for top-floor views and The Peak bar and restaurant.
Discovery Primea
Serviced-residence scale rooms on Ayala Avenue at moderate prices for the space you get.
Seda BGC
Ayala's dependable local chain in BGC, a book-without-thinking standard near High Street.
Is Manila expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₱2,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₱6,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₱16,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Pagsanjan Falls: a few days ahead
- Masungi Georeserve: weeks ahead
- Corregidor Island: a few days ahead
- Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort: a few days ahead
- Hidden Valley Springs: a few days ahead
- Villamor Air Base Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Wack Wack Golf and Country Club: weeks ahead
- Manila Golf and Country Club: weeks ahead
- Toyo, Hapag, Helm and Linamnam need 2 to 4 or more weeks for weekends; Gallery by Chele and Blackbird usually a week.
- Masungi Georeserve books out weeks ahead, prepaid with no walk-ins; verify Corregidor sailings for your exact date before booking.
- Book refundable Makati and BGC hotels early for December, Holy Week, Chinese New Year and major convention weekends.
Is Manila safe?
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
- Opportunistic theft is the main risk: pickpocketing and phone snatching in crowded markets, Quiapo, Divisoria and around old-city sights.
- Street homelessness is visible in Ermita, Malate, the Baywalk and Quiapo, and rare in BGC and Makati CBD; families often choose bases accordingly.
- Drugs carry zero tolerance and severe penalties in the Philippines, in any quantity, anywhere, including festivals and Poblacion.
- Drink bottled or filtered water, treat midday heat March to May as a hard limit, and carry insurance covering Makati or BGC private hospitals.
Manila travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Manila Ocean Park is dated and crowded; use the free National Museum instead with a spare afternoon.
- Venice Grand Canal Mall is a mall food court with a canal, never a reason to cross the city.
- Avoid Burgos and Malate tout bars and drink scams: drink only in named, reviewed venues and never follow a tout to a second location.
- Anyone saying your destination is closed and offering an alternative is selling the alternative; check your phone and go anyway.
Getting around Manila: public transport and more
- Use Grab for everything: fixed prices, tracked rides and air-conditioning; a cross-district ride is commonly 200 to 500 pesos and 30 to 90 minutes.
- NAIA terminals are not connected; transferring between them means a landside drive, so leave 3 to 4 hours between separately ticketed flights.
- Trains are fast off-peak between Makati, Ortigas and Quezon City with a Beep card, but avoid 7 to 9am and 5 to 8pm crush.
- Do not drive. Hire a car with a driver for Tagaytay or Pagsanjan, and walk inside districts while taking Grab between them.
Who Manila suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Manila your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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