Hi, i'm a bit of a novice at travelling it has to be said. I've decided that next summer (July/August/September) i want to go to the Philippines via either Brunei or Dubai. I got as far as buying the lonelyplanet guidebook for the philippines and immediately being put off by being told that the wet season occurs at this time!
Am i stupid to change my plans on travelling in these months?? People go to Asia during the summer and are rarely effected by the so called wet season, i really think it would spoil me trip if the weather was rubbish the whole time i was there... advice please!!
Stu
Reply to this I have just spent a week there, not quite out of choice. I was asked to deliver some training, and only had two days either side of the working week to look around. Had a fantastic time. Stayed in Pasig City, near were the training was run, but got down to Tagaytay and Mount Taal on one day and wandered through Intramuros on the other day off.
Yes, it was wet. Some afternoons it bucketed down, but never for long. Wore a raincoat as a spray jacket for the boat ride to Mount Taal, and on one other ocassion, but generally is was too warm to add another layer of clothing, and it was better to use an umbrella.
Big downside was that the backgrounds to most of my photographs are grey with cloud, and there is a lot of fuzziness with the rain. Otherwise, the rain wasn't all that much of a limitation. If you had the choice, you might want to travel at another time, but I wouldn't change plans just because of the weather.
Reply to this if you love the beaches, going to the philippines on those months will be a bad idea. it gets pretty wet here in the philippines, especially in those times of the year. but you will just roam around manila, it will not be a bad idea if you get wet while walking around the city. if you will visit the nearby islands where you have to be in a train or plane, if the weather gets rough, they may cancel their trip and you wouldn't want that to happen. so you can do everything here in the philipines (diving, snorkeling, walking, site seeing, watching movies, swimming in the beach, night parties, and all that), come here in the 2nd quarter of the year. you can visit my blog site to get info on what INTRAMUROS would look like at http://articlebywencel.blogspot.com/
Reply to this hi! it's the rainy season when you get here. but i've travelled to davao city during august, the weather was fine for me. it's also their "kadayawan" fiesta, thanksgiving for a good harvest. most fruits are in season. durian is cheaper at this time. what i observed was, it rains at night but by morning the sky is clear. i'd go to the nearby paradise island resort in samal island, about 10mins boatride from the petron/shell oil depo (which serves as the wharf for paradise island resort and costa marina resort). you can also go to the mountain resort, eden nature park in toril, still in davao city. it's the biggest city in the philipines. the locals are friendly. the food is inexpensive.
i've visited palawan this april, it's summer here but when i was there, it was cloudy and had some showers. it was okay though, it cools you down in this summer heat. the locals said that palawan is not within the typhoon belt area.
and yes, you have to be flexible with your travel during the rainy season; if there is a typhoon flights or land travel may be cancelled just like what wencel said.
don't forget to bring your lonely planet guide philippines.
Reply to this If you're country is in summer season during those months and you want to get rid of it, you may visit Philippines at this time coz it's rainy season. Don't try to go to beaches coz it isn't necessary. 😊
Reply to this I'm actually from the Philiipines now living in the US, so forgive my biased opinion that any time of the year would be a good time to go to the Philippines. The answer to you question depends on what you want to do there. I think April to June would be a good time if you're after the sunshine and beaches, Novemeber to Feb if you're worried about it being too hot. July - August is the wet season, but this would affect mainly the mainland, so it can spoil certain activities: day trips in Manila and close surrounding areas can be a problem. However, the southern parts are less affected ( an many of the finer beaches are there). So if you wish to explore the Manila churches,Manila Bay ( I would allocate only a day maximum for Manila for a 1 week stay), you might want to check the weather forecast for looming typhoons (tropical depression/thunderstorms). Rainy season does not mean rain everyday, just the season for thunderstorms (like hurricane season in Florida), so you can expect a lot of sunny days too. If you do go there during this time, my recommendations would be:
1. very short day in Manila, it is not a good place to be in during rainy seasons (streets can flood, traffic jams, public transport can become a problem)
2. Beaches, mainly on the southern areas (Northern areas get pretty wet during this time, too). My top bet would be Boracay and/or Palawan, especially for your first time. In the unlikely event that it rains trust me it will still be worth it. Other beaches like Bohol, Apo reef for snorkeling, etc should also still be good.
Reply to this We went to the Philippines last year in July/August/September and honestly there was more rain than sun. We got stuck in 3 typhoons in the north (we got stuck in Manila for 5 days because all transport to our next destination was cancelled day after day and the streets were waist deep in sewerage water at times!). Then when we headed to the Visayas for some beach time (Cebu, Negros, Mindoro) we got bad monsoon rains, high winds and about 3 days of sunshine. We even got battered by very strong storm surges (enough that it collapsed a 6 foot deep/high concrete path) and got stuck on Mindoro for a few days because transport was cancelled again.
During these months there is a high chance of typhoons hitting, in turn these typhoons make the monsoon in the southern islands more intense. The rain during these months was awful and the southern islands were just as affected by the rain as the north.
Reply to this Well I will be headed to fil sometime end of july
and goto mindinao few days later.
sadly yes during the rainy season.
oct/nov is beautiful there. as i was there last yr.
I Truly enjoy'd it.
This time i will be going for Birth OF my baby with girl.
And to start all papers.
along with big big talk before following up with much more.
if i can remember about this site i will post up some video's and pics so you all can see what the weather truly is like there.
as nobody seems to ever do this.
atleast 1 video a month for different times of day would be nice.
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