Hi I have two quick touristy questions for my planned trip to manila, if you guys would be so kind!
1.) I'll be staying in Manila for about 8 days - what are some of the best things to do, that you would say no traveller to the city should go without? (Besides the obvious things you can read in a lonely planet book)
2.) The harder question... I am considering staying on in the Philippines for afew days with afew friends after the week in Manila. Is there a place I can go that is easy/quick to get to from Manila, safe/cheap and would be a really interesting place to experience? (Either in terms of lifestyle, or just being very beautiful, etc...)
Thank you for your help - I'm booking my tickets in only afew hours - eek - so hopefully your answers will help shed a bit of light!
Cheers!
Reply to this I'm not well travelled in the Philippines but when I visited Manila a friend took me on an excursion to Taal Lake. You can stand on the cliffs looking down at the beautiful lake which is formed around the Taal Volcano cone. The weather was a bit hazy when I was there, but I am sure the views will be spectacular in good light, and it is only a short ride by local bus to Tagaytay City, provided you can find the proper bus terminal in the chaos that is Manila that is. 😊
Reply to this The weird Filipino's advice: move on south :-), I agree that Taal lake would be nice (2 hours away), beaches in batangas, although the real nice beaches are further south and you would need to fly or endure a 10 hour bus ride (roll on, roll off from one island to the next). A compromise would be puerto galera for diving, snorkeling, and just hanging out.
But to answer your question:
1. intramuros (walled city)
2. manila cathedral and san agustin church (and museum)
3. manila bay/roxas boulevard at sunset
4. Luneta/Rizal park and it's gardens (not really too much to see here though)
I think that's it ( i may be forgetting one or two places, you may want to check the Makati areaaka the business district, or the mall of Asia, but why?)
Taal in batangas also has old churches and old, well preserved houses. There is also a partially buried chuirch when the volcano last exploded. (Yeah it's still active but you can swim or kayak on the lake found in it's crater!) They sell balisongs (fan knife) in Taal Batangas also.
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