Cheers guys! This probably has been aswered million times here, but can you give me a quick rundown of visa policy (how much it cotsts / where to get / how long it's valid)? I have EU passport.

just google makati immigration extension office for location. its 2 minute walk from gramercy

if i remember correctly it looks like this:

1 month: ~3k peso
2 month: ~4-5k peso


If its your first time getting the 2 months it will be up to ~7-8k as they force you to get an ACR card (identification card). Can extend as much as you want without leaving. For some reason i believe they stopped doing 6 month extensions but i could be wrong here.

If you stay longer than 6 months without leaving, you are not allowed to exit the country unless you go to immigration and get exit clearance to make sure you havent commited a crime.

All you need to do is take your passport. If you pay for express lane you get your passport back same day. If you want regular service you usually have to go back the day after to collect your passport.


You will need an onward flight within the first month of arrival. (not sure how much they enforce / check it though because the last two times i entered they asked if i got a flight out, lied about the date and they let me through)

I just got a 6 month extension, it still works fine

One more question regarding airbnb's - is it easy to bring over dates / friends? I asked about this to the potential host (Acqua) and she said "You are allowed to have one guest- so long as they can present a valid ID at the lobby for security purposes and you let us know how long s/he will be staying so we can issue an endorsement letter". Do I really need to notify the host every single time (I might not even know dates name) or just showing valid ID is enough?

Just I.d

I think it’s just notify host if you think it’s someone staying with you for couple weeks so they don’t have to keep showing I.d to security as they fill out paperwork for them

Philippines is pretty awful for that. They employ a million "security guards" seemingly to just bother tenants. It's best to just walk in with the girl quickly and hope you dont get stopped. If you do get stopped, an id is usually good enough but some guards might want confirmation from the unit owner. Just sort of ignore them and keep going if all else fails, they'll give up.

That's another reason gramercy is best, the door guards and reception never said anything to me, made me show ID or sign the guestbook

And there is another unmanned entrance linking to the 2nd floor of century mall, only gramercy residents can go in and out using keycard, as long as the mall is still open (til 10pm). So you meet a girl in the mall for a Starbucks / food court date then walk with her directly to your condo elevator 'to check out the rooftop view of the city' (actually the deckchairs on 36th floor), no awkwardness, then walk her out that way too.

But what your airbnb host means is if you have a guest living with you long term using the facilities / requiring a keycard, walking around on her own. For an overnight guest you don't need to do anything, no endorsement letter from condo management, at most just show ID to security and sign the guestbook.

Since even doing that is annoying, and girls might see your room number on the guestbook 5 times on the latest page next to different girls names, Gramercy is better

Totally opposite for me. Gramercy was the only place which would hassle me and knightsbridge, jazz, rockwell didnt care at all.

Btw dont let any of your guests use your keycard it is an automatic fine at gramercy, even if she just steps out to get something at 7 11.

They sure don’t like you

Only been stopped once at gramercy and that was when I first got to philippines and took home one of those street massage girls.

Knightsbridge moaned a couple of times given keycard to someone but they never fined.

I probably should have dressed like k2d then they would have left me alone

hello pinay lovers, soooo im thinkin back to the phils is gonna be my next move. Some options are: siargao, Baler, san juan, maybe eastern samar?, zambales, catanduanes...

looking for surf spots if you haven't gotten that by now, but also a place that has options for food, some type of infrastructure, and something resembling internet. Best options out of the above? Would be september-December or so

Yeah Gramercy was probably the worst for this when I stayed there like 4-5 years ago. One of my first experiences in Phils was not being able to to wait in the lobby for 20 mins until my real estate agent showed up to take me to my room.

Also the elevators won't work without a key card which means you have to go down whenever youre expecting anyone anyways. Also annoying when your hands are full with groceries etc.

Maybe they've relaxed their policies in the last couple years.

Siargao is the top surf spot in Philippines... But it is still quite laid back island... So not much of infrastructure or ultra fast internet there(i stayed in one place where the water and electricity wasn't very stable either, lol...but still was quite fun)... Though there are some western 'resort's' that might have some decent food and bit better amneties... But usually good beach and fast internet don't go hand to hand in Philippines.

Anyone in cebu? Just arrived couple days ago. What are good places to go out?

there isnt really. mango is dead. sports bars there have some ok waitresses to chill with but its so dead and just old men. Timeout / howling dogs (actually some hot waitresses) / all star (proper dirty bar) / semi-final


The social in i.t park was alright if with someone.

Best bar i went to was called "sentral". but it gets busy af and you can barely move at times. would check it out if youre with someone

clubs: holic and icon are pretty popular. is liv still open?

Prettysure liv is, i still see girls posting pics there.

kanbai bar, ask for vanessa

Thanks for info guys. I'm looking to stay for a few months but by the sound of it, its pretty bad. Do you all recommend manila? Where in manila and what's a good place to rent say for 3 to 6 months?

Go back about 25 posts a guy asked about a 3-6 months trip

I'm staying at Knightsbridge playing some online poker. It's nice. Interenet is stable so far after i HAD to leave the Fort because of disconnects at 3 different places. The gym is just alright here.

Does anyone know a gym I could join within a short walk that is high quality. I prefer 24 hour access but not mandatory. Perhaps a hotel gym would allow me to work out there?

Any online pros staying here? can message me if u want to meet up.

thanks!

Food Panda and Lunch Box diet is taking care of my food needs very nicely.

Many options for food delivery here in Makati! even if your vegetarian, many options are available here.

Care sharing which places you had the disconnects? Currently looking for a place in bgc.

From my experience all the high quality gyms in Manila won't let you go month to month. I don't know about any near century mall but Golds gym, anytime fitness, fitness first etc all have like a minimum 6 month contract when I was trying.

Hi!

Forbestown Heights 50 mbps PLDT (very nice place with tennis courts - I liked it there), Fort Plam Springs 8mbps Sky Cable, Seibu Tower 20 mbps PLDT. \

About the gym - I think I can get by at Knights bridge it's my 2nd day using it and I'm getting used to the place. It's loud and small but it has the basic stuff I need.

And I have anytime fitness membership but it's just a bit of hassle for me to go that far sometimes. If I have it really close by I'm more likely to go. Anyways, I worked out at Knightsbridge, then cooled off in the pool. Pretty convenient.

I think some guy on the Forum said Trion tower is good. But, I can't find any available units on air nb this month, so I just came here. So far it's great here.

Anytime fitness is 24 hours and walking distance from knightsbridge.

"Anytime fitness is 24 hours and walking distance from knightsbridge."

Jupiter? I'll check it out sometime. Nice to have one in the condo though!

And especially with the pool. I can be done in an hour. If I walk to the other one that adds a few minutes...