Asia Unseen · Philippines
Philippines
English everywhere, hospitality with no regional equivalent, and the finest coastline in South-East Asia. In exchange: the heaviest logistics on this list, because everything happens by plane or ferry.
Who it suits: Divers, surfers, travellers comfortable with the unexpected and with domestic flights.
- Entry
- 30 days visa-free
- Best months
- Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · Dec
- Budget
- from €30 / day
- Rules checked
- September 2026
Manille · Peso (PHP) · UTC+8
Can you enter, and for how long
Ordinary passports, tourism. Each rule below comes from the traveller's own government, with the month it was read — not from another guide.
By passport
30 days visa-free
No visa for a short tourist stay on a French passport.
Taken in September 2026 · France Diplomatie — Philippines, entrée et séjour ↗
30 days visa-free
30 days visa-free for tourism or business, extendable locally.
Taken in September 2026 · GOV.UK — conseils aux voyageurs, conditions d'entrée ↗
30 days visa-free
30 days visa-free.
Taken in September 2026 · Gouvernement du Canada — conseils aux voyageurs ↗
We have not taken this rule from an official source
the US portal refuses automated reading — so we cannot check it the way we check the others. Rather than transpose the rule from another passport, which gets paid for at a border, we would rather send you to the source.
We have not taken this rule from an official source
the Australian portal refuses the connection — so we cannot check it the way we check the others. Rather than transpose the rule from another passport, which gets paid for at a border, we would rather send you to the source.
We have not taken this rule from an official source
the New Zealand portal does not publish entry rules — so we cannot check it the way we check the others. Rather than transpose the rule from another passport, which gets paid for at a border, we would rather send you to the source.
When to go
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
December to April: dry, and this is the season. June to November: monsoon and above all typhoon season, which mainly hits the north and east of the archipelago. The south (Palawan, Siargao) stays more practicable, but domestic flight cancellations are common from July to October.
What not to do
- Leaving less than three hours between two domestic flights — delays are the norm
- Booking Manila as a stop: better to transit and leave the same day
- Travelling in October believing typhoon season is over
- Counting on a bank card outside the main cities: the archipelago runs largely on cash
Booking your trip
The links below are affiliate links: they change nothing about what you pay, and they fund the writing of these pages. We only put here what we actually use.
Accommodation
The best coverage of small family-run hotels, and free cancellation almost everywhere.
Find a hotel (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Trains, buses and ferries
The only reliable aggregator for overland transport in Southeast Asia, with real timetables and named operators.
See the routes (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Activities and guides
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, verified reviews, and someone to talk to when a boat does not sail.
See what is on (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)The French version of this page also lists a travel insurer. It is not here on purpose: that insurer sells to French residents, and a policy you cannot buy is not a recommendation.
Sources and data
Entry rules for Philippines are read on these official pages, and re-read every night. When one changes, the page changes and the correction is published in the corrections log, next to what we used to say.
Some source names below are in French, and stay that way on purpose: they are the titles of French government pages. Renaming them in English would make them harder to find, and finding them is the point. The rule for your own passport is read at your own government's portal, named alongside it above.
- France Diplomatie — Philippines, entrée et séjour
- Bureau of Immigration
- eTravel Philippines
- France Diplomatie — Conseils aux voyageurs
The data behind this page is open: philippines.json, CC BY 4.0.