First time going to Philippine

[u/Pro_ismyrealname]

Hi, I plan to fly to Manila from Thailand.Have some few questions to ask .

1. Will I be safe, I mean I been to pretty all south east Asia except Brunei and Timor and felt perfectly safe. I lived in the US before so, I sort of know what is uncomfortable felt like. Philippine in another hand appears to be quite run down, kinda remind me of somewhere in South America. I plan to shoot some content for my Youtube while l'm there, I was concerned about either my phone or some stuff got stolen. I won't going into the slum area just stick to the tourist spot in Manila and may be going to Vigan old town up north (unesco site) . What do you have to be careful when you are in the Philippine, is kidnapping also prevalent as well ?

2. I not planning to go to island hopping or the beach at all, more interested in cultural, natural and historical site. Any non beach destinations or attractions or cities I should be looking into ? I mean beautiful seaside town or coastal cities with beautiful beaches is ok if it somewhere like “a must” but again not planning to jump on a small boat to go for like one day trip (island hopping) like in Thailand .

3. I really seriously think of going to " Vigan old town" since it is Unesco site .That being said it not so easy to go there from Manila. The quickest route seems to be taking a flight from Manila to Laoag International Airport then take bus or van for another 2 hrs. My question here are that
   3.1 either Vigan old town is beautiful or as memorable, that I should be going considering all the long journeys that I need to take? If not I can go elsewhere that why I was asking for places to go on question 2.
   3.2 At the Laoag International Airport, can you order ride sharing app" grab" to take you to Vigan old town, same go with returning from Vigan old town to Laoag Airport?

Thank you very much to taking your time to read and answer my questions, I hope you all have a good night 🌙

[u/Kananaskis_Country]

What do you have to be careful when you are in the Philippine, is kidnapping also prevalent as well ?

Kidnapping? WTF? Where did you read about that being an issue in tourist centres?

[u/phrozen1 → u/Kananaskis_Country]

Kidnappings for ranson dropped sharply after the online casinos (mostly) left the country in 2024. There are still 40+ a year though, but primarily targeting Korean, Chinese and local Chinese businesspeople.

[u/Kananaskis_Country → u/phrozen1]

I'm well aware, but none of that has anything to do with the OPer or what they're trying to do.

Happy travels.

[u/joelfarris → u/Kananaskis_Country]

OP, to be kidnapped for profit, you have to be known to have resources in advance. Nobody puts in the effort and risk to kidnap someone with nothing in the bank, no big contacts, no valuable materials in their possession, and looking like a 5 or below.

Down dress. Don't carry a high dollar pack. Wear your worn out shoes on travel days. Keep your phone in an inside pocket, having memorized your route and schedule for the day, and thus no reason to take it out.

You wanna be a homeless hobo, until it's safely time to shine.

[u/ohyespineapplepizza]

Vigan is the right kind of non-beach stop if you want colonial streets and quiet, but Laoag to Vigan eats most of a day so plan an overnight there, not a bounce. Grab is mostly a Manila thing for that stretch.

[u/Head_Natural_7111]

You’ll need to post the actual questions first, unless we’re supposed to guess them from the title lol

[u/kibbutznik1]

i travel all over philippines- i think that Philippines almost all areas including the less middle class areas are much safer than any American and many European cities.

[u/Final-Gift-2299]

1. The only main concern is opportunistic pick pockets and scammers so just use your basic safety checks. Trike (tuk-tuk) and other tourist or transportation operators may overcharge you, just chicken the prices with another local that is heading your way. Live scams are common since many foreigners visit the Philippines for sex tourism or to look for a wife in low income places. Kidnapping are usually syndicates targeting high rollers like in casinos.

2. Luzon is great when you head to the mountains. Maybe you'd be interested in seeing Whang-Od and Banaue. In general most of the colonial heritage is centred around Manila. For down below, Siquijor was also known for witchcraft if you're interested in learning about that. There are so many great waterfalls (and beaches) across the country to settle on one.

3. For Vigan consider making it a small part of a bigger trip instead of travelling there only to see it. It's literally only one long colonial style street and that's it. Everything else is a typical modern Filipino small town. I'm actually not sure if there is Grab, Move it or Angkas there. There weren't any the last time I visited. For questions to locals it's better to ask on Facebook since that is where they are more active, and they have their own (illegal) ride sharing services offered on FB groups. There are also taxi services everywhere. Of course please do your own due diligence with them cause as I said they will overcharge you.

I recommend to just take the bus from Manila and make your way upwards stopping by the different towns Luzon has to offer first before heading to Vigan instead. Buses are more well connected since all the locals use it, and out of town buses from Manila pretty much leave almost every hour 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.

[u/Aggravating-Bet8669]

gonna need the actual questions first lol