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If you want to travel to the Philippines, the flight is an important cost factor. Depending on when and how you fly, the prices are several hundred dollars apart, which is why it is worthwhile to compare in advance and to know all options available. In this article, we will share with you some tips that will help you find the best prices for your travel to the Philippines.
Finding Cheap Flights for Your Travel to the Philippines
When you book a package tour, the flight is already included. However, it is different if you travel on your own, book a round trip to the Philippines, or when you want to join a group tour. In these cases, you have to take care of booking your flight by yourself.
But this is not very complicated. Today you have at your disposal numerous travel agencies that offer budget-friendly flights to the Philippines. If you search and book at the right time, it is possible to get a cheaper flight and spend as little as possible on your plane tickets. With a little luck and enough flexibility, you can even get there for less. On the other hand, on unfavorable dates prices can climb significantly.
Should you go for direct flights to the Philippines?
Depending on your originating country, there may or may not be a direct flight to the Philippines. It’s worth noting, though, that such direct routes generally tend to be more expensive. That said, one of the top tips for finding cheap flights to the Philippines is to forget taking direct flights.
Which are the cheapest providers for flights to the Philippines?
From Germany, Austria, and Switzerland the following airlines usually have the best prices:
- with Air China via Beijing
- with Asiana Airlines via Seoul
- with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong
- with Etihad Airlines via Abu Dhabi
- with Emirates via Dubai
- with KLM via Amsterdam
- with Oman Air via Muscat
- with Singapore Airlines via Singapore
- with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul
Especially from other European airports, there are often good offers from these airlines:
- with China Eastern via Shanghai
- with China Southern via Guangzhou.
Besides Manila, some of the internationally operating airlines also have the island of Cebu on the Visayas in their program. From there you can quickly reach popular destinations like Bohol or Siquijor. On the way to Cebu, you only have to change once with Singapore Airlines, Korean Airlines, Cathay Pacific, or Emirates.
So, don't just look for flights to Manila. The Philippine capital indeed offers connections with many of the main tourist destinations, but there are other airports to which it can be very interesting to head. Try searching for flights from Puerto Princesa, Cebu, or Siargao, if you don’t need to go to Manila. Do calculations and you will see that this way the trip can be much cheaper.
This is how you save money!
Of course, you don't have to compare all airlines by hand. There are good flight search engines for this. In our case, we use Skyscanner and Momondo, and because of this, we have always found the cheapest flight. Both sites offer useful options or free tools to make your search faster and easier. For example, you can display the prices for the whole month in diagrams or include nearby airports.
More tips to find the best deals for Philippine flights:
More tips to find the best deals for Philippine flights:
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Watch out for hidden fees! (For example, for payment by credit card, taking luggage with you, etc.)
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Be flexible with your appointment! Two days earlier or later the same flight can be much cheaper.
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Abstain from one-way flights. Round trip and return flights bought together. as well as open-jaw flights (a roundtrip itinerary that arrives in one city but departs from another) are much cheaper than booking both routes separately.
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Be flexible with the departure point! Meanwhile, bus tickets are offered very cheaply. Sometimes you can save a lot of money if you fly from another airport. However, keep time and costs in relation to each other.
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If you can: Keep a sufficient distance from vacations and public holidays
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Book your flights to the Philippines as far in advance as possible to find the best deals. Usually, the tickets are the cheapest two to three months before the trip. Otherwise: better early than late (although there are exceptions).
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Try traveling to another country first. Normally search engines show you the best combinations to get to your destination, but sometimes they miss some connections. One way to find cheap flights to the Philippines is to first find a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, or Hong Kong and from there take a flight to Cebu or a flight to Manila. There are low-cost airlines from Southeast Asia that you can take from these destinations for little money like Air Asia or Cebu Pacific Air.
Internal flights in the Philippines
To move around the Philippines, from island to island, you have several options, although doing it by plane is the fastest. For this, we advise you to book your flights well in advance and through the Internet.
The top three airlines with the most flights in the Philippines include Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines, and AirAsia. Depending on the route you are going to take, you may be more interested in one than the other. For this reason, we recommend that you once again carry out your flight search through Skyscanner and thus be able to compare both options conveniently.
Also, in recent years, airlines have emerged that operate flights between well-known tourist destinations in small aircraft. Thus, Skyjet flies to Batanes, Siargao, Coron, Camiguin, Boracay from Manila, and vice versa. On the other hand, Air Swift operates in-demand flights such as flights from Cebu and Manila to El Nido, from Cebu to Coron (Busuanga), from El Nido to Boracay, and vice versa.
The flights of the latter are a bit more expensive since they operate in smaller aircraft and usually in small airports. It is therefore advisable that you book these flights as soon as possible so that 1) they do not increase in price and 2) so that you do not run out of seats available.
Additionally, consider that if you want to save on your flights for your trip to the Philippines, it is best that you move around the country with hand luggage. Most airlines operating internal flights usually charge a fee for checking luggage, which varies depending on the size of the suitcase and the duration of the flight. Thus, remember to check in advance the baggage allowance offered by each airline and reserve your suitcase online, as it is always cheaper than doing so at the airport.