Entry Requirements:

For many travelers including citizens of the US, UK, and Canada No Visa is required if staying less than 30 days, but you must have a passport valid for at least six months beyond the date of entry.  You should always check for recent entry requirement updates from the country you’re traveling to.  For the Philippines you can find information on visas for stays longer than 30 days, and check for updates at immigration.gov.ph

Like most countries in the last couple years the Philippines has implemented the Philippine e-travel system.  All travelers to the Philippines must register on the Philippine e travel system within 72 hours prior to boarding their flight and the official site for doing so can be found at etravel.gov.ph.  The e-travel system is a customs and immigration form and should not be confused with a visa.  Most countries are transitioning from the paper forms you’d fill out at customs to an online procedure form.

Currency: 

The official currency of the Philippines is the Philippine peso.  Conversion rates change minute by minute. Banks usually update their exchange rates daily.  Conversion between the US dollar and Philippine peso over the last five years appears to have fluctuated somewhere between 1 peso to .017 dollars and 1 peso to .021 dollars.

Getting Around: 

Getting to different islands in the Philippines is usually done via a short flight from Manila.  While some of the islands have flights amongst themselves, other islands may require backtracking to Manila, and with a couple exceptions most islands don’t have international airports either, so most visitors will enter and exit the Philippines through the Manila airport.  There are some ferry routes between islands, while these are sometimes the best way to get to a small nearby island, the longer distance routes are very slow and less ideal.
There are also some companies that run very popular multi-day boat trips from El Nido to Coron.  

For travel on the islands, each one is a little different but they usually have the basics; buses and taxis, and of course two Philippine icons, the jeepney and the motorized sidecar tricycle.

If you’re in one of the bigger cities traffic can get truly horrendous, so factor in extra time for that when planning.

CDC Recommendations: 

The CDC Travelers’ health website for the Philippines can be found at: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list

Water:

Tap water is generally not considered drinkable.  Drink sealed bottled water or reliably filtered water.

Average Weather:

Manila

Things of Note: 

Keep in mind, there are, ‘do not travel’ advisories in place for some areas of the Philippines, mostly in the southern region of Mindanao.  Staying safe starts with staying informed and it’s a good idea to always check for current travel advisory updates at travel.state.gov