Metro Manila (Kalakhang Maynila) is officially called the National Capital Region or NCR (Pambansang Kabiserang Rehiyon), but casually referred to as Manila.  Population: ?? 16 M

Sharing this list of key attractions in every city in Metro Manila, which I originally made in July 2005. Texts in heavy black will link to official sites or blog entries about those places.  Would appreciate any help, especially in adding to the areas of interest in each city..

Scroll down to the end for a gateway guide to the rest of the Philippines.

Si quieres leer informacion en espanol, visita esta pagina de recomendaciones.

Manila City

Mayor Alfredo Lim
Vice Mayor: Francisco “Isko ” Domagono

Areas of Interest:

• UST
• UP Manila
• Intramuros * Fort Santiago * Manila Cathedral * San Agustin Church
  * Casa Manila Museum * Bahay Tsinoy/Kaisa Heritage Center * Aquario de Manila
• Rizal Park * Rizal Monument (Kilometer 0) * The Orchidarium * Museum of the Filipino People *National Museum
• Downtown * Juan Nakpil-Bautista House * Quaipo Church * Quaipo flea market: Plaza Miranda, Evangelista St., Quinta Market, Under-the-Bridge, Carriedo
  St. * Sta. Cruz Church * Arch of Goodwill:Chinatown * Binondo Church
• Malate * Plaza Rajah Sulayman * Malate Church * San Andres Public Market

Quezon City

Mayor: Herbert Bautista
Vice Mayor: Joy Belmonte

Areas of Interest:

• UP Diliman
• La Mesa Dam & Ecopark
• ADMU
• Miriam College
• EDSA Shrine
• QC Memorial Circle & Shrine * Parks & Wildlife Nature Center (N. Ave., Q. Ave.) * Zoological & Botanical
  Garden with Aquarium (Q. Ave., East Ave.)
• Timog & Tomas Morato: Restaurant row
• Camp Aguinaldo: AFP Museum, Teatro Aguinaldo
• Camp Crame: PNP Museum
• Cubao * Farmer’s Market, Garden * Expo Center * Araneta Coliseum, Center * Gateway Mall
• Eastwood City

Marikina City

Mayor: Del R. De Guzman
Vice Mayor: Jose Fabian I. Cadiz

Areas of Interest:

• Riverbanks Mall
• Shoe Museum

San Juan City

Mayor: Guia Gomez
Vice Mayor: Francisco Zamora

Areas of Interest:

• Greenhills Shopping Center

Mandaluyong City

Mayor: Benjamin Abalos, Jr.
Vice Mayor: Danilo de Guzman

Areas of Interest:

• Mental Hospital
• SM Megamall
• Shangri-la: W. J. Shaw Theater
• EDSA Central

Pasig City

Mayor: Robert Eusebio
Vice Mayor : Rosalio Martires

Areas of Interest:

• ULTRA
• MetroWalk, Ortigas Home Depot
• Citygolf Plaza
• Tiendesitas (soon to open)
• Lopez Museum, Benpres Building
• Meralco Theater, Museum

Taguig City

Mayor: Ma. Laarni L. Cayetano
Vice Mayor: George A. Elias

Areas of Interest:

• Bonifacio Global City
• Manila American Cemetery & Memorial

Makati City

Mayor: Jejomar Binay, Jr.
Vice Mayor: Romulo Pena

Areas of Interest:

• Rockwell Center
• Ayala Center: Ayala Museum
• Greenbelt Park/Commercial Center
• Filipinas Heritage Library
• Yuchengco Museum
• Sta. Ana Racetrack

Pasay City

Mayor: Antonino G. Calixto
Vice Mayor: Marlon A. Pesebre

Areas of Interest:

• Domestic Airport
• CCP, GSIS Theater, Folk Arts
• Cartimar
• Cuneta Astrodome
• Coconut Palace
• PICC, World Trade Center
• Senate
• Philippine Trade Training Center
• CITEM
• Design Center Phils.
• Baywalk
• Manila Zoological and Botanical Gardens
• Metropolitan Museum of Manila
• Central Bank (Money Museum)

Paranaque

Mayor: Florencio Bernabe Jr.
Vice Mayor: Gus Tambunting

Areas of Interest:

• NAIA (Centennial Airport)
• Duty Free Fiesta Mall
• Casino Filipino
• Nayong Pilipino, Phil. Museum of Ethnology
• Villamor Airbase, Phil. Air Force Museum

Las Pinas City

Mayor: Vergel Aguilar
Vice Mayor: Luis Bustamante

Areas of Interest:

• Bamboo Organ

Muntinlupa City

Mayor: Aldrin San Pedro
Vice Mayor: Artemio A. Simundac

Areas of Interest:

• ATC
• Festival Mall

Caloocan

Mayor: Enrico Echiverri
Vice Mayor: Edgar Erice

Valenzuela

Mayor: Sherwin Gatchalian
Vice Mayor: Eric Martinez

Malabon

Mayor: Canuto Oreta
Vice Mayor: Antolin Oreta III

Navotas

Mayor: John Reynold Tiangco
Vice Mayor: Patrick Joseph Javier

Pateros (Municipality)

Mayor: Joey Medina
Vice Mayor: Jose Jonathan Sanchez
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Exploring the Philippines: 7,107 islands!

That the Philippines has more than 7,000 islands has never failed to amaze new friends. The common follow-up question — “So, for sure you always go to the beach?” –always leaves me wishing I really did have a string of amazing beach trips to speak of.   Because traveling around the country requires hopping from island to island, getting from one place to another has proved tricky (and expensive!).  It’s a good thing then that low-cost carriers and alternative transport are now more available for us wanderlusters!

Manila remains the first stopover or buffer zone for most newcomers to the Philippines, but there are also other potential (and existing) hubs that connect travelers to their chosen destinations without having to go through the capital.

Traveling via Air:

There are 85 public airports in the country: 4 (and counting!) international, 4 alternate international, and the rest are trunk line, secondary, and feeder airports.

International Gateways

• Manila: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 1, 2, 3
• Subic
• Cebu: Mactan International Airport (servicing Japan, Singapore, Australia, etc.)
• Clark
• Laoag: Taiwan & Macau
• Davao: Indonesia, Singapore
• Zamboanga
• General Santos
• Palawan

Secondary Gateways

• Legaspi City: Bicol region
• Tacloban: Eastern Visayas (Samar, Leyte)
• Iloilo: Panay, Aklan-Boracay, Bacolod, Dumaguete
• Puerto Princesa: Palawan
• Cagayan de Oro: Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Agusan del N/S, Surigao, Bukidnon

Local Transport: DOMESTIC AIRLINES

• PAL Express
• Seair
• Zest Air (formerly Asian Spirit)
• Cebu Pacific

Traveling via Land and Sea:

There are three main highways connecting the different islands in the Philippines.

1. Pan-Philippine Highway (formerly the Maharlika highway)

The road network from Manila to the tip of Northern Luzon, to Davao in Mindanao via Bicol in Southern Luzon and Samar and Leyte in the eastern Visayas, this 2,500-kilometer arterial trunk route remains the country’s principal transport backbone. Improved with Japanese government assistance, it is also known as the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway.

2. Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH)

Launched in 2004 to boost inter-island commerce, trade, domestic tourism, and agro-industrial investment opportunities, it is a highway through land and sea routes using the Roll-on-Roll-off (RORO) network of ferry terminals and vessels connecting the country’s major economic centers with 22 links involving 41 sea ports.

It is an alternative route to the Pan-Philippine Highway, as it makes travel to the Visayas and Mindanao shorter and more efficient. It covers 919 kilometers of land travel and 137 nautical miles of sea travel, interconnecting 17 provinces and cities:

Luzon: Oriental Mindoro, Tagaytay/Cavite, Marinduque, Romblon, Batangas

Visayas: Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Guimaras, Siquijor

Mindanao: Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Dapitan City

a. Western Nautical Highway
With 11 RORO-capable ports with shipping companies regularly plying the route.

b. Central Nautical Highway
With 11 out of 14 ports RORO-capable (Placer, Aroroy, Donsol), and 4 out of 7 routes serviced regularly by shipping companies (Mambajao-Jagna, Bogo-Placer, Aroroy-Donsol).

c. Eastern Nautical Highway
With 2 out of 4 ports RORO-capable (Naval, Cataingan), and 1 out of 2 routes serviced regularly by shipping companies (Cataingan-Naval, Biliran).

SUGGESTED ITINERARY USING THE RORO:
- from Manila, drive to Batangas port
- board the RORO to Calapan City
- from Calapan, drive south of Roxas, Oriental Mindoro
- board the daily RORO trip to Caticlan
- Iloilo via Capiz town is a 5-hour drive from Caticlan
- from Iloilo, go to the Guimaras Islands (famous for mangoes!)
- go south to Bacolod City – Dumaguete – Zamboanga del Norte

3. North Luzon Loop

The highway for land travel from Manila to Ilocos Norte, it passes through Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Baguio, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cordilleras, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, and Quirino.

Local Transport: SEA TRAVEL

There are more than 100 government ports in the country, 66 of which have RORO facilities, and 24 private RORO ports. On the Strong Republic Nautical Highway are the following ports:

o Phase 1 (Short Haul Route): Batangas – Puerto Galera/Calapan/Roxas (Mindoro Oriental) – Caticlan/Roxas(Capiz) – Iloilo – Guimaras – Bacolod/Pulupandan/Kabankalan/Bais/Dumaguete – Dapitan (Zamboanga del Norte)

o Phase 2 (Long Term Plan): Lateral connections: Panay – Negros – Cebu – Bohol – Siquijor – Masbate – Romblon – Leyte – Samar – Camiguin Islands

CONTACT NUMBERS

Batangas
Port of Batangas: (043) 7231701
Customer Service Center: (043) 7238243
Starlite Ferry, Inc.: (043) 7220162 www.starlite.ph
Montenegro Shipping Lines: (043) 9803445, 7237975 www.montenegrolines.com.ph

Mindoro
Port of Calapan: (043) 2886187
Terminal Port of Roxas: (043) 2892813
Starlite Ferry, Inc.: (043) 7220162 www.starlite.ph

Aklan-Iloilo
Port of Iloilo: (033) 3377791 ppailo@philwebinc.com
Terminal Port of Dumaguit: 0919-7165075
PhilHarbor Ferries & Port Services, Inc.: 7750441, 7750442, 0918-9247850
Millennium Shipping Co.: (034) 4339360 millennium@mozcom.com
Montenegro Shipping Lines: www.montenegrolines.com.ph
Caticlan office: (036) 2887373

Bacolod City
PMO Pulupandan: (034) 7030700 ppapul@mactan.ph
Terminal Port of Bacolod: (034) 7038505
Millennium Shipping Co.: (034) 4339360 millennium@mozcom.com
Montenegro Shipping Lines: (034) 7081322

Dumaguete City
Port of Dumaguete: (035) 2250973 ppadgte@cvpc.edu.ph
George & Peter Lines: (035) 2254337
Cokaliong Shipping Lines: (035) 2253588

Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte
Port of Ozamiz City: (088) 5210238 ppaoza@webgate.net.ph
Terminal Port of Dapitan: 0916-8212789
Cokaliong Shipping Lines: (065) 2122461
George & Peter Lines: (065) 2122664

Others:
Marina (Maritime Industry Authority) 24-Hour Hotline: (02) 5218045, 5215030 www.marina.gov.ph./srnh
DOT 24-Hour Hotline: (02) 5252000, 5242384
Tourist Security: (02) 5241728
DOTC: (02) 7316643 www.dotc.gov.ph/actioncenter

• Superferry
• RORO
• Negros Navigation

Local Transport: LAND TRAVEL

• jeepneys
• aircon or non-aircon buses
  • North of Manila:* Aladdin Transit * Auto Bus * Baliwag Transit * BLTB * Dagupan Bus Co. *
    Dominion Transit * Dangwa Tranco * EMC Bus * Farinas Transit * F. Franco Lines *
    Genesis Transport * Maria de Leon * Partas Transpo * Philippine Rabbit * RCJ
    Transit * Viron Transit * Victory Liner
  • South of Manila:* JAC Liner * JAM Transit * JS Vergara * Penafrancia Transit * Philtranco *
    Genesis Transport
  • Philtranco: (02) 8518077, 8518079
    Bachelor Express – Ceres Liner: (02) 7317287, 7435677
• taxi
• tricycles
• pedicabs
• private tourist buses / coasters
• car rentals

Useful links

Introduction to the Philippines with travel suggestions for Spanish-speakers
My travel page about the Philippines in viajeros.com (in Spanish).
Pictures of my adventures around the Philippines(in Multiply).
Filipinas en wikipedia

Philippine Travel Blogs:

www.pinoytravelblog.com – a group blog by Pinoys with detailed and updated travel information
www.backpackingphilippines.com – for the budget traveller
www.topblogs.com.ph/travel – list of  other travel blogs in the Philippines
www.visitsagada.com – travel blog dedicated to Sagada, with updated information including contacts and transportation options
www.birdwatch.ph – webpage of the Philippine birdwatching club
www.ivanhenares.com – list of Philippine destinations visited and reviewed by by Filipino blogger, Ivan.

Government tourism sites:

www.visitmyphilippines.com
wowphilippines.com.ph – official site of the Department of Tourism
www.experiencephilippines.ph
www.wowpinoy.net

Airlines:

www.cebupacificair.com
onlinebooking.philippineairlines.com
www.flyseair.com