Manila Transport

Coming and Going

Manila's main international airport is the Ninoy Aquino, though some airlines are turning their backs on its chaos and heading for the relative order of Cebu City's Mactan Island Airport. If you're leaving the Philippines by plane, you'd be better off booking a ticket before you arrive - discounts are hard to come by.

You can also arrive and depart Manila by bus, but the organisation is almost as bad as the airport's, and there's no central long-distance bus terminal. The country's one remaining train line links Manila to the Bicol region in the south. It's not advised to take this option as the train is slow and sometimes dangerous.

Getting About

The LRT (Light Rail Transit) has two elevated lines and allows you to avoid the nightmare traffic. L1 runs from Monumento in the north to Bacalaran in the south. It has interchanges with the MRT at EDSA/Pasay. This is the most useful line for visitors as it's convenient for Santa Cruz, Intramuros and the east edge of Ermita and Malate. The new L2 runs from Recto to Santolan. The modern MRT (Metro Rail Transit) travels a south-north route along EDSA. The trains get very crowded as people travel home from work, but the system is still much quicker than crawling along in a bus, taxi or jeepney. Car hire is available, but with public transport so good and the traffic so bad, there's really no need to bother.