Philippines: Tourist Entertainment Guide

As in much of South East Asia, in the Philippines too finding a place to eat can be a very pleasant enterprise- you’ll be faced with different cuisines, different ambiences, and a whole range of prices to choose from. In the larger cities and the tourist resorts, you’ll find very fancy (and proportionately more expensive) restaurants, but you’ll also find roadside food stalls, locally known as kainan. And if you’d like a change from the usual, there are a number of outlets that serve international cuisines- Indian, Chinese, Continental, and more. Most eateries open between 10 and 2 for lunch, and between 5.30 and 10.30 for dinner.

Manila and other large cities in the Philippines have a very vibrant and pulsating night- life, with discotheques, bars, nightclubs, karaoke lounges and the like round every corner. Most of them are very bright, very loud and very westernised. Outside the cities and the popular resorts, you’re unlikely to find much nightlife as such- villages and small towns tend to lead a more sedate existence. However, even here you should be able to find some means of amusing yourself, particularly when it’s fiesta time. Most towns and cities,and lots of villages too, have their own fiestas (most of them on the day of their patron saint) and this is the perfect time to see the Philippines at its colourful best- you should be able to see some good dancing, music and other forms of traditional entertainment. Other than at fiestas, traditional performing arts can sometimes be seen at specific venues that host cultural events, or at hotels and resorts that often have live shows for the benefit of tourists.

For those interested in sports, there’s lots of opportunity for trekking through the country, and at the beaches, you’ll be able to indulge in swimming, snorkelling, sailing, surfing and other water sports. There are some excellent golf courses in the country (Iloilo is a well-known one), and you can also go horse riding, river rafting and climbing in certain areas.