Visa-Free Entry to the Philippines

photo courtesy of www.telegraph.co.uk

After a blog on where Filipinos can travel visa-free, here is another reference. A list of countries/nationalities that can enter the Philippines, visa free.

With the very recent government move to boost tourism, citizens of these countries can now enter the Philippines without a visa and stay for 30 days, starting August 1, 2013, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs: 

Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil*
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
Cote d’Ivoire
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel*
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Monaco
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal

Visa-Free Countries for Philippine Passport Holders

About time for me to post this list, mainly as my personal guide, but also sharing it to everyone. We all know that unlike the more privileged countries, we  Filipinos still have to go through visa application nightmares before we can travel to most countries. A bump on one's nomadic dreams, yes?

But despair no more. There are still a lot of countries that welcome us with open arms. All you need is your valid Philippine passport, roundtrip plane ticket/itinerary, a valid identification card, and some money. So here are those countries which do not require visas prior to travel or provides visa upon arrival:

ASEAN Countries
•Brunei Darussalam: 14 days
•Cambodia: 21 days
•Indonesia: 30 days
•Laos: 30 days
•Malaysia: 30 days
•Singapore: 30 days
•Thailand: 30 days
•Vietnam: 21 days

Non- ASEAN Countries
•Azerbaijan: 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$100
•Bangladesh: 90-days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Republic of China (Taiwan): 30 days if holding a vaild visa for Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Schengen countries, United Kingdom or United States
•Georgia: 90 days visa issued on arrival for US$10 ~ US$200
•Hong Kong: 14 days
•India: 30 days visa issued upon arrival
•Iran: 15 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Israel: 90 days
•South Korea (Jeju Island only): 30 days
•Macau: 30 days
•Maldives: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Mongolia: 21 days
•Nepal: 15/30/90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$25/40/100
•Sri Lanka: 30 days
•Timor-Leste: 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$30

Europe
•Kosovo: 90 days

Oceania
•Cook Islands: 31 days
•Fiji: 120 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Marshall Islands: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Federated States of Micronesia - 30 days
•Niue: 30 days
•Palau: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Samoa: 60 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Tuvalu: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Vanuatu: 30 days
•Micronesia
•Tonga
• Northern Mariana Islands: visa on arrival
• Tokelau

Central America
•Costa Rica: 120 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Dominica: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Haiti: 30 days
•Nicaragua: 30 days
•Saint Kitts and Nevis: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Saint Lucia: 60 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
•Turks and Caicos Islands - 30 days

South America
•Bolivia: 59 days
•Brazil: 90 days
•Colombia: 90 days
•Ecuador: 90 days
•Peru: 90 days
•Suriname: 120 days

Africa
•Burundi: visa issued upon arrival
•Cape Verde: visa issued upon arrival
•Comoros: A free 24 hour transit visa issued upon arrival at the airport. Within 24 hours this must be converted into a full visa at the immigration office in Moroni (fee payable)
•Djibouti: 10 days visa issued upon arrival for DJF3,000; 30 days visa issued upon arrival for DJF5,000
•Gambia: At port of entry passport 24-72 hour transit pass is issued. This must be converted into a full visa valid up to 1 month at the immigration department in Banjul (fee payable)
•Kenya: 90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Madagascar: 90 days visa issued upon arrival for MGA140,000
•Morocco: 90 days
•Mozambique: 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$25
•Saint Helena: visa issued upon arrival
•Seychelles: 30 days
•Tanzania: visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Togo: 7 days visa issued upon arrival
•Uganda: 180 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Zambia: 90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
•Sao Tome and Principe: visa on arrival

Notes:

• Please take note though that the list and information may change. We encourage you to double-check with the respective Embassies and consulates before travel.
• Some countries may require transit visas for non-direct flights.
• The days indicated are the maximum days Filipinos as allowed to stay in said country. If you plan to stay longer, then, you need to apply for a visa. Contact the country's embassy/consulate near you.
• Some countries above provide visas upon arrival. Ensure you have the proper documents they require before traveling.
• Source: Wikipedia, Mabuhay City

The above list is intended for travel to these countries for tourism purpose. These are intended as guide.  For other purposes and for more details, please get in touch with respective embassies or consulates.

Happy travels!

Revisiting Bantayan Island

Fishermen coming in with their catch early in the morning

From Malapascua, Gia and I proceeded to Bantayan Island for an extended vacation. We initially considered renting an outrigger boat from Malapascua to Bantayan, but seeing the waves and the more than 2 hours trip, I decided to ask the van driver to drop us at Hagnaya Port to catch the ferry to Sta. Fe port in Bantayan, instead.

The ferry ride took about a little over an hour. We then hired a tricycle to Sta. Fe Resort. The resort is actually a few meters away from the port. About 5minutes ride.

I have been to Bantayan Island several times in the past and I enjoyed the trip all the time. What I love about Bantayan is that, it has the same fine white sand beach as the popular Boracay, but without the crowd. We had a great 3 days of mom-daughter bonding.  Frolicking on the beach, riding the tricycle around the island to check out some of the places to see, "binge-eating", and just lazing around. What a very relaxing trip!

Bantayan Must-See and Must-Do:

 1) St. Peter & Paul Church - a five-decade old church located in the town center. It is made of corals and stones from the island.  It is the center of the island's  unique Holy Week celebration.

St. Peter & Paul Church (photo by pickled_newt)

2) Ogtong Cave - a natural underground shallow cave where one can swim in its cool waters. The owners of Sta. Fe Resort developed a resort around the cave. Not as spectacular as most caves though but I found it unique with its cool clear waters. You descent a few steps of stairs to the cool waters.

Ogtong Cave (photo from the web)

3) Island hop to Virgin Island (Or Sillion Island) - a privately owned island with same white sand beach as Bantayan. We passed up on this as I felt I had a fill of white sand beach already for this trip. But for hardcore beach bums, I recommend you go.

Sillion Island (photo by Beach Placid Resort)

4) Hire a bike or tricycle and explore the island - visit the local market, visit other resorts, see bucolic living inland, try out other restaurants or go on a photography jaunt. Everything is possible and safe around Bantayan Island. We did just that and we totally enjoyed it.

5) Stroll along the glorious beach - did I say, that the sand is white and soft you can practically go barefoot? The beaches in Bantayan is worth the stroll. Unspoilt and no crowd!

Bantayan beach

6) Enjoy the peace and quiet - just that. Watch local life going on around you. Or space out and enjoy the silence. Meditate? very possible!

Inviting to just laze

7) Eat seafood - this is an island after-all. Never miss their dried "danggit" fried until crunchy. Not too salty.  Nor the "kinhason" (seashell). Yum Yummm.

8) Try some water sports - snorkel or try the banana boat for that adrenaline rush.

9) Spend Holy Week here - they have a unique celebration during these holy days. You will see "lechon" (roasted pig) being paraded and/or served during this period. Being an island, seafood is their staple food and fishing is their livelihood. So, for them to join the Holy Week celebration, they were given special permission by the Catholic Church to eat meat to prevent them from fishing.

No, visitors are not exempted from abstaining from meat, even if they visit this place on said days. And most thought so.

10) Don't miss the sunrise - calming, peaceful, relaxing. Then, watch local fishermen come home with their catch. You may just be lucky and be offered to buy them at such a bargain.

Glorious sunrise

Diving Malapascua

Sunset @ Malapascua Island

APRIL 2007
Malapascua Island, Cebu 

I can still remember being excited for this trip. I was so looking forward to seeing thresher sharks for the first time.

This is one of our dive group's (Hello Divers) dive trip outside of Luzon.

From the Mactan International Airport, we hired a van to take us to Maya Pier, north of Cebu Island, the jump-off point to Malapascua. Then we hired an outrigger boat to bring us to the island.We have no choice because we have our dive gears with us.

1st batch to Malapascua

After sorting out our accommodation problems, we settled in  and had our very late lunch, before exploring the island.
  
While most of us slept the afternoon away (including me), others did not lose time exploring the island and swimming. I woke up at 4pm and decided to join the rest of the group at the beach. Our part of the island is so quiet and secluded, it is paradise!

The view from our cottage

Malapascua white sand beach

The 1st day was more relaxed. After swimming and camwhoring, we started fixing and sorting our dive gears for the very early date with the threshers the following day. We had night cap at a floating bar before taking a very late dinner after.

Woke up very early the following day to keep our appointment with the threshers. But unfortunately, we were able to dive Monad Shoal past sunrise already as we have to wait for the rest of our diver friends who were coming from Cebu that day. :( Really sad we did not get to see the sharks. Monad Shoal is an underwater plateau --the only place one can see thresher sharks regularly before sunrise, and where pelagic also abound. The sea mount is used by the sharks as a cleaning station---where wrasse remove parasites from their skin and clean their gills and mouth. 

Ready to dive!

Disappointed with Monad Shoal, we proceeded to Gato Island. We enjoyed the dive and snorkeling in the area. Later in the afternoon, we dove along Malapascua shores to witness the colorful Mandarin fish do their mating dance early in the evening. Well, they did not mate but I got to see one. What a lovely creature! Too bad I was not able to capture one decent shot as they hurriedly hide amongst corals as soon as they see the dive lights. :(

Despite the disappointments,  we had a great time in Malapascua, albeit short. A great weekend trip.

Mandarin Fish (photo from services.flickie.com)

-----------------------------------------------
Getting to Malapascua:

From Manila, take the flight to Cebu Island. You will land at Mactan International Airport. Malapascua is located north of the island of Cebu, and travel by land and ferry is a total of 3-5 hours depending on your choice of transportation and travel time. Best to take the earliest flight to Cebu.

Option 1: Private transfers - Before arriving Malapascua, you can arranged from the resort for an airport pick-up and transfers to the resort. This is a bit expensive but more convenient. 

Option 2: By Taxi - You can hire a taxi from the airport or the North Bus terminal that will cost you around P4,800 to P6,000 one way depending on your haggling skills.

Option 3:  By bus - from the airport, take a taxi/cab to the North Bus terminal. Take Ceres Bus or Rough Riders to Maya Pier. Buses to Maya leave every 20 minutes and runs 24hours. While buses from Maya pier to Cebu runs from 1am to 6pm only. Non-aircon buses is non-stop and takes 4 hours. Aircon buses have designated stops and takes them 5hours to reach Maya Pier. Bus fares is around P150-200 per way.

From Maya Pier,  there are 2 options:

Option 1:  Private boat - hire a private boat from the pier. Cost may range from P1,500 to P2,000 depending on time of day and your haggling skills. Trip will take about 30 minutes.

Option 2: Public boat - you will have to wait for the boat to be full before it leaves the port. Be sure to be at the port before 5pm to catch the last trip for the day. Fare is P80 per person and travel time is also 30 minutes.
 

 

CAMSUR Roadtrip Day 3&4 - CWC & Naga City

Lago del Ray, CWC

April 11, 2009
Black Saturday

Who would miss going to CWC when you are in this part of the world? So, being our last day, we decided to make this day our CWC day.

From Sabang to Naga, CWC in Pili town is along the way. It is right smack in the middle of a field. You actually have to go inside a residential subdivision to get to this place.

We arrived CWC around lunchtime..so as expected on a Black Saturday, the place is packed! No available tables...the line for wakeboarding is likewise looongg!...so we decided to take a look around the place, take some photos before heading out to the newly opened Lago Del Ray in CWC.

CWC

CWC

Pretty much makes sense to have something like this...especially if they want to make CWC a family place. The kids and non-wakeboarders (is this the right term?) can hang out here.

Lago del Ray opened last Feb'09. It is an artificial freshwater lake with lots of inflatables to choose from. Kayaks are also available.

Lago de Ray

Lago del Ray

Lago del Ray

CAMSUR Roadtrip Day 2 - Caramoan here we come!

Lahus Island

April 10, 2009
Good Friday

We left Naga around 7am for the 66km drive to the Port of Sabang (nope! not the Sabang of Puerto Galera), the jump-off point to Caramoan. Took us about 1 1/2 hours drive.

Good thing I was able to find a safe parking for Pinay and found very helpful porters. After buying our fresh fish for lunch, and after a slight delay, we were off to Guijalo Port in Caramoan for the 2-hour ride by 11am.

Makeshift waiting area at Sabang

The ferry is almost the same as those in Puerto Galera. Only thing is, Sabang does not have a decent port, so the ferries dock on the beach.Thus, passengers are carried by porters on the shoulder to and from the boat! Pretty scary experience you know...

Guijalo Port, Caramoan

As we arrived Guijalo Port, it was already low tide, so we have to take another little banca ride (one were you use an oar---no motor) to the port. whew...! But....our sundo made up for it. We were surprised to find out that our service car (yes, car, not tricycle which is the mode of transportation here) is a red Ford Escape!..what can you say...an SUV in the middle of nowhere!

West Peninsula Villas

We reached West Peninsula Villas in no time. The place is in the middle of rice paddies and has only a few rooms and most were taken up by Survivor crew. Our room was impressive for such a small place. Clean, fresh sheets, aircon and cheap too (by Manila standards)...what more can you ask?

Since we arrived past 1pm, we decided to have our fresh fish cooked and took our lunch in the "resort". By 2pm, we were on our way to Bikal port by tricycle on rough roads. Bikal is where the bancas for hire are for island hopping.

CAMSUR Roadtrip Day 1 - Visita Iglesia

Penafrancia Basilica Minore

April 9, 2009

After weeks of planning, finally! Started the day very early. Left Manila at 3AM, gased up at Petron SSHwy and early breakfast for an hour.

Finally off a little past 4AM. Original plan of catching sunrise at Atimonan coastline was scrapped because we left Manila an hour late. By 5AM we were already in Sariaya with almost all vacationers on the road.

Atimonan - a great view for sunrise, but we were too late

Passed the towns of Lucena, Pagbilao..stopped at Atimonan coastline for some photos..then Plaridel and Gumaca. By the time we reached Gumaca it was already 8am. So breakfast again (since our next stop will be Naga already for late lunch).

Cathedral of San Diego de Alcala

After breakfast, we started our Visita Iglesia---at Gumaca's Cathedral of San Diego de Alcala. A rustic, centuries old church with beautiful ceiling. "Its first establishment was in 1582, on its present site. It was transferred to Silangan in the island of Alabat in 1638. It was burned by the Dutch forces in 1665; reconstructed and beautified in 1846. It is known as the biggest and oldest Catholic Church in the province of Quezon. It is located in Brgy. San Diego Poblacion near the Municipal Government office (from wikipedia)".

Altar of Gumaca Church

By 10am, we were off to Naga...passed Lopez, Calauag...the arc welcoming one to Bicol...and here the very rough road begins up to Tagkawayan and some portions of Camarines Sur.

The whole Quirino Highway is under construction and some portions have damaged cemented roads...so extra caution is advised otherwise, you will end up "flying" or with a blown tire. If you plan to take this route, be ready with 1 peso coins to give to kids/adults dotting this road directing motorists since most roads are one way...and I mean there's a lot of them!

One more thing, gas up at Tagkawayan because that is the last decent gas station all the way to Naga.

7,107 Sunsets. It's More Fun in the Philippines!

 

Manila Bay

 We are a country renowned to have the most beautiful sunsets. I could not agree more...

...7,107 islands...7,107 versions of sunsets....

Here is my tribute and brag blog of the most beautiful sunset photos we have around the country and a brief story behind it....

 

Manila Bay

Manila Bay, Manila
Guaranteed to give you the most beautiful sunset any day. The profile photo above was taken while taking the sunset dinner cruise along Manila Bay.

The other 2 shots here were taken on different occasions at the SM MOA bay area and at the Roxas Boulevard Baywalk.

Malapascua Island

Malapascua Island, Cebu

We were on our way to our night dive when we noticed the sunset. I whipped out my camera and took the shot despite it being in its underwater case. What a glorious sight!

Anawangin Island

Anawangin Island, Zambales

We spent a night camping in this island. We were blessed with a beautiful weather that day, so I was certain we will have a beautiful sunset. We were not disappointed!

Anilao

Anilao, Batangas 
Our diving playground because of its proximity to the metro. We have witnessed glorious sunsets in the area we sometimes forget how beautiful it is. Above are just a few shots of Anilao's version of the Philippine sunset.

Caramoan

Caramoan Islands, Camarines Sur

We were on our way back from island hopping the islands of Caramoan. I was holding on to dear life as the ride was rough. But when I saw the above image, I instinctively took my point & shoot camera (as my DSLR was warmly packed to protect it from seaspray), took a firm hold of one of the poles of the banca and shoot away. The sunburst (or crepuscular rays) was just amazing!

Calaguas Island

Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte

Such a paradise deserves a beautiful sunset. And yes, it did gave us 2 of its versions. For those who are into landscape photography, this place is a haven. Both ends of the island are teeming with boulders and rocks as appropriate foreground.

Manjuyod Sandbar

Manjuyod Sandbar, Negros

Cottages on stilt on high tide and a vast sandbar on low tide. But sunrise and sunset came during high tide when we were there so was not able to find an interesting foreground. Nevertheless, I was able to take a sunset shot on our 2nd day using some filters. Awesome colors and clouds we had that day.


...and as I continue to explore the country, this blog will be forever evolving...


Yes! Sunsets. It's More Fun in the Philippines!