Transportation: Fees, Taxes and Rates

Terminal Fees

A terminal fee has always to be paid when using a port or an airport for departure. On arrival or in transit you do not have to pay any terminal fee.

But exceptions confirm the rules. In NAIA Terminal 3 when in transit you not only have to get your luggage and check it in again, you also have to pay the terminal fee. This silly game may stop, once the terminal building is finished.

Manila NAIA and Cebu Mactan fees

International departure: PHP 750
Domestic departure: PHP 200

Clark International Airport

International departure: PHP 600
Domestic departure: PHP 200

Local Domestic Airports

The small provincial domestic airports charge terminal fees of PHP 20 or 30.

Local Ports

In local ports (ferries) you have to pay between PHP 2.50 (in Balingoan) and PHP 50 (in Caticlan).

Caticlan

Caticlan is the gateway for Boracay. Here you have to pay:
+ PHP 50 for the terminal fee
+ PHP 50 for the environmental tax
+ PHP 25 for the boat trip

And when you come back from Boracay, you have to pay again:
+ PHP 50 for the terminal fee
+ PHP 25 for the boat trip

Travel Tax

The travel tax is imposed by the Philippine government on individuals who are leaving the country irrespective of the destination. The following individuals are subject to pay the travel tax before or upon departure:

1. Filipino Citizens
2. Permanent Resident Visa Holders of:

2.1. Immigrant Visa – Quota (13)
2.2. Immigrant Visa – Non-Quota Permanent
       Resident (13A)
2.3. Children of Immigrant Mothers (13B and C)
2.4. Returning Filipino Resident (13D)
2.5.Returning Resident (13E)
2.6. Returning Former Filipino Citizen (13G)
2.7. Temporary Resident Visa (13A)
2.8. Foreigners covered by Alien Social
       Integration Act of 1995 (RA 7919)
2.9. Recognition as Filipino Citizen (RC / RFC)
2.10. Permanent Resident (RA 7837)

3. Non-immigrant visa holders who have stayed in the Philippines more than a year.

Note: Non-immigrant visa holders who have stayed in the Philippines less than one year and tourists are not subject to pay the travel tax. 

The taxes paid will be divided among the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Commission for Higher Education (CHED), and the General Fund of the National Government for government programs.

Travel Tax Rates

PTA Travel Tax Offices

PTA stands for Philippine Tourism Authority. In these offices you can pay your travel tax. You need your flight ticket and your passport with a valid visa.We recommend to pay the tax some days before you leave because sometimes the offices in the airports are closed.

Excess Baggage Fee

In summer 2008, during the fuel prices hike, all Philippines carriers did dramatically increase their fees for excess luggage. But this is not all! Cebu Pacific Air did reduce the free luggage from 20kg down to 15kg. And now, as fuel prices are low again, the carriers maintain their excess luggage policy. Nice!

For destinations with very short runways, like Caticlan, the free luggage is limited to 10kg. In Caticlan you even have to stand on a scale together with all your checked and hand carried baggage. Cabin bagagge is limited to 7kg.

Some funny marketing people created "Go fares" and "Fly Light". If you fly with Cebu Pacific Air and have no luggage with you, CEB offers a reduction of PHP 200! PAL offers small discounts for "light" flyers.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

In the Philippines the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) collects a tax on goods and services. The standard percentage is 10% of the 'gross selling price'. More information can be found on the website of the BIR.

Most of the displayed prices do contain the VAT, but some restaurants and resorts announce "net prices" and add 12% VAT to the bill.

Air Fares

Prices for flight tickets change from minute to minute. They are calculated on the base of available seats for a particular flight. Flights in the morning and evening are more expensive then mid-day and early and late flights. Weekends are more expensive then flights in the middle of the week.
Usually the earlier you book the lower is the rate. But on some flights the expected number of passenger is not reached, so the prices go again down a day or so before the flight is scheduled.It is an always amazing game to compare the fare paid with your seat-neighbur.
Do not believe in the ads of the airlines. The fares of the one who claims the title of the cheapest airline can suddenly be much more expensive than the fares of the so called largest company in the country.

Bus Fares

The most requests we get belong to bus fares. Unfortunately the bus companies do not publish their fares on the web. Sometimes you can find a printed timetable with fares at the large bus-stops. Maybe they are still valid...

Above ticket shows a ride from kilometer 224 to kilometer 178. This makes a total of 46km. The fare is PHP 51. This is composed of PHP 5 for flag-fall and PHP 1 per kilometer. If you want to have an idea of the fare to expect we recommend:

Jeepney Fares and Tricycle Fares

Jeepney Fares and Tricycle Fares are the most difficult to estimate. There are laws and regulations, but if you do not know the, you pay the fare the driver asks for. Some local administrations publish official fares lists. In Camiguin, the fares are not only posted on all ferries, but also displayed in the harbour of Benoni.

Ferry Rates

Unlike the bus rates you can find the ferry fares on the Internet. At least the Philippines key players in the ferry business do publish their fares and timetables. On some sites you may book your ticket on-line. Pleas see our "Sea Transportation" page.

For the other companies and some secondary destinations you can calculate the ferry rates the same way you do with the buses: