Προφίλ συναλλασσόμενης χώρας Φιλιππίνες

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service: Information on visas from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Information on passports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Visa HQ
Diplomatic representations: List of diplomatic representations of the Philippines
For more information: Embassy of Philippines in Greece
26, Antheon str
154 52 P Psychico
Phone: 2106721883, 2106721837
Fax: 2106721872
athenspe@otenet.gr

Recommendation: For traveling within Manila, the taxi is the most recommended means of transport. The bus network is very developed but has reached saturation. There are three metro lines which serve part of the town.
Maps of urban networks: Maporama
UT Library on line
Mapblast

Recommendation: The Philippine islands are well provided with air lines, bus networks, as well as ferries. On the other hand railroads are used only in the southern part of the islands (connection between Manila and Legazpi).
Rail companies: Philippine National Railways

Flight from Greece: No aircraft company operates direct flight from Athens to Manila. To find out air connections from Greece to the Philippines click here

Recommendation: It is not advisable for foreigners to drive because of bad road conditions, and the rather risky driving of the Filipinos. It is thus recommended to rent a chauffeur-driven car.
Road maps: Omni Maps
Find an itinerary: Maps of World

Historical: The Saint - Agustin church, the cathedral of Manila, the Chinese cemetery of Manila, the Casa Manila, the Rizal park, the Santiago fort, intramural Manila, Manila metropolitan area.
Cultural: The national museum, the Jumalon museum, the Arcenas collection, the Aznar - Alfonso collection.
Nature: Rice plantations of Banaue, island of Palawan (diving and discovery of natural phenomena ), volcanoes of the islands of Visayas, Mindanao, mountain ranges on the island of Luzon.
Religious: Our Lady of Antipolo Church, Tonay Church, Saint - Jerôme Church, Baras Church, Church of the ruins of Boso - Boso.
Thermal: Hot springs in Cebu, and Manila.
Beach: The Philippines being an archipelago, one finds numerous fine sand beaches there.
Winter sports: Inexistent.
Outdoor activities: Jet ski, windsurfing, surfing, diving, and hiking.
Shopping: Makati (Manila) Ermita District.

Top highlights of the capital city
The intramural city
Chinatown
Rizal Park
National Museum
Santiago Fort
San Agustin Church
Manila Cathedral

Top highlights of the country
Banaue rice fields
Spanish city of Vigan
Puerto Galera
Sohoton National Park
San Juanico Bridge
Chocolate Hills

Food specialties: Kare-kare: ox tail stew, served with spicy hot peanut and bagoong sauce. (Bagoong is a sort of nuoc mâm, a salty sauce made from fermented fish and crab.)
Sinigang: meat or fish broth. Adobo: spicy meat stew. Lechon: roasted sucking pig, prepared for high days and holidays.
Drinks: Buko (juice of a young coconut which one drinks straight from the shell), and juice of calamansi (lime). Among alcoholic beverages, San Miguel beer is known as one of the world's best beers; also one finds sugar cane red wine, rice wine and coconut wine.
Dietary taboos: They vary according to the religion. In the southern part of the island, the Muslim minority consumes neither alcohol nor pork.

Domestic currency: Philippine Peso
ISO Code: PHP
To obtain domestic currency: Exchanging American dollars is not difficult. Bureaux de change are scattered over all the tourist areas. Hotels also offer foreign currency exchange.
Possible means of payment: One can pay in cash (the most current method), and by credit card (more and more accepted) in the big cities of the country.
Exchange rate on
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM): To find out the locations of ATMs in in Philippines, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Official language: Filipino and English.
Other languages spoken: There are nearly 70 languages in the islands, but the most prevalent minority languages are Visayan (Cebuano), and Ilokano. Spanish is hardly used by the population.
Business language: English. One may however meet Spanish speaking people.
Getting some knowledge: The Tagaloglang site (in English) offers an initiation into the Filipino language.
Free translation tools: ATS Group - English - Tagalog translator
Your dictionary - English - Tagalog translator
Babel Fish - Free Greek-English-Greek translator
Eurovoc Thesaurus - Multilingual thesaurus (21 official European languages)