City guide
Manila — Foreigner Guide
Everything you need — from landing to settling. Arrival intel, scam alerts, neighbourhood breakdowns, and cost of living, all in one place.
Manila blends its own rhythms with the energy of Philippines. Use this hub as your table of contents: skim stats, jump to the guide that answers tonight's question, then let LandedGo keep the reminders on autopilot.
Population
~14M metro
Best time
Nov–May (dry season)
Currency
PHP
Language
Filipino · English (official) · widely spoken
Jump links
- Arrival guide
- Scam alerts
- Cost of living (budget band)
- Cost of living (mid-range band)
- First 7 days playbook
- All LandedGo guides
- Airport guide (MNL)
- Neighbourhood: Bonifacio Global City (BGC)
- Neighbourhood: Makati
- Neighbourhood: Poblacion
Best for
Business travellers, English-speaking expats, and those wanting a cosmopolitan Philippine city — stay in BGC or Makati.
Quick verdict
If you only read one thing before booking: match your visa runway to your rent tier, then validate commute pain at rush hour. Manila rewards people who treat heat, traffic, and paperwork as systems to engineer — not surprises to endure.
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