Getting thru airport

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kwayne88

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land between the rivers
Hello all. I will be coming to the PI in June to do some diving and other tourist stuff. Am arriving at MNL at approx. 1635 in the afternoon. Will then be transfering to Cebu.
Heres the question. There are a couple flights to Cebu on the day I arrive thru PAL. The first one I think would be possible to make is at 1830, next one at 1930. As I have never been thru this airport will I have enough time to get thru immigration, customs and such and still get to terminal 2 in time?
Also, what would be the best route. Will I need to get a taxi, or do they have a transfer system, or is it close enough to walk. I will have two bags with rollers.
I am plannig on flying with PAL as the other discount stuff looks a lot like Air Asia's cattle cars and I am a little on the too large side for those little seats. Will be able to upgrade to Business with airmiles, so will have plenty of room with PAL.
After I get to Cebu I have a lot of time between flights and such so no worries there.
 
Going trough is fast , i think you can make it in time including getting out and in from customs , since the other one is domestic flight ...

terminal are right next to other , i think correct me guys if i am wrong , but they are certainly near

check cebuairpacific online for cheap fare and book in advance...

Edit : but watch out there is 2-3 airport in manilla
 
Four terminals, NAIA I (oldest) which handles all International airlines except PAL and Cebu Pacific; NAIA II (Centennial Terminal) PAL exclusive; NAIA III Cebu Pacific exclusive and the old domestic terminal for the other local airlines, i.e , Seair, ZestAir. All are less than 30 minutes by taxi from NAIA 1. The NAIA 1 to NAIA 3 transfer would be the longest.
 
2 hours should be enough time, given you're using PAL. As technobro said, the international and domestic terminals are right next to each other -- just a short walk.
 
If your connector flight is through PAL it is all good. you will have plenty of time.

I did the same flight last year, got in to manila at 1630 and had to switch terminals to catch a Cebu Pacific connector...I was able to do that in about one hour and 10 mins total. That includes going through customs, getting my bags, getting out of the airport and hopping on the transfer bus and getting checked in for my domestic flight.

You won't have to do all that if you flight straight thru with PAL.

Have a great trip!!! You are gonna love the diving and the people are awesome!

Jason
 
...avoid Cebu Pacific for a tight connector...
they caused me some major headaches last fall on my way home (for example its really lame to have a mysterious email halfway thru the trip that entirely switches your connector...and certainly not fun to spend 6 hours waiting in Manila's airport...and to have to eventually yell at someone to get basic service...). If I lived in the Philippines I would take advantage of that airline for cheap domestic trips. But for timely connectors and good customer service. Avoid them! (Unless you are a masochist and if that is the case...be sure to try China Air as well!!!) Stick with PAL if your times are tight and you will have no problem!

Jason
 
BTW - can you get an honest taxi fare out of PAL into town, or are the sharks and doctored taxi meters still there?
 
Tassie... well they are honest fares in terms of no doctored meters... but the official taxi's you catch out of the int'l terminal have to be pre-booked at fix rates and these rates are inflated above what a usual taxi metered fare would cost. Given the headaches before they started this system, I think it's worth it.

If you want to save a few USD's... you could either walk out the gates onto the main street and hail a normal cab or head up to the arrival hall and snag a meter cab dropping of passengers and haggle a price...

Kwayne - I'd stick with all PAL for the convenience of transiting through one terminal and knowing your luggage will make your connecting flight as well. I forgot if on the return out if you need to pick up your luggage from the domestic leg and take it through security before your international leg.

edit: been awhile since I've been out in the Philippines so you might want to double check whether the domestic PAL flights are still using the same terminal as the international PAL flights (Centennial terminal) as the there was some talk last year of some airlines moving over to the new Terminal.
 
Tassie... well they are honest fares in terms of no doctored meters... but the official taxi's you catch out of the int'l terminal have to be pre-booked at fix rates and these rates are inflated above what a usual taxi metered fare would cost. Given the headaches before they started this system, I think it's worth it.

Kwayne - I'd stick with all PAL for the convenience of transiting through one terminal and knowing your luggage will make your connecting flight as well. I forgot if on the return out if you need to pick up your luggage from the domestic leg and take it through security before your international leg.

edit: been awhile since I've been out in the Philippines so you might want to double check whether the domestic PAL flights are still using the same terminal as the international PAL flights (Centennial terminal) as the there was some talk last year of some airlines moving over to the new Terminal.

just take the official yellow colored airport cabs; and yes PAL still operates from the NAIA II or Centennial terminal its International and Domestic flights.
 
2hours will be fine. When I got here December(peak season), even with all the ppl going through customs, etc. i was out of the airport with my luggage within 45mins! You should be fine. i don't know about the transfer to cebu terminal but there r alot of yellow airport cabs just outside when u get out of the terminal.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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