Booked my flight; few last questions

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sonar

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Location
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:lotsalove:

3th of May I will leave Metherlands for a 3 day long travel :popcorn: to arrive the 6th in Manilla. From there I will head to PG to start with my Rescue Course at Dive Dojo. So I need to take care of a few last things

- method of paying; I suppose there are no ATMs so I will need something like travellerchecks or Paypal, netteller? Whats best? I also have a creditcard.

- Manilla; is there a backpackers area like Coson Road in Bangkok? I probably stay there for like 2 or 3 days; what should I really check out?

- I will stay for three months; whats best way to get a visa?

:confused::lotsalove::blinking::coffee:
 
The best method is to use the ATM's on Luzon before you get to PG. If you call Ethei before you get to PG you can pay for your course while you are in Manila. He is at his house (in Manila) frequently. That way you do not need to take that cash with you to PG. You can stay in Ermita at the Jasmine Apartel. They are cheap but good. Ethei can help you more with this......call him when you get to Manila. He knows the best answers to your questions.
 
You're going to have a great time! Divedojo takes credit cards and doesn't add any additional charges (except for taxes, which everybody should be paying anyways...:eyebrow:). And they have the best coffee in Sabang! Real Espresso, which most europeans should appreciate!:coffee:

Say hi to Ethei and Trendy or me. Simon from Canada!:coffee:
 
Hi Sonar - pleased you are coming and training with Divedojo.

Our experience of ATM's, banks, VISA;

We strongly suggest that you go to a bank in Manila which provides VISA/Mastercard/etc cash withdrawals while you are there. Banks with this facility allow you to withdraw 100,000 pesos (with 2xID) over the counter.

There is a small one-off fee for this. Additionally, bring US dollars which you can easily exchange (not travellers cheques which many don't understand what to do with).

Most credit card payments here carry a 6% min (tres expensive for us, from the US or - from Europe). Again, get what cash you can in pesos in Manila before you travel.

IMPORTANTLY: since the World banks screwed themselves and us nice people, we innocents are finding it harder (not easier) to get hold of our hard earned cash overseas. VISA, MSTERCARD et al are withdrawing their facilities due to excuses of 'fraud and corruption' in the PI's. In essence, this means it's harder to get cash here (e.g. - impossible in Davao to use your visa for cash advance now).

Manila offers you the best chance to get a good sum of pesos from a bank via cash advance.

You can use ATM's in most places no problem (HSBC lets you take up to your daily cash limit - to 40,000 pesos - most allow a 5,000 peso withdrawal (fee for each card use)).

Also note that it is very likely that your bank will ' freeze' withdrawals after the first use of your card here. Therefore, please ensure you pre-arrange with your bank that you are travelling here AND have a plan to call them/sort this out if your card gets frozen.

Though a bit of a pain, hope this is useful.
 
WWD brings up an EXCELLENT point. The banks are freezing ATM cards for security reasons as of late. It seems (because the silly ATM have withdrawal limits for each transaction) that after you take money out the third or fourth time, at one visit, it triggers a security freeze on your account. This is the case for most US banks. You need to pre-arrage it with your bank to stop that service while in the Philippines. You also need the international telephone number for the SECURITY SERVICES people at your bank. That way you can call them and get your services reinstated should this happen. This is very common now since the Philippines is high on the "IDENTITY THEFT WATCH LIST". The ATM Fees for each transaction are ridiculous too. Something like $5 for each ATM action. Who knows why, who can can fix it? This is really a problem for many guests.
If you feel confident that you can safegaurd your cash.....it is always gauranteed to work everytime! I had a guest that traveled with $10,000 USD cash. He used a special money bag inside his clothes, stored it in our safe and never had a moments trouble.
Ethei can arrange your schedule to have you go to the mall in Batangas for ATM visits as well. I forgot about that.......set it up so you have a personal day or morning during your training so that you can jump on the ferry and make a visit to the ATM.
 
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world wide diver; you work at divedojo?

Thanks a lot for the tips guys; I will arrange al this
good to be well prepared once in my life :)
 
world wide diver; you work at divedojo?



:shocked2::shocked2::shocked2::shocked2::shocked2::shocked2:


Scareed me there for a second!!!:rofl3::rofl3:

Nah, I'd know him if he did!:cool2:
 
world wide diver; you work at divedojo?

Naa! - just know from posts that this is a GOOD organisation and trust BabyD.

Scareed me there for a second!!!:rofl3::rofl3:

Nah, I'd know him if he did!
14.gif

Ha! :popcorn:
 

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