Packing, Travel and Diving Tips for the SB Invasion to the Philippines

[Dubi]

I would appreciate if someone who is staying at the Midas would be willing to exchange $40 usd for PHP. I will pay your when we arrive. We would like to have funds for the in country travel. Gracias!

 

[ROXANNE]

I would appreciate if someone who is staying at the Midas would be willing to exchange $40 usd for PHP. I will pay your when we arrive. We would like to have funds for the in country travel. Gracias!

It doesn't do any good for those meeting at the Midas to exchange money for you as they will not be traveling to the resort with you. You should be able to exchange money in LA or Houston before you board. Most airports have a currency exchange.

 

[FireFishII]

Hello, I have been researching on the airport fees/taxes and found the following information from 2 websites (sited below):

Travel Tax only applies to the Philippinos, Permanent residents, or Foriegn visitors staying for 1 year. We don't have to pay a travel tax.

Airport Terminal fees are paid by all! Present rate is PHP750.00. (Approximately $16.30 US using today's exchanged rates.)

Sources:
Travel Tax
Embassy of the Philippines - About the Philippines


If you have leftover pesos, you could always use them for tipping.

 

[jodylynn007]

Airport Terminal fees are paid by all! Present rate is PHP750.00. (Approximately $16.30 US using today's exchanged rates.

Thank you FireFishII for posting that information, I just increased the amount of PHP I needed to collect from my bank in the nick of time.

I have another question regarding luggage (as I will be packing this weekend)... we have a few transfers to deal with, a bus and a boat... I am planning on two rolly suitcases and a small backpack carry-on.

I can manage both myself obviously if we are on normal cement surfaces but unfortunately I turned my ankle this past weekend quite badly so now I am worried about maneuvering my luggage (whereas I wouldn't have been worried about it before). Will there be staff from Atlantis to assist with getting our stuff onto the bus and boat and I guess I would assume once we reach the resort? I can't believe I am having to worry about this now

 

[FireFishII]

Thank you FireFishII for posting that information, I just increased the amount of PHP I needed to collect from my bank in the nick of time.

I have another question regarding luggage (as I will be packing this weekend)... we have a few transfers to deal with, a bus and a boat... I am planning on two rolly suitcases and a small backpack carry-on.

I can manage both myself obviously if we are on normal cement surfaces but unfortunately I turned my ankle this past weekend quite badly so now I am worried about maneuvering my luggage (whereas I wouldn't have been worried about it before). Will there be staff from Atlantis to assist with getting our stuff onto the bus and boat and I guess I would assume once we reach the resort? I can't believe I am having to worry about this now

The good news is diving is great for strengthening those muscles.

I believe the answer to your question is yes - but if not, you should have enough new friends to help you out.

 

[Audsred]

Thank you FireFishII for posting that information, I just increased the amount of PHP I needed to collect from my bank in the nick of time.

I have another question regarding luggage (as I will be packing this weekend)... we have a few transfers to deal with, a bus and a boat... I am planning on two rolly suitcases and a small backpack carry-on.

I can manage both myself obviously if we are on normal cement surfaces but unfortunately I turned my ankle this past weekend quite badly so now I am worried about maneuvering my luggage (whereas I wouldn't have been worried about it before). Will there be staff from Atlantis to assist with getting our stuff onto the bus and boat and I guess I would assume once we reach the resort? I can't believe I am having to worry about this now

Good news - you only turned it and you didn't break it

 

[jodylynn007]

Thanks guys... yeah I totally am looking at the bright side of things, I could be WAY WORSE off... and there is still a full week still until we'll actually hit the water (next Sunday I suspect) so it has even more time to improve some more until then. I just have to be really really careful to not re-injure it or hurt something else in babying it! lol. I am just super glad that this is a warm water diving holiday where gear will be super light and easy compared to most of the trips I plan back home which requires super heavy gear and lots of walking with that gear either on or to/from the boat (my profile pic selfie was taken on my last dive holiday, Hornby Island, BC Canada with the sea lions - I wear 38 lbs of lead with my shell drysuit). These boat dives in a wetsuit should hopefully be a cakewalk... as long as I can get there.

Also kind of hoping that we don't have to haul our gear out to the boats every day and that they will take care of that for us as some dive ops do that. It would be a nice this time around with the bum ankle to not have to haul gear back and forth every day, so I guess we'll see when we get there!

 

[Dubi]

Headed to the bank in the morning and quite frankly to lazy to find the tipping portion of one of these threads:

is it 10% of our resort fee per person in cash?

 

[cardzard]

Headed to the bank in the morning and quite frankly to lazy to find the tipping portion of one of these threads:

is it 10% of our resort fee per person in cash?

As always tipping is a personal thing what may be a large amount to one person may seem small to another.
Tip what you feel comfortable with, remember the average Philippine worker makes approx 5 US dollar/ 250 peso per day. Tip must be paid in cash dollars or peso.


Below is straight from the resort website FAQ pdf.

Gratuities
:
Gratuities are not included in your vacation and are not mandatory. If you feel the Atlantis
Team helped make your trip enjoyable and you received a superior level of service may we suggest a
gratuity of approximately 10% of your vacation price. Envelopes are provided at the resort where you
may choose individual team members, departments or the whole staff with whom to share your tip.
Gratuities cannot be charged to a credit card thus one should plan to bring enough cash for gratuities.

 

[Scubajeg1]

Headed to the bank in the morning and quite frankly to lazy to find the tipping portion of one of these threads:

is it 10% of our resort fee per person in cash?

CASH IS KING!!!