Thank you to everyone for providing me some background and information. I will find out more from the people who are putting this on. Now I have better questions to ask. I have to provide my own transportation to MNL and they take it from there. My wife and I are flying Philippines Airlines LAX-MNL. Thank you.
Hotel recommendation
- Thread starter afdgf
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What do you mean "by providing your own transportation to MNL"? PAL is taking you there and what else do you need?
1. Contact PAL in LAX to find out if they can add the fight to DGT on the same ticket. You have 4hrs to make the same day connection. If there is any delay PAL should take care or you. Separated ticket is another matter.
2. Other airlines eg. Cebu Pacific and Air Asia also has daily flights from MNL to DGT. But why would you want to do that when PAL can provide the same service?
Could you please give a detail itinerary of the trip rather than "squeezing toothpaste"?
Damselfish
Contributor
Manila airport is not typical in that the terminals are so far apart, they may as well be different airports. No walking between terminals. There are airport shuttle buses within the airport between terminals - I think what they had was newish and not too frequent or reliable the last time we might have used such a thing, so we haven’t tried. Hopefully better now but I have no experience. And getting from a specific terminal to a specific hotel can be very different than from a different terminal to the same hotel, since in some cases you would have to drive around the airport and traffic sucks most of the time. (Last I looked I think the more dodgy looking hotels you might have considered were on the south side of the airport - so maybe quicker to get to from T1or T2 than getting to Newport - but you might not want to stay at those.) Time of day and maybe luck will affect how this all goes. So this is why it’s important to know what terminals you are arriving and departing from and when. Saying “International” and “domestic” does not actually answer that question.
I might go so far as to choose an airline/flight that uses a more convenient terminal, or if not stopping over to make sure arrival and departure is from the same terminal or made very convenient. Sticking to PAL should accomplish that. If mixing airlines you need to check. See NAIA Terminals
It’s just a little puzzle to play with.
Coming in through Cebu airport isn’t a bad idea if it works for your trip, but sounds like that is not an option for you.
I might go so far as to choose an airline/flight that uses a more convenient terminal, or if not stopping over to make sure arrival and departure is from the same terminal or made very convenient. Sticking to PAL should accomplish that. If mixing airlines you need to check. See NAIA Terminals
It’s just a little puzzle to play with.
Coming in through Cebu airport isn’t a bad idea if it works for your trip, but sounds like that is not an option for you.
Thank you very much Damselfish. Having this discussion on scubaboard is giving me some education about the Manilla airport situation. I booked the round trip flight LAX-MNL-LAX myself on PAL so I know what the terminal is for that. I do not know the terminal number or the airline or the flight departure time from then on because it is all being handled by the organization putting on the trip and they only describe that we need to meet at MNL and they will provide transportation to "the domestic terminal" and the domestic flight and pick up at that hotel to go to the resort. What I am worried about is having to hang out somewhere in the Manila airport for 6-12 hours with all of our luggage so I am trying to figure out what to do before the organization is ready to take us to "the domestic terminal." Thank you for your responses.
Ask them for flight information about the Dumaguette flight. Otherwise we're dancing in the dark.
@afdgf
Arriving 04:00 on 04th Aug and depart to DGT on 05th Aug.
PAL can provide a through ticket LAX-MNL-DGT-MNL-LAX. There is absolutely no need to spend one night in Manila unless you want to do so.
However, the itinerary provided by the "organization" meant you will need to find somewhere to stay in Manila. Please be aware that some hotels would not let you to check in so early. So you might have to wait at the lobby or pay for two nights!!! The "organization" is probably having various clients/guests arriving from different countries so could not provide a same day transfer to DGT. PATHETIC!
To be honest there is absolutely no need to use any agent/organization to arrange a flight from LAX to DGT at all.
www.cebupacificair.com
Four flights on 04th Aug and the single basic fare(check bag is extra) is about P2,400.00(US$45.00).
Kick that "organization" to touch because it has not fulfill its obligation to look after the clients/guests.
Arriving 04:00 on 04th Aug and depart to DGT on 05th Aug.
PAL can provide a through ticket LAX-MNL-DGT-MNL-LAX. There is absolutely no need to spend one night in Manila unless you want to do so.
However, the itinerary provided by the "organization" meant you will need to find somewhere to stay in Manila. Please be aware that some hotels would not let you to check in so early. So you might have to wait at the lobby or pay for two nights!!! The "organization" is probably having various clients/guests arriving from different countries so could not provide a same day transfer to DGT. PATHETIC!
To be honest there is absolutely no need to use any agent/organization to arrange a flight from LAX to DGT at all.
Cebu Pacific Air
Kick that "organization" to touch because it has not fulfill its obligation to look after the clients/guests.
OK we just figured out that we got confused because of the international date line. We are actually arriving on the morning of the 5 and not the 4 even though we are leaving on the 3rd. Sorry for the confusion. We have some other questions for the Philippines experts on Scubaboard. 1. Should we change dollars to pesos in the US before we go? If so, how much should we change? Are US dollars accepted everywhere? 2. The domestic flight says that we are limited to 66 lbs. of luggage. What happens if we go over that? Can we pay extra for any difference? 3. How dangerous is it to just hang out in terminal 2? 4. I am assuming that they will not let us into the lounge given that we will not have departure boarding passes and will have all of our luggage. Is my assumption correct? Again, my apologies.
Everything is cleared now.
1. You have two separated tickets, domestic and international. So your luggage will need to go through customs first before recheck in for the domestic leg. I believe there is a Philippines National Bank at the departure hall(T2) but not sure which hall(domestic/international). There were couple of money changing booths once you get out of the arrival hall. You need to take the outside stair to the departure hall. Nevertheless it is always a good idea to have some peso. There should be ATM inside the terminal but no idea on how much you can withdraw. Same apply in DGT unless your resort is miles away from civilization but the town is tiny and trike is dirt cheap.
2. You can pre-paid excess luggage but no idea on max weight limit. PAL home page should have all the information.
3. Very safe but this happened in 2003:
4. I assumed someone in that "organization" will meet you on arrival and delivered the domestic ticket to you. You should ask the "organization" representative on money changing facility at the airport.
Nothing to worry.
The "organization" could have explained everything that you have asked!
If you ever need to travel to Philippines from LAX again, just DIY. It is just a walk in the park.
1. You have two separated tickets, domestic and international. So your luggage will need to go through customs first before recheck in for the domestic leg. I believe there is a Philippines National Bank at the departure hall(T2) but not sure which hall(domestic/international). There were couple of money changing booths once you get out of the arrival hall. You need to take the outside stair to the departure hall. Nevertheless it is always a good idea to have some peso. There should be ATM inside the terminal but no idea on how much you can withdraw. Same apply in DGT unless your resort is miles away from civilization but the town is tiny and trike is dirt cheap.
2. You can pre-paid excess luggage but no idea on max weight limit. PAL home page should have all the information.
3. Very safe but this happened in 2003:
4. I assumed someone in that "organization" will meet you on arrival and delivered the domestic ticket to you. You should ask the "organization" representative on money changing facility at the airport.
Nothing to worry.
The "organization" could have explained everything that you have asked!
If you ever need to travel to Philippines from LAX again, just DIY. It is just a walk in the park.
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