Manila Naia Airport Terminal Transfers

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Manuel Sam

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I recently completed a three week dive trip in the Philippines that included the Coron area, Anilao and Malapascua. This may be old news for those who have traveled extensively thru Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), but it would have been helpful to me in planning my Philippines dive trip and flight times. Hopefully it may be of use to those contemplating a multileg trip in the Philippines similar to mine, who have to transit thru NAIA and have questions about terminal transfers, so as to avoid biting your nails to the first knuckle like I did.

To transfer between NAIA terminals, the Manila Airport Authority provides a shuttle bus that services the four terminals. The biggest pluses are that both the waiting area and the bus itself are comfortable and AC’d, and the bus travels within the airport, thereby avoiding the dreaded Manila traffic.

The biggest minus to me is that it only runs every 30-45 minutes, and as luck would have it, it was closer to 45 than to 30; and also as luck would have it, when going from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 as I was, it was naturally scripted for the bus to first stop at 4 and then 2 before going to Terminal 1.

All in all, I spent 30 minutes deplaning, retrieving my check-in bag, and then heading to the terminal transfer waiting area (and at least in Terminal 3, you have to go thru Security once again to enter the waiting area), 40 minutes waiting for the bus, and 20 minutes riding the bus for a total of 90 minutes. This reduced my once safe connection time of 2 hrs 45 minutes down to 75 minutes; just enough time to get thru the line and Security at the Terminal 1 entrance, check in and then go thru Security to get to the departure gate…..and that is cutting it a bit close.

Things that I might do differently, knowing what I now know: (1) do an open jaw international flight, flying into Manila and then flying out of Cebu if the price is right; (2) research arrival and departure terminals beforehand and if a terminal transfer is required, take an earlier flight to Manila from Cebu (or wherever I ma flying in from) to allow at least 3 hours of connection time; and, (3) it was suggested that I go outside and take a cab to Terminal 1 instead of waiting for the terminal transfer shuttle bus. I might have considered this had I not heard about long waits just to catch a cab, the dreaded Manila traffic, and the strong likelihood of price gouging, but if in a pinch.....

I plan on returning to the Philippines in the future and do similar multileg trips. I welcome any additional suggestions on how to better handle terminal transfers within the Manila airport. Thanks.
 
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The terminal transfers in Manila can certainly be a headache although it's already easier than couple of years ago... I have some suggestions that I usually send to our customers and that might be helpful for you for your next trip as well as for others planning their trip.

Depending on your domestic connections and with choosing the airline right you might not need to do a terminal transfer at all. There's 5 international airlines that now fly directly to Terminal 3 (Singapore, Cathay, Delta, KLM, and Emirates), and since all the domestic connections (by both PAL and Cebu Pacific) to Dumaguete where we are based departures also from Terminal 3, the transfer can be then super easy. No terminal transfer, just an elevator to departure hall.

The other option to make things a bit easier is using Meet&Greet service that many resorts offer with an extra fee. That means that there's someone waiting for you after your international flights, taking you to next terminal with private transfer, and basically making sure that everything goes as fast and smoothly as possible. I know it's an extra cost, but for a short connection buffer it's usually worth every penny.

I hope you had amazing trip Manuel, and this won't be last time you visit Philippines. :)
 
Thank you, Saila. I will keep those international airlines in mind for next time if I need to transit thru Manila. Does Cebu Pacific also fly out of Terminal 3 to international destinations (for example, Hong Kong)?

Indeed I had a very good trip, and God willing, I will return. Every visit is an opportunity for a new discovery/sighting. This time, it was the dugong and the orange Bobtail squid. And of course, one can never tire of threshers, mimics, flamboyant, blue ring, frogfish and countless nudis, including a few new ones for me.
 
ANA also flies into T3.
Air Asia may also do so.
Cebu Pacific do fly out from T3.
T3 is getting crowded nowadays but it is still a lot better than T1.
 
I recently found out about the difficulty of terminal transfers in MNL first hand. Though it was really my incoming Cathay flight delay that really screwed me. I had a two hour window to transfer to the domestic terminal for an Air Asia flight to TAG which may have been fine, but still tight given terminal transfer in MNL. However my flight was about 90 minutes late so I was screwed regardless. It seemed that philipine airlines connection shuttles were far more frequent than anyone others. I would say that once making my way to the transfer area it was an hour to get to the next terminal. Granted I think I may have just missed the shuttle as there was no one else waiting, but still, I would concur with the previous comment of leaving 3 hours. Taking a cab to the terminal I think would have been fast even with the traffic, but it's hard to say as MNL airport traffic is a horror. When are they finishing the construction?? In defense of the airport immigration and baggage were reasonably efficient. If you do take a cab get a metered taxi or negotiate a price ahead of time, shouldn't be more than 100 peso.

On taxi's. Try to get a metered taxi if possible. If you get one by the price board that is only a starting point similar to any market. I was exhausted and frustrated after missing my connection and having to purchase new ticket for the next day and fell pray to not realizing they treated a far inside Manila the same as when I negotiate to Batangas. I paid 650 peso to Makati, my metered fare back the next day? About 250. My mistake, least it's not a lot of money.

One other thing to note, anyone had issues taking their regulator on carry on? On way out of TAG the security guy made me move it to checked baggage. Can't recall this happening before.
 
I agree that flying into Manila can be a pain :( It is possible to bypass Manila altogether and enter the country through Cebu if that is the area you're visiting though.

In the past if I were arriving from outside the country and planned on diving in the Visaya's, I would just fly direct to Mactan-Cebu International Airport. It's the second busiest airport in the Philippines and a heck of a lot easier to get into and out of than the one in Manila! I have done this multiple times flying into Cebu from different locations. Once from UAE, twice from Japan, and twice flying from the US. The last time was just this past October.

Personally I would fly into Cebu and take the ferry if I were going to Bohol, Dumaguete, or other points in the Visaya's before going through Manila if I had the time. That's how much I dislike the airport and the traffic there :rolleyes:

If you're diving Anilao and Coron as the OP was doing then you don't have much choice, but if your trip is only going to the Visaya's you can save some hassle :coffee:
 
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One other thing to note, anyone had issues taking their regulator on carry on? On way out of TAG the security guy made me move it to checked baggage. Can't recall this happening before.

Hi ScubaSteve, there was a new carry-on rules announced in last July, when The Office of Transportation Security of Philippines listed dive equipment (including regulators) as 'blunt items” that must be packed on the checked-in baggage instead of carry-one/cabin baggage. It's effective for all domestic flights as well as for international flights departing from the Philippines.
 
I found the enforcement of the regulator in checked luggage to be inconsistent. It came up twice out of five domestic segments: first when flying back from Coron to Manila, and second, upon check-in to fly from Cebu to Manila. It was a non-issue on all my other flights within and out of the Philippines. But given what Saila said, I'll know better next time.
 
When travelling to Coron is it easier to go from Manilla or Cebu?

EDIT: I just looked at a map...to reword my question, Where is a good place to stay/ dive in Cebu?
 
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I am not sure if you can fly Cebu to Coron direct but the question is irrelevant now.

Cebu City or Province?
In Cebu City most if not all operators are based on Mactan Island.
Moalboal is about 2-3 hrs away by public bus while Malapascua would require longer travelling time. Slightly off the beaten track would be Camotes island but you have to check if there is any dive operator around. Ocean Deep had pulled out few yrs ago.
Outside Cebu Province
Bohol is 3hrs away by fast craft while Dumaguete takes a wee bit longer.
The latest schedule by Weesam Ferry from Cebu to Maasin in South Leyte will cut the journey to dive Sogod Bay considerably.
 
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