Do's and Don'ts in the Philippines (2026): What First-Time Visitors Get Wrong

Most lists of this kind are padding. This one is built from the things that actually go wrong for first-time visitors, in roughly the order they go wrong, and each line carries the reason behind it. The labels tell you what kind of rule you are reading: Rule is law or an official requirement, with consequences; Safety protects you; Courtesy is how Filipinos will read your behavior; Practical just saves money or time. Where a rule has numbers attached — fares, tips, visa days — they come from the pages on this site that keep those numbers current, and they are linked.

Money and paying for things

• Practical Do carry small bills. Tricycle drivers, jeepneys, sari-sari stores, and market stalls cannot break a ₱1,000 note first thing in the morning. Keep ₱20s, ₱50s, and ₱100s on you; save the big notes for restaurants and hotels.
• Practical Do agree the tricycle fare before you get in. Tricycle fares are negotiated, not metered, and the moment to settle the number is before the ride, not after. Short hops within a town are usually ₱20–30; the Before You Go page has the fare ranges by distance.
• Courtesy Do tip like a Filipino, not like an American. Many restaurant bills already include a 10% service charge, and where they do not, 5–10% is a nice gesture rather than a duty. Round up taxi and Grab fares, leave ₱50–100 a day for housekeeping, and give guides ₱100–300 per person for a half day. The full customs are in the money guide.
• Courtesy Don't bargain everywhere. Haggling belongs in markets and with unmetered transport. Restaurants, malls, convenience stores, and anything with a printed price are fixed, and negotiating there reads as rude, not savvy.
• Practical Don't assume cards work outside the cities. Manila, Cebu, and the resort hotels take cards. Provincial towns and island guesthouses often rely more heavily on cash, and ATMs on smaller islands can be limited or temporarily out of cash. Withdraw before heading somewhere with limited banking options.
• Practical Don't rely on the airport for a large currency exchange. Airport counters are convenient, but compare the rate before changing a large amount. Bank ATMs and exchange counters elsewhere may give you a better effective rate once fees are included; the money guide explains the options.

Getting around

• Practical Do use Grab where it operates. Grab is available in Metro Manila and a growing list of Philippine cities, including Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Dumaguete (Grab's coverage list, checked September 2026). Set the app up before you land.
• Practical Don't assume Grab will follow you everywhere. Coverage drops away outside participating cities and tourist centers. On many islands and in smaller towns, tricycles, motorbikes, and local transfers still do the work — and the fare rule above applies.
• Safety Don't take a street taxi that "has no meter." In Manila, that is the opening line of the overcharge. Use Grab, or insist on the meter, or walk to the next taxi.
• Practical Do download offline maps. Signal drops in the provinces and on ferries. Having your destination on the map also solves most of the language gap with a tricycle driver.
• Practical Do build in slack. Ferries get cancelled for weather, domestic flights slip, and "the van leaves when it is full" means exactly that. A tight connection in the Philippines is a missed connection.

Health and staying out of trouble

• Safety Be cautious with tap water. When you're not confident about the local water supply, use factory-sealed bottled or properly treated water for drinking. Use ice when you're reasonably confident it was made from safe water.
• Safety Do wear repellent at dawn and dusk. Dengue is a year-round risk, and 2026's rainy months have kept it in the news; the health section carries the current figures.
• Safety Do read the advisory, then relax about the places you are going. The State Department's Level 2 rating covers the tourist hubs; the flagged areas are specific and mostly far from where visitors go. The safety guide answers "is it safe right now?" with a date on it.
• Safety Don't flash a phone at a jeepney window at night. Ordinary big-city sense: bag in front in crowds, phone away on the street after dark, valuables in the hotel safe.
• Safety Don't ride a motorbike without a proper helmet. If a motorcycle taxi or rental cannot provide one, find another ride.

Manners Filipinos actually notice

• Courtesy Don't lose your temper in public. This is the one that matters most. Raising your voice at a driver, a clerk, or a waiter makes them lose face in front of others, and it ends any chance of the problem being solved. Stay calm, smile, and ask for the manager if you must; you're more likely to get the problem resolved.
• Courtesy Don't criticize the country, the Church, or someone's family. Filipinos will criticize all three themselves, cheerfully. A visitor doing it is a different thing. The same goes for jokes about poverty.
• Courtesy Do use "po" and "opo" with elders, and "Sir" or "Ma'am" with staff. They are small politeness markers and they change how you are received. "Salamat" is thank you; "para" stops a jeepney.
• Courtesy Do greet elders and let them go first. Respect for age is built into the language and the room. If someone takes your hand to their forehead, that is a blessing gesture from a younger person to an elder, not a handshake gone wrong.
• Courtesy Don't point at people with a finger. Filipinos often indicate direction with their lips or a nod. You do not need to copy that; just avoid jabbing a finger at a person.
• Courtesy Do accept food and drink when offered, at least a little. Hospitality is serious here. Refusing outright can read as rejection; take a small portion and say thank you.
• Courtesy Do bring a small gift if you are invited to a home, and take your shoes off at the door if the family does. Something to share, like pastries or fruit, is the tradition.
• Courtesy Do dress modestly in churches, shoulders and knees covered, and do not walk around during Mass. In everyday settings the country is relaxed; on a beach, swimwear stays on the beach.
• Courtesy Do ask before photographing people, especially in markets and indigenous communities. Don't assume someone is comfortable being photographed just because you're visiting a tourist destination. Asking is the point.
• Courtesy Don't treat "Filipino time" as a rule. Some social gatherings may start later than the stated time, but don't assume tours, appointments, transportation, or business meetings will. Personal questions about age, marriage, or why you're traveling alone may also be more common than some visitors expect; they are often conversational rather than intrusive. The solo guide has a whole section on the last one.

Paperwork, the two that can end a trip

• Rule Don't overstay your visa. Americans enter visa-free for a set number of days and can extend, but an overstay means fines, a possible hold at departure, and a record. The extension guide walks through doing it properly and on time.
• Rule Don't work on a tourist visa. Immigration has been explicit about enforcement in 2026, and "just a little remote work for a local client" is exactly what the warning is about. The expat visa guide covers what is allowed and which visa fits.
• Rule Do keep a copy of your passport and entry stamp on your phone, and complete eTravel within the required window before arriving in the Philippines. Registration is free; use only the official government eTravel system. The pre-departure checklist has the current sequence and the window. Customs is a separate question from eTravel: what you cannot bring in, what needs a permit, and what must be declared are on our customs rules page.

At the table

• Courtesy Do eat with a spoon and fork. That is the everyday setting; the fork pushes, the spoon carries. Knives are for steak. Eating with your hands at a boodle fight or a kamayan meal is normal and expected, and someone will show you.
• Courtesy Do try the food before deciding about it. Adobo, sinigang, lechon, and grilled seafood are the easy wins; the food guide is the map. Balut is optional, and everyone will enjoy watching you decide.
• Courtesy Don't send food back with a lecture. If something is wrong, say so quietly and once. See the rule about tempers.