Would AUD 500 be sufficient for my accommodatin, food and travelling expenses for 10 day stay in Phil.?

Hello all, need all of ur advises: would an amount of AUD 500 be sufficient for food, accommodation and travel expenses while in Philippines(excluding any airfare). I intend to go only to a very few places may be just 2 or 3 around manila only. Kindly advise friends...

yes that is enough but you have to restrict the amount of food you buy and the quality. Also You have to stay in a not so good hotel in order to afford the places you intend to visit.

although the philippine peso is weak against the aussie dollar, things such as food and accommodation require quiet abit of money.

Barely. That is approximately P1,500 per day. A decent hotel room might be a bit more expensive than that. And then you will need food, transpo etc.

Only if you stay in really cheap places, and scrimp on food. If I were you, I would not come if this is your budget. Take this as a well-meaning advise.

Honestly, if you're a first time traveler.. I think it's not enough.
You cannot enjoy with your friends on that budget. I'm going for a 10 days vacation next week and my budget for foods, accommodations and others is 500-700 Euros (excluding airfare of course) since I'll be going to Manila, Cebu and Bohol.. but if you're only staying in Manila and you got friends back there... I guess it's ok. Just make it sure you know how to budget, know where to go and try to bring your credit card with you just in case.. <*-*>

No i dont think 500 AUD would be sufficient for a 10 day stay in philippines, especially Manila.

I just got back from a 2 week stay - 10 business days and i easily went through 1,400 Australian dollars.

For a start, you need to budget for at least 120 Australian dollars a day. When i was there between 16th december and 29th december 2007, the exchange rate was 35:1 - ie 35 pesos for 1 Australian dollar. So when you change money, you will get 3,500 pesos for every 100 australian dollars.

Now, with that 3,500 pesos a day u need to pay for a hotel room. Manila, the capital, when i stayed there - peak time, hotel rates were cheapest 1,600 pesos a night. Basically almost 50 australian dollars a night.

So with 1,900 pesos left, you will have to budget for food. Now unless your planning on eating cheap off the street or even macdonalds or in pi it is Jollibee or KFC or Chow King, food is going to probably put u back about 500-700 pesos a day. If your eating in the hotel, breakfast alone could cost you 300 pesos a day - thats just for cups of coffee and some toast, eggs and bacon! A drink alone is going to cost you 40 pesos. A coffee will cost u 40 pesos - a beer about 50.

And then there are the tips. Filipinos are big on tips - like America they expect a 20 pesos tip after a meal. But be careful, they will try to rob u blind - one guy wanted a 50 pesos tip just to pick up my bag and put it into a taxi!.

keep another 200-300 pesos handy for travelling anywhere. especially any small coins - 10 or 20 pesos for ie trike or jeepney, and 100 pesos notes for taxi if needed.

And then there is any spending money u might need. A good deal of ur budget from 3,500 pesos might be 2,000 pesos for shopping or just going to have a quiet beer. But keep enough money on you in a separate pocket to get u out of trouble in case.

Keep an eye on the money changers! One money changer might tell u a rate of 35:1, another might tell u 36:1 and another might tell u 33:1. You might get lower pesos when u change it so it decreases ur spending money. Be careful of dodgy money changers - and always count ur money before leaving.

Budget for at least 120 dollars a day and you will be okay. If your going to only take 500 dollars, your not going to be able to do much let alone afford accomodation during peak season.

I just got back from philippines 29th dec. Its a fantastic place - ive been now 8 times to stay with friends. Its a beautiful country, but be on your guard and keep money in hotel safe. And dont take alot around with u. Keep ur eyes open all times.

And have a great time!

Can be for 1 person but its very budgeted from accommodation and meals.

You will be wasting approx. $1200 on airfare if your budget is only $500.
If I were you wait a bit longer and save more money before you venture out to the Phils.
When you go overseas for a holiday you are suposed to have a good time and bring back memories of good times not memories of "if only I could have"
Try to book a package deal from Australia sometimes you can get a hotel that includes a buffet breakfast very cheaply. Book tours also from Australia, once you have done this you will be able to see how much money you will have left.
My ideal would be between $100 and $150 per day.
Have a good and safe trip and heed the advce on this page.

get real man, the backpacking days are over.

On that tight of a budget you "could" do it if you want to live as a backpacker. Staying in boarding/pensione houses, eating fastfood and streetfood every meal. Traveling by bus or Jeepney. A cheap but decent hotel room would eat your whole days budget.

If you want to enjoy your stay and live in a cheap, but decent hotel you need to double your budget.

If you want to stay in decent hotels, eat some nice meals in resturants and have some money for entertainment I would triple that amount.

I spent 1.7k for 2 weeks and I didn't even have to pay for the accommodation lolz. I went shopping to the max. I reckon bring 1k just in case.