Hi Guys, I just found out that I can only take 10,000 peso to Phil... that's not going to be enough for the 9 days I'm there. But I ordered it in and it was given to me in 1,000 and 500 notes. Should I change these into smaller notes at the airport? Also, for 6 days, would it be realistic to live off 20,000 peso. I'm 24, and would likely be in a province about 2 hours out from Manila for that 6 days. I'm not looking to do fancy stuff, mostly chilling out. Many thanks.
Just take some pounds easy to change and some plastic for atm,s if needed not travellers cheques hard to cash take it you have good travel insurance? in an emergancy you might well need a credit card immediatly to get treated then reclaim from your company. Impossible to say what you will spend accomadation is? if you quiet and dont gad about to much cheap resturants ect could be fine transport (taxi) could be a significant factor.
Ok, thanks. Yeah, I'm taking my plastic too. Do you know if I'm right that I can only take 10,00 peso over? In that case, if I have English pounds on me to, how does that work? Bit confused now.
over 10,000 you would need to make special apllication no need to go there there are plenty of money changers including the airport, and malls exchange rates are ok there are plenty of atm,s costs more though but if you make it on 20,000 its only one withdrawel so probably not worth worrying about
Peso? I think the limit is $10,000 (dollars) which is significantly more than 10,000 pesos. Anything above that limit needs to be declared. http://www.philippineconsulate.com.au/bringing-currency-into-the-philippines.html Have fun
I have 10K peso on me right now, I was tempted to make it 9999 peso just in case I had a few centavo lurking in crevasses in my bag Know the limit, that is the only rule, they just want your foreign exchange to happen in the Phils and nowhere else.
So does that mean that on top of my 10,000 peso, I can bring more in other currency? If I can't then I'm a bit screwed, as I will need to have pounds on my for the England side of my journey there.
I took more than my limit in pesos and I also took UK pounds. Probably not a good idea to go over the peso limit, but that's what I did. I also ensured I had more than one way of accessing cash with cards, once there.
Yes, no problem. When travelling I try to start off with two or three thousand GBP, carried in £50 notes. I also carry a good selection of other currencies such as USD, EUR, THB, MYR, PHP, KHR, HKD etc that I may need on my journey. For peace of mind I carry the money in clearly marked envelopes, and keep daily track of all my spending and cash balances in an excel spreadsheet. From experience, a reputable money changer in the Philippines will give a rate about 2% off the interbank rate to change GBP into PHP. If you use an ATM, it can end up costing you 6% or more with the UK banks cut on the rate, the UK banks charge, and the Philippine banks ATM charge. The legal limit for travelling with currency is generally 10,000 USD, about 6,000 GBP, no idea why, but as it is in USD it must be something to do with the Americans and their fight against terrorism (yawn). Actually more likely to be anti money laundering laws. The Philippines has an additional rule for their own currency, you are not allowed to carry more than 10,000 PHP in or out of the country, not much as that is just over 100 quid! This applies ONLY to the Philippine Peso currency, must admit I have been slightly over on a couple of occasions, easy to do. EDIT: If you do use an ATM, make sure that you are aware of your bank's minimum charges, and the Philippine banks charge for an ATM withdrawal. It is not a good idea to withdraw small amounts.
Actually they say 10,000 EUR when leaving the EU, which is over 8,000 GBP. But I have seen 10,000 USD quoted on several occasions when travelling in Asia. From: HM Revenue & Customs website. Just checking, it seems that the amounts allowed before declaration are: Malaysia is 10,000 USD with a limit of 1,000 MYR (190 GBP) Thailand is 20,000 USD with a limit of 50,000 THB (950 GBP) Cambodia is 10,000 USD Vietnam is 5,000 USD, 15,000,000 VND (430 GBP) Jeez, I need to go out for a beer.
Dont forget if your carrying over 500 gbp when your leaving get the bank to give you a confirmation that you withdrew it from your account as your more likely to have problems here at the airport and if they dont like your "paper work" or you have none then customs can seize your cash till you prove its origions
My husband would take more than 10k at a time and never got checked although me and my family got checked in the US because we had $7k with us. The Philippines isn't as strict. But other options would be - credit card, visa and master card is widely accepted atm, withdrawal from most machines would be fine but with a charge foreign currency but note that the exchange rate will be lower ALways good to have loose change in 20's, 50's and 100's. 20k in 6 days seems reasonable but it will all depend on what your activities are, your accommodations, and where you will be going.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll make sure I have a bank note for my English pounds, and also credit cards should I need extra cash. is the exchange rate better there? I pain £159 for 10,000 peso... I thought it should be more like £140 for 10,000peso?
Today the rate was 71.2 peso to the pound at my regular local money changer in the local mall, I changed 100 pounds cash today, best rate I have had in years, I also transferred some cash to Granny via WorldRemit which after charges gave me about 69.86 to the pound which is not bad, we picked it up together 30 minutes after I sent it. I paid about 150 in the UK for 10,000 I rarely ever buy Peso in the UK but I was arriving on a Saturday night and getting cash would have been awkward, their airport exchange rate is also poor but still much better than the UK rate.
Generally I keep P1000 when traveling and the rest in other currencies. Philippines rates are better than UK and its not hard to find good money changers. Even better swap with an expat going the other way. P10,000 is the limit for coming into the Philippines. Have been sat in the BIR while a discussion was going on over the phone due to someone being stopped. He was told by the prosecutor to just go to a money changer and swap it for Dollars. This is in Cebu btw wouldn't say its so easy in Manila. I have collected my passport from within the Philippines previously as one went ahead in luggage with people at the airport waiting for me to arrive. But Sterling wise I have taken in over £15,000 before no problems although wouldn't recommend it. Also someone I know took 50,000 Euros in his underpants.. also not recommended.
