Intramuros, Manila
Fort Santiago
The citadel at the mouth of the Pasig, where the walled city began and where José Rizal spent his last night. Gardens, ramparts and the river make it the anchor of any Old Manila day.
Book a day here+63 976 160 6605Places · 20 stops
Where to spend the day with a driver
20 stops around Metro Manila and Rizal, every one of them inside the ₱4,500 car or ₱8,000 van rate for 8 hours with the driver and gasoline included. Pick a place, or a whole day, and the message is already written.
Old Manila · 6 stops
Walls, churches and the old river
The Spanish walled city and the park and museums just outside it. Everything here is a few minutes' drive from everything else, which is what makes it the natural first day.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · cropped 
Photo: Ray in Manila · CC BY 2.0 · cropped Intramuros, Manila
San Agustin Church
The oldest stone church in the Philippines and a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a museum in the old monastery beside it. A short walk from Fort Santiago through the walled city's streets.
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Photo: Markadan · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Intramuros, Manila
Manila Cathedral
The seat of the Archdiocese of Manila, rebuilt after the war on Plaza de Roma opposite the old governor's palace. Pairs naturally with San Agustin a few streets away.
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Photo: Ernest Malsin · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Ermita, Manila
Rizal Park
The national park at the centre of the city, laid out around the Rizal Monument. Open space to walk after the walled city, with the museums on its edge and the bay at the far end.
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Photo: PhiliptheNumber1 · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Ermita, Manila
National Museum complex
Fine Arts, Anthropology and Natural History in three grand buildings beside Rizal Park, Juan Luna's Spoliarium among them. Give it the middle of the day; the driver waits while you take your time.
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Photo: patrickroque01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Binondo, Manila
Binondo
The world's oldest Chinatown, across the river from Intramuros over Jones Bridge. Come for the food along Ongpin Street and its side lanes, and let someone else deal with the one-way streets.
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Bay & Roxas Boulevard · 4 stops
The waterfront, from the aquarium to the sunset
Manila's bay front runs south from the old city past the arts complex to the mall district. Order the stops so the last one is the sunset.
Photo by Jessica R Malate, Manila
Manila Baywalk
The promenade along Roxas Boulevard, facing west over Manila Bay. The sunset here is the reason to end a day on this side of the city.
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Photo by Jessica R Bay City, Pasay
SM Mall of Asia
One of the largest malls anywhere, on reclaimed land at the edge of the bay, with the lit-up globe at its entrance. Air-conditioning, dinner and a seafront walk in one stop.
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Photo: Michael · CC BY 2.0 · cropped Roxas Boulevard, Pasay
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Leandro Locsin's monumental arts complex on the bay front, home to the national theatre, ballet and orchestra. Worth a stop for the architecture alone; ask what is on stage that week.
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Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Ermita, Manila
Manila Ocean Park
The oceanarium behind Rizal Park's Quirino Grandstand, with the walk-through tunnel that families come for. An easy pairing with the park and the museums next door.
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Makati & BGC · 5 stops
Museums, gardens and the new city
The two business districts are where most guests stay. Patches of each are walkable, but a car makes the jump between them painless.
Photo: Ralff Nestor Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Makati
Ayala Museum
Philippine history told in dioramas, with the gold and textile collections upstairs, in the middle of the Ayala Center. Greenbelt's gardens and restaurants are across the road when you come out.
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Photo: Judgefloro · CC0 · cropped Makati
Greenbelt
A mall built around a garden and a small open-air chapel, which makes it the pleasantest place in the business district to eat and walk between meetings or museum visits.
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Photo: patrickroque01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Makati
Poblacion
Makati's old town, now its liveliest evening district: bars, small restaurants and street food packed into a few blocks. A good last stop, with a driver to take you home afterwards.
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Photo: Hans Olav Lien · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Bonifacio High Street
The open-air spine of BGC, lined with shops, restaurants and public art, with the Mind Museum at one end. Guests staying in Makati often want an afternoon here.
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Photo: Aerous · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
The Mind Museum
A hands-on science museum at the end of High Street, built for children but not only for them. Pairs with a walk along High Street and an early dinner nearby.
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Quezon City & Rizal · 5 stops
Green space and the hills to the east
North to the old seat of government and the reservoir park, then east into the Antipolo hills — places that are awkward by taxi and easy with a driver waiting.
Photo: A.C.T. Alejandre · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Diliman, Quezon City
Quezon Memorial Circle
The national park around the Quezon Memorial Shrine, on the roundabout the whole city is laid out from. Wide lawns, gardens and a museum under the monument.
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Photo: Matthew Gan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Novaliches, Quezon City
La Mesa Eco Park
Trails, a lagoon and picnic lawns at the edge of the reservoir that supplies the city's water — the greenest place inside Metro Manila. Far enough north that having the car wait matters.
Book a day here+63 976 160 6605Teachers Village, Quezon City
Maginhawa Street
A residential street that became the city's food street — cafés, small restaurants and dessert shops along a couple of kilometres near UP Diliman. Come hungry.
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Photo: GregorAbacus295 · CC0 · cropped Antipolo, Rizal
Antipolo Cathedral
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, the pilgrimage church in the hills east of the city. The road up is the classic drive out of Manila, with the view back over the metro from the top.
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Photo: Ralff Nestor Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Antipolo, Rizal
Pintô Art Museum
Contemporary Filipino art spread through white villas and gardens on an Antipolo hillside. Most guests pair it with the cathedral and a lunch with a view.
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Day plans · 8 hours
Three days already routed
Each plan stays inside one area, so the hours go to the stops rather than the road between them. The order is agreed with Cris on the day, because traffic decides how far a day goes.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Old Manila day
Fort Santiago and the two churches in the morning, the park and the museums for the heat of the afternoon. Binondo for lunch if the group wants it.
- Car · 8 hours
- ₱4,500
- Van · 8 hours
- ₱8,000
Photo by Jessica R Bay and sunset day
The aquarium and the arts complex first, then the bay front timed for the sunset, ending at the mall for dinner.
- Car · 8 hours
- ₱4,500
- Van · 8 hours
- ₱8,000
Photo: Hans Olav Lien · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped Makati and BGC day
Museum and gardens in Makati, across to BGC for High Street and the Mind Museum, then back to Poblacion for the evening.
- Car · 8 hours
- ₱4,500
- Van · 8 hours
- ₱8,000
Somewhere not on this list?
Name it on the message. Any stop inside Metro Manila sits under the same ₱4,500 car or ₱8,000 van rate for 8 hours, and a tour guide can be arranged on the same call.
Going further? Tagaytay, Batangas and the other out-of-town runs are quoted per trip.
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