Tourist Attractions in Manila

Manila in the Philippines offers a lot of interesting culture and we have listed some of the different tour options below.

Manila: Private Filipino Cooking Class with a Local

Learn how to prepare and cook traditional Filipino dishes following recipes passed down to your local host and chef for generations in her private home before enjoying the meal at a personalized, private family-friendly experience.

Growing up your host first learned everything about cooking from her grandmother while she watched her cook fresh lunches and dinners every day. Your host followed it up with years of experience of creating and preparing recipes for dairy companies and various restaurants.

Cooking usually starts by gathering the ingredients needed for the meals you will cook and if you want to experience shopping for local produce at an open-air market, guided by your host, there is an option to add that to this experience. During this experience you will become acquainted with the produce of the season, and foods cooked locally as well as internationally.

Your host’s home is located in Quezon City where you will be welcomed in with a warm smile and fresh juice. You will visit her personal vegetable garden where she grows some of the ingredients you will use in the meals you are about to cook, including lemongrass and the distinctive Filipino citrus fruit calamansi.

Your host will then teach you how to prepare the various dishes using her family recipes and you get to choose between a hands-on lesson or a cooking demonstration, the choice is yours and you can simply just let her know your preference.

After the cooking comes the eating and you will sit down at the dining table to enjoy the meal you just helped prepare. The dishes will vary, partly depending on season, but some of the dishes that might be included in this experience are grilled shrimp in a cilantro chimichurri, ensaladang pako (a local fern salad with a dressing made of raw honey and calamansi), mechado (soy-marinated beef cooked in an onion and tomato sauce) inihaw na baboy (grilled pork chops) and a homemade calamansi pie for dessert (made by the host’s best friend, Earnest).

From Manila: Full Day Trip to Tagaytay Ridge

The picturesque City of Tagaytay is located about an hour and a half south of central Manila and on a ridge 2,200 feet/670 m above sea level. From here you will have panoramic views of Taal Lake and Volcano – a lake within a volcano.

On the way to this awe-inspiring vista you will make a stop by the San Jose Church in Las Pinas where you will see the world famous Bamboo Organ built in the 19th century by Spanish priest Father Deigo Cera. The organ is made from around 800 bamboo pipes and it is said to produce a sound unlike any other.

A couple of more stops will be made, time permitting. One at a local jeepney assembly plant to see how this popular transportation, unique to the Philippines, is built and the second possible stop is at a pineapple or coffee plantation where you can sample some local produce. You can also buy souvenirs from one or more of the numerous roadside wood carving and furniture shops along the way.

Manila: Full-Day City and Museum Tour

This 6 hour long tour will take you through some of the most interesting sights and museums in Manila starting with a morning drive through the Mall of Asia complex, the Coconut Palace, the Cultural Center of Philippines and Rizal Park on the way to Intramuros, the old walled city.

The first stop is to Casa Manila, a reconstructed Spanish house from the mid-1800s now serving as a colonial lifestyle museum showcasing furniture and artwork from the 17th century and onwards. This is followed by a stop at the San Augustin Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and the Museum next to it featuring a rich collection of vestments, furniture and religious artwork of the Spanish era.

After a lunch break the tour continues to Makati City, the premier financial district of the Philippines. On the way you will pass by several sites such as Saints Peter and Paul Parish (the first and oldest church in Makati, built in 1620 and the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe).

The next stop is the Nielson Tower, the first commercial airport of the country now turned into the Filipinas Heritage Library. Visit the historic tower room, by climbing the spiral staircase, where the news about the attack on Pearl Harbor was first heard in the Philippines.

Lastly you will visit the Ayala Museum located in the heart of the Ayala Center commercial complex and the permanent exhibit “The Diorama Experience” showcasing 60 handcrafted dioramas that chronicle the rich tapestry of the history of the Philippines.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar Tour

This full day, 12 hours, tour will take you to experience a community typical of the 18th to early 20th century Philippines at the living museum of Filipino customs and traditions, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, with its wooden stilt houses and the Noble Class Mansion, the House of Stones.

The old architectural pieces of this bygone area have been carefully and painstakingly reconstructed and restored from different parts of the country and then rebuilt brick by brick in a picturesque setting with a backdrop of majestic mountains, expansive rice fields and a running river.

The visit at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a step back into the past to age-old traditions and practices distinct to the Filipino culture without leaving the luxury and comforts of the modern world behind. Here you can walk along cobbled streets or ride a horse-drawn carriage, enjoy the swimming pool, a jogging route, the Napiya Spa, fly a kite or hop around the islands and much more.

This experience includes entrance fees, an English-speaking guide, a walking tour of Las Casas, all transportation, lunch and afternoon snacks.

Manila: Unlimited Data Portable Pocket WiFi Rental

This portable pocket WiFi rental allows you to surf the 4G network around the Philippines wherever you go. The device allows for up to 5 devices to connect to its fast connection to use unlimited high-speed internet during your stay.

The device is booked in advance and you can easily pick it up or drop it off in all 3 terminals at Manila Airport.

There is a daily 4G data limit and once reached the speed will throttle down to 3G. You will also be asked to leave a deposit that will be refunded upon the return of the device.