Smart Money Saving Guide to Stretch Your Travel Dollars in Manila, Philippines

Manila is the cosmopolitan capital of the Philippines and one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila. The city is situated on the western coast of Luzon island and lies on Manila Bay’s eastern shores. Manila had a total population of 1,660,714 permanent residents at the time of the 2007 census. It is the country’s second most populous city next to Quezon City. The inhabitants live in a land area of just 38.55 square kilometers which makes Manila the most densely populated city in the world.

Tagalog (Filipino dialect) and English are the most common languages in the city. Tagalog is the native tongue of nearly every resident living in Manila and the bordering Tagalog-speaking provinces of Luzon. English is easily the second language as it is the medium of instruction in most schools from elementary to college. Some Filipino households even use English as their first language, but it is all a matter of choice. While the Chinese community in Manila’s Chinatown district can speak in both Tagalog and English, their native Hokkien dialect is widely used.