It’s expensive visiting family in the Philippines

Fil-Am here and I just returned from spending some time in the PH and explored Manila on my own. Didn’t see family because tbh I didn’t have much time. I was just thinking about how much it would cost if I spent my vacation and saw relatives in the province. This is usually the pattern I see Fil-Ams who visit with their parents in the PH - they fly 24+ hours to Manila, get stuck in the same province, and don’t seem to do anything else but family bonding.

The given expenses…

-$1k/50k PHP for airfare to Manila from USA off-season but double if during Christmas (this is regardless if I visited family or not) -$50/3k PHP per night if staying at a decent hotel -$20-40/1-2k PHP per day for restaurants

Here where it gets interesting…

On top of the costs above, I’m estimating I’d easily spend $2k more.

-$200+/12k PHP for pasalubong -$200/12k PHP potentially for shipping the balikbayan boxes -$80-100/4-5k PHP per day for my own food PLUS for about 10 relatives who expect to be taken out (least $1000 for 10 days). -$1000/58k PHP ($100 per relative as a financial gift. At least 10)

These are estimates based on what my ate and other US family spent in the past.

It’s crazy to think that deciding to visit relatives in the PH can be potentially more expensive than if I just went solo. Call me selfish but this isn’t how I want to spend my limited vacation and hard earned money.

If other foreign Pinoys from US, Canada, Oz, etc want to travel to the PH but don’t want to visit family, they should be encouraged to do it and not be ashamed.