Transportation rental in the Philippines
This article has been translated from Russian language using an artificial intelligence-based translation algorithm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the quality of the translation. You can read the original of this article in Russian here, and ask questions on the topic of our travel forum in English here.
As in all countries of Southeast Asia, in the Philippines, tourists and travelers are very popular for renting transport, especially low-power motorcycles (more often called scooters, motorcycles, mopeds). Find Transport for rent will not be difficult at any resort, in cities, airports.
However, before deciding to move independently in the Philippines, please note that standard travel insurance does not cover injuries and damage sustained while driving. To do this, you will have to issue additional insurance with the option of driving a moped/motorcycle or active sports, which is equivalent to driving a two-wheeled vehicle. To save money, it is not necessary to purchase such insurance for the entire period of the trip, you can do it for several days, but you need to do it in advance, at least a few days in advance. You can compare the cost of travel insurance from different insurance companies and arrange it online on these trusted sites:
- ☂ Найти и сравнить цены на туристическую страховку на Sravni.ru
- ☂ Найти и сравнить цены на туристическую страховку на Cherehapa.ru
- ☂ Найти и сравнить цены на туристическую страховку на Tripinsurance.ru
And now more about all the issues of renting transport in the Philippines:
What Driving Licence are needed to rent transport in the Philippines
To manage rented transport in the Philippines, it is enough to have national Russian Driving Licence of a new model, and there is not even a need to obtain international Driving Licence (IDP, International Driving Permit), made in the form of a special booklet in addition to national Driving Licence. And this is not an indulgence on the part of the country's authorities, just the Philippines has joined the Vienna Convention on road traffic, and is now obliged to accept national vehicles of other countries participating in the convention. This means that you can manage transport, including Ukrainian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Moldovan, Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek Driving Licence. Learn more about the Vienna Convention and which countries can be managed by National I/O here.
Until recently, it was believed that the police do not pay much attention to the category of transport indicated in the/AT tourists, but the situation is gradually changing. In 2019, "raids" on the roads became more frequent, during which police officers arrange temporary check-points on the roads, and check documents and the state of Transport for everyone without exception, including tourists. Therefore, if you do not have the necessary category "A" to control a scooter (Motobike), there may be problems.
By the way, you can hear the opinion that to control the scooter Driving Licence and category are not needed at all, but this is not so. In the Philippines, when driving any two-wheeled vehicle with a motor on public roads, you must have the appropriate category open in your Driving Licence.
Traffic features
Traffic in the Philippines is right-handed, as in Russia and in all republics of the former USSR.
It is not easy to characterize traffic in the Philippines. On the one hand, local drivers move slowly and carefully, very rarely faster than 60 kilometers per hour even outside the city, and in cities and towns no more than 40. But on the other hand, perhaps subjectively, there is complete chaos on the roads. The locals themselves admit that almost no one knows the rules, and manages the vehicle as he knows how.
There are a lot of complaints about the arrangement of the road network. It seems that no one is involved in the safety and improvement of traffic here, so there are almost no road signs, and in some places standard signs are replaced simply with signs with inscriptions, for example, "No parking" "No overtaking", etc.quite a big problem is the passage of intersections, since there are no priority signs. Therefore, theoretically, all intersections here are equivalent, and you need to skip those on the right. In practice, of course, everything is arranged in a completely incomprehensible way, and it seems that the locals determine the priority "by eye", or the way it is customary to drive. Therefore, be extremely careful when passing any intersections.
Another danger is riding at night. The roads are unlit. Some vehicles even in deep darkness move without headlights and lanterns, with one headlight, or with burning headlights, but shining in different directions without adjustment. Pedestrians at night quietly walk along the roadway in complete darkness. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we recommend not to drive at night. The dark time of day here comes as early as 18-19 hours.
Fines for traffic violations
Fines for traffic violations in the Philippines are quite high even by our standards. Here is their size for the most popular violations:
- Driving a vehicle without a driver's license or the appropriate category – 3000 pesos (approximately 51.59 USD, see Philippine currency and exchange rate).
- Driving with the driver's or passenger's seatbelt not fastened-1000 pesos (17.2 USD).
- Driving on a two-wheeled vehicle without a helmet of the driver or passenger-1500 pesos for the first violation (25.8 USD), 3000 for the second, 5000 for the third.
- Driving drunk-5,000 pesos (85.99 USD).
- Use of mobile devices while driving-5,000 pesos for the first violation, 10,000 for the second, 15,000 for the third.
There are no cameras on the roads, so you can only get a fine directly when the police stop. A fine may also be issued for parking in the wrong place, even in your absence.
Motorcycle rental Philippines
Serious motorcycles and low-power scooters (aka bikes, motorcycles, mopeds) are rented everywhere, especially in resorts. There are rental offices, hotels, rent and private traders. To find a rental, you can just walk through the streets, or ask at the reception of the hotel. It is very convenient that on the islands popular with tourists, rent is often located near the marinas, and you will be offered to rent a motorcycle from the very first steps after leaving the ferry.
And now you can book a motorbike and get it on arrival without difficult searches on the spot through the service 🏍 BikesBooking.com:
Rental prices are affordable, you can take an old low-power scooter at prices in 2023 from 400 pesos per day (6.88 USD), for a new one in good condition, you need to pay 500-600. As a rule, the price is assumed for 24 hours, but some rare resorts may offer two different prices per day (12 hours) and day. If you take for a few days or a week, you can and should ask for a discount. In general, you need to bargain even when renting for one or two days, since the price can be called too high, for example, they will ask for 600 pesos.
The only exception where renting a scooter is much more expensive is the island Boracay. Because of the taxi mafia operating there, they ask for 1200 to 2500 pesos per day, and bargaining is useless.
When renting, sometimes a simple written contract is concluded, sometimes just in words. On large islands, as a pledge, they are asked to leave a passport or any other document with a photo (the Russian national passport will do), on small islands they are ready to be content with a photocopy or even a picture of the passport. Rental Driving Licence are not usually checked, but they warn that problems with the police on the road are completely yours.
Car rental Philippines
Car rentals are not very common. You can find rental offices only in large cities and airports. It is best to book a car in advance via the Internet, which can be done on one of the following sites:
- 🚗 Rent a car on Discover Cars (our choice in terms of price/quality ratio).
- 🚗 Rent a car on Economy Bookings (the lowest prices are most often found here).
- 🚗 Rent a car on LocalRent (best Russian-language support).
Найти автомобиль в аренду по всему миру
What and where to refuel, the cost of gasoline
Refueling vehicles at the gas station, no bottles of fuel along the road, as in Thailand or Vietnam, there is no. There are a lot of gas stations, mainly network gas stations of international brands. The quality is good everywhere, so you can refuel anywhere.
The cost of 1 liter of gasoline brand 91 from 51 pesos to 57 (0.88-0.98 USD) . gasoline 95 costs from 60 pesos (1.03 USD). The price from gas station to gas station is almost the same, but varies from city to city or island. Gasoline is cheaper in large cities and their surroundings, and the further away from them, the more expensive.
Attention! Most motorbikes are fueled with Strictly unleaded gasoline 91 or 92. It is better to clarify the necessary grade of fuel from the owner when renting. Such gasoline is designated as Unleaded and is at every gas station. But at some gas stations, the columns with it are clearly not marked, so just ask Which one is "unlided".
At the gas station there are personnel who carry out refueling, you do not need to do anything yourself. You need to report the number of liters; or the amount you want to refuel; or just to a full tank. After refueling, the money is given to the tanker in the hands or to the cashier.
Отзывы и комментарии
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