How Much Will a Trip to the Philippines Cost?
Set your nights, your travel style and the route you actually want — the calculator builds the total from 2026 published ferry fares, tour prices and government fees, each with its source. No "about US$30 a day".
The short answer, before you touch the calculator
Quick answer: Two weeks of backpacking in the Philippines costs about $579 (US$579) per person on the ground — roughly $41 (US$41) a day with island-hopping tours, inter-island transport and government fees all included, and international flights excluded. One month on the road runs about $1,162 (US$1,162).
Those figures come from the same formula the calculator below uses, so you can reproduce them: rates are on the page, and every one is dated. If your trip looks different — three weeks, two people, staying put on one island — change the inputs and the numbers move with you.
Philippines Trip Cost Calculator
Everything updates as you change it, and the state is written into the URL — copy the link at the bottom and whoever opens it sees exactly the trip you priced.
El Nido and Coron day tours ₱1,200–2,500 each including lunch. Most people average one every second or third day.
Set it to 0 if you are already counting the flight separately. Typical return fares: US$600–1,100 from Europe, US$700–1,300 from North America, US$180–400 from within Asia.
Nothing here is fetched at runtime: the rates and their sources are all listed on this page, and the currency conversion uses the 25 September 2026 rate (1 US$ = ₱62.81). That is deliberate — a link you share today still shows the same figures next year, and you can check every one of them.
What the calculator assumes
These are the per-day rates behind every style. They sit inside the ranges in our budget database, which lists each price with its source and the date it was checked.
| Item | Shoestring | Backpacker | Comfortable | Source / basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bed, per night | ₱350 | ₱600 | ₱1,400 | Dorm ₱400–800 in El Nido, Siargao, Cebu, Bohol; ₱200–400 in Banaue (market, 2026) |
| Food, per day | ₱350 | ₱600 | ₱1,300 | Carinderia meal ₱70–150; tourist-restaurant main ₱250–450 |
| Local transport, per day | ₱120 | ₱220 | ₱450 | Jeepney ₱13–30, tricycle ₱20–150 per trip, scooter rental ₱350–500/day |
| Island-hopping tour, each | ₱1,200 | ₱1,500 | ₱2,000 | El Nido tours ₱1,200–2,000, Coron ₱1,500–2,500, lunch usually included (market) |
| Visa extension, past day 30 | ₱3,030 | First extension 30→59 days, five separate fees (Bureau of Immigration, 2026) | ||
Nights are counted as days minus one (you do not pay for a bed on the night you fly home). Solo prices: if you are two people sharing a private room, the beds line drops sharply — divide the room rate rather than the dorm rate, then use the same everything else.
What each route includes
Inter-island transport and government fees are not guesses either — each route below adds up the actual legs and fees you will pay. These are the numbers the calculator inserts when you pick a route.
| Route | Legs included | Transport | Mandatory fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palawan only Puerto Princesa · El Nido |
Puerto Princesa → El Nido (shared van) — ₱750 (Lexxus published rate ₱600–880) El Nido → Puerto Princesa (shared van) — ₱750 (Lexxus published rate ₱600–880) |
₱1,500 | ₱600 El Nido eco fee (ETDF), valid 10 days Big Lagoon premium, Tour A |
| Cebu & Bohol Cebu · Moalboal · Bohol |
Cebu City → Moalboal (Ceres bus) — ₱300 (Regional fare, fuel-linked) Moalboal → Oslob → Dumaguete (bus + ferry) — ₱300 (Regional fare) Dumaguete → Tagbilaran (OceanJet) — ₱900 (OceanJet published) Tagbilaran → Cebu (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) |
₱2,330 | ₱1,250 Oslob whale shark — viewing Tarsier sanctuary + Chocolate Hills |
| Palawan + Visayas Palawan · Cebu · Bohol |
Puerto Princesa → El Nido (shared van) — ₱750 (Lexxus published rate) El Nido → Coron (ferry) — ₱2,600 (Atienza / Montenegro published ₱2,600–3,080) Coron → Cebu (flight) — ₱3,500 (Cebgo / Cebu Pacific published range) Cebu → Tagbilaran (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) Tagbilaran → Cebu (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) |
₱8,510 | ₱1,100 El Nido eco fee (ETDF) Big Lagoon premium Coron municipal fee Kayangan Lake entrance |
| Big loop + Siargao Palawan · Visayas · Siargao |
Puerto Princesa → El Nido (shared van) — ₱750 (Lexxus published rate) El Nido → Coron (ferry) — ₱2,600 (Atienza / Montenegro published) Coron → Cebu (flight) — ₱3,500 (Cebgo / Cebu Pacific published range) Cebu → Tagbilaran (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) Tagbilaran → Cebu (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) Cebu → Siargao / Sayak (flight) — ₱3,000 (Cebu Pacific published range) Siargao → Cebu (flight) — ₱3,000 (Cebu Pacific published range) |
₱14,510 | ₱1,200 El Nido eco fee (ETDF) Big Lagoon premium Coron municipal fee Kayangan Lake entrance Sayak airport terminal fee |
| The Long Way (30d) Banaue · Palawan · Visayas · Siargao |
Manila → Banaue (night bus) — ₱800 (Regional bus published range) Banaue → Manila (night bus) — ₱800 (Regional bus published range) Puerto Princesa → El Nido (shared van) — ₱750 (Lexxus published rate) El Nido → Coron (ferry) — ₱2,600 (Atienza / Montenegro published) Coron → Cebu (flight) — ₱3,500 (Cebgo / Cebu Pacific published range) Cebu → Tagbilaran (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) Tagbilaran → Cebu (OceanJet) — ₱830 (OceanJet ₱800 + ₱30 terminal) Cebu → Siargao / Sayak (flight) — ₱3,000 (Cebu Pacific published range) Siargao → Cebu (flight) — ₱3,000 (Cebu Pacific published range) |
₱16,110 | ₱1,400 El Nido eco fee (ETDF) Big Lagoon premium Coron municipal fee Kayangan Lake entrance Sayak airport terminal fee Banaue viewing-point fees |
| No long hops One region, stay put |
Airport transfers, both ways — ₱600 (Local transfer rate) | ₱600 | ₱400 Regional eco fee |
Where the money actually goes
On a two-week backpacker trip along the classic Palawan–Visayas route, rooms, food and local transport come to ₱19,280 — less than half the total. The rest is movement: ₱8,510 of ferries and domestic flights, ₱7,500 of island-hopping tours, and ₱1,100 of government fees. That is why the advice that saves real money is always the same: fewer islands, longer stays.
Prefer to see it as finished itineraries? Our 5 routes from 7 to 30 days are costed day by day with the same prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a trip to the Philippines cost?
A 14-day backpacker trip along Palawan and the Visayas comes to about $579 (US$579) per person on the ground: 13 nights of dorm or budget rooms, three meals a day, five island-hopping tours, the inter-island ferries and flights inside the country, and the government fees. Nothing there is padding — set your own nights, style and route in the calculator above and the same formula gives you your number. Add your international flight on top: $1,379 (US$1,379) if you pay US$800 return.
How much do you spend per day in the Philippines?
Per person, including everything except the international flight: $28 (US$28) a day on the shoestring (fan dorm, carinderia food, jeepneys, group tours), $41 (US$41) a day backpacker-style, and $71 (US$71) a day if you want private rooms and restaurants. These are all-in figures: the days you pay for a ferry or a tour are averaged over the whole trip, so do not compare them to the "$30 a day" figures that leave out both.
Is US$1,000 (₱62,810) enough for two weeks?
For one person with the flight already paid, yes, and comfortably: our 14-day backpacker total is $579 (US$579), leaving roughly $421 (US$421) for a nicer room, extra tours or a spa day. If the US$1,000 has to cover the flight as well, it is not enough — return airfare alone commonly lands between US$600 and US$1,100 depending on where you fly from.
How much does one month in the Philippines cost?
A 30-day backpacker trip taking in Banaue, Palawan, the Visayas and Siargao works out at about $1,162 (US$1,162) on the ground — $39 (US$39) a day, which is less than a two-week trip per day ($41) because the long-haul ferries and flights get spread over more nights. Thirty days is exactly the visa-free limit for most nationalities, so a day-30 departure costs nothing extra; go even one day over and the first extension (30 to 59 days) is $48 across five separate fees. Set the calculator to 31 days and it adds that automatically — at 31 days the total becomes $1,233 (US$1,233).
How much of the budget is flights and ferries?
More than people expect. On the 14-day Palawan + Visayas route, the inter-island legs alone are $135 — the El Nido–Coron ferry is $41 and a Coron–Cebu flight $56, and neither is optional if you want both. Island-hopping tours add $119. Rooms, food and local transport together are $307: less than half the total.
What is the cheapest way to cut the cost?
Fewer islands, not cheaper beds. Dropping one long hop out of a two-week trip removes $48–$56 in one go, which is ten nights of dorm beds. After that: travel by van and ferry instead of flying where the route allows, keep island-hopping tours to one every second or third day, and stay somewhere for four or five nights rather than two. Our 7, 10, 14, 21 and 30-day routes are built on that logic, and the budget database has every individual price with its source if you want to swap things out.
Are the eco fees and environmental fees included?
Yes — they are listed per route under "what this route includes". They are not small: El Nido's eco fee is $6 (valid 10 days), Coron adds a $3 municipal fee plus $5 for Kayangan Lake, and Boracay charges $5 plus $2 in each direction at the jetty. A two-week trip pays roughly $18 in these fees before a single tour is booked.
Why are these numbers higher than other guides?
Because the fixed costs changed in 2026 and most guides never updated them. El Nido's eco fee doubled to $6, the El Nido–Coron ferry is $41–$49 (guides still quote a US$25–30 boat fare), Boracay's boat fare rose to ₱60 in April 2026, and Metro Manila diesel hit ₱104.91/L in September 2026, which feeds into every bus and van fare on this page. At ₱62.81 to the dollar, a guide written three years ago is wrong on fixed costs by 20–40%. Every rate here carries its source and the date it was checked.