The last year we have seen an influx of visitors as opposed to our previous 5 years here.

This little ole blog may or may not have convinced family members and friends that the Philippines is a great place to visit. Too be honest, I don't have to work that hard to find content to convince people, the Philippines has enough treasures I just get to share about them. You can find a previous post where I wrote an itinerary or a Visitors Guide to Manila. This year I had three girlfriends visit so I got to tailor our visits specifically, just for girl friends! This means high tea, pedicures and pillow talk in all the most beautiful places in the metro. So, if you got your home girls coming to visit I want to share a few tips with you.

Spa Treatments

Remind your visitors that while they are coming to a tropical country, don't get their nails done before they come, the price is way better here. You gotta treat your girl right by starting her trip off with a nice pedicure or foot massage. My guests are always blown away by how cheap they are. We use an in home service or Piandre right up the road from us. Often with home service my guests will get a massage and fall into a sleep as they fight jet lag and rest up for their visit.

Start Your Day Off Right

If jet lag isn't too harsh on them fuel up for a big day of shopping. My girlfriends loved L'artizan so much we went back twice in six days. If you go in the morning everything is fresh! If you want to pick up breakfast for the next day, L'artizan slashes their prices by 50% after 8 pm. More secrets for Ayala 30th can be found here.

SHOPPING

Where do I begin? We usually start at Greenhills and hit up the pearl market and my basket girl. Other days of shopping include my favorite inabel blanket vendor at Market Market, Kultura and Papemelroti. Then we do a whole day just of kawaii shopping. You can find my list of kawaii shops here.

Women be shopping! Don't forget to hydrate with fresh buko juice! It's more fun in the Philippines!

REFUEL

It is mandatory that visitors must eat Filipino food! They must have a mango shake and they absolutely must try sisig. Manam is the best restaurant to introduce visitors and friends, or even yourself, to Filipino cuisine.

After shopping at Greenhills I usually like to take my people to a simple lunch at Pho Hoa. The prices are right and the flavor is so good. Lots of gluten free options if you need those.

GREEN SPACES

After a day of malling, unwind in some green open spaces. Since most of our visitors are from The United States we always pay a peaceful visit to the Manila American Military Cemetery.

Escape to the mountains of Antipolo for the day. Antipolo has so much to offer! This particular trip we did Pinto Art Museum and lunched at Vieux Chalet. My friend absolutely loved both stops and that makes me so happy. I love sharing the love!

ESCAPE THE CITY FOR A DAY OR TWO

My visitors trips were short so flying out wasn't do able but no problem because we have beautiful scenery just two hours away.

PENINSULA DE PUNA FUEGO

NASUGBU, BATANGAS

In my opinion Punta Fuego is better than any other beach we might visit. It's private, has access to beautiful beaches, resort pools and other amenities that are fun for the family.

Lake Pandin is an easy way to give visitors a rich Filipino experience.

We always stop at Cafe Lago for another delicious Filipino meal. Suman lahiya and turon are alwaysa crowd pleaser.

The Farm at San Benito is the ultimate indulgence. You have the option of either spending a day or over night visit.

WALL CRAWL

For a mellow day in the city choose a low traffic day like Sunday and take your friends on a wall crawl through BGC. My friends loved seeing the incredible over size mural. The arts a very much alive here.

We capped of our wall crawl with DIn Tai Fung. Manila has a ton of cool eateries.

HIGH TEA

Pamper your friends with high tea. There are so many options in Manila. I recommend Shangri La's three locations, L'Artizan, Workshop Bespoke Bakery and TWG.

INTRAMUROS

You must always always take visitors to Intramuros. You can do your own walking tour or I recommend Carlos Celdran, Walk This Way.

Cap off the experience with lunch at Ristorante delle Mitre.

KARAOKE

Red Box offers large group rooms at a reasonable price. They are clean and open late. Most of my American friends (including me until I moved here) have never done karaoke! This is an iconic Filipino experience. I need to make sure we bring some Filipinos to the party next time.

BALIKBAYAN BOX

Teach girlfriends the art of the balikbayan box. My friend made this meme upon her arrival home. You must be a good host and send girl friends to the airport with extra duct tape for their balikbayan box.

PLAN

It is wise to have your visit planned meal by meal day by day adventure by adventure. I like to write my plans on paper so we can check them off as we go. I write out an itinerary for each day including meals and activities. This helps make sure our visitors reach maximum satisfaction! I like using this weekly planner pad by Hue Love Prints.