Philippines Travel Guide from Bangladesh: Visa, eTravel and Islands

The Philippines rewards a longer trip: Manila, Boracay's white sand and Palawan's lagoons sit far enough apart that you'll fly between them, so this suits travellers with a full week to spare rather than a long weekend. Unlike most of the destinations we cover, there is no visa on arrival here — the paperwork starts well before you pack. What the trip costs depends on your route, dates and hotel choices, so we quote it rather than print a number here.

💡 Checked in September 2026, against the Philippines' eVisaPH policy page and eTravel portal. Two things aren't settled publicly enough for us to print a number — see the note below. Tell us your dates and we'll quote the visa, flights and hotels together.

Visa: arranged before you fly, not on arrival

This is the fact to plan around: Bangladesh isn't on the Philippines' visa-free list, and there is no visa on arrival and no self-service e-visa. Every Bangladeshi traveller needs a 9(a) Temporary Visitor visa — a sticker in your passport — arranged before departure. Applications from Dhaka are generally routed through an agency accredited by the Philippine Embassy rather than a walk-in application at the counter; arranging that accredited channel is exactly the kind of paperwork we take off your hands.

We don't print a visa fee or a processing time here: the embassy's own published figures and what agencies in Dhaka quote don't agree with each other closely enough to give you a reliable number, so we confirm both when we start your file. What we can tell you: the standard 9(a) visa is valid for a 30-day stay, extendable inside the Philippines at the Bureau of Immigration if you need longer. Start the process as soon as you've picked your dates — a visa that has to be arranged in advance isn't something to leave until a few weeks out. Full notes are on our Philippines visa page.

Applicants are typically asked for a passport valid 6+ months with two blank pages, two recent photos on a white background, six months of stamped bank statements, an employer NOC or trade licence, a confirmed return ticket and hotel booking, a day-by-day itinerary and a covering letter — we prepare this file with you rather than hand over a checklist and leave.

eTravel: register before you land, every traveller

Whatever visa you're on, every visitor to the Philippines registers free on the eTravel portal within 72 hours before arrival. It takes a few minutes and produces a QR code immigration scans on arrival — do it for each traveller, including children, before you leave Dhaka.

How many days are enough?

• A week, minimum, if you want Manila plus one beach destination — Boracay or Palawan — without feeling rushed by the domestic flights.
• Our package: a 7-day route covering Manila, Boracay and Palawan, built around the domestic connections rather than around you working them out yourself.
• Longer trips work well if you want to add Cebu or the rice terraces at Banaue, but plan the extra flights in.

Getting there and getting around

There's no direct Dhaka–Manila flight, so expect a connection through a Southeast Asian or Gulf hub. Inside the country, Manila, Boracay (via Caticlan or Kalibo) and Palawan (via Puerto Princesa) are linked by short domestic flights rather than roads — the main reason this trip needs more days than a single-city break.

What to see

• Manila: Intramuros' old walled city, Rizal Park, and the food scene in Makati or BGC.
• Boracay: White Beach at sunset, and island-hopping boats out to the smaller coves.
• Palawan: El Nido's lagoons and limestone cliffs, or the Puerto Princesa Underground River.

Food

Filipino food leans on pork, so ask before you order rather than assume — adobo, sisig and lechon are usually pork-based dishes even when the name doesn't say so. Manila's malls and tourist areas have halal-certified Filipino-Muslim and Middle Eastern restaurants, especially around areas with a Muslim population such as Quiapo, and resort restaurants in Boracay and Palawan are generally used to being asked about dietary needs.

When to go

December to May is the dry season across most of the Philippines and the easiest time to island-hop without a typhoon disrupting inter-island flights and boats. June to November is the wet season, heaviest from July to October — not impossible, but build slack into a multi-island itinerary in case a boat or a short flight is cancelled for weather.

Our Philippines package

Our Manila, Boracay & Palawan 7-day package strings the three together with the domestic flights already worked out, so you land in Manila and let the itinerary run. Because this is a longer, multi-city trip with more moving parts than a weekend break, our first international trip airport checklist guide is worth reading before you fly, especially if anyone in your group is travelling abroad for the first time.

What to carry

• Your approved 9(a) visa, printed, plus the documents you applied with — immigration can ask to see them again on arrival.
• Your eTravel QR code for every traveller, saved offline as well as online.
• Domestic boarding passes and a photo ID alongside your passport for each internal flight.
• A rain jacket or light waterproofs, even outside the wet season.

Ready to start the visa file for a Philippines trip? Tell us your dates and who's travelling and we'll quote the visa, flights and package together.